Critical Wit #63 - The Science of Beekeeping and Concerns with Bee Colony Collapse Disorder[ 25:13 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Richard Mendel is a beekeeper, Vice President of the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association, and contributor to the Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers. In this episode, we discuss the science of beekeeping, the concerns over the issue of bee colony collapse disorder, and at the end we talk about killer bees (otherwise known as Africanized honeybees).
If you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook and/or give it a rating in iTunes. You can also follow the podcast on Twitter; @TheCriticalWit. Thanks!
Critical Wit #58 – The Science Fund Challenge: How the Public Can Finance Science[ 26:46 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Zen Faulkes is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Texas-Pan American and science communicator at the blog, Neurodojo. In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick talks with Zen about another project that he’s working on – the SciFund Challenge. The SciFund Challenge is an organization of scientists who pitch their ideas for science research to the public in the hopes of raising money through small donations. You can visit http://scifundchallenge.org to find out what projects are listed, of which you can donate to seeing it come to fruition. In fact, Zen has a project listed with a modest goal of $750. It’s called “Beach of the Goliath Crabs.” Donate soon, as the challenge ends on May 31st! Zen’s blog can be found at http://neurodojo.blogspot.com. And you can follow him on twitter @DoctorZen.
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Critical Wit #57 – Ballparking: Practical Math for Impractical Sports Questions (Aaron Santos)[ 18:11 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Aaron Santos is a physicist and author of “Ballparking: Practical Math for Impractical Sports Questions.” In this episode, Aaron talks about some of the hypothetical estimations involving sports that he covers in his book, such as how obese would a hockey player have to be to cover up the goal, how much could a person lift if he or she was the size of an ant, and is Hall of Famer, Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak really that impressive of a record? You can find out more about Aaron Santos by visiting his website www.aaronsantos.com. If you enjoy these kinds of puzzles, check out his first book, “How Many Licks?: Or, How to Estimate Damn Near Anything“, his blog “A Diary of Numbers“, or follow him on Twitter @AaronTSantos.
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In this episode, I talk with documentary film-maker, Scott Thurman. We discuss his current documentary film, “The Revisionaries.” It centers on the story from 2011 about the Texas State Board of Education’s push to update the school curriculum’s science standards as it relates to the teaching of evolution. This conversation originally took place in early February, but near the end of the episode, I have a second, brief conversation from April 15, where Scott provides an update on the movie’s progress. You can find out more about this movie and when it may be played in your area by visiting www.therevisionariesmovie.com or the movie’s Facebook page.
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*Edit – In the introduction and conclusion of the interview, I incorrectly stated the movie’s website. It should be www.therevisionariesmovie.com.
Episode 51 - Lab Lit: Literature About Science and Scientists in the Laboratory[ 20:37 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Dr. Jennifer Rohn is a cell biologist, novelist, and founder of LabLit.com. In this episode, Jennifer and I talk about why there are not many stories that involve scientists as main characters. And so, LabLit.com was created to be a resource for storytelling and art that involve science, whether it’s characters or laboratory settings. Jennifer is also the writer of two novels, Experimental Heart, and The Honest Look…both of which are available online or can be obtained through your local bookstore. You can follow Jennifer on Twitter @JennyRohn. And you can also follow LabLit on Twitter @LabLit.
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Sheridan Tongue is a film music and television programmer in England. In this episode, we discuss the process of writing compositions for film and television, his work on the popular science series ‘Wonders of the Universe with Brian Cox’ and ‘Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.’ You can find out more about Sheridan’s work by visiting his website http://www.sheridantongue.com/ and you can follow him on twitter @SheridanTongue. You can also purchase the ‘Wonders’ soundtrack, as well as other songs, of Sheridan’s at your local music stores, online, and in iTunes.
I want to give thanks to Patrick McComb for assistance provided in preparation for the interview.
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In this episode, I give you more interview excerpts from off of the cutting room floor, such as Zachary Moore gives his favorite evidence of evolution that’s not relevant to molecular genetics (episode 43), why Rosie Redfield thinks it’s important for scientists to blog (epsd 42), what Sean B Carroll thinks are some of the under-appreciated qualities of Charles Darwin (epsd 46), and what Barbara Oakley thinks is the hardest part of writing about technical science for the general public (episode 40). And of course, we include a few funny clips, both of which occur in episode 44 & 45, when Peggy Nelson seems to ironically preface a drop-out in the conversation…listen carefully.
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Katie McKissick is a “former high school biology teacher who simply loves to talk, write, and read about science.” She’s also the author and illustrator of “Beatrice the Biologist,” a fun, informative website about science. In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick chats with Katie about her unique way of describing science through blogging and illustrating. And they discuss one of the more popularly read Beatrice the Biologist articles, “Biology Doesn’t Support Gay Marriage Bans” and how it spun off into a conversation about olives. You can subscribe to Katie’s website at www.beatricebiologist.com, and like her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter @beatricebiology.
