Hidden Science Stories

About Hidden Science Stories

Hidden Science Stories - This is probably important, is a science and comedy podcast where Ryan, a PhD Neuroscientist, and Zach, an Actor Writer and Comedian, get together once a month to talk about a concept in science and how it impacts our everyday life. We focus on the areas of science that most people are unaware of or where public perception runs counter to what the evidence says. Taking an optimistic outlook, we hope to surprise and challenge you with the facts as much as we laugh about the ridiculous, every episode ends on a positive note.

Publisher

Ryan Pevey and Zach Jobe

Category

comedy · education · health & fitness · news · science · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

7 Feb 2026

Latest episode

4 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

7 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Oct 2026

   Dumb AI is actually our biggest threat

   There’s a lot of current hype around AI, it’s abilities but also the potential threat that it poses to humanity. The standard narrative sounds like a sci-fi movie, one of these systems is on the verge of waking up and taking over the whole world and has been for at least the last five years. In this episode we take a skeptical look at AI, the current state of the art, the history and development of these systems, examples of AI outside of LLMs. And take a close look at the argument that AI is about to pull a skynet and kill us all, then discuss who benefits from that narrative the most. Last we talk about the idea of Dumb AI and how that can be a problem for people even if it’s not superintelligent, with some real world examples that already exist in the world and the very real damage that has already happened from proliferating cultural biases to the literal deaths of innocent children. Support my work and keep it sustainable: ko-fi.com/evolio. --- Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe GitHub page: github.com/rpevey Concept: A PhD neuroscientist and a comedian discuss the subject of artificial intelligence and the real risks that it poses as it currently stands. Tools: Python, C++, OpenGL, DaVinci Resolve, GIMP, Inkscape Outro music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/) Podcast streams: redcircle.com/shows/04ecc7a3-3383-4ca0-bff3-c55d04100ed5 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-science-stories/id1874450380 open.spotify.com/show/50xaIb6jjmSJv7georpfVt?si=16e6c0e030414593 music.amazon.com/podcasts/b0415a99-f209-4c66-80c5-d8eb2b490811/hidden-science-stories --- Citations: 1. Turing, A.M. (1950). "Computing Machinery and Intelligence." Mind, 59(236), 433–460. 2. Searle, J.R. (1980). "Minds, Brains, and Programs." Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(3), 417–424. 3. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "The Chinese Room Argument" (plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-room/) 4. McCarthy, J., Minsky, M., Rochester, N., & Shannon, C. (1955). "A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence." 5. Wiener, N. (1950). The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society. Houghton Mifflin. 6. Lighthill, J. (1973). "Artificial Intelligence: A General Survey." British Science Research Council. 7. Bostrom, N. (2014). Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford University Press. 8. Legg, S. & Hutter, M. (2007). "Universal Intelligence: A Definition of Machine Intelligence." Minds and Machines, 17(4), 391–444. 9. Angwin, J. et al. (2016). "Machine Bias." ProPublica. 10. Thomas, R. & Uminsky, D. (2022). "Reliance on Metrics is a Fundamental Challenge for AI." Patterns (Cell Press). 11. Dressel, J. & Farid, H. (2018). "The Accuracy, Fairness, and Limits of Predicting Recidivism." Science Advances, 4(1). 12. Omohundro, S. (2008). "The Basic AI Drives." Proceedings of the 2008 Conference on Artificial General Intelligence. 13. Vaswani, A. et al. (2017). "Attention Is All You Need." Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems. 0:00 AI Intro 2:36 The history of AI 8:08 Alan Turing enters the fray 11:22 The imitation game 16:11 GOFAI 18:39 AI winter is coming 22:06 The modern era of AI 25:15 Definition of AI 28:44 Examples of modern AI 30:41 Attention is all you need 33:52 LLMs can kinda do everything, right? 40:32 The (Mandarin) room 43:44 Weak vs Strong AI 46:19 AGI 52:51 SI brought to you by DJT 55:16 Value alignment problem 58:21 The dangers of Dumb AI 01:09:52 AI bubble bursting 01:17:27 Point of Optimism 01:23:37 Wrap up

2. 

