Many years ago, as I was discovering my obsession with food and cooking, I watched a pretty and l striking gal with a voluminous head of red hair named Alie Ward host a boozy travel show and appear on a show about everything dessert-related with her pal Georgia Hardstark. Clearly this kind of content was directed at me, specifically, and I was destined to fall head over heels for Alie & her career. (And Georgia for that matter, but that’s another post for another time. Just know that they are both incredibly smart, blindingly funny, and ambitious AF.)
Even though their show got the boot, they stuck together to enter the world of podcasting. Spoiler alert: they were both really good at it, and eventually split off to work on their own projects. Georgia went off to create the wildly popular My Favorite Murder, and Alie got to work on her science-comedy-interview baby, Ologies.
Don’t you love it when you have the entirely wrong idea about someone, and it turns out that they are way more cool and relatable than you ever could have imagined? The girl who I would have thought was the ambitious social butterfly with a history of public performance actually has a background full of goth angst, bug collections, and biology. (She talks about her dark & spooky youth all the time, and willingly admits that her goth phase is most definitely not over.)
Okay, this isn’t exactly what she looks like all the time. (But that would be sweet.) Alie Ward usually looks like this:
And even more often than that, she looks like this:
Alie Ward with Cosmetologist Alysha Sherri Marcantonio & Mythologist John Bucher
Every week, Alie releases a new episode of Ologies, the brainchild of her love of science communication, comedy, and new media. The photo on the left perfectly describes what she does, as she is both figuratively and physically showcasing a scientist. She seeks out -ologists, highlighting their life’s work, best stories, biggest discoveries and biggest flops.
And when I say Alie “seeks out” scientists – I mean it. Her level of science stalkery is one to aspire to, and the way she makes these experts feel (many of whom have been constantly overlooked in favor of more sparkly, marketable sciences like physics and neurology – both of which are still cool, btw) makes Ologies worth listening to all by itself. You can hear the shock in the Dendrologist’s voice (he is in love with trees) when he hears about Alie’s exhaustive search to find him – he was hidden all the way up in his little neck of the Oregon woods – just to hear him gush about his love and knowledge of trees and forestry.
PHOTO CREDIT: Stephanie Himango/Innovation Nation
But back to the teen bug collection part of Alie’s brain for a minute. This gal comes from a family of journalists and news broadcasters, but behind that cinema degree is a biology background and a lifelong love of science. As a kid, she was sure she’d have to choose between chasing dreams of science and diving head-first into the entertainment industry. Welp, Alie soon discovered, as we all did upon growing up, that everything we learned about career paths was a lie.
…Well, not a lie. It’s the internet’s fault! I mean, who could have predicted that a guy who rolls up cheeseburgers in pizza and puts it on YouTube could go on to have a multi-million dollar career? Or that a dude with a cat which had a charmingly grumpy face would post a picture on Reddit and subsequently become an worldwide phenomenon? Or that a burnout who loves fashion magazines could create a digital one specifically for broke people and get away with it for 10 years? (THAT ONE IS ME.)
Melittologist Amanda Shaw (she studies bees!) | Thanatologist Cole Imperi (she studies death & dying!)
There are tons of weird stereotypes and stigmas around science. I remember growing up being completely intimidated by science, especially as a kid who felt more comfortable in English class than math class. Science seemed like the path you chose when you wanted to be serious all the time, never go outside, and stay in school forever. Though I was also fully under the impression that the only science paths available were the ones offered in public high school – so basically chemistry and biology. Isn’t that the saddest thing you’ve ever heard?
Ologies has shown me the light. Or more accurately, I get a new lumen every time an episode is released, because each episode of Ologies features a different specialist in a different field of science. Luckily, science touches literally everything, so I’ve learned about the science of trees, the science of death, the science of laughter, the science of fear, and even the science of beauty.
“Please know that I milk these geniuses for life advice ALL THE TIME. It’s like: if anyone knows how to life-hack, it’s folks on the verge of a Nobel Prize.” – Alie Ward
The way that Alie approaches these super-smart people is the way I would hope I’d approach them if I had the confidence to ask my dumb questions. Her host-research is incredible, and she’s whip-smart herself, so you can tell that the interview subjects are actually excited to talk about their jobs and their work. A few of them show up to the recording studio still a little shocked that anyone would want to hear them talk about their “boring job.” This is the kind of podcast where every single person involved benefits from it in some way.
In addition to Alie’s ultra-relatable layman vocabulary, her witty and highly educational asides, and the introduction to the wide world of Ologies, this podcast is a monument of crazy career mash-ups. Alie is proof that working hard on multiple passions can eventually lead to creating your own magical thing that makes other people happy and better.
My Favorite Episodes of Ologies
Having listened to this podcast since Episode 0, I can tell you that my favorites are numerous. Organizing them into a hierarchy is nearly impossible, especially because the enthusiasm of these scientists is so wildly contagious! The best I can do is rattle off the top seven episodes that stuck with me the most, but I encourage you to listen to any and all of the episodes that call to you!
Ichthyology with Chris Thacker – Listen Here
Phonology with Nicole Holliday – Listen Here
Mythology with John Bucher – Listen Here
Entomology with Lila Higgins – Listen Here
Volcanology with Jess Phoenix – Listen Here
Gelotology with Lee Berk – Listen Here
Dendrology with J. Casey Clapp – Listen Here
SUBSCRIBE TO OLOGIES on ITUNES
SUBSCRIBE TO OLOGIES on STITCHER
SUBSCRIBE TO OLOGIES on ART19