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Science

That's Absurd Please Elaborate

by Trace Elements Media
ScienceSociety & Culture

Not on the United States charts we track today.

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Latest episodes

  • The Tiniest Arsonists Possible | LIVE from the Bay Area Science Festival ft. Vanna Tran

    October 22, 2026 · 37 min

    Let's say your house is on fire. Bummer. Worse, the only sort of fluid you have handy to douse said flames is gasoline. Lots and lots of gasoline (that's your retirement gas, baby!). Is there some way you might be able to combine the two…

  • Could AA Batteries Replace a Star?

    October 15, 2026 · 55 min

    Our Sun is an absolutely RIDICULOUS power source, pumping out more energy every second than most of us can even begin to wrap our heads around. And while AA batteries are great for remotes, flashlights, and rolling around in that one…

  • Min-Maxing Human Decomposition

    October 8, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min

    This week, we bodily embrace spooky season by digging into the science of what happens when a body returns its borrowed flesh. From flesh-eating microbes and hungry scavengers to composting, cremation, and some surprisingly futuristic…

  • Flinging Freaky Fast Formicids!

    October 1, 2026 · 51 min

    When it comes to tiny insects, the ants (formicidae) are an incredible family of organisms. They can build complex structures, they’ve invented and practice agriculture, they work with The Avengers to fight multiversal-level threats … (I’m…

  • How Much Jello is TOO Much?

    September 24, 2026 · 41 min

    Gelatin is a surprisingly strange material, especially when you stop serving it by the spoonful and start measuring it by the swimming pool. Julian looks into what would happen if someone took a running leap into a pool-sized serving of…

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  • The Search for Love and Other Rare Things

    September 17, 2026 · 47 min

    The universe is chock-full of things that are hard to find, but figuring out which one deserves the title of “rarest” turns out to be surprisingly complicated. Are we talking about elements that exist for only a fleeting moment before…

  • Horror of Human Limb Regrowth

    September 10, 2026 · 48 min

    Nature has handed out some wildly uneven perks. While certain animals can regrow entire limbs, humans are limited to patch jobs. Julian and Trace dig into what it would actually take to rebuild an arm or leg from scratch, from the cellular…

  • Too Much Mucus, Not Enough Face

    September 3, 2026 · 43 min

    If you’ve ever been sick and wondered how a seemingly endless supply of mucus can fit inside your face, you’re not alone. This week, Trace and Julian investigate where all that snot actually comes from, explore the surprisingly strange…

  • Ten Seconds of Zero Gravity… Every DAY?!

    August 27, 2026 · 50 min

    This week, Julian and Trace imagine a world where gravity vanishes for ten seconds every day. There, they discover that humanity would have a lot more to worry about than a few floating tchotchkes. True weightlessness means the slightest…

  • Freaky Mermaids, "REAL" Dragons, and Trace's Evil Twin|feat Ellen Weatherford (Just the Zoo of Us)|TAPE Classic

    August 20, 2026 · 2 hr 19 min

    🎶 Game of Thrones theme 🎶 DRA-GONS. WHAT ARE DRAG-ONS? LET US KNOWWWWWW OR MER-MAIDS. FRICKIN’ MER-MAIDS… HOW THEY GOOOOO? PLUS JUUUU-LIAN WANTS TO CHECK ON MIRROR TRAAAACE HE THINKS, THIS MIRROR TRACE MIGHT BE EVIL TR…

  • Cuidado: Piso Mojado

    August 13, 2026 · 34 min

    This week, Trace and Julian investigate a deceptively simple mystery: why do things look darker when they’re wet? Although the question sounds almost too obvious to ask, Trace takes us on a fascinating exploration of light, color, optics…

  • Smooth Sailingn’t

    August 6, 2026 · 40 min

    This week, Julian and Trace imagine a world where humanity never got around to inventing ships and discovers that the consequences run a WHOLE lot deeper than a disappointing cruise industry. Without boats, trade slows down, migration…

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About the show

Seriously researched answers to absolutely ridiculous questions. New episodes every week.