Science shapes every facet of our lives, but so much of its influence is overlooked or buried in the past. Tiny Matters is an award-winning science podcast about the small science of big things. From the microbes behind deadly diseases to the molecules informing our search for extraterrestrial life, hosts and former scientists Sam Jones and Deboki Chakravarti embrace the awe and messiness of science and its significance both today and in the past, asking questions like, "how was IVF invented?," "what do glaciers tell us about Earth’s ancient past?," and "why is smallpox the only human infectious disease we...
Latest episodes
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33 min
[BONUS] The ‘Tyrant Lizard Queen’ and how evolution shaped our anxious brains: Tiny Show and Tell Us #58
Why does your brain sometimes react to a stressful meeting or traffic jam like you’re being hunted by a lion on the savannah? In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore t…
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31 min
The canaries in the coal mine: How sentinel species monitor our world
For decades, coal miners relied on canaries to warn them about deadly carbon monoxide underground. Canaries were retired from that work at the end of the 20th century, but today sc…
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19 min
[BONUS] Decoding dinosaur colors and the failure of postpartum care: Tiny Show and Tell Us #57
In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, a listener asks why maternal mortality rates in countries like the U.S. and Canada have risen while many other wealthy nations have seen t…
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42 min
How do you save a species?: Breakthroughs from cheetahs, red wolves, and 'spicy' toads
Cheetahs carry the genetic scars of an Ice Age bottleneck, red wolves are so rare that every egg matters, and harlequin frogs need their natural toxins restored before they can thr…
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33 min
[BONUS] Milking spiders and why this scientist’s grave is covered in gifts: Tiny Show and Tell Us #56
In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we first discuss funnel-web spiders, who are among the most venomous spiders on Earth. Maybe somewhat paradoxically, their toxins are bein…
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37 min
Biofilms: The sticky, slimy communities behind some of medicine's toughest infections
Biofilms are everywhere: your teeth, your kitchen sponge, and even medical implants. Scientists are uncovering how these highly organized microbial communities protect bacteria fro…
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23 min
[BONUS] ‘Drinking Grandma,’ digital cadavers and debunking a grave robbing myth: Tiny Show and Tell Us #55
In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the fascinating history of embalming, from ancient mummies to arsenic-laced funeral practices (that weren’t all that long ago!)…
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1 h 06
The Shroud of Turin: American Medieval x Tiny Matters crossover episode
In this special bonus episode, we join American Medieval with host Matthew Gabriele, a professor of medieval studies and who knows about a LOT of history that we don’t. We're there…
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37 min
Foraminifera: The one-celled predators that shaped our planet (and kept the receipts)
Single-celled marine organisms called foraminifera may be microscopic, but they've had a massive impact on life on Earth. They also leave behind intricate shells that have become p…
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26 min
[BONUS] Dangerously tiny frequencies, endometriosis tests, and cookies made from ... plastic?: Tiny Show and T…
In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we discuss new blood tests and research into blood biomarkers that could make diagnosing endometriosis faster and less invasive. Next, we…
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36 min
Giant viruses: How these amoeba-infecting behemoths are rewriting the rules of virology
Scientists spent decades searching for viruses by filtering out anything too large to be one. That strategy seemed to work well... until it didn't. When researchers discovered a mi…
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31 min
[BONUS] Fairy tale evolution and the 400(ish) year old elusive Greenland shark: Tiny Show and Tell Us #53
In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore how scientists are using evolutionary methods to reconstruct the history of folktales like Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and t…
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36 min
From cow’s milk to blood banks: The surprising evolution of blood transfusions
Before modern blood transfusions, doctors tried some odd alternatives, including cow's milk. In this episode, we trace the fascinating history of blood transfusions, from risky ani…
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18 min
[BONUS] Bread clip taxonomy and power poles on fire: Tiny Show and Tell Us #52
In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we dive into the surprisingly elaborate world of occlupanids: the humble plastic bread bag clips that have inspired an entire taxonomy com…
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37 min
Placebo: Why ‘fake’ treatments can have real power
A sugar pill shouldn't work as well as a real drug ... except sometimes it does. In this episode, we explore the fascinating science of the placebo effect and how expectations can…
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23 min
[BONUS] A pathology lab, a sausage duel, and the fascinating lives of yeast: Tiny Show and Tell Us #51
In this episode of Tiny Matters, a listener who works in a pathology lab explains how even the ickiest specimens become ho-hum with time, sending Sam and Deboki down a rabbit hole…
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31 min
Fireworks over millennia: From battlefields and royal displays to sustainable spectacles
In medieval Europe, people who worked with early cannons and gunpowder were viewed as untrustworthy, boorish outsiders. But just a few centuries later, as they began creating elabo…
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17 min
[BONUS] The ‘elite neutralizers’ immune to HIV and why galaxies ‘FART’: Tiny Show and Tell Us #50
This week on Tiny Show and Tell Us, a listener introduces us to "FARTs" — a silly acronym for galactic gas outflows — and sends us down a rabbit hole of dying stars and recycled co…
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37 min
Collisions in space: Satellites, space debris, and the quest to clean up Earth's orbit
We tend to think of space as vast and mostly empty, yet the region just above Earth is far from it. In this episode, we explore the surprising congestion of low Earth orbit, where…
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23 min
[BONUS] A nitrogen asphyxiation disaster and why ears are incredible: Tiny Show and Tell Us #49
In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we unpack a tragic NASA accident in 1981 when technicians, preparing for the maiden voyage of Space Shuttle Columbia, were accidentally po…