Episodes

  • Tales from the (manus)crypt: This is the end

    Tales from the (manus)crypt: This is the end
    Nov 6 2023

    Horror stories (especially movies) have a tradition of long series capstoned by an “ending” movie. Halloween Ends. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. THE Final Destination. And while Third Pod isn’t a horror movie, we are ending (but like some of those stated “final” movies, we may someday return).

    Join hosts Shane Hanlon, Vicky Thompson, and a special guest, to reflect on the highs, and the highs (of course there weren’t lows!) of the podcast over the years, and what it has meant to them.

    This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Art by Jace Steiner.
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    15 mins
  • Tales from the (manus)crypt: The sound of screams

    Tales from the (manus)crypt: The sound of screams
    Oct 30 2023

    There’s something powerful about the sound of a scream. Whether it pierces the silence of an empty building or rings out through a crowded room, it forces you to stop what you’re doing and take note. It turns out there’s a scientific explanation for that. Our brains are hardwired to recognize the sound of a human scream as a distress signal so that we can respond accordingly. We talked to neuroscientist Luc Arnal about what particular sounds make a scream a scream and how he studies the brain circuits that interpret them.

     

    This episode was produced by Andrew Saintsing and mixed by Collin Warren.
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    31 mins
  • Tales from the (manus)crypt: Zombie-making fungi

    Tales from the (manus)crypt: Zombie-making fungi
    Oct 23 2023
    Carolyn Elya is the Zombiologist in Chief, aka incoming Assistant Professor in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. She’s been obsessed with parasites for a while, but it was the flies zombified by a fungus that made them climb, perch, and die that really caught her fancy. We talked with Carolyn about how fungi control flies and other insects, and the evolutionary implications for the zombie-making fungus and its doomed victims. This episode was produced by Devin Reese and mixed by Collin Warren. Art by Jace Steiner.
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    44 mins
  • Tales from the (manus)crypt: Volcanic video games

    Tales from the (manus)crypt: Volcanic video games
    Oct 16 2023
    One of the scariest things for scientists is watching entertainment media portray your field of study inaccurately—the horror! Flood resilience officer and social volcanologist Jazmin Scarlett turned her hobby of playing video games into a paper discussing the depictions of volcanic hazards in games such as Pokémon, LEGO DC Super Villains, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The typical video game volcano nearly always has molten lava, but would these games be even more fun to play if they incorporated fissure eruptions, pyroclastic flows, and the dangerous effects of ash and toxic gasses? Jazmin talked with us about her views on natural disasters in fiction media, what scares her about volcanoes, and why she left volcanology to work on flood resilience with the UK’s Environment Agency. This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by Collin Warren. Art by Jace Steiner.
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    44 mins
  • Tales from the (manus)crypt: Mind-controlling mushrooms

    Tales from the (manus)crypt: Mind-controlling mushrooms
    Oct 9 2023
    The video game and TV show “The Last of Us” captivated audiences with the concept of a fungal pandemic. The story is set in a world ravaged by a fungus that infects people and turns them into zombies. But what’s the likelihood a human fungal pandemic could happen? Scientists Teresa O’Meara and Tim James separate fungal fact from fiction and talk about what real fungal fears keep them up at night. This episode was produced by Molly Magid and mixed by Collin Warren. Art by Jace Steiner.
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    33 mins
  • Tales from the (manus)crypt: Evolved bloodsuckers

    Tales from the (manus)crypt: Evolved bloodsuckers
    Oct 2 2023
    We're diving into the intriguing world of vampire bats and their unique genetic adaptations to a blood-based diet. Shenglin Liu is a researcher at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany tells us that vampire bats have evolved specialized traits, from teeth modifications to brain enhancements, to thrive on a diet of blood. The episode also explores the surprising social behaviors of these bats, including blood-sharing among friends, shedding light on their intelligence and adaptability. You will get a picture of these "cute, blood-sucking, smart, and generous bats" and the remarkable feats of evolution that make them stand out in the animal kingdom. This episode was produced by Anupama Chandrasekaran, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner.
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    26 mins
  • Tales from the (manus)crypt

    Tales from the (manus)crypt
    Sep 25 2023
    It’s that time of year again! For many of us, temperatures are cooling, leaves are changing, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are…latte-ing. While that all sounds lovely, it’s also spooky season, and we’re celebrating with a special series we’re calling, Tales from the (manus)crypt. Get it?! It’s like Tales from the crypt but with science! Join us in the coming weeks to hear the stories about vampire (bats), (fungal) zombies, volcano (horror), and more! This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interviews conducted by Jason Rodriguez.
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    14 mins
  • Invisible forces: Weathering the (academic space) storm

    Invisible forces: Weathering the (academic space) storm
    Sep 15 2023
    As a young child in India, Nithin Silvadas picked up Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, and it may have changed his life. From that moment on, he was enraptured with they universe. An undergraduate in engineering (where he literally helped build satellites) and PhD focused on radiation belts around planets (including Earth) later, he’s now a Research Scientist with NASA Goddard studying space weather. Wait, what’s space weather? We talked with Nithin about plasma fields, how social class affects science, and who science really should serve. This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interviews conducted by Jason Rodriguez
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    26 mins