iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

On today's episode Daniel and Kelly interview the amazing @goastromo.bsky.social (Dr. Moiya McTier) about how we define and measure creativity, and the impacts of the modern world on creative pursuits. Check out her new book, Mothers of Invention! www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Daniel and Kelly explore the structure of the Universe and examine its emptiest places, making no effort to spare the scatological humor. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Listener Questions Episode #51: Daniel and Kelly answer listener questions about special relativity, organisms that eat plastic, and whether the future is already determined. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

An Extraordinary asked if animals ever make mistakes, and @weinersmith.bsky.social knew just who to ask! On today's show we chat with Kelly's PhD advisor, Dr. Andy Sih, about what animals know, how that use that information, and whether or not they make "mistakes". www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Did we just discover dark matter? On today's episode, Daniel and Kelly talk about the recent observation of a dark matter candidate: www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... (link includes audio and episode transcript)

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Listener questions episode #50 is up! That's ~150 questions. Thanks for sharing your questions and curiosity with us! On LQ50, we answer questions about scent dialects, drilling through the ice above the oceans of Enceladus, & why some animals have penises. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I listened to this episode just the other day and it's *really* interesting. This is a really great podcast.

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Tattooed Thornback @tattooed-thornback.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Substance abuse disorder was part of my master's course. I had to learn all the ways addiction impacted the brain down to a neurotransmitter level. The world would be a better place if more people understood this too. Addiction is a beast and I'm blown away by anyone who can beat it

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Greg Egan @gregegansf.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

TIL from @dandkuniverse.bsky.social that you can sometimes hear meteors burning up in the atmosphere *at the same time as you see them*, despite the discrepancy in the speed of light and the speed of sound. How? Here is an abstract from a relevant paper:

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Addiction (featuring Dr. Marcelo Wood): Daniel and Kelly interview Dr. Marcelo Wood about what addiction does to our brains, why some of us become addicted to drugs while others don't, what drugs do to our brains in the long term, and more. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Is dark energy a fudge factor? Daniel and Kelly talk about whether physicists are trying to understand the expansion of the Universe, or pull the cosmic wool over everyone's eyes. Also, horse milk comes up. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Listener Questions #49 is up! Daniel and Kelly answer questions about alternatives to the Big Bang, scurvy, and supercontinents. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Daniel and Kelly talk about the differences between conservation and rewilding, and discuss some of the successes, failures, and new ideas that have come from the rewilding movement so far. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Can we simulate the Universe? Daniel and Kelly talk about what a recent simulation project can tell us about how the Universe got so clumpy. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Daniel and Kelly answer questions about crackpots, hearing meteors, and the age of everything. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Daniel, Kelly, and Katrine take on the origins of life. They discuss competing definitions for "life", whether it's even helpful to have a definition, the oldest evidence we have for life, and how we think life got started. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Should the government be hiding aliens? Daniel and Kelly review the recent movie 'Disclosure Day' and discuss some tough questions about knowledge and secrecy. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Next Sunday I'm going to be at @caveatnyc.bsky.social w/@joshgondelman.bsky.social the Comedians Interview Experts series! We're going to be talking about scientists who have purposefully infected themselves with parasites, and why the heck they would do that! caveat.nyc/events/comed...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

A new listener questions episode is up! Daniel and Kelly are joined by Dr. Manuel Lerdau to answer listener questions about toxic plants, seed germination, and micropropagation. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Daniel and Kelly explain the limitations of chemical rockets and how physics can propel humans to the outer reaches of the solar system. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The United States is dealing with an outbreak of cyclospora. Diarrhea makes people think of Kelly, so today we're dealing with the many questions Kelly has gotten about parasites in our food supplies. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Listener Questions Episode #46 is up! Daniel and Kelly answer listener questions about tick-induced meat allergies, experiencing quantum effects, and fibroids. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I'm super excited to share that I co-hosted a BBC Earth documentary called Cosmic Vistas, which airs on Friday night! I don't appear in every episode, and I'm one of a group of scientists recruited for the show. But still, this was a super fun dream come true! bbcearth.ca/shows/cosmic...

