Episodes Archive
Robots! #226
August 16, 2013
This week, it’s an hour on robots! We’ll speak to John Long, Director of the Interdisciplinary Robotics Research Laboratory at Vassar College, about his book Darwin’s Devices: What Evolving Robots Can Teach Us About the History of Life and the Future of Technology. And guest host Rachelle Saunders speaks to Engineering Professor Steven Waslander about the autonomous vehicles of the NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge. Read More
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Extra Sensory #225
August 09, 2013
This week, we’re examining the scientific perspective on “psychic powers” like telepathy, telekinesis and remote viewing. We’ll speak to science author Brian Clegg about his new book Extra Sensory: The Science and Pseudoscience of Telepathy and Other Powers of the Mind. And we’ll speak to Ricardo Chavarriaga Lozano, researcher in non-invasive brain-computer interfaces, about experiments working on connecting different animals directly through their brains. Read More
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The Half-Life of Facts #224
August 02, 2013
This week, guest host Marie-Claire Shanahan spends an hour exploring knowledge and certainty, and how they change over time. She’ll speak to Samuel Arbesman, applied mathematician and fellow at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, about his book The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Khow Has an Expiration Date. And we’re joined by computer science and biology professor Mark Daley, to discuss the value of using computational thinking to better understand everything from biology to music. Read More
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Weird Life #223
July 26, 2013
This week, we’re learning about the search for strange and exotic lifeforms, in outer space, in overlooked corners on Earth, and even deep within our own tissues. We’ll speak to David Toomey, Director of the Program for Professional Writing and Technical Communication at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, about his book Weird Life: The Search for Life That Is Very, Very Different from Our Own. And ethicist and futurist George Dvorsky returns to the show to discuss the ethical issues raised by contacting a previously unknown intelligent species. Read More
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The Evolution of Language #222
July 19, 2013
This week, it’s an hour on the evolution of language. Linguist, philosopher, author and activist Noam Chomsky joins us to discuss the concept of universal grammar, and the possibility of a human genetic capacity to create and use language. Terrence Deacon, Chair of Anthropology at the University of California Berkeley, talks about the structure of language, and how some common features might be required to make language useful. And we’ll speak to biologist Con Slobodchikoff, Director of the Animal Language Institute, about his book Chasing Doctor Dolittle: Learning the Language of Animals. Read More
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War on Science #221
July 12, 2013
This week we’re looking at threats to science and critical thinking, and how you can sort fact from fiction. York University science librarian John Dupuis joins us to discuss what he calls the Canadian government’s War on Science. And Chris MacDonald director of the Jim Pattison Ethical Leadership Program at Ryerson University, joins us to talk about his textbook The Power of Critical Thinking, which can help you navigate the hyperbole and misinformation that happens when the media looks at science news. Read More
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Community Specific Science #220
July 05, 2013
This week, we’re looking at the ways that science and medicine impact specific communities. We’ll speak to biologist and science educator Danielle N. Lee about the state of science journalism at media sources that serve minority audiences. Microbiologist and public health researcher Rebecca Kreston explains why (and how) some diseases target specific groups. And Dr. Joe Henrich, Canada Research Chair in Culture, Cognition and Coevolution at the University of British Columbia, joins us to discuss his research showing how social science is drawing conclusions from a population of outliers in the Western world. Read More
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Kingdom of Rarities #219
June 28, 2013
This week, we’re learning about ecology and biodiversity, and the preservation of endangered (and even extinct) species. We’re joined by Eric Dinerstein, Lead Scientist and Vice President for Conservation Science at the World Wildlife Fund, to discuss his new book The Kingdom of Rarities, about the challenges involved in studying rare and exotic animals. And we speak to Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Chair of Conservation Ecology at Duke University, about his arguments against plans to revive extinct species. Read More
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Historic Discoveries #218
June 21, 2013
This week we’re looking at science history, with two books about the passion and perseverance that drive the pursuit of scientific discovery. We’re joined by science writer Mark Anderson, to talk about his book The Day the World Discovered the Sun: An Extraordinary Story of Scientific Adventure and the Race to Track the Transit of Venus. And science writer Jessica Wapner returns to discuss her new book The Philadelphia Chromosome: A Mutant Gene and the Quest to Cure Cancer at the Genetic Level. Read More
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Money Matters #217
June 14, 2013
