If you don’t know what the Ig Nobel Prize is you’re missing out on some of humankind’s most interesting explorations and discoveries. A satiric counterpart to the Nobel Prize it recognises scientific research that ‘honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think’. Improbably Research is the sister podcast to the awards taking a broader look at the curious and quirky studies performed around the globe. Hosted by Marc Abrahams in a delightfully awkward manner it plays with topics as diverse as ‘ear bigness through the years’ to the ‘danger assessment of holy water’ and the ‘eyebrows of narcissists’. These are all genuine studies from scientific journals. Marc is joined each episode by a guest, always someone with scientific credentials as well as wit and charm to dissect the said study. I want to be friends with every single one of them, they’re intelligent, funny and lacking in ego. It’s quirky, it’s fun, it’s interesting, it makes you think about topics you never even contemplated in the past. Something about these odd and usual topics tells you more about people, what humans are than so many other podcasts – we’re curious creatures trying to understand our place. Don’t forget, if you need a bigger fix of Improbably Research, their website is packed with articles and they also have a wonderful magazine and books!