Ologies with Alie Ward

Who’s babysitting AI? Will it steal your job? What happens when you’re rude to a chatbot? Cognitive scientist, Trinity College professor and Artificial Intelligence Ethicologist  Dr. Abeba Birhane lets me ask her not-smart questions about legislation around AI, auditing datasets, environmental impacts, booby traps, doorbell narcs, commonly used fallacies, how the “godfathers’ of AI feel about their creation, robots doing your homework, and and whether or not AI is actually the root of all evil. Also: bacon ice cream and why Siri is a girl. Visit Dr. Birhane’s website and follow her on Bluesky and Google ScholarA donation went to The Municipality of Gaza and UNRWAMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Neurotechnology (AI + BRAIN TECH), Architectural Technology (COMPUTER PROGRAMMING), FIELD TRIP: A Hollywood Visit to the Writers Guild Strike Line, Futurology (THE FUTURE), Gizmology (ROBOTS), Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

8 Maj 1h 15min

It’s Part 2 of how to fix your life with hobbies! Pretty much. Journalist/author of “The Connection Cure” Julia Hotz explains the science behind forest bathing, how privilege affects accessibility to hobbies and what to do about it, how to figure out what lights you up, how to schedule time for hobbies if you have no time to do hobbies, why I used to call my old job at newspaper Club Karoshi, what if social interaction gives you the willies, what if depression keeps you from doing the things that lift depression, being social without having to spend money or get wasted, why volunteering is such an antidepressant, why rehabs use social prescribing, if protesting is a good hobby, and why you should go take a walk. Also: did I go to the ukulele meeting or chicken out?Listen to Part 1 hereVisit Julia’s website and follow her on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and SubstackBuy her book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and BelongingA donation went to GrowNYCMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Dolorology (PAIN), Eudemonology (HAPPINESS), Critical Ecology (SOCIAL SYSTEMS + ENVIRONMENT), Post-Viral Epidemiology (LONG COVID), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Ergopathology (BURNOUT), Biogerontology (AGING), Canistrumology (BASKET WEAVING), Domestic Phytology (HOUSEPLANTS), Ethnoecology (ETHNOBOTANY/NATIVE PLANTS), Dendrology (TREES)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

30 Apr 53min

Crafting. Motorcycle repair. Banjo lessons. Hobbies aren’t a reward, but tools to save your mental and physical health. Journalist/author of “The Connection Cure,” — and professional Salugenology expert — Julia Hotz explains the science behind going outside, rediscovering what makes you happy, scheduling time for hobbies if you have no time for hobbies, free support, how quarantine affected mental health, what if social interaction gives you the willies, what if depression keeps you from doing the things that lift depression, the scientific deal with cold-plunging, where to volunteer, saving money by joining knitting circle or fishing club, if protesting is a good hobby, how capitalism can literally kill us, and why she hates the title of her own book.Visit Julia’s website and follow her on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and SubstackBuy her book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and BelongingA donation went to GrowNYCMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Dolorology (PAIN), Eudemonology (HAPPINESS), Critical Ecology (SOCIAL SYSTEMS + ENVIRONMENT), Post-Viral Epidemiology (LONG COVID), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Ergopathology (BURNOUT), Biogerontology (AGING), Canistrumology (BASKET WEAVING), Domestic Phytology (HOUSEPLANTS), Ethnoecology (ETHNOBOTANY/NATIVE PLANTS), Dendrology (TREES)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

23 Apr 1h 6min

Cleaner energy! Reasoning with climate deniers! Using fandom to pass policy! And not burning out. Adam Met, of the colossal indie pop band AJR is also a career climate activist, an International Human Rights Law PhD, adjunct professor at Columbia University, and the author of the upcoming book “Amplify: How to Use the Power of Connection to Engage, Take Action, and Build a Better World.” He joins to chat about breaking through the overwhelm of climate causes, what action actually matters, if petitions even work, what happens to our brains at a rock concert, how human rights and climate policy intersect, if you should drive a gas or an electric car, how to solve problems that are vexing you by not working on them, carbon footprint guilt, the similarities between writing an album and writing a book, and how to do something about climate change without bumming everyone out. It’s possible. Visit Dr. Met’s website and follow him on Instagram, Bluesky, and LinkedInPre-order his book releasing June 3, 2025, Amplify: How to Use the Power of Connection to Engage, Take Action, and Build a Better World, on Bookshop.org or AmazonA donation went to Planet ReimaginedMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Critical Ecology (SOCIAL SYSTEMS + ENVIRONMENT), Conservation Technology (EARTH SAVING), Meteorology (WEATHER & CLIMATE), Culicidology (MOSQUITOES), Oceanology (OCEANS), Pedagogology (SCIENCE COMMUNICATION) with Bill Nye, Political Sociology (VOTER TURNOUT & SUPPRESSION), Fanthropology (FANDOM), Coffeeology (COFFEE)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

