Caustic Soda

With a heavy heart and in honour of our good friend Mr. Dr. Greg Bole we present a very special episode: “The End.” The process and smells of dying, semelparity, animal grief, famous last ...

Almost six years to the day of our first ever podcast, Mike, Toren, Joe and Kevin are bringing their journey through the absolute worst the world of science, history, and pop culture has to offer to a...

The caustic look at elephants continues with elephant attacks, beehive fences, Jumbo, Topsy’s execution, plus news and pop culture! Music: “Tiny Paper Elephant” by The Doubleclicks ...

Yvonne Morrin joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe to talk elephants, starting with a mammoth pop-quiz and a ton of caustic elephacts: musth, the Phajaan ritual, and elephant artificial insemination. Part 1 of...

Caustic Hosts Joe, Toren, and Kevin get thirsty discussing the causes and effects of droughts including tumblefirenados, the Syrian Civil War, Indian and Chinese famines, the California Water Wars, La...

Carnivorous plants, strangling kelp, giant hogweed, gympie-gympie, falling saguaros, manchineel trees, coconuts, and more! Music: “Like A Monkey Likes Coconuts” by Hoosier Hot Shots (1939)...

Kevin, Joe, and Toren conclude Caligula’s history, an exploration of explanations for his behavior, plus pop culture! Music: “The Killing Type” by Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft...

Kevin, Toren, and Joe discuss Evil Dude in History Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, aka “Caligula”. Part 1 of 2 — the early years and rise to power. Music: “Ego...

Allan Newell rejoins the hosts with his firefighter helmet on to discuss the seven motives of arsonists, Herostratus, the Happy Land Fire, the Clarence Roberts mystery, the Sydney Ghost Train Fire, th...

Joe, Toren, and Kevin “check out” the caustic side of libraries, including both Melvil Dewey’s classification system and the man himself, the librarian who took over China, librarian...

Toren, Kevin, and Joe discuss mines of every description including naval mines, helicopter mines, fougasses, nuclear mines, the Camp Bonifas Golf Course and mine-detecting flowers. Plus what to expect...

The podcast marathon continues as Dr. Katie, Joe, Toren, and Kevin talk about the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Canadian Death Race, Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, and Oscar Pistorius’ career...

Dr. Katie Marshall is back with Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about the horrors of running. They compare human and animal running speeds, the horrors the running inflicts on your body (plus some benef...

Season seven of Caustic Soda begins with pathogenic fungi, prototaxites, spelunker’s lung, fungal eye and yeast infections, magic mushrooms, the death suit, and cordyceps. Plus news and pop culture! M...

Joe, Toren, and Kevin ring in the end of another season of Caustic Soda with a look at the arbitrary time of year we chose as the end. We’ll look at how calendars work, new year around the world...

Comedian Adam Pateman joins us to discuss diving accidents, dead whale carcasses, losing one’s sense of smell, cannibalism on the Franklin Expedition, a doomed expedition to Africa, plus which i...

Dr. Rob is back for for a Caustic Anatomy Class on kidneys! We’ll cover kidney disease, hear Toren’s own kidney stone story in full detail, the largest kidney stones ever reported, kidney ...

Vigiles, Sombra Negra, Jonathan Idema, Bernhard Goetz, The Lavender Panthers, the Fierce Missouri Bald Knobbers and Anonymous hacktivism, and more! Music: “Power Up” by The Darkest of th...

Our caustic look at hurricanes concludes with hurricane hunters, Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, the insultingly nitpicky appearance of the 1970 Bhola Cyclone In The News, plus pop culture! Part 2 ...

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back to talk about Big Wind: hurricanes! We’ll cover the biggest and most destructive ever, including the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, plus a Public Service Announcement,...

Hippo attacks and how to avoid them, hippo castration, hippo ranching, hippo news and pop culture. Music: Gayla Peevey Images Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeCCr2mQKpk http://ww...

Dr. Rob Tarzwell is back with Joe, Kevin, and Toren to discuss epilepsy. We’ll look at the science of the condition, what to do if you witness a seizure, notable epileptics in history, a seizure...

Author Don Debrandt joins Toren, Kevin, and Joe to discuss golems of all varieties in our 2015 Hallowe’en special. Music: “Postmodern Prometheus” by Invasives from their album Robot ...

While Toren and Kevin were at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival, Joe was at VCON 40 talking “Time Travel” with Eric Fell, Barbara Beall, Joe Haldeman and Mr. Dr. Greg Bole! Music: “Out ...

Celebrated actor Jeffrey (Re-Animator, Star Trek DS9) Combs joins Toren, Kevin and guest-host Warren Banks to talk bad books, space warfare, ghosts, film set accidents, plus a very special Lesser of T...

Joe, Kevin, and Toren discuss the denial of Galileo’s look-for-yourself findings, Ebin Byers’ “Radithor” addiction, “Deutsche Physik”, yet another evil tobacco cove...

Toren, Kevin, and Joe continue discussing Prisons with Riker’s Island, Diyarbakir Prison, Gitarama Central Prison, Camp 22, The Shining Path, For-Profit Prisons and the Kids for Cash Scandal, pl...

Toren, Joe, and Kevin lock themselves up in the studio to discuss locking people up in prisons, prison garb, panopticons, prison slang, a “So You’re Going To Prison” PSA, the Prison ...

Kevin, Toren and Joe continue their look at the Nazi doctor Josef “Angel of Death” Mengele with his post-war movement  plus news (yes, news!) and pop culture. Music: “Moments Unaware...

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back in Evil Dudes in History with a two-part look at Josef Mengele. In this episode it’s his life and the horrors he perpetrated, from his early days in the SS to his ...

War elephants, anti tank dogs, moose cavalry, carrier pigeons, donkey bombs, rocket cats, bear moats, bee hive missiles, explosive rats, the PDSA Dickin Medal and the dolphin arms race. Plus pop cultu...

Bed-wetting treatments, urine in the animal kingdom, the urine wheel, uromancy, phosphorous alchemy & urine therapy. Plus when is it safe to drink your pee? Music: “All That Glitters is Not ...

Joe, Toren, and Kevin discuss the science and history of deserts, animal desert adaptations, the desert ordeals of David “Jack” Sillito, Noel St. Malo Juul, and Chris Ryan, what happens wh...

Jim Crow Laws, the Nuremberg Laws, Bill C-51, Sudanese apostasy and the common sundae. Plus news & pop culture. Part 2 of 2. Music: “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” by Erskine Hawkin...

The Bloody Code, transportation to Australia, prohibition of nonbelievers to office, sexist laws, laws against homosexuality and blasphemy laws. Part 1 of 2. Music: “Kissing is a Crime” by...

Actor Richard Harmon from “The 100” joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe for a special blend of caustic subjects: Killer robots, cockfighting vengeance, mascot murder, enslaved Thai fishermen, the ...

Corpses on Everest, Everest Day, Beck Weathers’ survival story, plus pop culture. Part two of two. Music: “I’m Sitting On Top of the World” by Al Jolson Images  ...

Altitude sickness, frostbite, Ötzi the mummy, the Murder Wall, and other mountaineering deaths. Part one of two. Music: “Marching ‘Round the Mountain” by Pete Fountain Images &#...

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back with part two of “weird wars!”. This episode features The Anglo-Zanzibar War, The War of the Golden Stool, The War of the Stray Dog, The Football War, plus n...

Kevin, Toren, and Joe take a look at history’s weirdest wars. Tales from the Third Mithridatic War, The Siege of Yongqiu, The War of the Bucket, the Sham Battle, the War of Jenkins’ Ear, t...

The history of HIV/AIDS, ‘slow puncture’ in South African prison gangs, possible cure and pop culture! Part 2 of 2 with special guest BJ Allan. Music: “Close Your Eyes” by Al B...

BJ Allan joins us to talk about the science and history of HIV and AIDS. Music: “I’ll Never Be the Same Again” Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson & his Orchestra Charity O’ T...

Toren, Joe, and Kevin are joined by The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast‘s Paul Chapman for a special “Cinematastrophe” episode, where we force ourselves to review the most caustic cinem...

Joe, Kevin, and Toren are joined again by Dr. Rob Tarzwell for another Caustic Anatomy Class, this time on bones! We look at the structure and evolution of bones, the world’s biggest, smallest, ...

Allan Newell joins us to discuss the science and history of wildland fires including the Ash Wednesday bushfires, the Peshtigo Fire, The Big Burn, the Great Miramichi Fire, Black Saturday, and the Kur...

Actress, comedian, and former live-show guest Barbara Beall is finally in-studio with Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about a grab-bag of caustic topics including the Ortolan Bunting recipe, an Australi...

Who’s taking the red pill? Debunking sexist evolutionary psychology, sexism in science, menstruation, sexual assault victim blaming, women in refrigerators, the Bechdel test plus Star Trek! With...

Dr Jenna Moccia returns with special hosts Jarrah Hodge and Deanna Ogle for a particularly hysterical look at sexism. Part 1 of 2. Music: “Sobbin’ Women” by Howard Keel et al Charity...

The Caustic look at Ivan the Terrible continues with the Massacre of Novgorod, swollen cods, and the Time of Troubles, plus news and pop culture, and our thoughts on where Ivan falls on the Caustic So...

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back with more Evil Dudes in History. This time it’s Russian Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich: “Ivan the Terrible”. In Part 1 we talk about the early years and midd...