Wolf howls, wolf packs, wolf history and more! We’re dishing up a puppy-sized and kid-friendly Smologies with lupinologist and Princeton professor Dr. Brigette vonHoldt. Learn about wolf populations, canine family dynamics, Game of Thrones direwolves, if wolves howl at the moon, myths and truths about alphas, and how you can help our lupine friends.

The vonHoldt Lab

Benefunder for Dr. vonHoldt

A donation went to Red Wolf Coalition

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Lupinology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Steven Ray Morris

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Mercedes Maitland, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

What is happiness? How do our circumstances affect happiness? Why is the word “gratitude” kinda cringey? What can we do to feel better? Should we try to feel happy all the time? Yale cognitive scientist, Eudemonologist, and host of The Happiness Lab podcast Dr. Laurie Santos chats about how scientists measure human happiness and what their research has shown helps achieve it, even during the worst of times. Also: silver medal face, which will make sense when you listen.

Follow Dr. Laurie Santos on Instagram

Her podcast The Happiness Lab

Donations went to DonorsChoose.org

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Eudemonology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

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

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues, Steven Ray Morris, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Jacob Chaffee, & Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

At long last: an episode dedicated to veterinary medicine! Dr. Terrence Ferguson & Dr. Vernard Hodges have been friends for nearly 30 years and have co-owned their rural Georgia veterinary clinic, Critter Fixers, for over 20 years. The two wonderful buddies talk about getting accepted into vet school, caring for spiders & camels & lizards & toads & kittens & doggos, the weirdest things they’ve extracted from animal tummies, if our pets love us back, keeping kidneys healthy, grain-free diets, what to do if your (Alie’s) dog is plumping up by a few pounds, what they wish animal owners knew, when it’s time to let go vs. keep treating a pet, the daily rollercoaster of emotions that come with vet med -- and their charming, informative show “Critter Fixers: Country Vets” on NatGeo Wild.

Follow Dr. Hodges & Dr. Ferguson on Instagram & check out their vet practice

Watch “Critter Fixers: Country Vets” on National Geographic

A donation went to It Takes a Village Foundation

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Veterinary Biology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

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

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Steven Ray Morris

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Mercedes Maitland, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

Teeth. Tails. Pouches. This not-at-all-rodent has the distinction of being North America’s sole marsupial and so Alie hunted down lauded Opossumologist Dr. Lisa Walsh and launched an absolute torrent of giddy questions. How many ticks do they really eat, can we keep them as pets, how do they convincingly feign death, opossum vs. possum, fingerprints, orphaned babies, venom immunity, being equally ugly and adorable, and more. Open a space in your heart for these critters.

Follow Dr. Walsh on X

Donations went to KidneyFund.org & OpossumSocietyUS.org

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Possumology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

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

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Steven Ray Morris, and Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

YA LIKE BEES? You will -- after this short, edited-for-all-ages Smologies cut of our classic Melittology episode featuring urban beekeeper Amanda “Mandy” Shaw. We chat about honeybees vs. native ones, hives vs. nests, honey, how to become a beekeeper, social structures, why a queen becomes a queen, how to keep Mason bees as outdoor pets, if you should eat honey to deal with seasonal allergies, and why planting some flowers could make you and the bees pretty happy.

Follow Mandy on Instagram and check out her podcast

Mandy Shaw’s Bella Beek: Handcrafted Beekeeping Veils, Tools and Gifts

Donations were made to Pollinator Partnership and Xerces Society

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Melittology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

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

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Steven Ray Morris

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Mercedes Maitland, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

Ohaaay another edited-down, classroom-friendly Smologies! About... toads! Are they frogs? Do they have arms? What do they eat? How long do they live? What’s with the warts? Amphibian enthusiast Priya Nanjappa joins with a toadally awesome episode that will change the way you crouch down and shake hands with your tiny backyard grumpa.

Follow Priya on X and Instagram

A donation went to The Amphibian & Reptile Conservancy

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Bufology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

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

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Steven Ray Morris

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Mercedes Maitland, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

Gaze into the cosmos and wonder at broken satellites, retired rockets and shattered contraptions. Archaeologist Dr. Alice Gorman is a leading expert on orbital debris and chats about what’s up there, how it got there, and how to get it down. Strap in to hear about everything from Sputnik to flaming garbage bonking us, collision potential, space harpoons and the most adorable space rubbish. Also: steaming hot cruise ship gossip.

Follow Dr. Alice Gorman on X

Buy Dr. Gorman’s book Dr. Space Junk vs. The Universe

A donation went to DeadlyScience.org

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Space Archaeology episode + tons of science links

Subscribe to Smologies

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

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Steven Ray Morris, and Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

In this throwback episode originally aired on our grown-up Ologies feed, we hear dinosaur facts and tales from a paleontologist with Dr. Michael Habib. Learn about the economics of a dino dig, his favorite beasts, cloning from amber samples, which museum dinos are real vs. fakes, Jurassic Park flimflam and more.

Follow Dr. Michael Habib on X and Instagram

A donation went to nhm.org

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Paleontology episode + tons of science links

Subscribe to Smologies

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

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

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Steven Ray Morris

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm