Normal Curves: Sexy Science, Serious Statistics
von Regina Nuzzo and Kristin Sainani
- alle zwei WochenErscheinungsrhythmus
- 54 mintypische Länge
- 19. Okt.letzte Folge
Normal Curves is a podcast about sexy science & serious statistics. Ever try to make sense of a scientific study and the numbers behind it? Listen in to a lively conversation between two stats-savvy friends who break it all down with humor and clarity. Professors Regina Nuzzo of Gallaudet University and Kristin Sainani of Stanford University discuss academic papers journal club-style — except with more fun, less jargon, and some irreverent, PG-13 content sprinkled in. Join Kristin and Regina as they dissect the data, challenge the claims, and arm you with tools to assess scientific studies on your own.
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Researching Honesty: Can you trust the data? Part 1
A famous Harvard researcher. A blockbuster finding about honesty. Suspicious data, failed replications, and a $25 million lawsuit. Welcome to one of the strangest research misconduct scandals in recent memory. In the first of two episodes a
Statistical Sleuthing: Can you spot a problem?
Can you spot problems in a scientific study just by reading the published paper? We put our statistical sleuthing skills to the test with a famous study on procrastination and deadlines that was retracted more than 20 years after it was pub
Ctrl-Z Awards: Will retracting your paper ruin your career?
What happens when you discover that your published paper is wrong? Does retracting it ruin your reputation—or could owning the mistake actually make things better? In this episode, we meet the inaugural winners of the Ctrl-Z Awards, which r
Statistical Power: When is it useful?
Statistical power is one of the most important ideas in statistics—and one of the most misunderstood. In this episode, we explain what statistical power really means, why researchers need to think about it before they collect their data, an
Cannabis and Brain Aging: Can weed keep your brain young?
Can weed protect your brain as you get older? We unpack a study linking lifetime cannabis use to larger brain volumes and better cognitive test scores in older adults—and investigate how those findings became headlines urging readers to “pa
Double Duty: Can the meningitis vaccine also protect against gonorrhea?
Can the meningitis vaccine do double duty against gonorrhea? We examine a fascinating randomized trial inspired by years of encouraging observational studies—and what happened when those earlier results were finally put to the test. Along t
Hot Tubbing: Can soaking in hot water help you run faster?
Can you improve your endurance by sitting in a hot tub instead of doing another hard workout? We dig into a study that put elite runners through five weeks of what we affectionately call “endurance hot tubbing” to see whether heat alone cou
Exercise Snacks: Can just four minutes of exercise a day improve blood sugar?
Could four one-minute bursts of exercise really improve blood sugar? We try “exercise snacks” ourselves before taking a close look at the clinical trial that inspired headlines. We explain why the study’s main result wasn’t statistically si
Cancer Blood Tests Part 2: The clinical trial
How do you decide whether a clinical trial “worked”? In Part 2 of our Galleri series, we examine the landmark randomized trial of a blood test designed to detect more than 50 cancers. We explore why different outcome measures led to dramati
Cancer Blood Tests: Are they ready for primetime? Part 1
Can a single tube of blood really detect dozens of cancers before symptoms appear? We dive into the science behind Galleri, a blood test that claims to detect more than 50 types of cancer from a simple blood draw. Recent headlines about the
Odds Ratios: Do most people get them wrong?
Odds ratios show up everywhere in medical research—but do readers, journalists, and even researchers always know what they mean? In this episode, we tackle one of the most common statistical misunderstandings in science: treating odds ratio
Coffee and the Heart: Is caffeine a trigger for AFib?
Does coffee trigger atrial fibrillation — or have doctors been warning people away from caffeine without strong evidence? We dig into two recent randomized clinical trials testing whether caffeinated coffee causes dangerous heart rhythm pro
Sleep and Exercise: Does working out on too little sleep speed up aging?
Can exercise actually be bad for you if you don’t get enough sleep? A widely shared claim says yes—that working out while sleep deprived may speed up aging. In this episode, we put that claim under the microscope. We examine the study behin
Sex Recession: Are young people really having less sex?