   18 Jul 2026

   006 - I call Bullshit: The philosophy of when the truth doesn't matter

   Support my work and keep it sustainable: ko-fi.com/evolio In this episode I explain bullshit to my friend, comedian Zach Jobe. Yes, bullshit. It turns out it is a legit hard nosed topic of philosophical debate with decades of work and thousands of academic publications behind it. We talk about what it is, why people do it, who is vulnerable to it and how to recognize it in your everyday life. Building a robust detector it turns out is one of the best ways to to steel yourself against it. --- Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe Concept: A science and comedy conversation about what philosophical bullshit is and how to detect it. Tools: DaVinci Resolve, GIMP Intro music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/) Podcast streams: redcircle.com/shows/04ecc7a3-3383-4ca0-bff3-c55d04100ed5 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-science-stories/id1874450380 open.spotify.com/show/50xaIb6jjmSJv7georpfVt?si=16e6c0e030414593 music.amazon.com/podcasts/b0415a99-f209-4c66-80c5-d8eb2b490811/hidden-science-stories --- Citations: Frankfurt, Harry G. On Bullshit. Princeton University Press, 2005 [original essay 1986]. The foundational philosophical treatment. Essential starting point. 67 pages; highly readable. Frankfurt, Harry G. On Truth. Princeton University Press, 2006. Frankfurt’s follow-up, addressing why truth matters as a value. Reads as a companion to On Bullshit. Pennycook, G., Cheyne, J.A., Barr, N., Koehler, D.J., & Fugelsang, J.A. "On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit." Judgment and Decision Making, 10, 549–563, 2015. The paper that launched empirical bullshit research. Open access. Pennycook, G. & Rand, D.G. "Who falls for fake news? The roles of bullshit receptivity, overclaiming, familiarity, and analytic thinking." Journal of Personality, 88(2), 185–200, 2020. Key empirical link between bullshit receptivity and misinformation susceptibility. Bergstrom, Carl T. & West, Jevin D. Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World. Random House/Allen Lane, 2020. The best practical guide to bullshit detection for a general audience; particularly strong on data-driven and scientific bullshit. Course materials also freely available at callingbullshit.org. Cassam, Qassim. Vices of the Mind: From the Intellectual to the Political. Oxford University Press, 2018. Develops the concept of epistemic vices, including insouciance and malevolence, with political applications. Theoretical but accessible. Hicks, M.T., Humphries, J. & Slater, J. "ChatGPT Is Bullshit." Ethics and Information Technology, 26:38, 2024. The most cited academic paper applying Frankfurt’s framework to LLMs. Open access. Directly relevant to the AI segment. Szanto, Thomas. "Epistemically exploitative bullshit: A Sartrean account." European Journal of Philosophy, 31(3), 711–730, 2023. Extends Frankfurt to cover politically weaponized bullshit. Relevant to intersections of bullshit and power. Serena Iacobucci, Roberta De Cicco. "A literature review of bullshit receptivity: Perspectives for an informed policy making against misinformation." Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, 6(S1), 23–40, 2022 Comprehensive review of empirical research on bullshit receptivity from 2015–2021. Good for overview of the field. Vaidya, Anand Jayprakash. "Are LLMs Natural Born Bullshitters?" The Philosophers’ Magazine, 2024. Accessible philosophical analysis of the AI-bullshit question for a general audience. A good bridge between the technical Hicks et al. paper and lay readers. 0:00 On Bullshit 11:44 Two types of Bullshit 18:14 The Bullshit Asymmetry Principle 21:43 Psychology of Bullshit 27:51 LLMs and the rise of Botshit 44:31 Propaganda is political Bullshit 49:22 The Bullshit of Pseudoscience 56:03 Bullshit detector 101 62:57 Point of Optimism 66:51 2026 Predictions Update

3. 

