Principal Instigators

About Principal Instigators

A science podcast for the haters. https://bsky.app/profile/scienceforhaters.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/scienceforhaters.bsky.social)

Publisher

Principal Instigators

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

25 Aug 2023

Latest episode

30 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

13 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Jun 2026

   When GPUs Are In Space

   As we all know, space is the ideal place for computers. The cold vacuum of space insulates them, and there are plenty of muons to keep them company. Liv is predictably thrilled at this prospect, so much so that she coughs her way through explaining it to Sandra and Dan

2. 

   10 Apr 2026

   March Sadness [UNLOCKED FOR NON-PATRONS]

   On this very special (unlocked) episode, Sandra and Dan(i) shepherd Liv through the listener-created March Sadness™ bracket, and witness apotheosis

3. 

   4 Nov 2025

   One Weird Trick™ to Fund Science in Perpetuity

   From 2021 to 2024, many Americans were worried that Trump would begin a second term as president in 2025, and slash federal funding for scientific research. But the leaders of the Democratic party rose to the top for a reason: namely, their clear-eyed insight into the best strategies for achieving their party's goals. On today's episode, Sandra, Liv, and Dan discuss how the Biden White House and Democrats in Congress worked together to (almost-but-not-quite) protect funding for American science (particularly the National Science Foundation), through One Weird Trick™, regardless of the outcome of the 2024 general election.

4. 

   17 May 2025

   The People Who Die Are Still Dead

   Sandra, Liv, and Dan are back to discuss the impacts of Trump and DOGE on science from destroying the scientific progress our society is based on to somehow making grad school even worse, including their most heinous crime: getting us to defend the status quo

5. 

   27 Sept 2024

   Introductory Statistics for Unwashed Rationalists

   What happens when you combine internet libertarians’ favorite woman, questionably-supported statistical analyses of human sexuality, and show tunes written by guys from a prediction market? On today’s episode, Oliver shows Sandra and Dan why the answer is “psychic damage.” Content warning: sex and sexual assault, transphobia

6. 

   5 Jun 2024

   You say Land Back, Lee Berger says out to space

   The past year and a half has been quite eventful for National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Lee Berger. He has made big claims about fire and burials and art. Far less attention has been paid to the pair of white men who are using paleoanthropology as an excuse to buy up land outside of Johannesburg, South Africa—and the fact that their wacky antics might have increased the value of that land, and any future fossils found there, had said antics not been met with such widespread condemnation from the scientific community. What if we can’t fully grasp the meaning of reprehensible publicity stunts unless we think about the economic incentives for landowners whose recent moves will grant them even greater control over future paleoanthropological discoveries? Sources Flint Dibble’s original video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iN9t393QQI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iN9t393QQI) Flint Dibble’s interview with Prof. Jamie Hodgkins, a reviewer from eLife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWavjXAg5Tw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWavjXAg5Tw) A gloriously comprehensive dive into the reviews from eLife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGsDAtCOAFw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGsDAtCOAFw) 27.7% of manuscripts sent out for review under new eLife model https://elifesciences.org/inside-elife/66d43597/elife-s-new-model-one-year-on (https://elifesciences.org/inside-elife/66d43597/elife-s-new-model-one-year-on) Berger’s thoughts on preprints https://youtu.be/Z4WsgMUtJTU?si=IxLKbEOzf_fZ10ny&t=2790 (https://youtu.be/Z4WsgMUtJTU?si=IxLKbEOzf_fZ10ny&t=2790) Reviews for the burial paper https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/89106/reviews (https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/89106/reviews) Reviews for the rock engravings https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/89102/reviews (https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/89102/reviews) Reviews for the triumphant bonus paper https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/89125/reviews (https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/89125/reviews) Contradictory views from other South African paleoanthropologists https://sajs.co.za/article/view/17473 (https://sajs.co.za/article/view/17473) Criticism from the South African press https://www.citizen.co.za/news/opinion/professor-lee-berger-owes-sa-an-apology/ (https://www.citizen.co.za/news/opinion/professor-lee-berger-owes-sa-an-apology/) Peer-reviewed criticism of the preprints and the fire talk https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103464 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103464) Tim Nash’s father was an aviation executive named John Nash https://www.businesslive.co.za/fm/features/2021-12-09-the-billionaire-pioneering-sas-palaeotourism-industry/ (https://www.businesslive.co.za/fm/features/2021-12-09-the-billionaire-pioneering-sas-palaeotourism-industry/) A Johannesburg-area man named John Nash charged by a US Attorney for smuggling military hardware into South Africa during apartheid https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/29/us/5-are-indicted-in-smuggling-of-military-hardware-to-iran.html (https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/29/us/5-are-indicted-in-smuggling-of-military-hardware-to-iran.html)

7. 

