Rituals. Gatherings. Celebrations. Surprise parties. Weekend getaways. Campfires and birthday candles are in our DNA, and colleagues/social psychologists Dr. Danielle Brick & Dr. Kelley Gullo-Wight explain why. This conversation was like if you got seated at a dinner party next to two friends who study why we have dinner parties. We cover the neuroscience of anticipation, how much is too much for the ‘gram, a time machine to the middle ages, and how enjoying the good times together helps us weather our storms.

Follow Dr. Brick on Google Scholar

Visit Dr. Gullo-Wight’s website and follow her on Google Scholar

Donations went to Middle Way House and Rosie’s Place

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Other episodes you may enjoy: Matrimoniology (MARRIAGE), Fanthropology (FANDOM), Eudemonology (HAPPINESS), Awesomeology (GRATITUDE FOR LITTLE THINGS), Funology (YES, FUN), Food Anthropology (FEASTS), Zymology (BEER), Mixology (COCKTAILS), Enology (HOW TO DRINK WINE), Indigenous Fire Ecology (GOOD FIRE)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

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Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Creatures in inky trenches. Exploring the sea floor. Mud medicine. Tube worms. Harvard professor and Deep Sea Microbiology legend Dr. Peter Girguis tells tales of ocean expeditions and answers questions about extremophiles, life on other planets, Atlantis, shark encounters, methane munching, hydronauts, Trekkie trivia, the safety of submersibles, deep sea simulations, and how ocean organisms may just save your life. 

Visit the Girguis Laboratory and follow Dr. Girguis on Google Scholar

A donation went to the National Immigration Law Center

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Other episodes you may enjoy: Oceanology (OCEANS), Teuthology (SQUIDS), Medusology (JELLYFISH), Toxinology (JELLYFISH VENOM), Benthopelagic Nematology (DEEP SEA WORMS), Ichthyology (FISHES), Tardigradology (TINY SEMI-INDESTRUCTIBLE WATER BEAR MOSS PIGLET CREATURES CALLED TARDIGRADES), Evolutionary Biology (DARWINISM), Maritime Archaeology (SHIPWRECKS)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn
 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when you've been sprayed nine times in the face by a skunk? Part 2 with Mephitologist Dr. Jerry Dragoo answers that question. Also on the agenda: pet skunks, lavender skunks, skunk family planning, Pepe Le Pew on trial, why some of us enjoy the stench, how to handle a skunk approach, if skunks can smell themselves, and the very bizarre circumstances by which this guest first rose to international skunk fame. Also: the proper way to watch a skunk.

Check out the Dragoo Institute for the Betterment of Skunks and Skunk Reputations

A donation went to Friends of Big Bear Valley

“We Meet At Last” skunk shirt by jbstink.com

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Other episodes you may enjoy: Zoohoplology (ANIMAL DEFENSES), Procyonology (RACCOONS), Sciuridology (SQUIRRELS), Lutrinology (OTTERS), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Road Ecology (ROAD KILL), Discard Anthropology (GARBAGE), Indigenous Fashionology (NATIVE CLOTHING), Literary Olfactology (THE POLITICS OF SMELL), Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF), Meteorology (WEATHER & CLIMATE)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s here. SKUNKS. My dream guest, Dr. Jerry Dragoo of the Institute for the Betterment of Skunks and Skunk Reputations is finally on Ologies, and I can barely contain myself. Come to Albuquerque to meet this Mephitological legend. In this very special and precious 2-part series, we’ll explore tiny baby skunks, spotted ones, cartoon skunks, skunk spray remedies, skunks and astronauts, how to get sprayed by a skunk, how *not* to get sprayed, what skunk spray tastes like, how much it costs to purchase, how their populations are doing, skunks vs. snakes, who eats skunks, island skunks, rehabbing skunks, pet skunks, actress skunks, mating trivia, and so much more. Also: the nipples you never want to meet. 

Check out the Dragoo Institute for the Betterment of Skunks and Skunk Reputations

A donation went to Friends of Big Bear Valley

“We Meet At Last” skunk shirt by jbstink.com

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Zoohoplology (ANIMAL DEFENSES), Procyonology (RACCOONS), Sciuridology (SQUIRRELS), Lutrinology (OTTERS), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Road Ecology (ROAD KILL), Discard Anthropology (GARBAGE), Indigenous Fashionology (NATIVE CLOTHING), Literary Olfactology (THE POLITICS OF SMELL), Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Late night scrolling. Couchlock. Habitual insomnia. You want to sleep —  so why won’t you turn off the light, dumplin’? We’ve got someone for that: sleep scientist, globally known PBS correspondent, host of the series Braincraft, and Noctohabitologist, Dr. Vanessa “Nessy” Hill. So let’s chat about what amount of sleep is “normal,” if farmers had two sleeps, electricity, blue blockers, “me time,” proof that Dolly Parton is an alien from an angel planet, the populations most prone to sleep procrastination, which of 93 scientifically-proven habit-changers are the easiest to implement, and how this expert and I have both personally battled the agony between wanting to rest but avoiding it.  Come. Gather. Get mad. Be healed.