bbcearth.ca

Cosmic Vistas: A New View - BBC Earth

Cosmic Vistas, Season 1, is an 8-episode documentary series that examines contemporary advancements in the realm of space exploration. Each episode looks at three different stories, using groundbreaki...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Daniel and Kelly chat with DKEU's audio engineer, Mat Keselman, about the physics of sound and give a behind the scenes look at how Mat works his magic. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Daniel and Kelly wonder how many Extraordinaries are planning on becoming supervillains as they answer questions about how to make Jupiter explode, the changing colors of children's hair, and whether or not aliens could discover electromagnetism without iron. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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David Ghoul-iams (not actually a ghoul) @davidw1457.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The great thing about science is sometimes it unlocks the mysteries of the universe and you see how everything is connected and it's amazing. And sometimes science will make you never want to eat salad again because you're afraid a parasite will eat your brain. Science contains multitudes.

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Jarrett Byrnes @jebyrnes.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Such a good episode. But between this and the current outbreak of the explosive diarrhea parasite, I question whether I will ever eat leafy greens again… maybe in Europe? New Zealand?

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Daniel and Kelly chat with Dr. Chelsea Wood about rat lungworm - a particularly unpleasant nematode parasite that is spreading way outside of its native range. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... Chelsea's book, Netherworld, is available for pre-order now: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/chels...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Is dark matter a fudge factor? Daniel and Kelly talk about what it means to be a physics fudge factor and whether DM is fudgy or solid science. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Listener Questions #44 is up! Dr. @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social is back to help Kelly and Daniel answer listener questions about how fast animals can grow, how fast animals can go, and whether animal size impacts average lifespans. Also, cheese. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Of lice and men Daniel and Kelly explore what lice can teach us about human evolution, and the role lice have played in some of humanity's most devastating wars. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... (Link contains audio and transcript)

"This 2006 photograph depicted a dorsal view of a male body louse, Pediculus humanus var. corporis. Some of the external morphologic features displayed by members of the genus Pediculus include an elongated abdominal region without any processes, and three pairs of legs, all equal in length and width. The distal tip of the male’s abdomen is rounded, whereas, the female’s (PHIL# 9202) is concave. Body lice are parasitic insects that live on the body, and in the clothing or bedding of infested humans. Infestation is common, found worldwide, and affects people of all races. Body lice infestations spread rapidly under crowded conditions where hygiene is poor, and there is frequent contact among people. Note the sensorial setae, or hairs that cover the louse’s body, which pick up, and transmit information to the insect about changes in its environment such as temperature, and chemical cues. The dark mass inside the abdomen is a previously ingested blood meal. Janice Harney Carr" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_louse#/media/File:Body_lice.jpg

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Did aliens put satellites into Earth's orbit pre-Sputnik? Daniel and Kelly dissect the evidence presented in recent peer-reviewed science papers for pre-Sputnik artificial satellites in Earth orbit. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Listener Questions #43 Daniel and Kelly marinate in ethanol and saltwater, and reflect on the symmetries of antiparticles. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister, is THE Pacific true crab. As I related on @dandkuniverse.bsky.social, one pinched me at @vancouveraquarium.bsky.social as a kid and I was terrified of crabs for years! But I learned to love them. These two are...also loving ;) 6/7 🇨🇦🦀

inaturalist.org

Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister)

Dungeness Crab in November 2025 by J. Driver. Pre-mating embrace.

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

New episode - The science of bathing (featuring Dr. Katrine Whiteson) Daniel, Kelly, and Katrine talk about what bathing does to your microbiome, and weigh up the pros and cons. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

What broke the grand unified force in the early universe? Daniel and Kelly walk through the early history of the Universe to explain how forces can be unified, or broken. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

. @zachweinersmith.bsky.social joins Daniel and Kelly for a segment on art and science communication. Then Daniel and Kelly explore the concept of absolute hot, and what makes some rocks glow. Come for the science, stay to hear the Weinersmiths argue. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

This episode has prompted lots of requests for photos of @danielwhiteson.bsky.social's dog (a chihuahua/German shephard mix). Here you go!