   17 May 2024

   Fossils and Cannibals and TV Cameras, oh my

   Scientists are encouraged to share their findings with the general public; organizations that communicate scientific discoveries, such as National Geographic, are helping to build an informed and rational citizenry in a changing world full of misinformation. But what if the incentives of the magazine and TV businesses come into conflict with responsible scientific research and communication? On second thought, let’s not make a big deal out of this—it’s not like a beloved scientific organization would promote a narcissistic huckster who invented a geologic feature in the pursuit of publicity. Sources Phillip Tobias https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.2021.0041#d1e399 (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.2021.0041#d1e399) https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/17/world/pretoria-doctor-loses-his-license.html (https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/17/world/pretoria-doctor-loses-his-license.html) Berger autobiography https://www.chronicle.com/article/new-book-creates-furor-among-paleoanthropologists-in-the-u-s-and-south-africa/?cid=gen_sign_in (https://www.chronicle.com/article/new-book-creates-furor-among-paleoanthropologists-in-the-u-s-and-south-africa/?cid=gen_sign_in) Field guide review https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/EJC97527 (https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/EJC97527) Berger kayaking tour https://www.nature.com/articles/452806a (https://www.nature.com/articles/452806a) Palau cannibalism https://youtu.be/Fh3yRhPG4b4?si=fKlp80ClMMEw2M6j&t=263 (https://youtu.be/Fh3yRhPG4b4?si=fKlp80ClMMEw2M6j&t=263) Sediba age https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1184950 (https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1184950) 2011 Science special issue https://www.science.org/toc/science/333/6048 (https://www.science.org/toc/science/333/6048) 2013 Science special issue https://www.science.org/toc/science/340/6129 (https://www.science.org/toc/science/340/6129) 2011 press coverage https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/110908-apes-humans-evolution-australopithecus-sediba-lee-berger-science (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/110908-apes-humans-evolution-australopithecus-sediba-lee-berger-science) 2013 press coverage SciAm https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/is-australopithecus-sediba-the-most-important-human-ancestor-discovery-ever/ (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/is-australopithecus-sediba-the-most-important-human-ancestor-discovery-ever/) Cradle of Humankind - landowner’s paradise https://www.news24.com/news24/cradle-of-conflict-a-landless-community-divided-in-a-landowners-paradise-20181116 (https://www.news24.com/news24/cradle-of-conflict-a-landless-community-divided-in-a-landowners-paradise-20181116) Facebook ad https://youtu.be/1f7jm3T_hao?si=1xqZ-jNndSgUDV-X&t=2894 (https://youtu.be/1f7jm3T_hao?si=1xqZ-jNndSgUDV-X&t=2894) Disposal of the dead https://youtu.be/oxgnlSbYLSc?si=Zte8o4kJUQXkDe3f&t=145 (https://youtu.be/oxgnlSbYLSc?si=Zte8o4kJUQXkDe3f&t=145) Val rebuttal https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27039664/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27039664/) Drains don’t exist https://youtu.be/xyhO5hcfRHY?si=bb0zFmOv4UirM28T&t=2619 (https://youtu.be/xyhO5hcfRHY?si=bb0zFmOv4UirM28T&t=2619)

8. 

