Facts Machine Live Show

Facts Machine is a science comedy show (and science trivia showdown) by and for people who are curious about everything – but especially the things that make them laugh!

Scientists by day and pub trivia hosts by night, Em, Noah, and Rob leverage their scientific curiosity and delight in obscure minutiae to bring you a show that explores life’s silliest, most unexpected, and outright awe-inspiring stories. (And puns. So many puns.).

We’ll be joined by guest scientists, comedians, storytellers, and more as we share the fascinating stories behind our favorite facts, conduct scientific experiments (i.e. play drinking games), and conclude with a pub-style trivia quiz “loosely inspired” by that show’s theme.

Performer Bios:

OUR GUESTS:

Josh Barber is a fish expert, a co-host of the Getting Fishy With It podcast, and a terrible improv comic who is the Senior Manager of Aquatic & Reptilian Life at Columbia University. He has a background in fish biology and biotechnology and has been keeping pet fish since the tender age of 8. Hobbies include fishkeeping, sportfishing and eating sushi. Twitter/Insta/TikTok: @joshbarbershop

Dr. Diana Li, PhD is a scientist, educator, and (most importantly) Facts Machine stan based at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute. There, she is the Associate Director of Education and Training Initiatives and runs neuroscience public engagement programs for the local community. She earned her Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University during which she studied the neurophysiology and biomechanics of squid swimming and coordinated marine biology outreach programs in her lab. A skilled science communicator, she has spoken for Science Friday, Secret Science Club, Nerd Nite NYC, and performed on multiple shows at Caveat. She loves every opportunity to talk about the joys of cephalopods and has brought her research to stages, classrooms, aquariums, museums, and science expos since 2015. Bluesky: @dianateuthis.bsky.social, Insta/Twitter: @dianateuthis

OURSELVES:

As a lung cancer researcher, Em Costa studies the biological effects of poorly understood gene mutations, and so spends much of her time thinking really hard and pipetting a lot of pink liquids. When she’s not doing that (or Facts Machine-ing, of course), you can find her cyanotyping, tending an impractically large windowsill garden, or obsessively Googling birds-of-paradise. Insta/TikTok/Twitter: @_emcosta

Noah Guiberson got his start writing and hosting trivia nights on the rugged pub quiz circuits of Baltimore and New York. A neuroscientist by day, he seeks to answer the greatest trivia question of them all: How does the brain work? Insta/TikTok/Twitter: @ArksAndSciences

Rob Frawley is a long-time trivia host who did research in orthopedics and cell biology on the side (i.e. for a living). Rob now works with BioBus Inc. delivering science to schools all over New York City with a bus full of microscopes, amazing samples, and funny games. Rob spends the rest of his time swimming and waiting for it to be Pi Day. Insta: @WhiteboardRob