Are young people really having less sex? Headlines about a “sex recession” suggest a dramatic decline—but what do the data actually show? In this episode, we trace that claim back to the research behind it—and find a story that’s far more n
Diagnostic Testing: Do the stats tell you what you need to know?
Diagnostic testing: what do those statistics actually tell you? Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value . . . you’ve probably seen these terms before. Maybe you memorized them for a test. But do you actually know what they mean?
Epidurals: Are labor epidurals really linked to autism?
Epidurals are widely used and widely trusted for pain relief during labor. So when a 2020 study reported that they might be linked to autism, it raised a troubling question: could a routine medical decision have long-term consequences? We f
Daylight Saving Time: Does springing forward cause heart attacks?
Every year we spring forward and lose an hour of sleep. But do we also lose a few heart cells? Some headlines claim that heart attacks spike by 24% after daylight saving time begins. In this episode we trace that number back to the research
Marathon Performance: Does high-carb fueling work?
How many carbs do you need to run your best marathon? Recent headlines suggest that 120 grams per hour is the magic number. But what’s the science behind that claim? To find out, we dug into the study fueling the hype — and were surprised b
Falling in Love: Do the 36 Questions Actually Work?
Can a list of questions really make two strangers fall in love? In 2015, a viral New York Times Modern Love column claimed psychologists had discovered a formula for love: 36 increasingly personal questions, plus four minutes of eye contact
Bonus: Pheromones with commentary
While we’re on a short break between seasons, we’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes from Season 1. This week, we’re re-releasing our debut episode on pheromones and sexy sweat, with some added commentary up front.. Sweaty t-shirt d
Bonus: Sugar Sag with Commentary
While we’re on a short break between seasons, we’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes from Season 1. This week, we’re re-releasing our exploration of how your diet can affect your skin – now with added commentary! Wrinkles and saggin
Bonus: Vitamin D Part 1 with commentary
While we’re on a short break between seasons, we’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes from Season 1. This week, we’re re-releasing our deep dive into vitamin D and the origins of the so-called deficiency epidemic, with added commenta
The Batman Effect: Do weird surprises make people nicer?
Description Nobody expects Batman—but when he shows up in a crowded subway car, are people suddenly more likely to help a passenger in need? This week on Normal Curves, we unpack a recent quasi-experimental field study involving a caped sup
Holiday Survival Guide Part 2: The survey study edition
Does the temperature of your coffee six months ago really predict whether you feel gassy today? This week we dissect a new nutrition survey study on hot and cold beverage habits that claims to connect drink temperature with gut symptoms, an
Holiday Survival Guide: How to talk about scientific studies around the dinner table
Does a little alcohol really make you speak a foreign language better? This week we unpack a quirky randomized trial that tested Dutch pronunciation after a modest buzz—and came to the opposite conclusion the researchers expected. We use it
Shingles Shot and Dementia: Could one vaccine protect your brain?
What do chickenpox and shingles have to do with your brain? This week, we dig into two 2025 headline-grabbing studies that link the shingles shot to lower dementia rates. We start in Wales, where a birthday cutoff turned into the perfect na
Scary Bridge Study: Can fear make you horny?
What if a haunted house makes your date look hotter? This week we dive into the infamous Scary Bridge Study — the 1970s classic that launched a thousand pop-psych takes on fear and lust. It’s the one with the swaying bridge, pretty “researc
Ultramarathons: Can vitamin D protect your bones?
Ultramarathoners push their bodies to the limit, but can a giant pre-race dose of vitamin D really keep their bones from breaking down? In this episode, we dig into a trial that tested this claim – and found a statistical endurance event of
P-Values: Are we using a flawed statistical tool?
P-values show up in almost every scientific paper, yet they’re one of the most misunderstood ideas in statistics. In this episode, we break from our usual journal-club format to unpack what a p-value really is, why researchers have fought a
Exercise and Cancer: Does physical activity improve colon cancer survival?
Exercise has long been hailed as cancer-fighting magic, but is there hard evidence behind the hype? In this episode, we tackle the CHALLENGE trial, a large phase III study of colon cancer patients that tested whether prescribed exercise cou
