WeWow on the Weekend

Summary

Wow in the World – WeWow on the Weekend

Date: March 28, 2026
Podcast: Wow in the World
Hosts: Mindy Thomas, Guy Raz, Dennis, Reggie
Episode Theme: Weekend fun, listener Q&A, and a behind-the-scenes science episode relisten featuring the neuroscience of singing mice.

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Episode Overview

In this lively weekend edition, "WeWow on the Weekend," Dennis and Reggie (the giant pigeon) host a show packed with comedy, listener questions, musical antics, and a special relisten to a science-packed episode of "Wow in the World." This weekend, Mindy and Guy Raz join to explore an extraordinary discovery about singing mice and the brain science behind conversational turn-taking—paralleling human communication.

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Key Sections & Highlights

1. April Fools’ Day Gag & Science Toy Promo

[00:07–01:51]

• Opening Joke: Mindy, Guy Raz, and Reggie introduce a "revolutionary" Jar of Farts—an elaborate April Fools’ prank.
  • Mindy: “Do you or a loved one enjoy the smell of a fresh toot?” [00:23]
  • Guy Raz: “No one’s gonna wanna buy this.” [00:45]
  • Reggie: “That’s exactly what market research said.” [00:47]
• The reveal: it’s an April Fools' joke, but real science toys that “toot” are available.
  • Guy Raz: “We do have some STEM toys that toot.” [01:03]
  • Mindy: “Not to toot our own horn here, but we’ve got lots of STEM toys that will wow the kids in your life who love science and the ones who don’t… yet.” [01:28]

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2. WeWow on the Weekend: Dennis & Reggie’s Variety Show

[01:52–05:15]

• Theme Song & Show Setup: Dennis and Reggie kick off the variety show with singing, laughter, and magic.
  • Dennis: “Hello and welcome to WeWow on the Weekend. I’m your host, Dennis, and that’s my co-host, Reggie the giant pigeon, who’s wearing a top hat for some reason.” [02:25]
• Magic Trick Segment: Reggie, as "Reggie the Stupenda Pigeon," performs a hat trick, producing "Baby Dennis" (comic skit).
  • Dennis: “Baby Dennis will never disappear. Baby Dennis is eternal.” [04:20]
  • Chaos ensues as pigeons disrupt the segment.

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3. Listener Call-In Q&A

[05:15–08:46]

• Haiku Compliments & Rebuttal:
  • Caller Sawyer shares a hilarious haiku praising Reggie and (playfully) calling Dennis a "big whiner."
    • Caller (Sawyer): “Reggie is so cool. Dennis is a big whiner. Together they rock.” [05:56]
    • Dennis (defensive): “I think you meant to say winner. Dennis is a big winner.” [06:07]
• Fun Science Question: Grace asks, “Why do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open?”
  • Dennis invents an answer about “sleep snooping” while jokingly ignoring the real science. [06:40–07:12]
• Behind-the-Scenes Banter: Evelyn asks what Mindy and Guy Raz do on weekends.
  • Dennis (confused): “I don’t think they do anything on the weekends. If I leave them, I’m pretty sure they just sit around and wait for me…” [07:36]
  • A silly voicemail from “Mindy” lists outrageous weekend activities (“riding a donkey,” “visiting Mars”). [08:29–08:41]

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4. Inside Tinkercast Studios: Relisten to “Song of the Singing Mouse”

[09:43–35:14]

a. Introduction to the Story

• Mindy and Guy, prompted by Reggie, revisit an episode about singing mice (Season 3, Episode 14).
• They enter a mouse concert featuring the fictional band, America’s Squeak Hearts.

b. The Science Behind Singing Mice

[21:39–30:39]

• Discovery: Dr. Michael Long and his NYU team studied Alston’s singing mice (Scotinomys teguina) from Central America, who can sing over 100 musical notes.
  • Mindy: “These mice can sing over 100 different musical notes…” [22:39]
• Behavior: Male mice engage in “rap battles”—dueling vocalizations to impress female mice.
  • Guy Raz: “A rap battle? You mean like a singing duel to win the affection of a mate?” [23:23]
• Unique Communication: Their singing is a musical “conversation,” with remarkable turn-taking, each waiting for the other to finish before “responding.”
  • Guy Raz: “I mean, all the different vocal muscles and parts of their little mouth that had to work together to create that snappy back and forth sing off. I mean, that’s just not something you see very often in the animal kingdom. Well, unless you count us humans.” [24:22]

c. Experiments & Brain Science

[28:03–33:10]

• Experiment 1: Call-and-Response Rules
  • Mice sing differently together than alone, following “unspoken rules,” like human conversational turn-taking.
    • Mindy: “…they learned that these mice have certain unspoken rules to their musical back and forth, just like we humans do when we’re having a conversation.” [28:31]
• Experiment 2: The Orofacial Motor Cortex (OMC)
  • Using tiny sensors, researchers mapped which parts of the mice’s brains (OMC) control the timing of singing.
    • Mindy: “…they discovered that it was the part of the brain known as the orofacial motor cortex, or the OMC for short.” [29:44]
• Experiment 3: Speeding up & Slowing Down Brain Signals
  • By accelerating OMC signals, mice sang too fast and off-key; slowing the signals made them sing slowly, but still in tune.
    • Mindy: “So, using those same electronic sensors, Dr. Long and his team sped up the signals that the mice's brains were sending to their vocal muscles. And before they knew it… singing all the wrong notes…” [30:21]
    • Mindy: “Turns out that these mice could still sing the right notes. There were just longer spaces in between…” [31:19]
• Experiment 4: Turning Off OMC
  • Temporarily disabling the OMC: mice could sing solo, but couldn’t coordinate back-and-forth exchanges—no more “musical conversation.”
    • Mindy: “Well, they found that the mice could still sing… but only to themselves. In other words, they could no longer sing back and forth to each other. No more musical conversation.” [32:22]
    • Guy Raz: “They became solo artists.” [32:37]

d. Why this Science Matters

• Implications for Human Communication
  • This research may help scientists understand and treat communication difficulties (e.g., autism, stroke).
    • Mindy: “They’re hoping… to help people whose brains don’t let them have these quick back and forth conversations.” [34:22]
    • Guy Raz: “…like some people with autism… or maybe people who have had strokes…” [34:34]
• Comic Relief & Fun
  • Mindy jokes about her own inability to stop interrupting or singing off-key and the gang riffs on communication skills.
    • Mindy: “Or people like me who sing all the wrong notes at all the wrong times and can’t stop interrupting.” [34:44]
    • Guy Raz: “I think that might be something we worth experimenting on your own, Mindy.” [34:50]
• Concert Finale: The mouse band, America’s Squeak Hearts, thanks the audience and invites everyone to listen to their “Hide and Squeak” album.

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5. Wrap-Up & Thanks

[35:14–36:43]

• Dennis Reflects:
  • Dennis: “I can’t believe we can learn all this stuff about our own brains from little mousies. Like, we communicate is so… communicationy.” [35:17]
• Final Antics: Baby Dennis wants more magic tricks; Dennis wraps up with gratitude and a playful goodbye song.
  • Dennis: “I need to go and magically saw baby Dennis in half and then put him back together.” [36:25]
  • Show closes with Dennis promising another episode and a cheerful farewell. [36:43]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Guy Raz: “What are they going to come up with next? A band of singing chipmunks? A musical starring cats?” [19:24]
• Mindy: “Winner, winner, mousetrap dinner.” [33:07]
• Dennis (on communication): “It’s just like, really, you know, like, what’s the word? Communicationy. Yeah, communicationy.” [35:37]
• Mail Carrier (exasperated by past deliveries): “Three weeks ago, you mailed yourself an ice cream cone which ended up melting all over my delivery bag.” [14:04]

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Timed Segment Guide

• 00:07–01:51 – April Fools’ Toy Gag & Shop Promo
• 01:52–05:15 – Show Intro, Magic Tricks with Reggie & Baby Dennis
• 05:15–08:46 – Listener Q&A (haiku, guinea pig question, Mindy & Guy’s weekend)
• 09:43–35:14 – Science re-listen: Singing Mice & Neuroscience (with in-story “concert,” experiments, discussion)
• 35:14–36:43 – Closing Thoughts & Goodbye Song

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Tone & Style

The episode blends high-energy silliness and playful back-and-forth with accessible, jaw-dropping science. Hosts balance zany antics (talking pigeons, magic tricks, April Fools’ jokes) with sincere curiosity and genuine educational enthusiasm.

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Perfect for:
Listeners who love to be entertained while learning, and families interested in the wonders of animal communication, neuroscience, and the playful mysteries of the natural world.

Transcript

[Mindy]

Hey, Wowzer fams Mindy and Guy Razzie here. And before we start the show, we have a little announcement for you.

[Guy Raz]

We just got a brand new item in stock at our shop.

[Mindy]

Introducing the state of the art, never before seen, heard or wanted jar of farts.

[Dennis]

What?

[Mindy]

Do you or a loved one enjoy the smell of a fresh toot?

[Dennis]

No.

[Mindy]

Well, then you're not gonna like this. Each wow in the World J. Zara farts features the latest vacuum sealing technology

[Reggie]

to preserve the tooth's original odor so

[Mindy]

your nose will be so full of sulfur the second your sniffer gets a whiff of it.

[Dennis]

Mindy, this is gross.

[Guy Raz]

No one's gonna wanna buy this.

[Reggie]

That's exactly what market research said.

[Mindy]

But I think.

[Guy Raz]

Wait a minute. What's Today's date? It's April 1, isn't it?

[Reggie]

April Fools.

[Mindy]

Guy Razzie.

[Guy Raz]

So we're not selling jars? Of course.

[Mindy]

Of course not. But we do have some stem toys that toot.

[Guy Raz]

Toot, Mindy.

[Mindy]

Like our wow in the World High flying air rocket. It's got a toot nozzle for when you wanna let her rip. And our wow in the World Amazing human body kit comes with a toot whistle too. And not to toot our own horn here, but we've got lots of stem toys that will wow the kids in

[Reggie]

your life who love science and the

[Mindy]

ones who don't yet grownups.

