SciShow Tangents

By: Complexly
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  • Summary

  • SciShow Tangents is the lightly competitive knowledge showcase from the geniuses behind the YouTube series SciShow. Every other Tuesday, join Hank Green, Ceri Riley, and Sam Schultz as they try to one-up and amaze each other with weird and funny scientific research... while not getting distracted. There will be tangents about video games, music, weird smells, surprisingly deep insights about life, and of course, poop, but it always comes back to the science.
    Complexly
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Science
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Episodes
  • Cancer Revisit with Deboki Chakravarti

    Cancer Revisit with Deboki Chakravarti
    Mar 4 2025
    We're thrilled to be joined for a special return to the topic of Cancer by our own magnificent editorial assistant, Deboki Chakravarti! We cover a ton in this beefy episode, so grab a snack, get comfy, and prepare to dive deep on a topic that's well worth the revisit. SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces! Head to www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter! A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen[Truth or Fail]Water-logged diaper scanshttps://www.nist.gov/pml/about-pml/pml-working-you/pml-working-you-archives/fighting-cancer-diapershttps://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2017/11/how-disposable-diapers-can-improve-measurements-tumor-growthToothbrush cancer camerahttps://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/09/22/why-billionaire-eric-schmidt-is-backing-a-high-school-senior-making-a-cancer-detecting-toothbrush-and-other-brilliant-teens/https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/obstetrics-gynecology/news/a-substantial-step-toward-earlier-endometrial-cancer-detection/mac-20560620Cancer-cell kleenexhttps://www.statnews.com/2017/09/06/masspec-pen-cancer/[This or That: Researcher, Patient, or Both]Round 1 - Sister Mary Joseph Nodulehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468294222000089#sec0006https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00261-016-1031-1https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31864-6/abstractRound 2 - Trousseau sign of malignancyhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468294222000089#sec0002https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1022062/Round 3 - AOH1996https://www.alexslemonade.org/blog/chance-meeting-leads-promising-cancer-treatmenthttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10592352/https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05227326Round 4 - Papanicolaou (Pap) testhttps://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncy.22734https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213294514002178[Ask the Science Couch]Proposition 65 in the state of California & carcinogens in studieshttps://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/about-proposition-65https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-listhttps://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/how-chemicals-are-added-proposition-65-listhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6349368/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10311-023-01668-1https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/wood-dust Patreon bonus: Treatments for different cancers and why there’s no singular curehttps://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/typeshttps://www.aacr.org/patients-caregivers/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2023/10/cancer-is-not-one-diseasehttps://medlineplus.gov/cancer.html[Butt One More Thing]A trained dog could sniff out colorectal cancer in poop sampleshttps://gut.bmj.com/content/60/6/814https://www.cshl.edu/the-doctor-will-sniff-you-now/
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    55 mins
  • Plagues with John Green!

    Plagues with John Green!
    Feb 18 2025
    Would it really be a conversation about plagues if noted plague-hater and tuberculosis-fighter John Green wasn't a part of it? In this episode John makes his Tangents debut at last, and we dig deep into whether we could fight an old, fat beaver and win, among other things.SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces! Head to www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter! A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen[Truth or Fail Express]Hunter-gatherer from 5000 years ago infected with plaguehttps://www.livescience.com/5000-year-old-man-had-plague.htmlhttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/oldest-strain-of-black-death-bacteria-found-in-5000-year-old-human-remains#Less-deadly-and-less-contagiousIsaac Newton plague cure https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sir-isaac-newtons-plague-prescription-toad-vomit-lozenges-180975039/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/isaac-newton-plagueSewer pipes in Hanoi let plague-bearing rats breedhttps://feralatlas.supdigital.org/poster/colonial-sewers-led-to-more-ratshttps://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hanoi-rat-massacre-1902[The Scientific Definition]Four thieves vinegarhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7485289/https://nutritionalgeography.faculty.ucdavis.edu/clove/https://www.si.edu/es/object/die-mondsuchtigen:nmah_994026The Vicary method / The live chicken treatmenthttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1472106/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/665487https://libguides.umn.edu/healthmisinformationZenexton https://www.jstor.org/stable/44444207https://archive.org/details/b30341681/page/n7/mode/2up[Ask the Science Couch]HIV resistance through genetic mutation and selective pressure (possibly from plagues)https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1377146/https://jmg.bmj.com/content/42/3/205https://www.nature.com/news/2005/050307/full/news050307-15.htmlhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050325234239.htmhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC299980/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16880184/ Plague doctors probably didn’t look like birds (until later / after theater) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_F%C3%BCrst,_Der_Doctor_Schnabel_von_Rom_(Holl%C3%A4nder_version).pnghttps://deathscent.com/2020/05/15/the-redolent-plague-doctor/https://www.livescience.com/plague-doctors.html[Butt One More Thing]Using pastes made with human feces to treat bubonic plaguehttps://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2021/04/medieval-pandemic-cures-that-were-medieval/https://hosted.lib.uiowa.edu/histmed/plague/
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    54 mins
  • Inventions