Visit Dr. Hill’s website and follow her on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Substack

A donation went to Project Sleep

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Other episodes you may enjoy: Somnology (SLEEP), Chronobiology (CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS), Oneirology (DREAMS), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Obsessive-Compulsive Neurobiology (OCD), Mnemonology (MEMORY), Ergopathology (BURNOUT), Personality Psychology (PERSONALITIES), Misophonology (DISTRACTING SOUND & NOISE RAGE), Dolorology (PAIN)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Giggles. Pseudopenises. Matriarchies? Media slander. Hyaenidologist Dr. Christine Wilkinson delivers stories about the nature of matrilinearity, hot Lion King gossip, bristle backs, tiny heads, big teeth, animation errors, human-hyena interactions, tongue bumps, termite poisons, lawsuits, and why these animals have been robbed of respect and denied the devotion the so deserve. Ready yourself for stories from this delightful carnivore ecologist, hyena researcher, PBS science communicator, National Geographic Explorer, and curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. And raise a glass to your new favorite undercats. 

Visit Dr. Wilkinson’s website and follow her on Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok

A donation went to Black Mammalogists Week and El Elna Elak

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Other episodes you may enjoy: Carnivore Ecology (LIONS, TIGERS, & BEARS), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Cynology (DOGS), Felinology (CATS), Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME), Condorology (CONDORS & VULTURES), FIELD TRIP: Birds of Prey and Raptor Facts. Gelotology (LAUGHTER), Neuroendocrinology (SEX & GENDER), Phallology (PENISES)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

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Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Flying squirrels. Fox squirrels. Giant squirrels. Tiny ones. Grey ones. Black ones. Fluorescent ones? Alie is losing her mind talking to dream guest and Sciuridologist, Dr. Karen Munroe. This Baldwin Wallace University professor has studied squirrels for decades and addresses where they sleep, how many babies they have, if they bite each other’s junk, how they find their acorns, Marvel movies, birdfeeder drama, imported squirrels, melanistic morphs, world domination, fistfights with birders, the rarest squirrel, the best place for squirrel tourism and more. You’ll scatter hoard so many nuggets of squirrel trivia. Enjoy. 

Follow Dr. Karen Munroe on Instagram

Donations were made to: Letters to a Pre-Scientist and Squirrel Mapper

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Crotalology (RATTLESNAKES) with Dr. Emily Taylor

Other episodes you may enjoy: Thermophysiology (BODY HEAT), Indigenous Cuisinology (NATIVE COOKING), Dendrology (TREES) with J. Casey Clapp, Urban Rodentology (SEWER RATS), Fire Ecology (WILDFIRES), Indigenous Fire Ecology (GOOD FIRE), Fulminology (LIGHTNING), Field Trip: Birds of Prey and Raptor Facts, Entomology (INSECTS), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Carobology (NOT-CHOCOLATE TREES), Felinology (CATS), Chickenology (HENS & ROOSTERS), Oreamnology (MOUNTAIN GOATS ARE NOT GOATS)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

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Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Advice. Hot tips. Book recs. Perspective. It’s the third and final installment of our Emmenology series on perimenopause and menopause, and it’s all wise words from Patrons. Dealing with brain fog, giving spouses grace, finding estrogen patches amid short supply, what to ask the HR department at work, and analogies that would melt even the coldest haters. Tune in, hang on, and sweat it out. 