[Guy Raz]

Visit Tinkercast.com to shop the wow. Now that's Tinkercast.com shop. Now back to the show.

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

We wow on the weekend. We wow on the weekend. We wow on the weekend.

[Dennis]

Cause this is what we do on the weekend.

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

Talking, laughing. Me and Reggie singing, laughing. And then we.

[Dennis]

Oh, wait, no, I said laughing twice.

Whatever.

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

We wow on the weekend.

[Audience or Band Member]

Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

We wow on the weekend. We wow on the weekend.

[Dennis]

Cause this is what we do on the weekend.

Hello and welcome to We Wow on the Weekend. I'm your host, Dennis, and that's my co host, Reggie the giant pigeon, who's wearing a top hat for some reason. This is the show where we hang out, chit chat, answer questions from our fans, and listen to Tinkercast podcasts. Okay? So, Reggie, what is with the top hat?

You're a magician today. Yay. And you're gonna do a magic trick

right here in the show.

I love magic. What are you waiting for? The floor is yours.

All right, I have to introduce you.

Everyone, please welcome to the stage,

Reggie. What's your magician name?

All right, please welcome to the stage Reggie the Stupenda Pigeon.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Dennis]

Ooh you have a magic wand. Come on. Okay, listeners, Reggie the Stupenda pigeon has taken off his hat and is tapping the brim with his magic wand. He's saying the magic words. He's reaching into his hat.

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

I think he's pulling something out. Is it a rabbit?

[Dennis]

Is it a normal sized pigeon? It looks like.

[Reggie]

Ta da.

[Dennis]

It's Baby Dennis. Baby Dennis? Baby Dennis, Were you just hiding in Reggie's hat?

The who?

Baby Dennis would never reveal Big Reggie's magic secrets.

Okay, well, Reggie, that certainly was stupendous. But it's time to make Baby Dennis disappear so we can get on with the show.

No. Baby Dennis will never disappear. Baby Dennis is eternal.

Sorry, Baby Dennis. We gotta get you back in your box.

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

Now, let me just open it up.

[Dennis]

The bottom's full of job. Jay, your bird friends are destroying mother's porcelain squirrel figurines.

[Reggie]

Stop.

[Dennis]

Run, birdies.

[Reggie]

No.

[Dennis]

Fate bait. Dennis, that is not helping. Yes, Reggie, Please tell them to get back in the box, if you don't mind.

All right, since the box is full of pigeons, Baby Dennis, you get back in the hat.

Okay?

[Reggie]

Wee.

[Dennis]

Bye, Baby Dennis. Bye bye. Okay, let's move on to the Q and A segment.

The Q and A segment. Alright, let's just get the old answering machine pulled up here. Okay, Here we go. Hi, you've reached Dennis from WEW on the Weeknd. That's me. Do you have a question? Well, I do too. Lots of them. And who's gonna answer all my questions?

You?

Probably not, but I guess I can answer yours. Leave me a message.

[Caller (Sawyer, Grace, Evelyn)]

Hi, Dennis and Reggie. My name is Sawyer.

[Dennis]

Hi, Sawyer.

[Caller (Sawyer, Grace, Evelyn)]

I have a haiku for you. Do you want to hear it?

[Dennis]

You have a haiku? Yeah, I want to hear it.

[Caller (Sawyer, Grace, Evelyn)]

Reggie is so cool. Dennis is a big whiner. Together they rock.

[Reggie]

What?

[Dennis]

That is soak. Oh, whoa.

But I think you meant to say winner. Dennis is a big winner. Yeah, no, I think that's what Sawyer meant. Oh, Reggie, I want to make up a haiku too. Haikus are cool. They have a certain number of syllables, but I forget how many they are. And also I kind of forget what a haiku is. The end. Thank you. Thank you.

Next question.

[Caller (Sawyer, Grace, Evelyn)]

Hello, my name is Grace.

[Dennis]

Hi, Grace. What's your question?

[Caller (Sawyer, Grace, Evelyn)]

Why do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open?

[Dennis]

Why do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open? Great question. Well, I'm not sure, but I know why. I sleep with my eyes open. Yes, Reggie, of course I sleep with my eyes open. For sleep snooping. Sleep snooping. Reggie, it's like sleepwalking, but it's for snooping instead of exercise. Yeah, with sleep snooping, I could get twice the amount of snooping done.

Pluuuuu.

I can also be on the lookout for anyone trying to snoop on my dreams.

No, Reggie, you stay out of my dreams.

We hang out enough. Okay, fine. We can hang out in dreamland. But just this once,

Reggie. No, not right now. Wake up. Next question.

[Caller (Sawyer, Grace, Evelyn)]

Hi, Dennis. It's Evelyn from Tennessee.

[Dennis]

Hi, Evelyn.

[Caller (Sawyer, Grace, Evelyn)]

Do you know what Mindy and Guy Raz do on the weekend?