   9 May 2026

   005 - Is caffeine bad for kids?

   Support my work and keep it sustainable: ko-fi.com/evolio Have you ever heard that coffee and caffeine are bad for kids because it stunts their growth? Well an argument between Ryan and his wife lead him to look into this seemingly verifiable scientific fact and it turns out this super common knowledge idea is a myth. Made up for marketing purposes by C.W. Post to sell his coffee alternative product, and it worked even better than he could have ever expected. The scientific evidence directly counters this idea though. Ryan and Zach discuss how this myth took hold in the U.S. We discuss the neuroscience of caffeine and how it works to make you feel awake. Also, how does caffeine interact with an ADHD brain? Finally we move onto how to maximize the effects of caffeine and get the most out of the most commonly used psychoactive substance on the planet. If you want to have the most efficient coffee intake according to neuroscience, then follow this advice. The episode ends with a discussion on political violence in the news, then specifically the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner. And a follow up of Ryan’s prediction from earlier in the year about the President’s apparent dementia and how it affected the events that unfolded at the dinner party. --- Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe Concept: A science and comedy conversation about caffeine, whether it’s bad for kids, how does it work on your brain and ADHD. As well as how to maximize the effects of caffeine. Tools: DaVinci Resolve, GIMP Outro music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/) The mural featured in the thumbnail is by Ryan Henry Ward Podcast streams: redcircle.com/shows/04ecc7a3-3383-4ca0-bff3-c55d04100ed5 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-science-stories/id1874450380 open.spotify.com/show/50xaIb6jjmSJv7georpfVt?si=16e6c0e030414593 music.amazon.com/podcasts/b0415a99-f209-4c66-80c5-d8eb2b490811/hidden-science-stories --- Citations: 1. Lieberman et al. (2002). "Effects of caffeine, sleep loss, and stress on cognitive performance and mood during U.S. Navy SEAL training." Psychopharmacology, 164(3), 250–261. 2. Reifman et al. (2022). "2B-Alert Web 2.0, an Open-Access Tool for Predicting Alertness and Optimizing the Benefits of Caffeine." JMIR Mental Health / Sleep. 3. Fredholm et al. — Multiple foundational papers on adenosine receptor pharmacology. 4. Lane, J. (1999). Duke University / National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute study on caffeine, adrenaline, and blood pressure in daily life. 5. Temple, J.L. et al. (2010). "Caffeine Use in Children: What we know, what we have left to learn, and why we should worry." PMC2699625. 6. Smithsonian Magazine: "It's a Myth: There's No Evidence That Coffee Stunts Kids' Growth." 7. Institute of Medicine / USAMRMC: Caffeine for the Sustainment of Mental Task Performance (NCBI Bookshelf, NBK223801). 0:00 Caffeine myths and Cereal Quacks 18:24 Health effects of caffeine 23:08 The Neuroscience of Caffeine 40:55 Optimizing caffeine with neuroscience 49:38 Point of Optimism, Caffeine isn’t bad in moderation 52:16 Political Violence and the WHCD 01:06:31 DJT in the background of a photo

4. 