   26 Mar 2024

   The Retracted Mifepristone Papers

   Questionable research was retracted long after the damage was done in the federal court case that will allow the Supreme Court to restrict mifepristone access. We need to prevent shoddy research from getting published in the first place, but is academia capable of enforcing even the most basic scientific standards? To answer this question, we travel back to 2018, when Trump was president, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 85 years young, and the MIT-adjacent Whitehead Institute was still enjoying its approximately $12 million dollars in fun money from federal research grants to the laboratory of one David M. Sabatini - a laboratory that published some very interesting photographs in studies of the cancer/autoimmune/abortion drug methotrexate. Sources: 2019 paper https://web.archive.org/web/20220711023704/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2333392819841211 2021 paper https://web.archive.org/web/20240120075101/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/23333928211053965 2022 paper https://web.archive.org/web/20221115212655/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23333928221103107 AMA malpractice report https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/policy-research-perspective-medical-liability-claim-frequency.pdf CDC abortion mortality https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/ss/ss7009a1.htm CDC maternal mortality https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/maternal-mortality/MMR-2018-State-Data-508.pdf Peer-reviewed paper on maternal mortality & abortion https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/58/6/2019/265968/The-Pregnancy-Related-Mortality-Impact-of-a-Total Elisabeth Bik's initial study https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.00809-16 Bik NYT https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/29/opinion/science-fraud-image-manipulation-photoshop.html Technion image duplications https://pubpeer.com/publications/498E047C4B3D89C9CFA677CEE1E76A Nature image & data issues https://pubpeer.com/publications/E9FDC02781F39940EA182E3D7B1120 Another Sabatini lab paper https://pubpeer.com/publications/7E15406BC584C294DC4E9851CDC162 Sabatini lab papers no corrections https://pubpeer.com/publications/C33BEFC6E937C3B72B6DD6C353F467 https://pubpeer.com/publications/8E7D1F49609FD04FCDFB9C1898D4A2 Sabatini lab papers no author response https://pubpeer.com/publications/457A1D26443CB105F7B1F471AC3EC4 https://pubpeer.com/publications/AC65CB677739DABBB365BACB9F0EC0 https://pubpeer.com/publications/D6C1CEE4D1780DBFFA09C94CC08049 Health & Human Services investigation example https://www.thetransmitter.org/retraction/u-s-government-requested-inquiry-into-alzheimers-scientist-over-misconduct-allegations/ Other links to Sage retractions https://assaultonscience.org/ https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/study-cited-texas-judge-abortion-pill-case-under-investigation https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/suspect-science-and-claims-center-abortion-pill-lawsuit https://assaultonscience.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2023/11/1_Initial-email-from-SAGE_Redacted.pdf https://assaultonscience.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2023/11/2_Response-to-SAGE-Research-Integrity-and-Inclusion_Studnicki-et-al.pdf https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-publisher-retracts-studies-cited-by-texas-judge-suspending-abortion-pills-2024-02-06/

9. 

   28 Jan 2024

   Science Fought the Law, and the Law Won

   You wouldn't trust a scientist—not even a physicist!—to enforce the law. But we trust judges to translate science into many of its impacts on society. Dan assures Oliver and Sandra that nothing could possibly go wrong. https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2011/02/book-of-week-frogs-in-trousers.html (https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2011/02/book-of-week-frogs-in-trousers.html)

10. 

    3 Dec 2023

    Machine Learning for Reactionary Centrists

    On today’s episode, Sandra, Oliver, and Dan take you through the tale of a climate scientist cancelled by his own petard. Free Press article (https://www.thefp.com/p/i-overhyped-climate-change-to-get-published) Nature paper (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06444-3) Referee report (https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41586-023-06444-3/MediaObjects/41586_2023_6444_MOESM2_ESM.pdf)

11. 

    29 Oct 2023

    Science Wants To Be Free? Can’t Reach The Low Hanging Fruit From Your Knees

    On today’s episode, Oliver, Sandra, and Dan explore the exciting world of open access journals, where science is liberated for just a fraction of a graduate student's annual salary (per paper).

12. 

    15 Sept 2023

    Physicists Can Do Anything, Part I: Never Retire

    Tired: a reasonably well-supported scientific consensus based on numerous lines of evidence collected by countless researchers over decades. Wired: a rando in the twilight of his career who eventually learns to get his unique ideas through peer review. Inspired: the most unqualified people imaginable spouting off on social media about topics they don't care to understand. https://bsky.app/profile/scienceforhaters.bsky.social

13. 

    25 Aug 2023

    $10,000 Baby Einsteins

    Sandra, Oliver, and Dan discuss ProPublica's uncovering of a scheme to make your high schooler a peer-reviewed published author. https://www.propublica.org/article/college-high-school-research-peer-review-publications (https://www.propublica.org/article/college-high-school-research-peer-review-publications)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

14 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 24 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

20

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

71

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.