Curiosity Theory

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 gravitational microlensing, how free-floating planets are detected, and the physics of planet formation. The conversation then expands into dark matter, failed galaxies, and why scientific breakthroughs often come from anomalies r...

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.

They explore why entry-level tech roles are disappearing, how AI and economics are reshaping hiring, and why venture capital funding for Black founders remains so low. The conversation also dives into education, debating whether essay...

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, planet formation inside protoplanetary disks, lava worlds, water worlds, exoplanet atmospheres, and why many once-promising planets are turning out to be less habitable than expected. The conversation also covers moons...

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 videos, rejection, and creative fear, this conversation explores why curiosity, boredom, and discomfort are essential to growth. We talk about identity collapse, reinvention, science as a curiosity engine, and how sittin...

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 Genesis, Big Tech and government partnerships, Isaac Newton’s financial mistakes, crypto and AI comparisons, and whether the current moment feels more like progress or another bubble waiting to burst. The conversation als...

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.

We talk about why humans are wired to be curious, how confidence and visibility often replace expertise online, how our brains guide decisions without our awareness, and why losing curiosity can fuel anxiety and dissatisf...

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 an MIT fusion scientist and why scientific tragedies so often spark conspiracy theories. They discuss nuclear fusion, corporate incentives, and rational explanations before widening the lens to gun violence, school shoo...

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 brain rot we are all swimming in. It is messy, funny, and unexpectedly thoughtful. Equal parts science, culture, and unfiltered curiosity. 

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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, and the new wave of AI-driven media.

They discuss celebrity likeness exploitation, the decreasing leverage of creators in an AI-dominated landscape, and how authenticity might become the new currency of art.

Dakotah t...

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 vectors, and the brain’s decision making machinery.

They break down how pain neurons work, how viruses modify DNA, what CRISPR allows us to change inside living tissue, and how empathy and fear circuits guide human behavi...

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 Justin as “unk,” how generational labels get created, and whether Justin’s TEDx talk helped cement the term “Gen Z.”

Topics include:
• How social media has created five-year “m...

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 health.

They dig into why detox narratives are so popular, the placebo and expectation effects behind “feeling better,” and the actual psychological mechanisms affecting mood, anxiety, and attention online. They also ...

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 new NASA results and the possibility of life on Mars, unpack what counts as a real biosignature, and dig into ideas like panspermia and endosymbiosis to explain how life might start and how complex cells evolved.

Th...

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 about the future of human biology.

They explore stem-cell breakthroughs, the ethics of replacing body parts, and whether open-sourcing scientific knowledge could accelerate discovery for everyone. They also dig into...

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 reveals about life itself.

They talk about how immunity learns, adapts, and evolves; how viruses shape who we are; and what biology teaches us about chaos, order, and survival. It’s part science, part philosophy, a...

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 holes, and even the first possible moments when life could have existed in the cosmos.

They explore how civilizations might rise and fall over billions of years and what “galactic fossils” ancient...

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 clearest marker of being alive. This wide-ranging conversation blends science, philosophy, and curiosity to tackle one of the deepest questions of all time.

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