This week, we’re looking at some of the less savory effects of global trade and market economies. We’ll speak to Mark Harrison, Director of the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine and Professor of the History of Medicine at Oxford University, about his book Contagion: How Commerce Has Spread Disease. And we speak to Nora Szech, Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Bamberg, about her research into the ways that markets influence moral decisionmaking. Read More
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The Evolution of Aging #216
June 07, 2013
This week, we’re looking at the aging process, and how science and medicine are treating it as a problem to be solved. We’ll talk to Michael Rose, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine about the evolution of aging And we’ll speak to Alex Zhavoronkov, creator of the Aging Research Portfolio, and author of The Ageless Generation: How Advances in Biomedicine Will Transform the Global Economy. Read More
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Breasts #215
May 31, 2013
This week, we’re discussing the function, evolution and complicated social norms attached to the human female breast. Guest host Rachelle Saunders talks to freelance health and science journalist Florence Williams, about her New York Times notable book Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History. And researcher and blogger Scicurious returns to discuss the work of a French researcher who claims that wearing a bra can harm, rather than help, attempts to ward of the effects of gravity. Read More
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Coding Life #214
May 24, 2013
This week, we’re taking a closer look at the code that runs our computers, and permeates so much of our lives. Desiree Schell talks to Stephen Gold, Vice President of Watson Solutions at IBM Software Group, about new healthcare applications for cognitive computing technology. Guest host Rachelle Saunders talks to Sergei Maslov, a researcher in computational biology at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, to learn about the similarities between computer code and genetic information. And we’re joined by software professional Mark Bennett, to discuss his passion for programming, and coding as a career or as a hobby. Read More
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Bird Brains #213
May 17, 2013
This week, we’re looking at birds, and what the study of their behavior and anatomy can tell us about ourselves. We’ll talk to Dr. John Marzluff, professor of Avian social ecology and demography at the University of Washington, about his book Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans. And we’ll speak to artist and illustrator Katrina van Grouw about The Unfeathered Bird, her book that looks at bird anatomy below the feathery surface. Read More
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Star Stuff #212
May 10, 2013
This week, Skeptically Speaking looks to the stars that light up the night sky, and fuse hydrogen and helium into the elements that make life possible. Science writer Jennifer Ouellette examines the possible evidence of ancient supernovae in bacterial fossils. Astrophysicist Ethan Siegel explains the controversy surrounding the so-called black hole firewall paradox. And astronomer Pamela Gay of CosmoQuest discusses the impact of U.S. sequester budget cuts on her research and outreach. Read More
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The Year Without Summer #211
May 03, 2013
This week, we’re looking at the explosive geology of volcanoes, and how they shape our world both physically and politically. We’ll speak to climate researcher Nicholas Klingaman, about his book The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History. And we’re joined by geologist Jacob Lowenstern, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, about the massive volcano that drives the geologic activity of the Yellowstone Caldera. Read More
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Spillover #210
April 26, 2013
This week, we take a sobering look at infectious diseases in animals, and the scary things that happen when those infections spread to humans. Guest host Marie-Claire Shanahan talk to journalist David Quammen about his book Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. And science journalist Maryn McKenna returns to give as an update on the H7N9 bird flu, and how it’s being reported by the media. Read More
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Drinking Water #209
April 19, 2013
This week, we're looking at the science and the history of the water that makes life and society possible. We'll speak to law and environment professor James Salzman, about his book Drinking Water: A History. And we're joined by Juewen Liu, chemistry professor at the University of Waterloo, to talk about his work using DNA to detect water-borne impurities that could make water unsafe. Read More
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Brain on Fire #208
April 12, 2013
This week, we’re learning about the brain, and the fascinating – and devastating – things that can happen when its functions are disrupted. We’ll speak with journalist Susannah Cahalan, about her bestselling memoir Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness. And we’re joined by Dr. Rob Tarzwell, to talk about neurological disorders that mimic psychiatric conditions. Read More
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Paleofantasy #207
April 05, 2013
This week, we’re taking a look at the past, present and future of food, and what science has to say about some popular health trends. We’re joined by biology professor Marlene Zuk, to talk about her new book Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live. And guest host Rachelle Saunders talks to Koert Van Mensvoort, director of the Next Nature Network, about the cultural implications of lab-grown meat products. Read More
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