   18 Apr 2026

   004 - Cryptozoology vs. Discovery Ecology and eDNA

   Support my work and keep it sustainable: ko-fi.com/evolio The bigfoot cryptid monster makes for a really fun and enlightening example of how science is not supposed to work, despite what his proponents have to say about him. While cryptid monsters can be fun and whimsical, they and the search for them, a field known as cryptozoology, are also one of the most potent examples of pseudoscience. In this episode Zach and I explore the topic of cryptozoology, why it is a pseudoscience and what legitimate science actually looks like. --- Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe Concept: A science and comedy conversation about what philosophical bullshit is and how to detectit. Tools: DaVinci Resolve, GIMP Intro music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/) Podcast streams: redcircle.com/shows/04ecc7a3-3383-4ca0-bff3-c55d04100ed5 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-science-stories/id1874450380 open.spotify.com/show/50xaIb6jjmSJv7georpfVt?si=16e6c0e030414593 music.amazon.com/podcasts/b0415a99-f209-4c66-80c5-d8eb2b490811/hidden-science-stories --- Citations: Bryan C. Sykes, Rhettman A. Mullis, Christophe Hagenmuller, Terry W. Melton, Michel Sartori; Genetic analysis of hair samples attributed to yeti, bigfoot and other anomalous primates. Proc Biol Sci 1 August 2014; 281 (1789): 20140161. doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0161 Li, X., D. Yang, L. Wang, and J. J. Wiens. 2025. The past and future of known biodiversity: Rates, patterns, and projections of new species over time. Science Advances 11:eadz3071. wienslab.com/Publications_files/Li_et_al._Sci_Adv_2025.pdf Smith, J.L.B. (1956), Old Fourlegs: The Story of the Coelacanth, Longmans. openlibrary.org/books/OL6196638M/Old_Fourlegs Natural History Museum (London), "Coelacanths: The fish that 'outdid' the Loch Ness Monster" nhm.ac.uk/discover/coelacanths-the-fish-that-outdid-the-loch-ness-monster.html Natural History Museum (London) "What is environmental DNA (eDNA)?" nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-environmental-dna-edna.html Cornell Chronicle, Jan. 2026, "Environmental DNA breakthrough will aid conservation efforts" news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/01/environmental-dna-breakthrough-will-aid-conservation-efforts Smithsonian Magazine "The Giant Squid: Dragon of the Deep" smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-giant-squid-dragon-of-the-deep-18784038/ NPR, 2025, "Using eDNA to track world's biodiversity". npr.org/2025/05/22/g-s1-67081/environmental-dna-edna-air-track-biodiversity Hill, Sharon A. Skeptical Inquirer: "Cryptozoology and Pseudoscience". skepticalinquirer.org/newsletter/cryptozoology-and-pseudoscience/ 0:00 Bigfoot 13:13 A serious science debunking 15:42 Famous cryptids 24:27 Legitimate science efforts 31:00 The coelacanth and lazarus species 35:43 New species discoveries 39:48 The Kraken 45:10 Cyclops 50:22 Paleomythology of the PNW 58:04 eDNA 1:03:59 Point of Optimism

5. 

   8 Mar 2026

   003 - Dog Genetics, Domestication and Breeding

   In this episode I explain dog genetics to my friend, comedian Zach Jobe. The story of how dogs became what they are today is a two stage process beginning with the ancient and gradual domestication of dogs from wolves and breeding based of jobs such as herding, hunting or guarding. Then modern dog breeding practices changed the landscape completely and rapidly resulting in some weird genetic quirks that give us the lovable little sweethearts that we know today. --- Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe Concept: A science and comedy converstion about dementia and how it impacts people and society, as well as bold predictions of event that may or may not happen this year, based on scientific skepticism. Tools: DaVinci Resolve, GIMP Intro music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/) Podcast streams: redcircle.com/shows/04ecc7a3-3383-4ca0-bff3-c55d04100ed5 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-science-stories/id1874450380 open.spotify.com/show/50xaIb6jjmSJv7georpfVt?si=16e6c0e030414593 music.amazon.com/podcasts/b0415a99-f209-4c66-80c5-d8eb2b490811/hidden-science-stories --- Citations: vonHoldt et al. (2010) , "Genome-wide SNP and haplotype analyses reveal a rich history underlying dog domestication." Nature 464:898–902. DOI: 10.1038/nature08837. Bergström et al. (2022) , "Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs." Nature 606:313–320. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04824-9. Savolainen et al. (2002) , "Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of domestic dogs." Science 298:1610–1613. Thalmann et al. (2013) , "Complete mitochondrial genomes of ancient canids suggest a European origin of domestic dogs." Science 342:871–874. Parker et al. (2004) , "Genetic structure of the purebred domestic dog." Science 304:1160–1164. Parker et al. (2017) , "Genomic analyses reveal the influence of geographic origin, migration, and hybridization on modern dog breed development." Cell Reports 19:697–708. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.03.079. 0:00 An ancient friend 4:47 A tale in two parts 14:00 The modern dog breeding era 21:31 Genetic bottlenecks and founder effects 27:48 An ideal genetic model 38:02 Ethics of animal research 46:23 Dog genetic testing 55:26 Addendums and errata 57:36 Donut labs prediction update 1:03:41 Outro

6. 

