In this episode, Yackety Science reports on the recent glut of space telescopes. The team discusses cutting edge science from the 2026 Ig Nobel Awards–everything from the mechanics of kissing to the milking of cockroaches. In his chemical minute, Matt prescribes manganese as the cure for managing manhood misery. And finally, for the second installment of Ourobookos, the Yackety Science Book Club, Matt and Brian consider all of the apocalyptic bounces, rips, and crunches described in Katie Mack’s The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking).

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Episode Art: Photo composite by Brian Cross using elements from Anne-Lise Reinsfelt, Sophie Hugon, and Glueball.

Theme music: “Funky Machine” (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessedthrough FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Production help provided by Scott Gregory.

Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa,Kendall Hall, University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.

Links:

Space Telescopes

● Roman Space Telescope: ⁠https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/⁠ ARRAKIHS: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_adopts_galactic_archaeology_mission_Arrakihs

2026 Ignobel Awards

● Cockroach Milk: ⁠https://daily.jstor.org/got-cockroach-milk/⁠

● Building a Better Urinal: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/4/pgaf087/8098745?login=true

● Biomechanics of Kissing: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513825001370?via%3Dihub

NIST’s Atomic Clock

● https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/time-realization/cesium-fountain-atomic-clocks

Ourobookos, A Yackety Science Book Club

Book Selection: The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

“. . . a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know.”