Comedy with a working curiosity engine.
Probably Science mixes comedy-club looseness with science curiosity, usually starting from whatever the room finds funny first. Recent episodes bounce from shark deterrents and dog vocabulary to figure skating hair, comedian softball, and the logistics of being on tour.
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Probably Science sounds like a group of sharp comedians meeting at the exact point where curiosity and nonsense overlap. The show has science in the title, and science stories do appear, but the engine is the conversation around them. A segment about sharks becomes a run of ideas about magnetic fields, wristbands, nose-punching advice, and the absurd confidence required to face a great white calmly. A dog vocabulary story turns into jokes about toy-crazed pups, word games, and the weird satisfaction of solving a redacted Wikipedia article. That is the rhythm. A concrete topic enters the room, then everyone starts tugging at it until the useful fact and the ridiculous image are tangled together. Recent episodes also spend time in the practical comedy life: road dates, clubs, special releases, press junkets, Canadian roast battles, softball hangs, and friends dropping by after shows. The guest list leans heavily toward working comedians, which keeps the show from feeling like a formal science interview. Amber Preston, Katie Novotny, Monica Nevi, Matthew Coe, Jackie Kashian, Forrest Shaw, Aisha Alfa, and David Huntsberger each bring a different social doorway into the conversation. The regular voices keep the pace quick and slightly chaotic. They correct each other. They interrupt the setup. They chase the bit before it cools off. Even when the topic gets technical, the language stays casual and concrete. That makes the show approachable without sanding off its odd edges. It is at its best when someone asks a half-serious question and everyone immediately tries to make it funnier, clearer, or stranger. Probably Science suits listeners who want a comedy hang with enough factual spark to keep the riffs from floating away.
Made for: For listeners who like stand-up comics, science headlines, and conversations that move quickly from a real question to a sideways joke. It especially fits people who enjoy informal interview shows with recurring voices and guest-driven tangents.
What sets it apart: Probably Science is less a tidy explainer than a fast ensemble hang where science stories compete with comedian life, tour talk, and whatever analogy lands first. Its best moments come from letting the bit and the question chase each other.
Professional comedians with so-so STEM pedigrees take you through this week in science. Incompetently. Featuring hosts Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (and sometimes Jesse Case or Brooks Wheelan) along with a rotating cast of special guests from the worlds of comedy and science.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Probably Science gives scientific curiosity a comic pressure test, with Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood, Jesse Case, and their guests following facts into riffs.
Probably Science turns curiosity into loose group comedy without treating the science as mere setup. Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood, and Jesse Case move easily between questions, explanations, and riffs, giving guests room to correct a detail or push a joke further.
Shark deterrence becomes a comedy pile-on before your sensible question has finished leaving your mouth.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Forrest Shaw brings marine-science cred to a loose, funny shark-deterrence chat.
Forrest Shaw's return gives Probably Science a clean comic-science shape: a comedian with marine-science experience guides the hosts through manatees, dolphins, seagrass, and benthic monitoring while Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood, and Jesse Case keep the pace lively.
Winnipeg comedy lore and a figure-skating detour keep the conversation moving.
Probably Science opens in Winnipeg, grounding the conversation in Aisha Alpha's hometown and in the hosts' memories of meeting at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and running into one another again at Odd Block Festival. John B.
A longtime-friend visit drifts from patio memories and word games to Basket the Border Collie and his many toy names.
David Huntsberger settles into Probably Science as a longtime friend of the pod, and the episode leans into that familiarity. The best stretch is the loose social history around patio recordings, parties at Andy and Jesse's house, and the awkward comedy of thanking a guest who…
A funny, unsettling look at machines that hit the goal while losing sight of the humans.
AI alignment feels less abstract here because Stuart Russell keeps returning to plain examples: social media systems chasing clicks or watch time, and a domestic robot that may reshape the person it is meant to serve.
Katie Novotny helps turn comedian softball and road talk into a lively Pirates of Penzance detour.
Matt Kirshen and Andy Wood start with Jesse away at the vet for a cat health issue, then spin that absence into a loose riff involving bullet holes, a president mask, a bloodied money bag, dollar signs, and obvious swag.
AI researcher Stuart Russell discusses the alignment problem in artificial intelligence on Probably Science.
Comedian Katie Novotny joins hosts Matt Kirshen and Andy Wood on Probably Science.
The hosts welcome comedian Macey Isaacs to discuss their recent gig at The Crow in Santa Monica, touching on venue details, parking challenges, and an art show featuring Dave Navarro.
Alison Leiby discusses her memoir I Am A Lot, chronic back problems, multiple surgeries, and a blood clot that extended from her left ankle toward her kidney.
Probably Science Episode 611 features Matt Kirshen and Jesse Case interviewing comedian Hannah Roeschlein about sobriety, Filipino identity, Christianity, science, meditation, and transhumanism.
The hosts welcome back guest Amber Preston after a long hiatus, joking about the time distortion from COVID and reflecting on the persistence of their podcast.
The hosts introduce guest Katie Novotny in a humorous, casual conversation about their softball experiences and comedic interactions.
Comedians Andy Wood, Jesse Case, and Matt Kershen interview fellow comedian Monica Nevi about her life, parenting, and comedy career.
The hosts of Probably Science introduce their guest Matthew Coe and discuss upcoming comedy shows in Portland.
Comedian Jackie Kashian returns to the show to discuss her new comedy special 'Altercation' on YouTube and her current tour.
Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood, and Jesse Case open the show around Forrest's return.
Aisha Alpha joins Jesse Case, Andy Wood, and Matt Kirshen, and Winnipeg is the first thing on the table.
Probably Science episode 594 pairs David Huntsberger's scripted podcast Intercepts with a New York Times dog cognition story about Basket the Border Collie.
Comedians Andy Wood, Jesse Case, and Matt Kershen interview fellow comedian Macey Isaacs about her recent gig at The Crow in Santa Monica and the challenges of parking there.
Comedians Matt Kirshen and Will Anderson banter about the venue and introduce the live comedy-science podcast.
A live comedy podcast in Perth features a host and three comedians discussing weekly science news in an entertaining format.
The hosts interview comedian and writer Laura Kightlinger, discussing her work and recent events like the Jake Paul vs.