   15 Feb 2026

   002 - Dementia and 2026 Annual Predictions

   In this episode I explain dementia to my friend, comedian Zach Jobe. Starting with a personal story about my grandmother, we explore what dementia actually is, the different types of dementia, and how they present for patients and caregivers. We cover the latest research and why recognizing cognitive decline matters more than ever. Following that we make predictions for 2026, using only our scientific knowledge and critical thinking skills. ——— Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe Concept: A science and comedy converstion about dementia and how it impacts people and society, as well as bold predictions of event that may or may not happen this year, based on scientific skepticism. Tools: DaVinci Resolve, GIMP Music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/) ——— 0:00 Let me tell you about my grandmother 3:15 The different types of dementia 22:23 A surprising connection to dementia 27:06 Annual predictions 2026 27:55 Prediction 2: DJT has end-stage dementia 36:01 Prediction 2: the AI bubble will burst 38:22 Prediction 3: DONUT labs will be revealed a fraud 57:27 Moonshot prediction: Betelgeuse will go Supernova 63:41 Outro

7. 

   7 Feb 2026

   001 - How NOT to give your kids peanut allergies

   In this episode I explain peanut allergies to my friend, comedian Zach Jobe. Peanut allergy rates tripled over the first decade of this century, so we cover the evidence showing why, and how they were successfully brought back down to historical levels using the process of science and evidence based healthcare policy. Open data fuels open science. ——— Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe Support my work and keep it sustainable: ko-fi.com/evolio Concept: A funny science and comedy story about how a well meaning peanut avoidance recommendation helped spike peanut allergies, and how evidence-based medicine helped bring them back down. Tools: DaVinci Resolve, GIMP Music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/) ——— Citations: Du Toit G, et al. Early consumption of peanuts in infancy is associated with a low prevalence of peanut allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008 Nov;122(5):984-91. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2008.08.039. PMID: 19000582. Du Toit G, et al. Early peanut introduction for allergy prevention: Follow-up to adolescence. NEJM Evidence DOI: doi.org/10.1056/EVIDoa2300311 (2024). Du Toit G, et al; Immune Tolerance Network LEAP-Trio Trial Team. Follow-up to Adolescence after Early Peanut Introduction for Allergy Prevention. NEJM Evid. 2024 Jun;3(6):EVIDoa2300311. DOI: doi.org/10.1056/EVIDoa2300311. Epub 2024 May 28. PMID: 38804779. Stanislaw J. Gabryszewski, Jesse Dudley, Jennifer A. Faerber, Robert W. Grundmeier, Alexander G. Fiks, Jonathan M. Spergel, David A. Hill, Guidelines for Early Food Introduction and Patterns of Food Allergy, Pediatrics, 156, 5, DOI doi.org/10.1542/peds.2024-070516 (2025). Sources: preventallergies.org/blog/why-are-peanut-allergies-on-the-rise chop.edu/news/childrens-hospital-philadelphia-researchers-observe-significant-reduction-diagnosis-food thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5609536-rfk-jr-peanut-allergies-exposure-maha/ 0:00 A disastrous recommendation 4:23 Historical allergy rates 5:58 “Rates have TRIPLED!!!” 8:48 Delayed exposure to peanuts drives allergies 10:43 An abundance of caution turns into assumptions made 14:54 Misinformation travels faster then good info 20:30 LEAP Trial shows early exposure reduces allergies 29:30 New guidelines show success 43:18 Wrap up and look ahead

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