[Dennis]

Huh? Do I know what Mindy and Guy do on the weekends? Well, I don't think they do anything on the weekends. If I leave them, I'm pretty sure they just sit around and wait for me to show up again, right?

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

Reggie.

[Dennis]

What? They do stuff on the weekends without me.

Like what?

Like go to the grocery store. I want to go to the grocery store. And then maybe go through the car wash. I want to go through the car wash. And then they come home and put all the groceries away and maybe clean the bathrooms.

Okay, I don't want to do that. But wait, Reggie, do you think this means Guy and Mindy are doing something right now without me?

I have to call Mindy.

Dialing. Dialing. Dialing, dialing.

[Reggie]

Hi, you've reached Mindy.

[Mindy]

I'm out doing super fun things on the weekend and I'm currently unavailable.

[Reggie]

Oh, no.

[Mindy]

I might be out riding a donkey or racing a roller coaster or sitting in a very large bird's nest or visiting Mars.

[Audience or Band Member]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Dennis]

They're having even more fun than we thought.

Okay, Reggie, we have to finish doing the show and go find Mindy and Guy Raz and make sure they aren't having. Thanks for your calls, everyone. If you've got a question for me, call and leave me a message. The number is 1-888-7-WOW. Wow. I just might answer your question on WEWOW on the weekend. Okay, that takes care of that. Next up is a little segment I like to call Inside Tinkercast Studios. Inside Tinkercast Studios. This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite Tinkercast shows. And today we're listening to wow in the World, Season 3, Episode 14 called the Song of the Singing Mouse. Oh, you really like this one, huh? It has your favorite band in. Has your favorite mouse band in it.

[Guy Raz]

Oh.

[Dennis]

Your favorite Central American mouse band. Wow.

So spec, Right?

That's a good genre. Okay, here we go. And play

[Audience or Band Member]

wee.

[Reggie]

Wow. We'll be right back.

[Mindy]

Grown ups this message is for you.

[Dennis]

Whoa.

You're listening to Bongo in the Big

[Radio Host (Bongo in the Big Toot)]

Toot in the morning on kwow. Hey Bongo, guess what time it is. Looks to be about 7:40am now it's time for Big Toot's big favorite.

[Reggie]

Big favorite?

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

Oh yeah.

[Radio Host (Bongo in the Big Toot)]

The part of the show when you, Big Toot, hit us with your favorite new song. What you got for us today? Alright, today's big favorite is a song from a new artist called wow in the World. Well, what's the song? It's called the scientifically most danceable song in the whole wide world. Wow, that's a. A big title. Yeah. Let me spin you up a clip.

[Dennis]

The scientifically most danceable song in the world. A wide world. The scientifically most danceable danceable song. Whoa too.

[Radio Host (Bongo in the Big Toot)]

That was totally rockin'.

[Dennis]

Where can we listen to the rest of the song?

[Radio Host (Bongo in the Big Toot)]

Anywhere you get your tunes, Bongo. They're out on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you like to spin your tracks. Well, thanks for tuning in to Big Two's big favorite here on Bongo in the Big two in the morning on kwow.

[Dennis]

Bye bye now.

[Radio Host (Bongo in the Big Toot)]

Later.

[Mindy]

Hey, Wowzer fams. Mindy here. And before we start the show. Oh, sorry about that. I forgot to put it on silent. Hey, wait a second.

[Reggie]

Second.

[Mindy]

It's an email from us. Check it out, Reg. Let's see here. It says we've got episode recommendations, free STEM activities to try out at home, the latest news about what's happening at Tinkercast. Pretty bonker balls, huh? Here, I'll help you sign up. So you and the grown ups will just go to tinkercast.com and put in your first and last names and email address.

[Reggie]

Wait, Reggie, I just realized I don't know your last name.

[Mindy]

Really? Is that with a silent G or a silent Q?

[Reggie]

Huh, who knew?

[Mindy]

Let's see here. Oh, and you're not a robot, right? Sorry, just had to double check. Ok, you are all signed up grown ups. You can sign up for our Tinkercast newsletter too. It's full of ideas on how to get some extra wow to your family's life. Visit tinkercast.comemail to sign up today. That's tinkercast.comemail. that's it. And now let's get on with the show.

[Reggie]

That's it.

[Mindy]

Now back to the show.

[Dennis]

What in the world?

[Mail Carrier]

Mail's here.

[Mindy]

Meal's here. I'll get it, Reg.

[Reggie]

Ren.

[Mindy]

Ren.

[Reggie]

Ren. Ren. Ren Ren. Ren Ren. Rent. Special delivery. Oh, looks like I overshut the door backtrack.

[Dennis]

Moonwalk.

[Mindy]

Backtrack.

[Dennis]

Moonwalk.

[Mail Carrier]

Ma', am, please stop moonwalking away from me in shame.

[Mindy]

Good afternoon, mail carrier. And how are we doing on this fine day?

[Mail Carrier]

Last week, there was a trapdoor under your doormat. Two weeks ago, a giant pigeon ordered 14 tons of gourmet birdseed to be delivered by mail. Reggie, three weeks ago, you mailed yourself an ice cream cone which ended up melting all over my delivery bag.

