Science Rules! with Bill Nye

Stitcher & Bill Nye

Bill Nye is on a mission to change the world — one voicemail at a time. Bill and science writer Corey S. Powell take your burning questions and put them to the world's leading experts on just about every topic in the universe. Should you stop eating cheeseburgers to combat climate change? Could alien life be swimming inside the moons of Jupiter and Saturn? Does your pet parakeet learn to sing the way that you learned to speak? Bill, Corey, and their special guests will answer those questions and convince you that... science rules!

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151 episodes
Updated Nov 1, 2023

Episodes151

Newest first

Apr 1, 2021 · 43 min
What Do You Need to Hunt for Life on Mars? Perseverance!
A leader of NASA's Mars Perseverance rover team explains what we've learned about the red planet since the rover landed and lays out the mission to find — and return — evidence of life. Plus, acronyms galore!
Mar 30, 2021 · 27 min
Coronavirus: Piercing the “Brain Fog” of Long-Haul Covid
Dr. Igor Koralnik explains his research on the neurological impacts of Covid-19, especially with non-severe cases.
Mar 25, 2021 · 47 min
The Science of Smell: New Cars, Old People, and the Stink of the Moon
Harold McGee changed the culinary world in the ’80s with his book on the science of cooking. His new book moves up the face to the nose, breaking down the molecules that make up all the smells around us. He explains why some scents echo each other, how dogs can sniff out cancer, and what happens when a coronavirus takes away your sense of smell.
Mar 18, 2021 · 51 min
SOS: Save Our Sperm
The chemicals we rely on for practically everything are slowly threatening our health, happiness, and the future of our species. Dr. Shanna Swan walks us through the evidence.
Mar 16, 2021 · 24 min
Coronavirus: Why It Hits High-Income Countries Hardest
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee takes us through his investigation into why low-income countries seem to have largely escaped the pandemic’s wrath — and why they still need to get vaccines.
Mar 11, 2021 · 58 min
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Neanderthal Sex *
* But didn't know to ask. Rebecca Wragg Sykes will also tell us about the art, language, and mysterious extinction of our brawny cousins.
Mar 4, 2021 · 35 min
Meet the Woman Tasked With Keeping Joe Biden's Climate Promises
As the first National Climate Advisor, Gina McCarthy may have the most important — and toughest — unelected job in America. So ... how’s that going?
Mar 2, 2021 · 29 min
Coronavirus: Panic Over Variants, and Other Media Mistakes
Sociologist Zeynep Tufekci takes news outlets to task for how our coverage has hindered the response to COVID-19 and explains why no matter what variant is going around your community, you should still get a vaccine — any of them — as soon as you are eligible.
Feb 25, 2021 · 44 min
Acting Is Like Learning Science Backwards
Gillian Jacobs (Community, Love) and Diona Reasonover (NCIS) get back in touch with their science roots and turn the tables on us in a new segment, Grill Bill and Query Corey! Check out Gillian and Diona's new podcast Periodic Talks and subscribe here: https://link.chtbl.com/PeriodicTalks
Feb 18, 2021 · 59 min
How to Outrun a Horse: Surprising Insights From an Exercise Scientist
How does exercise work? Should all runners go barefoot? And is sitting really the new smoking? Daniel Lieberman shines some science on common exercise myths.
Feb 16, 2021 · 24 min
Coronavirus: President Biden’s Report Card
We grade the new White House administration's pandemic response thus far with New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli.
Feb 11, 2021 · 46 min
Cooking with Science: Why Eggs Turn White, Pickles Crunch, and Popcorn Sets Off Your Smoke Detectors
Pia Sorensen has a kitchen laboratory where she demonstrates how pans of denatured proteins and hot fats can create a delicious meal — or a big ol’ mess.
Feb 4, 2021 · 49 min
NFL Meets MIT: Science Tackles the Super Bowl
Former NFL lineman (and current math whiz) John Urschel and materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez highlight all the science you can see on display at the Super Bowl, from the mechanics of blocking to the psychology of play-calling.
Feb 2, 2021 · 26 min
Coronavirus: Did COVID Escape From a Lab?
It’s a highly controversial and unlikely hypothesis. But, as Dr. David Relman explains, we can't rule it out, because we still don't know the original source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Jan 28, 2021 · 57 min
It's a Parasite's World. We Just Live in It.
When it comes to things that give us the heebie-jeebies, parasites reign supreme. But according to this week's guest, ecosystems couldn't exist without them. Chelsea Wood explains what makes them so creepy, how to prevent them from killing us, and why she keeps digging around in decades-old cans of salmon.
Jan 21, 2021 · 55 min
The Greatest Invention of All Time Is ... TIME!
We talk to master watchmaker Rebecca Struthers about how people learned to measure time and the twisted way that clocks came to control the way we eat, sleep, work, and relax (if we relax at all).
Jan 19, 2021 · 28 min
Coronavirus: 100 Days, 100 Million Shots
Dr. Celine Gounder — a member of President-Elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board — answers all of your questions about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and details an ambitious plan to vaccinate a third of America.
Jan 14, 2021 · 50 min
The True Limit to Space Exploration: Our Sanity
If humans want to explore the solar system (and beyond), we'll have to learn to do something inconceivable for most of us pre-pandemic — exist with each other in tiny quarters for months. Kim Binsted's HI-SEAS program is trying to teach us how to do just that.
Jan 7, 2021 · 56 min
Mayim Bialik’s Contract With the Universe
The star of The Big Bang Theory, Blossom, and the new show Call Me Kat explains how she balances her love of science with her career in acting, and we put her neuroscience Ph.D. to use answering your questions about cognitive disabilities and disorders.
Dec 31, 2020 · 48 min
How To (Still) Be Happy
It turns out being happy, or becoming happier is possible with a bit of effort. We’re joined by happiness expert and host of The Happiness Lab, Dr. Laurie Santos to talk about her research into human happiness and to take your calls, including one from Mike from Colorado who asks, “Is there a genetic component to happiness?”