This time around, your Yackety Science dynamic duo reports on the recent glut of space telescopes. Brian and Matt also discuss cutting-edge science trends and topics, as culled from the 2026 Ig Nobel Awards -- everything from the mechanics of kissing to the milking of cockroaches. And in his Chemical Minute, Matt prescribes manganese as the cure for managing manhood misery. And finally, in their second installment of Ourobookos: The Yackety Science Book Club, the Yackers consider all of the apocalyptic bounces, rips, and crunches that are described in Katie Mack's book, "The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)."
Got a question, comment, or correction? Yack right back at us at YacketyScience@gmail.com. And please follow us on Spotify, Instagram (@yacketysciene), Facebook (Yackety Science), and YouTube (@YacketyScience).
Episode Art: Photo composite by Brian Cross using elements from Anne-Lise Reinsfelt, Sophie Hugon, and Glueball.
Theme music: "Funky Machine" (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessed through FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Production help provided by PRT's Scott Gregory.
Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa in Kendall Hall at The University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.
Links:
Space Telescopes
⦁ Roman Space Telescope
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/
⦁ ARRAKIHS https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_adopts_galactic_archaeology_mission_Arrakihs
2026 Ignobel Awards
⦁ Cockroach Milk
https://daily.jstor.org/got-cockroach-milk/
⦁ Building a Better Urinal https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/4/pgaf087/8098745?login=true
⦁ Biomechanics of Kissing https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513825001370?via%3Dihub
NIST’s Atomic Clock
⦁ https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/time-realization/cesium-fountain-atomic-clocks
Ourobookos: A Yackety Science Book Club:
The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack
"A mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know." (This summary comes from the Magic City Books write-up for Mack's book; please visit https://magiccitybooks.com/item/rPCoGQ_-yAUK4cWTOF56zw.)