[Audience or Band Member]

Ugh.

[Mindy]

Sorry. Next time, I'll spring for same day shipping on the ice cream. So what do you have for me today?

[Mail Carrier]

Okay, well, let's see. Looks like a new edition of Gingerbread Architecture magazine.

[Mindy]

Ooh la la.

[Mail Carrier]

Several invitations to a croquet and multi level marketing party from neighbor Dennis.

[Mindy]

You can keep those and this

[Mail Carrier]

huge box.

[Mindy]

What's inside it?

[Mail Carrier]

I don't know.

[Mindy]

Well, then could you shake it?

[Mail Carrier]

No.

[Mindy]

Yeah, just shake the box and I'll guess what's inside.

[Reggie]

Fine. Shake. Shake it.

[Dennis]

Shake it.

[Mindy]

Is it a shirt? No, it's gotta be cat litter. Oh, no, it's one of those. Plant your own herb garden.

[Reggie]

Maybe it's a ham. Stop.

[Dennis]

Stop.

[Mindy]

Guy Raz.

[Dennis]

Of course it's a human being.

[Mail Carrier]

Okay, have a good day, ma'.

[Dennis]

Am.

[Mail Carrier]

I will be going on a long vacation.

[Guy Raz]

Surprise.

[Reggie]

Guy Raz, what were you doing in that box?

[Mindy]

Did I do this to you?

[Guy Raz]

No, you did not do this to me, Mindy.

[Mindy]

Yeah, you want to say that a little louder for the people in the back?

[Guy Raz]

Ahem. Mindy had nothing to do with this. I mailed myself myself.

[Dennis]

Hi, Guy. Could you keep it down, please?

[Reggie]

But, Guy Raz, you live next door.

[Mindy]

I mean, if you wanted to come to my house, all you'd have to do is call Reggie to fly you over. Or take the wow machine or borrow my motorcycle pickle or Snag Dennis rollerblades.

[Guy Raz]

Hey, no, the truth is, Mindy, I've been trying to make an effort to be more, I don't know, spontaneous. To think outside the box a little.

[Mindy]

Oh, so you literally climbed into a box and mailed yourself to my house next door?

[Guy Raz]

Well, yeah, but for good reason, Mindy. You see, I've got a surprise for you.

[Reggie]

A surprise? Is it in the box?

[Guy Raz]

No.

[Mindy]

So many packing peanuts, you think I can eat these?

[Guy Raz]

No, no, Mindy, don't. Don't eat them. The surprise is not in the box. It's inside of me.

[Mindy]

Oh. So are you gonna barf it up?

[Guy Raz]

Barfit? What?

[Mindy]

I mean, you just said it was Mindy.

[Guy Raz]

Mindy. I got three tickets to the America's Squeak Hearts Hide and Squeak Concert Tour.

[Audience or Band Member]

Happy.

[Guy Raz]

When is your birthday?

[Dennis]

Mindy's birthday is marchtember.

[Audience or Band Member]

Umpteenth.

[Dennis]

Wait, that can't be real. There aren't umpteenth days in marchtember.

[Reggie]

Guy Raz, you know that America's Squeak Hearts is my favorite band of the week?

[Guy Raz]

Yeah, yeah, I was just thinking. You were so kind to indulge me that time I wanted to go listen to my favorite elevator music band. That office building elevator downtown.

[Mindy]

And yeah, Guy Raz, I pretty much just complained the entire time.

[Guy Raz]

Well, that's what friends are for.

[Reggie]

Wow.

[Mindy]

So when is the concert?

[Guy Raz]

Looking at my watch.

[Reggie]

Huh.

[Audience or Band Member]

What?

[Guy Raz]

That's weird.

[Mindy]

What's weird?

[Guy Raz]

All of the numbers on my watch are out of order.

[Mindy]

Oh, that's because I scrambled them all up for you.

[Guy Raz]

You what?

[Mindy]

So, a while ago, I got mad about Daylight Savings Time and I took it out on your watch. But, hey, I got you that hour back, Mindy.

[Reggie]

You're welcome. Reggie.

[Guy Raz]

Reggie, we've got a surprise for you. Wait for it.

[Dennis]

Wait for it.

[Reggie]

Wait for Reggie.

[Mindy]

The three of us are going to see America's Squeak Hearts live and in

[Reggie]

concert on their Hide and Squeak Tour. And it's a surprise. Just spoiled it.

[Guy Raz]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there, Reggie. I'm not exactly picking up what you're saying. Mostly because I don't speak pidgin. But also because you're talking faster than Mindy.

[Mindy]

I got this.

[Reggie]

Say what, Reg?

[Audience or Band Member]

Yeah.

[Mindy]

Uh.

[Reggie]

Huh. Oh, wow.

[Mindy]

Really? Ooh.

[Audience or Band Member]

Ah la.

[Guy Raz]

What's he saying, Mindy?

[Mindy]

He's saying that America's Squeak Hearts are at the center of a brand new scientific breakthrough.

