Laugh With and Learn From Smart People With This Podcast

Have we reached peak podcast? It’s hard to keep up with all the podcasts I find worthwhile. Unfortunately my child recently introduced me to another good one: Ologies with Alie Ward.

The Ologies podcast is frequently described as a science podcast, and most of the episodes are indeed about scientific subjects. But Ward’s interviews with different -ologists don’t only include scientists. Alongside a cryoseismologist (a scientist who studies icequakes), a saurologist (a scientist who studies lizards), and a spidroinologist (a scientist who studies spider silk), you’ll find interviews with a mythologist (an expert on the stories humans tell and retell across cultures), a cosmetologist (a makeup artist), and a mixologist (someone who mixes cocktails).

Each episode features an interview with an expert in the field, sprinkled with asides from Ward. If her subject makes a reference she wants to explore, she’ll research it later and tell listeners about what she’s discovered. You’ll learn how people wound up in their particular field of expertise and what their work involves. You’ll also get answers to questions like “Do primates have cultures?” (They do. For example, different groups of chimpanzees will hunt differently.)

And the podcast is definitely not dry. You’ll hear all sorts of interesting stories, such as a bit about a man who carved a room out of a sequoia and tried to live in it, but he found the leaking sap too unpleasant. There’s also lots of silliness, including puns, some as bad as the one I made in the photo caption above, and some that are great. My favorite? The pun Ward made at the beginning of the “Teuthology” episode (teuthology is the study of squids): “It’s the moment you’ve been waiting months for — a cephalopodcast.”

When I looked Ward up online, I wondered how I’d managed not to hear of her until now. She’s a very busy woman. She acts, writes, and paints. She’s a science correspondent on Innovation Nation. She hosts Did I Mention Invention? With Alie Ward. She’s appeared with Georgia Hardstock on a couple of Cooking Channel shows; they’ve also done a podcast together. And she’s been hosting the Ologies podcast since September 2017.

If you’re thinking, “Hey, this sounds like a great podcast to share with my six-year-old,” you might want to check out a few episodes alone first. Ward keeps some episodes clean, such as “Potterology” parts 1 and 2 (yes, that’s “wizard science”), but other episodes get a little salty. Also, sometimes the discussion gets gross, though she’ll warn you if there’s a part you might want to skip.

If you listen to podcasts and are curious about the world, Ologies is a must. Jump in, subscribe, consider supporting the podcast on Patreon (you’ll get to ask questions of the various -ologists if you do), and catch up on previous episodes as you’re able. Ward and her guests will blow your mind and make you laugh.

And listen all the way through the credits at the end. Ward will reward you with a little “secret,” such as a story about when she thought she’d forgotten a friend’s birthday but was off by about half a year.