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Other episodes you may enjoy: Urology (CROTCH PARTS), Gynecology (NETHER HEALTH), Neuroendocrinology (SEX & GENDER), FIELD TRIP: Alie’s Mystery Surgery, Surgical Angiology (VEINS & ARTERIES), Cardiology (THE HEART), Biogerontology (AGING), , Biological Anthropology (SEXY APES), Evolutionary Anthropology (METABOLISM), Thermophysiology (BODY HEAT), Somnology (SLEEP), Mnemonology (MEMORY), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

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Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hormones or no hormones? Itchy ears. Disappearing pussy syndrome. Estrogen by land, by sea, by patch, by pill, or by cream. When is it T time? What's the deal with herbal remedies? Should your moisturizer have hormones in it? Is HRT safe? Four experts weigh in on bioidentical versus synthetic, getting better sleep, what to put in or around your vagina, tips for trans folks, protein research, and why you should go pick up a brick or something. OB/GYNs and menopause experts Dr. Monica Christmas and Dr. Mary Claire Haver – who wrote the book The New Perimenopause – are back for this Part 2 all about science-backed fixes to your menopausal probs. Joining the chat is Smith College exercise physiologist Dr. Sarah Witkowski with a cameo from anthropologist and bone expert Dr. Daniel Wescott. 

Again, bonus Part 3 this week will be tips for your loved ones. We’re all in this together, kiddos.

Start with Emmenology (MENOPAUSE) Part 1

Browse Dr. Christmas’s papers on ResearchGate and follow her on Instagram

Visit Dr. Haver’s website and follow her on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Substack

Buy Dr. Haver’s books, The New Menopause, The New Perimenopause, The Galveston Diet

Learn more about Dr. Sarah Witkowski’s work

Donations went to the Center for Food Equity in Medicine and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Menopause Society

RosebudWoman.com (owned by my wonderful in-laws!) will give you 15% off with the code OLOGIES

Tortoise Sword from Jarrett Sleeper’s JB Stink brand shirts

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Other episodes you may enjoy: Urology (CROTCH PARTS), Gynecology (NETHER HEALTH), Neuroendocrinology (SEX & GENDER), FIELD TRIP: Alie’s Mystery Surgery, Surgical Angiology (VEINS & ARTERIES), Cardiology (THE HEART), Biogerontology (AGING), , Biological Anthropology (SEXY APES), Evolutionary Anthropology (METABOLISM), Thermophysiology (BODY HEAT), Somnology (SLEEP), Mnemonology (MEMORY), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hormones. Mood swings. Brain fog. Night sweats. And why doesn’t your shoulder work? The time is here for this whopper of a 3-part series on menopause with a total of five Ologists. No matter what your age or gender, you owe it to the people in your life who go through this to understand it. Brilliant and charming Dr. Mary Claire Haver is an OB-GYN who wrote bestsellers “The New Menopause” and the just-released “The New Perimenopause” and hosts the podcast unPAUSED. The wonderful and warm Dr. Monica Christmas is a professor and clinician with decades of experience in menopause treatment,  and repeat guest Dr. Lara Durgavich is a primatologist who has some answers about why our species goes through “the change.” 

Part 2 covers what to DO about symptoms of menopause, from vagina creams to hormone replacement therapy to libido to brain clarity and the importance of lifting heavy stuff. 

And finally, Part 3 has advice for loved ones to help support people in their lives who are sailing the stormy seas of hormonal change. 

Browse Dr. Christmas’s papers on ResearchGate and follow her on Instagram

Visit Dr. Haver’s website and follow her on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Substack

Buy Dr. Haver’s books, The New Menopause and The New Perimenopause

Follow Dr. Durgavich on Bluesky

Donations went to the Center for Food Equity in Medicine and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Gynecology (NETHER HEALTH), Urology (CROTCH PARTS), Biogerontology (AGING), Sexology (SEX), Neuroendocrinology (SEX & GENDER), Biological Anthropology (SEXY APES), Evolutionary Anthropology (METABOLISM), Thermophysiology (BODY HEAT), Somnology (SLEEP), Mnemonology (MEMORY), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS), FIELD TRIP: Alie’s Mystery Surgery

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Social anxiety icebreakers. Third spaces. Slumber parties with old friends. Helping out strangers. And why primates are wired to be better connected than we are now. Dr. Nicholas Epley – a distinguished Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago and the author of “A Little More Social” – explains how important social activity is for physical and mental health, why people are experiencing a friendship recession, how texting affects your hormones, how seeing other cultures can shape your life, the world’s friendliest cities, and the low expectations keeping us feeling lonely. Also: don’t be afraid to pick up the phone. 

Visit Dr. Epley’s website

Buy his books, A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection and Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want

A donation went to Ruby’s Rainbow

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Salugenology (WHY HUMANS REQUIRE HOBBIES), Awe Psychology (WONDER), Eudemonology (HAPPINESS), Awesomeology (GRATITUDE FOR LITTLE THINGS), Sports & Performance Psychology (ANXIETY & CONFIDENCE), Syndesiology (CONNECTIONS), Mythology (STORYTELLING)

Jarrett Sleeper’s “30 Words for Love – a long poem” 

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.