November 30, 2023

Caffeine: How Much is Too Much?

by Science Vs

Background show artwork for Science Vs

Caffeine is a drug that tons of us take every day. But is that a bad thing? And if we get it in the form of energy drinks, is that super dangerous? We talk to Dr. Astrid Nehlig, Prof. Gregory Marcus, and Prof. Sachin Shah. 


Find our transcript here:https://bit.ly/ScienceVsCaffeineEnergyDrinks 


In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Chapter 1: We love/hate caffeine

(02:12) Chapter 2: Coffee and our guts

(07:12) Chapter 3: Coffee and our brains

(12:40) Chapter 4: Coffee and our zzzzzzs

(17:42) Chapter 5: Coffee makes us go vroom vroom vroom!

(20:30) Chapter 6: Are we caffeine addicts? 

(28:04) Chapter 7: Are energy drinks dangerous?


This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, as well as Nick DelRose, Joel Werner, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Sarah Baum. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger and Peter Leonard. Special thanks to all the researchers we spoke to for this episode – including Dr. Bryan Saunders, Dr. Sergi Ferré, Prof. Andreas Heinz, Prof. Christine Curran, Dr. Erikka Loftfield, Dr. Felix Oberhoffer, Dr. Alan Wayne Jones, and Dr. Vijay Yadav. Extra special thanks to Jason Vytlacil and the Zukerman family.


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