    Inventions
    Feb 4 2025
    Is it usefulness, accidental genius, or sheer dumb luck that produces inventions? Well, after this episode, we at least know for sure what Batman's answer would be. As for the rest of it, you'll just have to listen along while we dive into one of Ceri's dream topics: Inventions!SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces! Head to www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter! A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen[This or That]Pacemakerhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3232561/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/11/from-viagra-to-valium-the-drugs-that-were-discovered-by-accidentSnow globehttps://www.bbc.com/news/business-25298507https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-an-experiment-to-amplify-light-in-hospital-operating-rooms-led-to-the-accidental-invention-of-the-snow-globe-180985742/Stethoscope https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1570491/https://www.thoughtco.com/rene-laenecc-stethoscope-1991647[The Scientific Definition]Pigeon Vesthttps://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/pigeons-bras-go-warBat Bombhttps://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/1090bats/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-almost-perfect-world-war-ii-plot-to-bomb-japan-with-batshttps://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-weird-tech-the-bat-bombs-of-world-war-ii/237267/Chicken Eyeglasseshttps://gizmodo.com/thousands-of-chickens-once-wore-glasses-to-stop-them-ki-1700343874https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1989/11/27/entrepreneur-wants-a-lens-in-every/https://extension.psu.edu/poultry-cannibalism-prevention-and-treatmenthttps://patents.google.com/patent/US730918Experiment (patent in category “Boats to ascend rivers”)https://books.google.com/books?id=K1YdAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120#v=onepage&q&f=falsehttps://liberalarts.tamu.edu/nautarch/nwl/lake-champlain-projects/hoofbeats-over-the-water-ina-research-on-horse-powered-ferryboats/https://books.google.com/books?id=z0Avt3ruFx0C&pg=PA294#v=onepage&q&f=falsehttps://www.uspto.gov/blog/the-search-for-lost-x[Ask the Science Couch]“Ahead of their time” inventions (Undersea cables, Antikythera mechanism, electric cars) https://www.nps.gov/caco/learn/historyculture/french-transatlantic-cable.htmhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-whttps://www.youtube.com/@clickspringhttps://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-early-electric-carsPatreon bonus: Patent law and whether you can apply without a prototypehttps://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/100https://www.legal.uillinois.edu/services/legal_guidance/inventions_and_patentshttps://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2109.htmlhttps://improbable.com/2014/02/21/the-blonsky-centrifugal-birthing-device-in-dublin/[Butt One More Thing]John Henry Kellog’s vibratory dining chair for bowel movementshttps://www.museumofquackery.com/devices/k-chair.htmhttps://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-nutrition-history-quackery/enigmatic-dr-kellogg
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    54 mins

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Profile Image for Stephanie Long

Excellent science chemistry

Whether they're talking about literal chemistry or not, they're such a joy to listen to and learn from.

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Profile Image for BRN

Fun and smart

A wonderful show, where facts and knowledge meet fun. I follow Tangents for a while now, and it never disappoints.

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Profile Image for James W Littiebrant

Hilarious nerds, surprisingly educational

This is one of the few podcasts that really works well with the free form conversation. You'll learn a lot from each episode, but the strange conversational detours to things like Minions is fantastic.

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Profile Image for Tap Banister

A really good show!

'Very fun and informative pod with a wide variety of topics. From microbes to the Universe itself. The show covers it all in a funny and informative Way.

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Profile Image for Rebecca

Silly, science-y fun!

Across a vast array of topics, this podcast loosely follows a game show pattern. Hank Green, our charming host claims to hand out ‘Hank Bucks’ to the winners as he sees fit, and there are a couple of regularly appearing ’games’, for example; each episode the co-hosts present stories about the topic du jour, and Hank decides which story is cooler, then he presents two lies and a fact about the topic, and his co-hosts have to figure out which one is true. The topics range from the silly, Poop, Butts, etc…to interesting science, Elephants, Radiation, Gas, Pain, Ants.
It’s silly irreverent fun, and it’s all cool facts about science! Seriously, one of the best things in life!

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