16 Apr 1h 19min

Landfills! Treasures in the trash! Corporate conspiracies! Composting! An instantly classic conversation with the incredibly knowledgeable, frank and wonderful Dr. Robin Nagle of New York University’s Liberal Studies! She is a clinical professor, author, TED speaker and former New York City sanitation worker and truly the best person on Earth to trash talk with. We cover what you can and can’t actually recycle, sticky mustard bottles, drugs in the trash, Swedish Death Cleaning, mobsters and landfills, Bitcoin in the dump, the future of garbage and exactly how screwed we are. Enjoy. Visit Robin Nagle’s websiteFollow Robin on Instagram and BlueskyRead Robin’s book Picking Up, an ethnography of New York City's Department of SanitationA donation was made to the Sanitation FoundationMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Oceanology (OCEANS), Urban Rodentology (SEWER RATS), Space Archaeology (SPACE JUNK), Critical Ecology (SOCIAL SYSTEMS + ENVIRONMENT), Futurology (THE FUTURE), Disasterology (DISASTERS), Ursinology (BEARS), Eschatology (THE APOCALYPSE), Conservation Technology (EARTH SAVING), Scatology (POOP), Agnotology (IGNORANCE), Xylology (LUMBER)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam MediaManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

9 Apr 1h 30min

Medieval art memes! Human-faced animals! Drunk monks! And a preponderance of snails. Middle Ages manuscript expert, art history communicator, and Medieval Codicologist Evan Pridmore covers: what those golden illuminated Middle Ages manuscripts were made of, who drew them, why were people sometimes naked in them, what art trends came and went – and what does it say about our history and future, immigration politics, antisemitism, what exactly is a Salisbury steak, and so much more. Also: the perfect tree for your home orchard. Follow Evan on Instagram, TikTok, and BlueskyDonations went to the World Central Kitchen and the American Civil Liberties UnionMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Anthropodermic Biocodicology (HUMAN LEATHER BOOKS), Malacology (SNAILS & SLUGS), Classical Archeology (ANCIENT ROME), Metropolitan Tombology (PARIS CATACOMBS), Museology (MUSEUMS) Encore in Memory of Ronnie Cline, Modern Toichographology (MURALS & STREET ART), Proptology (THEATER & FILM PROPS), Pectinidology (SCALLOPS), Anagnosology (READING), FIELD TRIP: I Go France and Learn Weird France StuffSponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

2 Apr 1h 15min

Fungus gnats. Overloved cacti. Fiddle fig failures. $20,000 specimens. It’s house plants — and it’s wild, folks. Widely beloved author, artist, house plant expert and Domestic Phytologist Tyler Thrasher joins to talk about root rot, what to grow in a dark basement, the rarest plants in the world, the punishments for poaching them, grow lights for people and plants, houseplant ethics, how to keep your cats from taking whizzes in them, if you should name your plants, how often to repot them, how to keep an orchid out of your trash can, pet-safe, plants, if one should use their own surplus blood to feed them, and what botany crimes I have committed against my own plants.Visit Tyler Thrasher’s website and follow him on Instagram, Bluesky and TikTokBuy his book, The Universe in 100 Colors, at Bookshop.org or Amazon, and his journal, Grow a Damn Plant JournalSee Tyler at San Diego’s Oddities Flea Market March 29 & 30, 2025A donation went to The Loveland FoundationMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Cycadology (RARE PLANT DRAMA), Dendrology (TREES), Indigenous Pedology (SOIL SCIENCE), Mycology (MUSHROOMS), Pomology (APPLES), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY), Zymology (BEER), FIELD TRIP: I Go France and Learn Weird France Stuff, Carnivorous Phytobiology (MEAT-EATING PLANTS), Suicidology (SUICIDE PREVENTION & AWARENESS), Carobology (NOT-CHOCOLATE TREES), Cicadology (CICADAS), Chronobiology (CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS), Tiktokology (THE TIKTOK APP) with Hank Green, Erethizonology (PORCUPINES), Coffeeology (YEP, COFFEE), Foraging Ecology (EATING WILD PLANTS) with @BlackForager, Alexis Nikole NelsonSponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

26 Mars 1h 33min

Long Covid Part 2: Treatments. Studies. Histamines. Hormones. POTS. Clots. Hearts. Hope. Highly-respected Long Covid expert, Dr. Wes Ely, is back for all of your listener questions. We also check in with Physics Girl Diana Cowern on her years-long struggle with the disease. So start with Part 1, and then finish up with this episode addressing all your straggling questions, and great advice for patients and caregivers. Follow Dr. Ely on GoogleScholarBuy Dr. Ely’s book, Every Deep-Drawn Breath, on Bookshop.org or AmazonDonations went to: Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, And Survivorship (CIBS) Center, Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness, and Open Medicine Foundation – Diana Cowern’s favorite cause to support clinical trialsMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Surgical Angiology (VEINS & ARTERIES), Cardiology (THE HEART), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Molecular Biology (PROTEINS + SCIENCE COMMUNICATION), Nephrology (KIDNEYS), Diabetology (BLOOD SUGAR)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

19 Mars 1h