Politicians love to mock "wasteful" government spending on research—from shrimp on treadmills to the sex lives of screwworm flies. But what's the real story behind these headline-grabbing studies? In Frivolous Science, we go beyond the soundbites to talk with scientists about the research that gets ridiculed. Discover what your tax dollars are actually funding, why this research matters, and experience the unexpected joy of scientific discovery that happens when curiosity leads the way.
Creator & Host: Houda Khaled
Artwork: Houda Khaled
Pointless Policies: Making sure the best science wins
Listen to the newest segment of Frivolous Science called “Pointless Policies,” where I talk to science policy experts about the current conversations on science funding in government right now. This week we interview Dr. Erica Kimmerling about a controversial proposed rule that you all have until July 13th to comment on and tell the government what you actually want!
Link to OMB proposed rule: “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance)” to read and submit your comment!
Information on the OMB proposed rule:
Dr. Kimmerling’s article: New draft rule threatens to undermine existing merit-based government investment in science by creating a more opaque, politicized, and inefficient funding process (http://www.astc.org/policy/omb-rule-threatens-merit-based-funding/)
Union of Concerned Scientists: Trump Administration Proposes Giving Political Appointees Final Say on Research Funding (https://www.ucs.org/about/news/trump-proposes-giving-political-appointees-final-say-research-funding)
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The Trump Administration Seeks to End Nonpartisan Grantmaking (https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/the-trump-administration-seeks-to-end-nonpartisan-grantmaking)
Guides to commenting on the proposed rule:
Research!America: Resource Hub (https://www.researchamerica.org/omb-proposed-federal-grant-rule/)
American Physical Society: OMB Comment Submission Tool (https://www.aps.org/initiatives/advocate-amplify/policy/federal-grants-rule-change)
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB): Impact Assessment Quiz (https://www.faseb.org/science-policy-and-advocacy/comment-on-omb-proposed-rule)
National Council of Nonprofits: Proposed Changes to the OMB Uniform Guidance (https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/files/media/documents/2026/2026-chart-omb-uniform-proposed-changes.pdf)
Creator & Host: Houda Khaled
Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue (http://www.sessions.blue)):
Highway 94
GriddleKake
29 May 2026
Fly Propaganda
Today's bonus episode features the full interview with Dr. Christina May, who shares her thoughts on the wonders of working with flies, and a peek into the effect of sugar on the brain.
Creator & Host: Houda Khaled
Links to the papers:
High Dietary Sugar Reshapes Sweet Taste to Promote Feeding Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.04.027)
Dietary sugar inhibits satiation by decreasing the central processing of sweet taste (https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.54530)
Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue (http://www.sessions.blue)):
Castor Wheel Pivot
GriddleKake
Full transcript at: https://frivolousscience.substack.com/ (https://frivolousscience.substack.com/)
*Correction: The human brain has closer to ~100 billion neurons, rather than a trillion - Dr. May's initial guess. Still orders of magnitude more than the ~100K in a fly!*
22 May 2026
Sweet, Salty & Savory Dreams
Dr. William Ja uses fruit flies to study food comas. Do flies get sleepy after eating? Do we? Why is that even worth knowing? And what do flies and Lamborghini's have in common? Dr. Ja discusses his research, the unknown purpose of food comas, and how what we eat might affect our sleep (and vice versa)!
Creator & Host: Houda Khaled
Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue (www.sessions.blue))
Link to paper: Postprandial sleep mechanics in Drosophila (https://elifesciences.org/articles/19334)
Full transcript at: https://frivolousscience.substack.com/ (https://frivolousscience.substack.com/)
3 Dec 2025
Squeaky Sonnets
Dr. Ralph Emilio Peterson follows rats around New York City with a mic and a camera. Is it a silly pet project, or a creative pest control solution? Dr. Peterson discuss his research, and we get a sneak peak into the secret "language" of rats.
Creator & Host: Houda Khaled
Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue (www.sessions.blue))
Link to the preprint: Computational Urban Ecology of New York City Rats (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.21.665423v1.full)
Full transcript and rat videos at https://frivolousscience.substack.com/ (https://frivolousscience.substack.com/)
*Correction: I say that the rat recordings are pitched up for us to hear, but they are actually pitched down! They are altered from high frequency (that we can't hear) to lower frequency.*
23 Oct 2025
Meet Frivolous Science!
Are your taxes being wasted on scientist pet projects? What do headlines get wrong when they lambast studies on "fruit flies in Paris" and "shrimp on treadmills"? Welcome to Frivolous Science, where we meet with scientists behind some of the silliest sounding studies to get to the bottom of what their research is really about. The first episode premieres December 1st - tell all your friends!
Creator & Host: Houda Khaled
Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue (www.sessions.blue))
Full transcript at https://frivolousscience.substack.com/ (https://frivolousscience.substack.com/)
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