Click to view/collapse list of all season 2 episodes
01: The ideal booty call and a potent jet lag drug for hamsters
02: Kids vs traffic and food preference in fetuses
03: Sexist birds and intimidating runners with hills
Bonus Episode 1: Oral conception, monkey floss, big ears, diapers, and more
04: Incurable hiccups and predicting the weather with insect romance
05: Watchful eyes and a measure on the body that predicts success?
S02E01: The ideal booty call and a potent jet lag drug for hamsters
What do men and women look for in an ideal partner for a one night stand, friends with benefits relationship, and marriage? What’s the best way to find out? An economics experiment, of course.
Do hamsters experience jet lag? Do hamsters respond to Viagra? Does Viagra cure jet lag in hamsters?
In the season 2 premier, Lu and Tirth catchup on all the life changing events that took place during the offseason and discuss giving people “mate dollars” to build their ideal mate and using Viagra to treat jet lag in hamsters. Originally aired on 5/19/2026.
(0:00) Intro: “What a wonderful day for science, Lu, wouldn’t you say?”
(0:52) Chit-chat: Big updates from the offseason
Article links:
- (6:45) March et al., 2018. Netflix and Chill? What Sex Differences Can Tell Us About Mate Preferences in (Hypothetical) Booty-Call Relationships. Evolutionary Psychology. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1474704918812138
- (19:09) Agostino et al., 2007. Sildenafil accelerates reentrainment of circadian rhythms after advancing light schedules. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0703388104
(26:54) Let’s read some mail
(29:22) What did you learn today?
- Tirth: “To my surprise, the ideal booty call is only $10.”
- Lu: “The next time I go to Europe… I should pack twice the amount of Viagra.”
S02E02: Kids vs traffic and food preference in fetuses
Crossing the street alone is a difficult and dangerous task for young kids. Is it even more perilous for overweight and out-of-shape children?
Kids are notorious picky eaters. When does this start? In the womb?
In this episode, Lu and Tirth play another game of Family Feud But Science and discuss practical athleticism in overweight children and whether fetuses are picky “eaters.” Originally aired on 6/2/2026.
(0:00) Intro: “Hahahahaha. I’m laughing Lu because we’re laughable.”
(0:38) Chit-chat: BTS, (1:48) Family Feud But Science
Article links:
- (15:00) Chaddock et al., 2012. Role of Childhood Aerobic Fitness in Successful Street Crossing. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2012/04000/role_of_childhood_aerobic_fitness_in_successful.23.aspx
- (26:23) Ustin et al., 2022. Flavor Sensing in Utero and Emerging Discriminative Behaviors in the Human Fetus. Psychological science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09567976221105460
(35:03) Let’s read some mail
- Ladas et al., 2007. Colonic gas explosion during therapeutic colonoscopy with electrocautery. World Journal of Gastroenterology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4171316/
(39:22) What did you learn today:
- Tirth: “That today of all days, I need to hit the gym more. Crossing the streets in LA is a risky endeavor.”
- Lu: “I can blame my love of candy on my mom eating too many carrots while I was in the womb.”
S02E03: Sexist birds and intimidating runners with hills
Does the sex of the bird affect how soon they fly away when approached by humans? What about the sex of the human?
Coming across a steep hill while out jogging can be intimidating. Does being tired affect how runners perceive the size of hills?
In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss how European birds are sexist towards humans and how just tricking people into believing they have to climb a hill can cause them to exaggerate its steepness. Originally aired on 6/16/2026.
(0:00) Intro: “Lu, what’s laughable about today?”
(0:48) Chit-chat: Ways to improve the podcast
Article links:
- (7:25) Morelli et al., 2025. Sex matters: European urban birds flee approaching women sooner than approaching men. People and Nature. https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.70226
- (17:08) Bhalla et al., 1999. Visual-Motor Recalibration in Geographical Slant Perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-03275-014
(26:44) Let’s read some mail
(29:23) What did you learn today:
- Tirth: “If you’re a woman and you’re looking for a tasty, delicious meal, cut your hair and then approach a bird.”
- Lu: “If I want to emphasize the size of something to someone, I should tire them out first.”
Bonus Episode: Oral conception, monkey floss, big ears, diapers, and more (RecSci Quick Bites)
In this bonus RecSci Quick Bites episode, Lu and Tirth discuss an incredible case of oral conception, monkeys’ choice for dental floss, how your ears get bigger as you age, whether moms can identify their baby’s soiled diapers, analyzing poop in log form, boxers versus briefs, and how to settle co-first authorship between friends. Originally aired on 6/30/2026.
