We’re Aleena and Janine: two sisters, two PhDs, relentlessly curious about too many things… Join us on our podcast as we break down and share the science on curious topics – with only the occasional sibling squabble!
Episodes
Saturday Feb 13, 2021
Saturday Feb 13, 2021
In this episode, Aleena and Janine get stuck into the research around human crying. Why do we do it? How did this bizarre behaviour even evolve? Why are humans the only animals shedding tears due to emotion? Should we hold in the tears or let them flow? Meanwhile Aleena then shares her newfound appreciation for protective eyewear for doggos and Janine explains how she is attempting to keep her new mobile phone for more than 5 years and nerds out about battery science!
Full show notes at the Sister Doctor Squared website
Intro and Outro music by Dr Adrian Diery
Friday Jan 22, 2021
Friday Jan 22, 2021
In this episode, Aleena and Janine respond to a listener question (#exciting!): Deepak got in touch to ask them to explain the La Niña weather cycle that he keeps hearing about in the news in Australia this Summer. They start by breaking down the science that causes La Niña (and El Niño) weather patterns across the globe. Then they go deeper into some research showing how this global weather system can lead to or worsen diarrhoeal disease and even increase the likelihood of future pandemics. Meanwhile, Aleena explains why she can now recite the Nato Phonetic Alphabet, and Janine regales us with tales of a card game for any fellow evolutionary biology nerds!
Full show notes at the Sister Doctor Squared website
Intro and Outro music by Dr Adrian Diery
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Aleena and Janine open this episode by chatting about how physics may partly explain your messy house. They go deeper into the scientific literature about clutter in your home - how bad is it really? And what can you do about it? Do Marie Kondo's methods really work? What does 'sparking joy' even mean?! They are well placed to chat about all of this as they recently (and finally) cleared their remaining stuff out of the childhood home (it only took them 20 years!). And of course they found quite a few items that speak to their longstanding inner squares...
Full show notes at the Sister Doctor Squared website.
Intro and Outro music by Dr Adrian Diery
Thursday Dec 03, 2020
Thursday Dec 03, 2020
WARNING: This episode contains discussion related to violent crime that may be distressing for some listeners.
In episode 3, Aleena and Janine admit to spending countless hours engaging in true crime media. They really want to get to the bottom of why they, and so many of us, are so obsessed with this stuff! The research they present sheds light on the psychology and evolutionary biology that might be behind our motivations. Meanwhile Janine explains her recent deep dive into primary school handwriting rules and downloadable fonts, while Aleena reveals how she tried to use science to win a culinary debate in the family (it didn’t go so well).
Full show notes at the Sister Doctor Squared website.
Intro and Outro music by Dr Adrian Diery
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
In this episode, Aleena and Janine delve in to the evidence behind multitasking – is it a myth or not? Janine’s consistent inability to multitask has always been a source of much amusement within the family. Aleena, on the other hand, has always appeared to be an effective multitasker. Their research delivers some clear evidence on whether multitasking is possible and one of them has to eat their words. Meanwhile Janine explains her recent foray into straw-hoarding and Aleena rants about the lack of transparency when it comes word-inclusion decisions for Scrabble and Words with Friends.
Full show notes at the Sister Doctor Squared website.
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Aleena and Janine kick off the Sister Doctor Squared podcast by discussing the most pressing issue in our world right now: coronavirus. In this episode they delve into some aspects of the underlying biology of the virus, and also people’s psychological responses to the pandemic. Somehow they also end up discussing toileting and cat poo.
Full show notes at the Sister Doctor Squared website.
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Well hello there! This is a podcast where sisters Aleena and Janine get super chatty about research into science, health, psychology and more. In this short intro episode, they explain who the hell they are and that they already have a ridiculously long list of topics that they’ll probably never get through, and rattle off a few of the ideas (hope you like!). Aleena and Janine embrace how they’re 100% squares and proud of it. Plus there is some cool music to bop along to. Enjoy.