FULL EPISODE: I Thought We Cleaned That Thing! - April 24, 2026

Astrophysics professor ⁠Jesse Rogerson⁠ joins us with the following science news stories: ⁠Platypus anatomy just got weirder, the egg-laying oddities are more birdlike than previously thought; Scientists traced interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS to an extremely cold origin; A fungus can survive deep-space conditions, and could hitch a ride to Mars; and Half of AI health answers are wrong even though they sound convincing. Using sleep science, assistant professor of mental health Dr. Talar Moukhtarian explains what's going on when you wake up at 3am. Neuroscience professor Lise Eliot reveals it's a myth that baby boys are less social than girls. Hydrogeomorphology researcher and professor Pascale Biron questions if beaver dams really make flooding worse – they don't. Psychology professor Agata Gąsiorowska shares how relationship insecurity is linked to the pursuit of wealth and status. Computer science researcher Caleb Wohn outlines how disclosing autism to AI chatbots prompts overly cautious and stereotypical advice. Social psychology researcher ⁠Erin Courtice⁠ answers ⁠whether or not emojis should be used in workplace communications⁠. Segments: (00:00) Introduction (01:17) Jesse Rogerson pt. 1 (10:00) Jesse Rogerson pt. 2 (20:00) Dr. Talar Moukhtarian (30:00) Lise Eliot (39:50) Pascale Biron (49:50) Agata Gąsiorowska (59:50) Caleb Wohn (1:09:50) Erin Courtice (1:19:04) Sign-off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices