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Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy here.
And before we start the show, I gotta let you know that this November, with a special new episode featuring our friends at Circle Round and Terrestrials on Radiolab for Kids,
And don't miss when Elmo from Sesame Street stops by Wow in the World to make us all belly laugh on November 24th.
Oh, but that's not all, Reg.
On December 1st, we are sharing our 250th episode of Wow in the World with all of you.
We think this one is going to be music to your ears.
Literally.
Did I mention it's a musical?
And if you're a member of the World Organization of Wowzers...
Oh boy, do I have a surprise for you.
You can listen to our 250th episode early with me and other members from around the world on Saturday, November 22nd, at 7 pm.
Eastern.
That's right, we are throwing another listening party.
Join us as we dance along to our new songs.
React to the episode with other members in the chat and more.
Grownups.
If you want your wowzer to join this members-only listening party, you can sign up to become a member today at Tinkercastcom.
Slash wow.
Already a member?
Well, you can find the link and password to join the event when you sign in at Tinkercastcom.
Slash wow.
That's it.
It's going to be a November to remember.
But for now, let's get on with the show.
Woo! back there.
They're so cute.
Reggie, no.
That's my birdseed.
Well, why don't you say that to my face, Mr. Lincoln?
We should probably wake them up soon, Mindy.
We're almost at the university.
Great idea, Guy Raz.
I've got just the thing in my adventure toolkit here.
Now, watch the road for me.
Here, hold the steering wheel.
Let's see...
Goose sock, goose rock, shock lock, mop top.
No, no, no.
Here it is.
Cover your ears, Guy Raz.
What?
No!
Mindy!
What?
You said to wake everyone up.
Well, I'm going back to sleep.
No, no, no.
Don't go back to sleep, Grandma G-Force.
We're almost there.
Where?
Canine University.
Look, Mindy, it's the front gate.
Whoa.
Huh?
How cute!
It looks like a giant doggy door.
Okay, everyone quiet down.
Guy Raz has to talk to this little intercom thingy.
Let me just first crack the window for you there, buddy.
Mindy, that's not what people mean when they say crack the window.
Well, how am I supposed to know that?
Hello?
Hello.
Are you all here for the graduation ceremony?
You know it!
Yeah, my friend Eleanor's dog, Beardsley, is graduating from medical school.
Oh, congratulations.
Come on through.
Ooh, the giant doggy door is opening.
Would you look at that?
So many dogs.
And water balls for the dogs.
And tennis balls, far as the eye can see.
Ow.
Okay, give me the wheel, Guy Raz.
I've got to find a parking space for this bad boy.
Oh, what a...
Stop doing that.
Okay.
Looking, looking, looking.
Will somebody tell me why I'm here?
Well, my friend's dog, Beardsley, is graduating.
Remember?
No.
Oh, Guy Raz.
Dogs don't graduate.
They play fetch and bark at the mail carrier and wear sunglasses and ride skateboards.
That's not true.
True dennis yes, it is, i saw it on the internet.
No, i mean, dogs graduate all the time.
Lots of dog jobs require training, like if a dog wanted to go become a security dog or a sniffer dog or a sup dog.
Huh, what's a sup dog?
Not much.
What's up with you?
Anyways, Beardsley has gone through a lot of training, and today is the big day.
He's graduating from medical school.
Cool, dude.
A doctor dog.
You think maybe he could take a look at this here rash?
Oh, Fingerling, put your shirt back on.
Well, look at the rash first.
Well, he's not that kind of Dr. Thomas Fingerling.
Oh.
He's been trained to perform one very specific medical task.
Which is?
Which is detecting a disease called Parkinson's.
Parkinson's disease.
You mean that health problem that affects the brain and the spinal cord?
Exactly.
And a person with Parkinson's might have trouble controlling their body's movements.
Like their hands might shake or they might have a hard time standing and walking.
And you're telling me that this dog Beardsley is now an expert at detecting this disease in humans?
Yup.
What do you mean?
How can a dog detect a disease?
Explain yourself, Roz.
Well... No, don't.
I don't want to hear the answer.
Oh, hold that thought, Guy Raz.
I think I just found a parking spot.
All right, hold on, everyone.
Mindy, what are you doing?
I'm parking.
You can't park here.
This is the college lawn.
Sure I can.
Watch this.
See?
Parked.
Okay.
Everyone out.
Dog University.
I remember my days here as a young pup.
What?
What?
OMG.
Look at these little dogs.
They're so cute in their little caps and gowns.
Do you see, Mindy?
Do you see how cute they are?
Hey, you can't park there.
Sure I can.
Look.
See?
Parked.
Oh.
Huh.
I guess you can park there.
Actually, we're here for the graduation ceremony.
Do you know where that's happening?
Oh, sure.
The ceremony is taking place over there in the Who's a Good Boy Auditorium.
Oh, thanks a lot.
You're welcome.
Come on, everyone.
The graduation ceremony is supposed to start in just a few minutes.
What's up?
Oh, excuse me, sir.
Ow!
Sure are a lot of dogs here.
Yeah, isn't it great?
Yeah, there's a lot more than I was expecting.
There were only 22 other dogs in Beardsley's class.
His class on how to detect Parkinson's disease in humans?
That's right.
The class was part of a study conducted by a group called Pads for Parkinson's, in which they were trained to sniff out the disease.
Wait, they're smelling this Parkinson's disease on people?
That's right.
Wow.
That must be one powerful sniffer.
It is.
You see, dogs typically have a sense of smell that is thousands of times stronger than our own.
It's kind of like they can see smells.
Big whoop.
I can see fingerling smell.
What's that supposed to mean?
It means take a bath.
Why?
It ain't bath month.
Come on, everyone.
I think the ceremony is right through here. proud puppy parents.
We should try and find some seats, Mindy.
Oh, look over there, right between that Pomeranian and the chocolate lab.
Oh, chocolate lab.
Oh, now, now, I'm hungry.
I need chocolate.
And a hot dog.
No, wait, Mr. Fingerling.
Don't go.
It's about to start.
He's gone.
And I am also gone.
Huh?
Fingerling, don't eat all that chocolate labs.
Save some for me.
No, no, no.
The dogs are not for eating.
Reggie, no.
We're not getting hot dogs.
We need to sit down.
Okay, fine.
Let's get those seats.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
He made it.
With just enough time for you to tell me how these dogs are able to sniff out Parkinson's disease in people.
Okay, so in the study that Beardsley was part of, they took T-shirts that people with Parkinson's disease had slept in and T-shirts from people who didn't have Parkinson's disease, and they tried to get the dogs to tell them apart.
They were sniffing out Parkinson's disease by sniffing different sweaty T-shirts?
Yeah.
Well, that's a little bit of an oversimplification, but essentially, yes.
The dog would smell the T-shirt sample and then, if they picked up the smells associated with Parkinson's disease, they'd raise their paw or sit down or bark to signal to their owner that they had something.
Wow.
And Mindy, that's not even the wildest part.
What's the wildest part, Guy Raz?
Did they dress the doggies up in adorable little lab coats?
Woo!
He's so cute.
Is that what they did, Guy Raz?
Is it?
Is that what they did?
Yeah, is it?
What?
No.
The wildest part is how accurate these dogs were.
Some of them were able to guess which of the t-shirts contained Parkinson's disease 89% of the time.
That's most of the time.
Wait a minute, Guy Raz.
You're telling me that almost nine out of ten times a few of these dogs would correctly guess which T-shirt belonged to someone who had Parkinson's disease and which ones didn't.
Yep.
That is bonker balls.
Oh, and here comes the dean.
The graduation ceremony must be about to start.
Thank you, thank you.
I'm Dean Diener, the Dean of K-9 University, and it is a privilege to welcome you all here today.
When we ask our students here at K-9 University, who's a good boy?
We really mean, who is a good boy?
What is it that constitutes a good boy, and how do we instill that virtue of good boyness into every doggo and pupper that walks through our front doggy door?
The dogs you are about to see walk across this stage will go on to join a very exclusive group of good dogs.
Dogs like Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, and Air Bud. that dog.
I still don't think dogs should be allowed to play basketball.
Now, may I present to you the graduating class in the field of medicine.
Come here.
Come here, doggies.
That's right.
Come here.
Oh, Mindy, there's Beardsley.
Hey, Beardsley, over here.
What a good boy.
Okay, now, one at a time.
Doggy Houser.
Come here, boy.
Come here.
Good.
Sit.
Jake, take your diploma.
Oh, good boy.
Next, Mr. Fluffy Buns.
Oh, come here.
I can't believe all of these dogs are now trained in the art of disease sniffing.
Well, it didn't happen overnight, Mindy.
These dogs have worked really hard to be where they are today.
It took each of these dogs at least eight months of training to get to the point where they can put their sniffer to work.
And there's such a variety in dog breeds.
Big dogs, small dogs, curly dogs, hot dogs.
What?
Oh!
Here comes Beardsley.
It's Beardsley, you guys.
Next is Beardsley.
Now heel, spin in a circle, look super cute, and take your diploma.
Yay!
Ladies and gentlemen, may I once again present to you this year's graduating medical class.
Okay everyone, please join us outside on the collegial lawn where we will be serving refreshments and peanut butter smeared inside a rubber thing, so it's really hard to get out.
Come on, everyone, let's try and find Beardsley.
Right behind you, Guy Raz.
Yeah, Guy Raz. and Zeus are right behind you.
Giddy up, Zeus.
What?
Dennis, get off that Great Dane.
You can't ride it like a horse.
What?
Why not?
Because it's rude to ride other people's dogs.
Fine.
Sorry, Zeus.
Beardsley should be right through here, I think.
Now, stand back or you'll be sorry.
Horrible.
Ma'am, we need you to get off the vehicle now.
That's a bad man.
G-Force, now listen to the nice officer.
What in the... And is that G-Force and Thomas Fingerling?
Standing on top of the ice cream truck, defending it from ticketing?
Yes, it is.
Ma'am, please.
You're not allowed to park here.
We have to give you a ticket.
Well, try me, buddy.
We better go help them out before this gets ugly.
Wait a minute, Mindy.
I want to get a photo with Beardsley first.
Okay, but let's make it quick because I'm not sure how long Grandma G-Force can hold them off.
Oh, I wish you'd try me, buddy.
Why don't you just see what happens?
Dennis, can you go and see if you can find Beardsley?
You got it, Mindy.
I'll find that dog.
Beardsley!
Oh, Beardsley!
So what's next for Beardsley after graduation?
Am I going to be seeing him at the doctor's office anytime soon?
I wish Mindy, but the researchers of the study said that there's still a lot of research that has to be done before these dogs can be used in the real world.
Like what?
Well, the researchers are hoping to figure out which dogs are the best at smelling these diseases and if they might be able to pick up on the disease really early on, even before the patient starts showing signs or symptoms.
Huh, so the doctors could start treating it earlier, exactly.
But to answer those questions they have to do more research, more research with beardsley, maybe Amazing Beardsley.
We're so proud of you.
Okay, let's get a picture with Beardsley before Grandma G-Force hurts herself.
Or someone else.
Uh, excuse me.
Hi, um, could you take a picture of us with this very smart boy here?
Of course.
Okay, here's my camera.
It's just that big button right there.
All you have to do is point it at us and then press it.
Ew, why is it sticky?
Don't worry about it.
Okay everyone, look at the camera and say a smart boy on three two, one.
Who's a smart boy?
Hey hey, i'm a smart boy.
Wow in the world.
We'll be right back.
Grown-ups, this message is for you.
Hey grown-ups, it's mindy and guy ross here from wow in the world.
Mindy and i have some brand new wow in the world Out in the world just in time for the holidays.
Made for the kids who love science and for the ones who don't yet.
From our 100 experiments that wow kit to the telescope and astronomy kit.
Our Wow in the World toys help your wowzer learn about their world through play.
Plus, you can hear exclusive audio content from me and Guy Raz to help your wowzer discover even more wows.
Grownups.
Give the gift of wow and wonder this holiday season with our latest Wow in the World toys designed with your curious wowzer in mind.
You can shop our Wow in the World toys at Tinkercast.com slash toys.
That's Tinkercast.com slash toys.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
It's officially Summer of Wow time.
When you hear the beep, record your Summer of Wow moment.
Hi, Guy, Roz, and Mindy.
My name is Amadilla.
I live in Naperville, Illinois.
My Summer of WoW is that I get to play with my friends a lot and spend a lot of time with them.
Say hello to Dennis.
Hi!
Grandma G-Force.
Booyah!
Comic Singer Link.
Sup?
And Reggie for me.
Thank you and bye!
Alright, my name is...
Hi, my name is Everett.
I live in Texas and my summer wow is my birthday.
I went to the pool with my friends and then I went to this restaurant with my friends and there was an arcade there and barbecue and I really loved it.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Daniel.
I am from Missouri and I just went to Florida for a hockey tournament and after it She went to the beach and stayed there, and I watched the waves from my balcony.
Hi, my name is Sammy, and I'm eight years old.
Hi, my name is Alex, and I'm five and three quarters.
And we are from San Francisco, California.
Our Summer World Moment is going to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and having loads of fun.
Yeah.
And Thomas Mingling and Grandma G-Force.
Marley.
Oh, snap.
And Dennis, we definitely know that you're Static Man.
What?
No, I'm not Static Man.
We just look alike and sound alike.
Bye.
We love your show.
Hi, Mindy.
Hi, Dennis.
Hi, Reggie.
Ahoy there.
My summer.
Wow is that every summer I get to go to the beach with my aunt and uncle and I get to see my cousin and I love to spend time with her.
So that's the wow-est thing I can do in the summer.
End of messages.
Grown-ups, if you like Wow in the World, you can listen early and ad-free right now on Wondery+.
Join Wondery+, in the Wondery app, or on Wondery Kids+, on Apple Podcasts.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalken with help from me, Guy Raz.
Original sound design and music editing is done by Tyler Thole with help from our supervising producer, Jed Anderson.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters that you hear on our show.
And Lizzie Freilich can also be heard as some of the silly characters on our show.
Jessica Bode keeps our facts straight as our fact checker and Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by three-time Grammy nominees, the Pop-Ups.
Find them at thepopups.com.
Special thanks to... And to keep the wow rolling...
After you finish this episode, visit us at Tinkercast.com.
There you can become a member of the World Organization of Wowzers to get year-round mailings and weekly activities.
Shop our Wow Shop.
Get tickets for upcoming events, find our best-selling books and learn about some of the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Grownups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World.
And our email address is hello at Tinkercast.com.
And if you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call us at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of our show or an upcoming episode of Two.
What's in a Wow?
Thanks again for listening.
We're here every Monday or you can check out Two What's in a Wow every Friday right here in the Wow in the World podcast feed.
And don't forget, we wow on the weekend with Dennis, Saturday and Sunday.
Keep on wowing!
Wow in the world!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