Special thanks to Ira Moore for providing some technical counsel in this episode. If you’re interested in checking out Ira Moore’s music for your multimedia project, you can visit his website at http://iraemoore.weebly.com.
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Zachary Moore is a molecular biologist and host of the Evolution 101 podcast. The 38-episode podcast consists of short episodes that are designed to provide a simple explanation of the independent lines of evidence that support the theory of evolution. In this episode, we talk about some of the molecular evidence that supports the conclusion that species evolved from common ancestors. You can find the podcast in various podcast directories, as well as transcripts at http://evolution-101.blogspot.com. And you can follow Zachary Moore on Twitter @drzach.
Dr. Rosie Redfield is a microbiologist at the University of British Columbia and science writer for the Field of Science blog network. In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick talks with Dr. Redfield about her work on whether bacteria have sex, the possibility of arsenic-based life forms, and the importance of blogging and open science. Dr. Redfield has recently been named one of Nature magazine’s ‘ten people who mattered in 2011.’ You can follow Rosie Redfield on Twitter @RosieRedfield and subscribe to her blog at http://rrresearch.fieldofscience.com.
Sophie Bushwick is a freelance science writer who contributes to Scientific American’s Sixty Seconds Podcast, and the io9 blogging network. You can subscribe to her blog called “Life is just a theory” at www.sophiebushwick.com and follow her on Twitter @SophieBushwick.
If you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook and/or give it a rating in iTunes. You can also follow Critical Wit on Twitter @TheCriticalWit. Thanks!
If you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook and/or give it a rating in iTunes. You can also follow Critical Wit on Twitter @TheCriticalWit. Thanks!
Aaron is the young host of Aaron’s World, a popular podcast about ancient animals from an ancient time. Aaron plays himself as a time-traveling explorer who visits eras in which dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and other extinct animals roamed the world. And he shares with the listeners interesting information about them, all the while getting himself into precarious situations. You can subscribe to the Aaron’s World podcast by visiting http://aaronstotle.blogspot.com or in iTunes. Aaron’s World is also on Facebook and Google Plus.
If you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook and/or give it a rating in iTunes. You can also follow Critical Wit on Twitter @TheCriticalWit. Thanks!
Maria Konnikova is a writer, doctoral candidate, and blogger at Scientific American. She has recently finished a series called “Lessons of Sherlock Holmes” – a chronicle that explores how examples from the fictional detective stories can help provide insight into not only how humans think, but also, how we should think. You can subscribe to Maria’s SciAm blog, called ‘Literally Psyched’, and bookmark her website: mariakonnikova.com. And you can follow her on Twitter @mkonnikova.
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Dr. Edwin (Ted) Bergin is professor of Astronomy at the University of Michigan, who researches the “molecular trail of our origins.” In this episode we talk about what science has theorized regarding the way in which Earth obtained its water.
Mark Stevenson is the author of An Optimist’s Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer “What’s Next?”, a funny, informative story about the technologies and innovations that’s driving humanity. Mark interviews the brightest minds researching things, such as transhumanism, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, carbon capture, and more. This book is ideal for science enthusiasts who want to be pragmatically optimistic about the future. You can find out more about Mark Stevenson by visiting his website, http://anoptimiststourofthefuture.com.
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Holly Moeller is a graduate student of Ecology and Evolution at Stanford Universityand author of the Seeing Green blog. In this episode, we talk about sustainable fisheries. And we also talk about an aquatic organism that Holly has studied, which has a very interesting adaptation.
If you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook, following Critical Wit on Twitter (@TheCriticalWit) and/or giving the show a rating in iTunes. Thanks!
Kristin Rose is a graduate student at Harvard, and blogger at Try Nerdy, a website that discusses interesting and cool science, and unabashedly promotes nerdiness. In this episode we talk about synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes one sensory experience to create another sensory experience, such as seeing colors when hearing a specific sounds. I very much recommend bookmarking her website. And if you’re on Facebook, you can like her Try Nerdy page, and if you’re on Twitter, follow her @TryNerdy.
And if you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook and/or give it a rating in iTunes. You can also follow the podcast on Twitter, @TheCriticalWit. Thanks!
Critical Wit #63 - The Science of Beekeeping and Concerns with Bee Colony Collapse Disorder [ 25:13 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Richard Mendel is a beekeeper, Vice President of the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association, and contributor to the Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers. In this episode, we discuss the science of beekeeping, the concerns over the issue of bee colony collapse disorder, and at the end we talk about killer bees (otherwise known as Africanized honeybees).
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