About this season
Take a dive into the tiny, unseen world that surrounds us! With music by Andrew Huang, footage from James Weiss, and narration by Hank Green, we want to take you on a fascinating, reflective journey through the microcosmos.
Episodes (24)
1. We Upgraded Our Microscope!
Aired 10 August 2020 • 10 min
Differential interference contrast is not a microscope, but rather a method that enhances contrast, and thanks to our new microscope we are able to share some amazing DIC images with you!
2. How Do Microorganisms Poop?
Aired 17 August 2020 • 10 min
Everybody poops, but how does one poop when one does not have a butthole?
3. Flatworms: Simple Wiggly Tubes
Aired 24 August 2020 • 10 min
4. Our Paramecia Are Infected
Aired 31 August 2020 • 10 min
We recently discovered some Holospora infecting one of our Paramecium samples. How does that happen? How does the Holospora get in there? And how are they so successful at infecting?
5. Lacrymaria: Vicious Long-Necked Predators
Aired 7 September 2020 • 10 min
6. The Fungus That Traps and Kills Nematodes
Aired 14 September 2020 • 10 min
Arthrobotrys is a genus of fungi that not only kills nematodes, but it also sets traps in order to catch them!
7. Ophyroglena: The Tricky Transforming Ciliate
Aired 21 September 2020 • 10 min
On the surface, Ophyroglena seems like it should be pretty easy to identify, but it all depends on which stage of life it's currently in.
8. Can Microbes See Without Eyes?
Aired 29 September 2020 • 10 min
9. Do Microscopic Immortals Actually Exist?
Aired 5 October 2020 • 10 min
Are you immortal if you never age? Defying death is not as clear-cut as it might initially seem. What we define as immortality depends a bit on what you think it means to die.
10. Water Is Thicker When You’re Smaller
Aired 12 October 2020 • 10 min
11. Didinium: The Paramecium Hunter
Aired 2 November 2020 • 10 min
12. Some Water Bears Live on Land
Aired 9 November 2020 • 10 min
13. The Case of the Mistaken Amoeba
Aired 16 November 2020 • 10 min
Today we're exploring the intriguing Ouramoeba vorax. Or wait... is it Amoebophilus simplex? Let's figure that out together by diving into some history!
14. This Ciliate Is About to Die
Aired 23 November 2020 • 10 min
It's time to explore a big question while we watch a ciliate go through its last moments.
15. Strange Stentor Stories
Aired 30 November 2020 • 10 min
Our giant Stentor friends are back with more strange stories about these mysterious giants!
16. The Schoolteacher Who Discovered 700 Ciliates
Aired 8 December 2020 • 10 min
Alfred Kahl only spent a decade in the world of the microcosmos, but in that time he discovered more ciliates than anyone else ever has!
17. How Did Multicellularity Evolve?
Aired 14 December 2020 • 10 min
18. Actinobolina: A Tiny Predatory Porcupine
Aired 21 December 2020 • 10 min
It may not be the super rare tentacled ciliate we were looking for, but it's still a really cool super rare tentacled ciliate!
19. Foraminifera: Hard on The Outside, Squishy on the Inside
Aired 28 December 2020 • 10 min
We're going fossil hunting for Foraminifera! From beaches, to the ocean floor, to the foundation of the Egyptian pyramids, Forams are everywhere!
20. Why Do Bacteria Move Like Vibrating Chaos Snakes?
Aired 4 January 2021 • 10 min
Bacterial flagella are very hard to spot in our footage, but we see evidence of them in almost every single one of our videos. The question is, how do they work, and are they different from the other flagella we've discussed?
21. Dinoflagellates: The Algae That Saved an Astronaut
Aired 12 January 2021 • 10 min
22. Moss & Lichen: Which One Is Actually a Plant?
Aired 18 January 2021 • 10 min
23. Suctorians: The Ugly Duckling of Ciliates
Aired 25 January 2021 • 10 min
24. Pelomyxa: The Microbe That's Big Enough to Pet
Aired 1 February 2021 • 10 min