[Guy Raz]

A scientific breakthrough.

[Mindy]

And their performance is basically going to take us through a whole reenactment of the experiments that led to the breakthrough. What in the.

[Reggie]

Wow.

[Mindy]

This is gonna be even better than I thought.

[Guy Raz]

They're gonna do an experiment on stage. What are they, a singing duo of lab rats?

[Mindy]

Actually, they're lab mice, Guy Raz. But not your typical lab mice.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, did you say America's Squeak Hearts are mice?

[Mindy]

Well, yeah, they're my favorite band. What'd you think they were gonna be singing? Humans? Well, come on, Guy Raz. Saddle up on Reggie's back. You'll see for yourself once we get there.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, but I'm not sure this is what I signed up for. Singing mice? What are they gonna come up with next? A band of singing chipmunks? A musical starring cats?

[Mindy]

Okay, Reg, prepare for takeoff. Cause here.

[Reggie]

Ah, I think our surprise landing is

[Mindy]

scaring all the Mice away.

[Dennis]

Come back here, you little mice.

[Reggie]

Come back.

[Mindy]

And I think all the mice are scaring Guy Raz away.

[Reggie]

Guy Raz, stop. They're not gonna bite you. They're here for the concert, just like us.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, right, the concert. We're here to see Mindy's favorite band, America's squeakarts, live in concert. They're just like any other band, only they're lab mice.

[Dennis]

Tickets, please.

[Guy Raz]

And I have nothing to be freaked out about. We're all mammals.

[Mindy]

Um, Guy Raz, tickets.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, right. Three tiny tickets.

[Dennis]

Thank you.

[Guy Raz]

I should have known by the size of these microscopic tickets that this concert would be performed by mice.

[Dennis]

Here's your program.

[Mail Carrier]

It explains the scientific breakthrough connected to the band. And on the back, there's a coupon for America's squeak hearts Merch booth.

[Mindy]

Merch booth.

[Reggie]

Rent, rent, rent, rent, rent, rent, rent, rent, rent. Hi.

[Mindy]

Hello. We'll take three matching sets of mouse ears, three matching America squeak hearts. Hide in squeak tour T shirts, three matching sets of mousetrap clip on earrings.

[Guy Raz]

Mindy, Mindy, Mindy. Reggie doesn't have earlobes.

[Mindy]

Okay, make that too, Mindy. And three big wheels of cheese, please.

[Guy Raz]

Here you go.

[Mindy]

Thank you.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, Mindy, they're about to start. Come on. So, Mindy, Reggie was saying something earlier about this being a concert that reenacts a scientific breakthrough.

[Mindy]

Oh, yeah, it's pretty amazing. So it all starts off with this neuroscience.

[Guy Raz]

And a neuroscientist is a scientist who studies the nervous system. Or the way our brains and spinal cords and nerve cells work together in our bodies.

[Dennis]

Yeah.

[Mindy]

And so this neuroscientist named Michael Long and his team of researchers from New York University's School of Medicine noticed something very unusual about a particular species of mouse that lives in the tropical cloud forests of Central America.

[Guy Raz]

A species of mouse called the America's Sque.

[Dennis]

What?

[Mindy]

No, that's just their band name. The mice in the band have a completely different name. And that name is Scodinomis taquina.

[Guy Raz]

Mindy, Mindy, I told you, I don't speak pigeon.

[Mindy]

That's not pigeon talk, Guy Raz. That's their name. They also have a nickname, which is much easier to say. Allston's Singing Mouse.

[Guy Raz]

Aha. And let me guess. That unusual observation made by Dr. Long and his team was that these mice could sing?

[Mindy]

Yes, but there's more.

[Guy Raz]

Go on.

[Mindy]

These scientists discovered that these mice can sing over 100 different musical notes and.

[Dennis]

Woo hoo.

[Reggie]

Love you.

[Audience or Band Member]

Thank you.

[Dennis]

Thank you.

[Audience or Band Member]

Gracias. We are America's squeakers at torment. There are many Central America squeakers, but it's confusing. This one goes out to all dear ladies.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, come on.

[Mindy]

No, really, what you're about to see are the two lead singers of the band engage in a little rap battle to win the hearts of the lady mice in the audience. Or at least one in particular. Though she could be any one of these mice for all we know.

[Guy Raz]

A rap battle? You mean like a singing duel to win the affection of a mate?

[Mindy]

Well, yeah, basically. And while there are other mice that we will sing for love or whatever you call it in the rodent world, most of the time human ears can't hear them. But these singing mice, well, they come in loud and clear.

[Guy Raz]

What just happened?

[Reggie]

Isn't this bonker balls?

[Mindy]

That back and forth call and response vocal turn taking? It was like a fast paced musical conversation.

[Guy Raz]

You know, Mindy, now that I think about it, I guess that is pretty amazing.

[Audience or Band Member]

Thank you. Thank you. Gracias.

[Guy Raz]

I mean, I mean, all the different vocal muscles and parts of their little mouth that had to work together to create that snappy back and forth sing off. I mean, that's just not something you see very often in the animal kingdom. Well, unless you count us humans.

