How to Win in Science

Kiki Sanford (0:00)

This is Twist. This Week in Science, episode number 1075, recorded on Wednesday, September 9th, 2026 How to win in science, maybe in life too, I don't know. I'm Dr. Kiki, and today we will fill your head with dog walkers, dino eggs, and poop.

But first, thanks to our amazing Patreon sponsors for their generous support of Twist. You can become a part of the Patreon community at patreon.com/thisweek in Science.

Justin Jackson (0:35)

Disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer.

Kiki Sanford (0:39)

With regulations receding from regular life, who is thinking about the future? If NOAA starts prioritizing sales over sustainability, what will happen to the fisheries? What does it mean when government agencies stop listening to Congress? Does it make sense for a hobbled NIH unable to grant its grants to anyone to send its excess funds to the Department of Defense?

War. For research that it rejected. Who is holding agencies accountable as science is hamstrung and discarded?

I guess it's up to all of us. Let's enjoy another episode of This Week in Science coming up next.

Blair Bazdarich (1:56)

Good science to you, Kiki.

Kiki Sanford (2:00)

And a good science to you too, Blair and everyone out there. Welcome to another episode of This Week in Science. We are back for another full-sized, extra large candy bar of a science show. We're going to talk all about the wonderful science that we wanted to bring to the show tonight.

And what a wonderful week it has been. In addition to some weirdness and a what-ness, there's also the whimsy. So hopefully we'll bring all of that to you.

Blair Bazdarich (2:34)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Absolutely. The weirdness, the what-ness and the whimsy. I love it.

Kiki Sanford (2:41)

Yes.

Blair Bazdarich (2:43)

All right.

Kiki Sanford (2:44)

So last week it was the Ig Nobel's once again. So I love going through the winners of the Ig Nobel prizes. So we'll get to that at the top of the show, starting off with the fun this week. Then I have news stories about dinosaur eggs.

Yeah. We're going to talk about LLMs and artificial intelligence. What's up in the news? Kerfuffle's galore. Got brain science and maybe I want to talk about walking.

Okay. Yeah. What's in the animal corner?

Blair Bazdarich (3:16)

I walk every day. Well, I have dog walkers, speaking of walking.

And that's just people who walk dogs, not solely the people who walk, the 10 dogs at once, just anybody who has a dog that walks a dog. And then I also have some penguin poop and I have bird calls.

Justin Jackson (3:37)

I love bird calls.

Kiki Sanford (3:38)

I know you do. Are you going to impersonate birds for me?

Blair Bazdarich (3:43)

No, you can do it.

Kiki Sanford (3:44)

Okay, I might.

Blair Bazdarich (3:46)

I know you will.

Kiki Sanford (3:49)

I'm like, no, Kiki, don't do it. Don't do it, no.

Okay, we'll get to the bird calls later. Can't wait for the animal corner. As we jump into the show here, I hope everyone is excited about everything. If you're not subscribed to us yet, you can find us basically every podcast platform. Look for This Week in Science. Look for TWiSS. We are on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch. We stream live every Wednesday, 8 p.m. Pacific time-ish. And we're there. If you're interested in what we talk about in the show, links to stories and other show notes are available on our website, twist, T-W-I-S, dot O-R-G, twist.org. Wee, and you can find us on some social media networks as TWiSS Science or This Week in Science, depending on the network. It's all there, ca-caw. No, that was not my best one.

It wasn't my best.

Blair Bazdarich (4:47)

First take, best take, Kiki, too bad. Yeah, hit me up with the Ig Nobel.

Justin Jackson (4:55)

Are we ready? Yes.

Kiki Sanford (4:56)

Let's dive into the science.

Justin Jackson (4:58)

Okay.

Kiki Sanford (4:59)

Ig Nobel's one of my favorite science award ceremonies of every year. So the fall, when September comes around, I get very excited.

Usually, the Ig Nobel's are in the United States, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as they have been for basically the past 34 years, 35 years, I think. This year, they were in Zurich, Switzerland.

Blair Bazdarich (5:24)

I wonder why.

Kiki Sanford (5:26)

Well, yeah, that's why.

Blair Bazdarich (5:28)

Curious. Yep.

Kiki Sanford (5:30)

Anyway.

Blair Bazdarich (5:31)

Could it be the anti-science, just general demeanor? Could it be the active war? Could it be tariffs?

Do you need any number of things?

Kiki Sanford (5:43)

They made the decision early, well, around the Ig Nobel's last fall, that they were going to be moving it and announced that they would be moving it. I think it was so generally in response to the politics of science in the United States, unfortunately.