Article links:
- (1:17) Verkyul, 1988. Oral conception. Impregnation via the proximal gastrointestinal tract in a patient with an aplastic distal vagina. Case report. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1988.tb06583.x?saml_referrer
- (5:02) Watanabe et al., 2007. Long-tailed macaques use human hair as dental floss. American Journal of Primatology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.20403
- (7:19) Heathcote, 1995. Why do old men have big ears? British Medical Journal. https://www.bmj.com/content/311/7021/1668.short
- (9:48) Case et al., 2006. My baby doesn’t smell as bad as yours: The plasticity of disgust. Evolution and Human Behavior. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513806000195
- (12:17) Krauth et al., 2012. An In-Depth Analysis of a Piece of Shit: Distribution of Schistosoma mansoni and Hookworm Eggs in Human Stool. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0001969
- (14:48) Minguez-Alarcon et al., 2018. Type of underwear worn and markers of testicular function among men attending a fertility center. Human Reproduction. https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/33/9/1749/5066758
- (17:43) Bai & Zhu et al., 2021. Adjacent Cell Marker Lateral Spillover Compensation and Reinforcement for Multiplexed Images. Frontiers in Immunology. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.652631/full
S02E04: Incurable hiccups and predicting the weather with insect romance
What’s the best way to get rid of hiccups? Have you tried massaging your butt?
Animals are deeply in tune with nature. Are insects more or less likely to mate when a storm is approaching?
In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss the effectiveness of digital rectal massage in treating otherwise incurable hiccups and how moths’ and beetles’ interest in sex changes depending on the atmospheric pressure. Originally aired on 7/14/2026.
(0:00) Intro: “Lu, what a wonderful time. Summer is the air. The World Cup is here. Am I right?”
(0:41) Chit-chat: Texas
Article links:
- (7:21) Fesmire, 1988. Termination of intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage. Annals of Emergency Medicine. https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(88)80594-8/abstract
- Odeh et al., 1990. Termination of intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage. Journal of Internal Medicine. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2796.1990.tb00134.x
- Lee & Tong, 2017. Termination of Persistent Hiccups by Digital Rectal Massage. The Journal of Emergency Medicine. https://www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(16)30634-5/abstract
- (19:03) Pellegrino et al., 2013. Weather Forecasting by Insects: Modified Sexual Behaviour in Response to Atmospheric Pressure Changes. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0075004
(27:25) Let’s read some mail
(31:34) What did you learn today:
- Tirth: “If I was an individual with a certain proclivity…I should go to the hospital and say I have hiccups I can’t fix.”
- Lu: “If you’re a moth or a beetle and you live in Seattle, where it rains a lot, and you’re looking for some action…good luck.”
S02E05: Watchful eyes and a measure on the body that predicts success?
When there are images of eyes around, people are less likely to steal and more likely to donate money. What about images of other body parts? Moreover, do images of eyes make dogs less likely to steal as well?
What measurement on the body is correlated with success at your job and athletic prowess in sports?
In this episode, Lu and Tirth take an obscure anatomy terminology quiz, discuss how images of eyes, mouths, and noses affect pro- and antisocial behavior in people and in dogs, and dissect whether the size of a part of your body may predict success in life.
Check out Paint Brains on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/paint.brains/
(0:00) Intro: “Lu, how’s Texas treating you?”
(0:55) Chit-chat: Weird anatomy terminology quiz
Article links:
- (12:51) Kelsey et al., 2018. Eyes, More Than Other Facial Features, Enhance Real-World Donation Behavior. Human Nature. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12110-018-9327-1
- Neilands et al., 2020. Watching eyes do not stop dogs stealing food: evidence against a general risk-aversion hypothesis for the watching-eye effect. Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58210-4
- (24:19) Coates et al., 2009. Second-to-fourth digit ratio predicts success among high-frequency financial traders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.0810907106
- Manning et al., 2001. Second to fourth digit ratio and male ability in sport: implications for sexual selection in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1090-5138(00)00063-5
- Nye et al., 2017. The effects of prenatal testosterone on wages: Evidence from Russia. Economics and Human Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2016.11.003
- Hayashi & Sakamoto, 2025. Sexual activity is predicted by digit ratio in rats. Experimental Animals. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/expanim/74/4/74_24-0159/_article
(34:32) Let’s read some mail
(36:03) What did you learn today:
- Tirth: “Next time I’m in my boss’s office looking for a raise, I should maybe take off my $2500 Aviator sunglasses.”
- Lu: “I should consider cutting off the tip of my index finger.”
RecSciPod home • List of all seasons • S02E01 • S02E02 • S02E03 • Bonus Episode 1 • S02E04 • S02E05