[Mindy]

Well, that's just the thing, Guy Raz. See, Dr. Long and his team noticed this in the wild cloud forests of Costa Rica and decided to invite these singing mice back to their lab at nyu.

[Guy Raz]

And just like that, they came.

[Mindy]

Well, they did. Did promise them some pretty cush digs, you know, like workout equipment in their cages, organic mealworms, dried cat food three times a day, fresh fruit, a lucrative record deal, a national tour.

[Guy Raz]

It took all of that to get these mice to visit their lab at NYU.

[Mindy]

Yeah, I mean, Dr. Long has actually been quoted as saying that they're kind of divas, especially when you compare them to their lab mice cousins.

[Guy Raz]

So, Mindy, once Dr. Long and his team got the singing mice settled into their plush laboratory apartments, what did they do?

[Mindy]

Well, they began rehearsal.

[Guy Raz]

And by rehearsal, you mean?

[Mindy]

I mean they let the singing mice sing their brains out while researchers studied their brains over a few different experiments.

[Guy Raz]

So let me just make sure I've got this straight. The researchers knew that these mice could sing, but they wanted to know what was happening in their brains that allowed them to sing duets or musical conversations?

[Mindy]

Well, basically, yeah. So humans have the unique ability to take turns while talking in a conversation. You know, so immediately starting a new sentence when the person you're talking to ends theirs.

[Guy Raz]

Ha.

[Mindy]

And in fact, that pause between when One person starts talking and the next person picks up. Up is only about a fraction of a second.

[Guy Raz]

And I guess that means that our vocal muscles and our brains have to work together extremely quickly and send signals back and forth to make that happen at such a fast speed.

[Audience or Band Member]

Right, but why?

[Mindy]

And how? And what part of our brains controls this complicated operation?

[Guy Raz]

And that must be where the experiments with the singing might divas come in.

[Mindy]

Well, they prefer to be called America's squeak hearts, but yeah. See, these researchers were hoping that by studying the pretty simple brains of these mice, they might better understand how back and forth conversation works in our much more complicated human brains.

[Guy Raz]

So what was the first experiment?

[Mindy]

Oh, hang on, I'll tell you in a sec.

[Audience or Band Member]

Gracias. Okay, we'd like to welcome a special guest up to the stage. Let's give it up for the Bottlenose dolphins.

[Guy Raz]

What a band name.

[Dennis]

What?

[Mindy]

That's just their name.

[Dennis]

Woo.

[Reggie]

Bottlenose dolphins.

[Mindy]

Yes.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, are they flapping onto the stage? Shouldn't they be in the water? Hey, shouldn't those dolphins be in the water?

[Mindy]

See, bottlenecks. Those dolphins are one of the only other mammals besides humans and singing mice that sing in that vocal turn taking style. Ah, watch this.

[Co-host (possibly another character on 'We Wow on the Weekend')]

Wow.

[Guy Raz]

Ah, maybe they sound a little better underwater.

[Mindy]

So, back to these brain experiments.

[Dennis]

Oh yeah.

[Guy Raz]

Where were we?

[Mindy]

The first thing they did was take the two mice and put them in separate cages where they could hear each other but not see each other. And then the researchers just sat back and listened.

[Guy Raz]

And what did they hear?

[Mindy]

Well, they heard the mice having a musical conversation.

[Reggie]

Huh.

[Mindy]

In fact, they learned that they sing differently together than they do when they're alone or solo.

[Guy Raz]

That's interesting.

[Mindy]

But what's really interesting is that they learned that these mice have certain unspoken rules to their musical back and forth, Just like we humans do when we're having a conversation.

[Guy Raz]

Rules, huh? Well, I did notice when the mice were on stage having their singing duel that they seemed to be very polite with each other. I mean, they never sang over each other. And they seemed to pay attention to when the other mouse was finished before picking up the next verse.

[Mindy]

And then also, it was never interrupted.

[Guy Raz]

Ahem.

[Reggie]

Huh.

[Guy Raz]

Not like some humans do.

[Mindy]

Anyhoo, once these researchers figured out the way these mice communicate through song, they wanted to figure out what part of their brains were responsible for telling them when to sing and when to wait their turn.

[Guy Raz]

And how did they do that?

[Mindy]

Okay, so they used these tiny electric sensors or tools to help them read the signals that the mice's brains were Sending to their vocal muscles.

[Guy Raz]

And by seeing what part of the brain was lit up or active while they were singing, they could determine what part of the brain was responsible for telling the mice when to sing.

[Mindy]

Exact oritos Guy Raz. And they discovered that it was the part of the brain known as the orofacial motor cortex, or the OMC for short.

[Audience or Band Member]

Alright, let's hear it again for the bottlenose dolphins. Alright, alright. For this next song, we are going to speed things up a bit. Rapido.

[Reggie]

No.

[Audience or Band Member]

Here we go. Animals.

[Dennis]

Whoa.

[Guy Raz]

What is happening? They're singing so fast that they're all out of tune.