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Daniel and Kelly talks about a species of social amoeba that will die to help others. Why the heck does it do that? And bonus: the amoeba are farmers! www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

A photo of the social amoeba having formed two "fruiting bodies". These look vaguely like lollipops, with oval tops and long sticks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictyostelium_discoideum#/media/File:Dictyostelium_Fruiting_Bodies.JPG

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The James Webb Telescope saw little red dots in space. What are they?! www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... Image from: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Max Plank Inst./R. Hviding et al.; Optical/IR; NASA/ESA/STScI/HST; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

An image of one of the "little red dots" seen in space. There is also a picture of the little red dot as seen by another space telescope - revealing the the little red dots also emit x-rays.

Image from: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Max Plank Inst./R. Hviding et al.; Optical/IR; NASA/ESA/STScI/HST; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

.@danielwhiteson.bsky.social, @scottsolomon.bsky.social, and I often get asked questions about how to go about writing a pop science book. So we recorded an ~hour long video chat on book publishing where we answered the most common questions we get. Hope this helps! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWMh...

youtube.com

The Ins and Outs of Pop Sci Publishing

YouTube video by Daniel and Kelly

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Our Extraordinaries have asked when we figured out the life cycles of butterflies, which also look very different across life stages. Looks like we figured that out long before we figured out parasite life cycles! An amazing woman named Maria Sibylla Merian helped: www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/mar...

nhm.ac.uk

Maria Sibylla Merian: Metamorphosis unmasked by art and science | Natural History Museum

Adventuring unchaperoned in seventeenth century Suriname, Maria Sibylla Merian blazed a trail for women and science.

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Daniel and Kelly answer questions from listeners about earthworms, the origins of the galaxy, and snails! www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... (link has audio and transcript)

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Scott P. Egan @scottpegan.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I had an amazing time on @dandkuniverse.bsky.social talking about species and speciation! Give their super cool podcast a listen! Thanks @weinersmith.bsky.social & @danielwhiteson.bsky.social !

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Scott was an amazing guest! And here is a photo of Euderus set, the beautiful wasp he describes in the episode (photo by Andrew Forbes).

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

We had way too much fun in this episode! Up now: Daniel and Kelly talk to Prof. @scottpegan.bsky.social about the meaning of species in modern biology. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... (link has audio + transcript)

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

The magazine for CERN wrote an article featuring our very our @danielwhiteson.bsky.social! cerncourier.com/a/physics-wi...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

In A City on Mars, @zachweinersmith.bsky.social and I tell the story of how Frank Borman attempted to go 2 weeks without pooping because he really did want to poop in a small space with his fellow astronaut. I hadn't realized just how small the spacecraft was,... (½)

A screenshot of a page from A City on Mars. Here is the text: "Nobody liked this. In fact, during Gemini 7, Commander Frank Bor- man, who had a reputation for being, shall we say, anal retentive, decided he would attempt not to poop for the entire two-week orbit. This quest was somewhat facilitated by NASA’s use of what are called “low-residue foods.” But, fourteen days is a lot of time to accumulate residue. By day 9, Borman had to face the inevitable. He turned to his lone crewman, Jim Lovell, and said “Jim, I think this is it.” Lovell, known for his calm demeanor and sense of humor, joked back, “Frank, you have only five more days left to go here.” Frank did not make it fififive days. Incidentally, this is how big a Gemini was:" There is then an illustration of the Gemini sapsule, with a cartoon Frank Borman thinking "Just five more days....". The illustration notes there is no curtain separating the men in the capsule, and it has only 2.55 cubic meters of habitable volume (for reference, it notes that a Tesla Model 3 has an interior volume of 3.2 cubic meters).

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Hey Extraordinaries! I (Kelly) had the incredible privilege of being on a panel with @elakdawalla.bsky.social and Matt Shindell at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrV6... There was a dinner beforehand - and holy cow - check out my dinner view!!!!!! 😍

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