In this episode, Nick recounts the bizarre events that befell the small coastal city of Capitola, California in 1961, when thousands of seabirds attacked the city, an incident eerily similar to Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie The Birds, yet this happened two years before the movie. What caused the birds to swarm Capitola and peck madly at its residents, and could it happen again? Then, Dave tells the sad story of American servicemen purposely exposed, without their knowledge or consent, to the radiation of nuclear blasts at Yucca Flat, Nevada in the 1950s. The dark and tragic secret they were forced to keep for decades has finally been revealed.

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!

In this episode, Nick leads us deep into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to the remains of the deadly reactor itself, where a most unexpected organism has made its home. Not only is it resistant to the radiation bombarding it, it appears to be feeding on radiation to grow and reproduce. Then, Dave takes us on a journey to the Phoenix Cluster, a massive and beautiful collection of galaxies billions of light years from Earth. Yet something terrifying lurks at the center of the Phoenix Cluster, something we know is there but cannot see.

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!

In this episode, Nick explores the strange and spooky phenomenon of bog mummies in northern Europe. How are they so well preserved after thousands of years, and what dark, deadly secret do they share? Then, Dave examines what intelligent alien life might look like should we ever encounter them. The answer might surprise you!

This episode was recorded before a live audience at the Flying Fox Tavern in Queens, NY, on September 15, 2024. As a result, the sound quality is a little dicey. You'll want to increase the volume -- but beware of the occasional cocktail shaker of death!

Also, there was a slideshow for the audience that accompanied the episode. If you'd like to see the slides, they can be found here: https://www.nicholaskaufmann.com/spooky-science-lab-live/

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!

In the final episode of Season 1, Nick tells the story of a massive herd of earthworms discovered in the shape of a perfect spiral on the ground--a "wormnado"--and examines what could have caused this seemingly impossible phenomenon. Does it have anything to do with a rare phase of the moon known as the "Worm Moon"? Then, Dave looks into the "Dark Forest Hypothesis," which tackles the question, if the universe is so infinitely large that it's statistically unlikely for humankind to be all alone, why haven't we seen any aliens yet?

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!

Nick introduces us to the busy, relentless world of leafcutter ants, who spend their whole lives harvesting leaves from the forest to bring back to their nest and feed to the fungus that lives there. These tiny, six-legged personal chefs live to serve the fungus, which raises the question: Who's in charge? Then, Dave discusses the theory of "panspermia," which suggests that life on Earth might have started in outer space. Is it possible human beings are actually aliens?

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!

Nick shrinks Dave and drops him inside a Venus flytrap to explore what happens to the prey of this fascinating carnivorous plant. Don't worry, it's for science! Then, Dave looks into the infamous Tunguska Event of 1908, when a colossal explosion blasted the snowy Siberian landscape. The cause of the explosion has long been a mystery, but have scientists finally discovered the answer?

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!

Join Nick in a return to the watery deep to meet the creature with the fastest draw on Earth -- the pistol shrimp, a cannibalistic predator with a surprising secret! Then, Dave teleports Nick into outer space without a spacesuit to study exactly how and why you would die in the vast expanse between planets, and what would happen to your body over time. Don't worry, it's for science!

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!

Dive under the sea to encounter a crustacean assassin, the mantis shrimp! Nick explains why this creature has the best eyesight of any animal on the planet, and why it isn't actually a shrimp. Stick around to hear Dave discuss the Multiverse, which it turns out was not just invented for the movies but might actually be real--and potentially the answer to one of the biggest questions in theoretical physics!

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellington
Edited by David Wellington
Additional voices by Jennifer Dikes and Alexa Antopol
Logo by Errick Nunnally
Theme song "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan Boyle

Connect with us on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email us at contact@spookysciencelab.com!