[Reggie]

Oh, wow. This is just like.

[Mindy]

Like in the experiment.

[Guy Raz]

Huh?

[Mindy]

So, using those same electronic sensors, Dr. Long and his team sped up the signals that the mice's brains were sending to their vocal muscles. And before they knew it, the mice were going all bonker balls and singing all the wrong notes and completely out of tune.

[Guy Raz]

And I'm guessing that if they sped up the signals, then they also experimented with slowing them down.

[Mindy]

You know it.

[Audience or Band Member]

Thank you. Thank you. Gracias. And now let's slow things down. Let's go see.

[Guy Raz]

Whoa. Are they singing in slow motion?

[Dennis]

Ugh.

[Mindy]

Almost seems that way. See, after experimenting with what would happen if they sped up those brain signals, they decided to experiment with slowing them down.

[Guy Raz]

And what happened?

[Mindy]

Well, it turns out that these mice could still sing the right notes. There were just longer spaces in between, and it took them a lot longer to finish.

[Reggie]

Amazing.

[Audience or Band Member]

Thank you, thank you. And thank you all for coming to the show. We've got one more song. Oh, yes, I know, I know. The band is going to sit this one out. It's called who Turned out the lights?

[Mindy]

Oh, this must be the last part of the experiment.

[Guy Raz]

They turned out the lights?

[Mindy]

Well, metaphorically speaking. Yeah, kinda. See, after speeding up and then slowing down that OMC section of the mice's brains, they decided to turn that OMC section completely. They just turned out the lights.

[Guy Raz]

They shut off the mice brains.

[Reggie]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Mindy]

Not the whole brain. Just that one little tiny part, the omc. And only temporarily.

[Guy Raz]

And what did they find?

[Mindy]

Well, they found that the mice could still sing. Yeah, but only to themselves. In other words, they could no longer sing back and forth to each other. No more musical conversation.

[Guy Raz]

They became solo artists.

[Mindy]

Only temporarily. Before the mice even knew it, they turned that OMC part of their brains back on. And that was the end of the experiment.

[Dennis]

Incredible.

[Guy Raz]

Mindy, this must mean that the OMC part of the singing mouse's brain isn't what gives them the power to sing. But it is what gives them the power to sing in a back and forth way, just like we humans and bottlenose dolphins.

[Mindy]

Winner, winner, mousetrap dinner.

[Audience or Band Member]

Thank you. Gracias. You have been an amazing audience. Our new album is called Hide and Squeak. Please check it out. Peace, love, and being nice to one another.

[Reggie]

Buenas noches.

[Guy Raz]

Wow, what an amazing concert.

[Mindy]

Yeah, thanks for surprising Reggie and me with the table tickets guy, Raz. That was our first time seeing them perform live since the experiment.

[Guy Raz]

Yeah, and about those experiments. You know, Mindy, I'm wondering if these researchers are planning to take what they've learned and use this new information to help solve other problems with human communication.

[Mindy]

Well, it just so happens that they are. See, now that we understand how the OMC part of the the singing mouse's brain controls its ability to have singing conversations with other singing mice, Dr. Long and his team are planning future studies to see if they can find the human version of the OMC in our

[Guy Raz]

brains with the thought that it might hold clues as to how we humans are able to have such quick back and forth conversations.

[Mindy]

Right. But not only that, they're hoping that they can take what they learn from these experiments and come up with new ways to help people whose brains don't let them have these quick back and forth conversations.

[Guy Raz]

So, like some people with autism whose brains work differently, or maybe people who have had strokes where parts of their brain stop working altogether.

[Mindy]

Or people like me who sing all the wrong notes at all the wrong times and can't stop interrupting.

[Guy Raz]

I think that might be something we worth experimenting on your own, Mindy.

[Mindy]

Speaking of experimenting, is that Reggie backstage trying to communicate with a bottlenose dolphin?

[Guy Raz]

And I thought a mouse rap battle was gonna be the weirdest thing I saw today.

[Mindy]

What in the.

[Audience or Band Member]

Wow.

[Reggie]

Wow.

[Dennis]

That was so cool.

I can't believe we can learn all this stuff about our own brains from little mousies. Like, we communicate is so. It's just like, really, you know, like, what's the word? Communicationy. Yeah, communicationy.

Uh oh. Big Dennis needs to work on his conversation skills. Tee hee.

Oh, baby. Dennis, what are we gonna do with you?

Do more magic tricks.

Oh, that's actually a great idea. We could do more magic tricks.

Hooray.

But first, we need to wrap up the show. Thanks to all you listeners out there for tuning in to Wee Wow on the weekend. If you have a question for me, call and leave me a message at 1-88-8-7. Wow. Wow. That's one eight, eight, eight, seven. Wow. Wow. I just might answer your question on wee. Okay. Should we do the goodbye song?

[Guy Raz]

Great.

[Dennis]

Here we go. That's the end of the show. I need to go and magically saw baby Dennis in half and then put him back together.

What?

But I'll do another show tomorrow. But for now, that's the end of the show.

Ee e. Bye.