Curiosity Theory
A podcast about sharpening your curiosity through science, stories, and bold questions. With Astrophysicist Dr. Dakotah Tyler & STEM Educator Justin Shaifer.
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Episodes
38 episodes
Strange Universe: A Planet With No Star and a Galaxy That Never Formed
This week on Questionable Content, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer explore recent astronomy discoveries, rogue planets, and what strange cosmic objects can teach us about the universe.They break down gravitation...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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1:13:14
The Future of Work Is Way More Uncomfortable Than People Admit w/ Michael Berhane
On this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Michael Berhane, CEO and Founder of POC in Tech, to talk about AI, automation, education, and the future of work.T...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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1:04:30
The Biggest Exoplanet Discoveries In 2025
This week on Questionable Content, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer talk through some of the most interesting astronomy discoveries and open questions shaping space science today.They explore asteroid collisions,...
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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1:06:57
It's Ok to Start Before You Know Exactly What You're Doing
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer unpack what it really means to start something before you feel ready.From building a podcast studio from scratch to sharing stories of first v...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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1:15:54
Questionable Content: Are Humans Built For The World We Created?
This week on Questionable Content, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer unpack the AI hype cycle, speculative bubbles, and why humans keep falling for the same narratives every generation.They talk through Project Ge...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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1:08:08
You Can’t Afford to Lose Your Curiosity w/ Hank Green
On this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Hank Green for a wide-ranging, honest conversation about curiosity, consciousness, credibility, and what it means to be human.
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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1:17:06
Questionable Content: An MIT Fusion Scientist Was Shot & Conspiracies Followed Immediately
On this episode of Questionable Content, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) explore how science, violence, evolution, and culture intersect.The conversation begins with the killing of ...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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1:02:57
Help... My Best Friend Is An LLM w/ Science and The City
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer teamed up with Science in the City hosts Ashley Christine and Kalpana Pot for a wild conversation that jumps from sci fi to short form science, flat earthers, and the internet ...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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1:31:32
Questionable Content: Disney Sold Its Soul For Some SlopTok
This week on Questionable Content, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) break down Disney’s massive new partnership with OpenAI’s Sora and what it means for creators, the WGA, IP ownership, a...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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46:00
What If We Could Control Pain w/ Neuroscientist Lindsay Ejoh
On this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) sit down with neuroscientist Lindsay Ejoh (@neuromelody) for a deep exploration into pain, gene editing, viral...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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1:30:20
Quantum Texting & Hyper-Micro Generations
Are we the problematic generation?In this episode of Curiosity Theory, astrophysicist Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and STEM educator and media producer Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) unpack how fast culture is shifting, why kids see ...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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1:04:55
You've Been Lied To About Social Media Detoxing
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) break down a new research study showing that taking a break from social media does not reliably improve or worsen mental...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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1:02:05
A Universe Filled with Life & Waves
On this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) take you on a tour from ancient Mars to spiral galaxies to the trends moving through your social feeds.We start with ne...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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54:15
Rebuilding the Human Body w/ Suh the Scholar, Ph.D.
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) sit down with Suh the Scholar (@suhthescholar) — a PhD stem-cell scientist — for a deep, funny, and inspiring conversation ...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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1:03:41
Don't Trust the Experts: The War on Science
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) unpack the rise of anti-intellectualism and the cultural war on science. From misinformation to AI ethics, they explore why...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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59:34
Immune to the Nonsense w/ Nick the Immunologist
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Nick Jackson (@nick.immunologist), an immunologist and PhD candidate, to explore the incredible complexity of the immune system and what it reveal...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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1:33:40
Hardcore, Raging Space Nerds
NASA is planning to land a nuclear reactor on the Moon — but what does that mean for humanity’s future in space? Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer break down nuclear fusion, stellar explosions, the origins of gold, pulsar planets, black hole...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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58:58
First Day Out
In this episode, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer dig into a wide range of topics and break in the new studio that Justin built from the ground up for Curiosity Theory!Support Curiosity Theory by:Joining our Patreon: https://w...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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1:20:25
Let's Talk Life As We *Don't* Know It: Is Our Definition of Life Too Narrow?
In this episode, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer take on the timeless question: what is life? They explore infinite systems, humans as part of larger structures, the debate over artificial life, and why adaptation may be the clear...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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54:33
Dead Universes & Wet Stardust
Audience Q&A: Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer go deep on cosmic questions. They explore theories about whether the universe already died, cycles of cosmic birth and death, the future of life, astrobiology and evolution, the search for ...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:10:48
Finding the Signal in the Noise: Career Transitions and Life Alignment
In this episode, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer unpack the tricky process of career transitions. They talk about how to recognize misalignment, the importance of transferable skills, the power dynamics that hold people back, and how to fi...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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50:52
Alien Comets & the Hunt for Earthlike Atmospheres
This episode of Curiosity Theory with Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) first covers the science of finding life: alien communication strategies, the idea of a galactic Goldilocks zone where intelligent life may...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:18:04
Finding the Curiosity to Endure
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer open up about pressure, family, and resilience. Dakotah talks about his own mental health journey and how curiosity became a lifeline From personal stories to practical tools, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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52:37
Techno-Feudalism, Awkward Oligarchs, and... Talking Dolphins?
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer ask what happens when AI meets Dr. Doolittle. Could we actually talk to dolphins and other animals with machine learning? From animal communication to OpenAI’s for-profit...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:04:12
Strange Exoplanets, Believable Sci-Fi, and Humanity 10,000 Years in the Future
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer take on your questions. From exoplanets to the far future of humanity, to which sci-fi ideas are actually realistic, this conversation bounces across science, imagination...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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1:12:11