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Biology and Evolution
Biology and Evolution June 27, 2022

Different

Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist

Frans de Waal

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
In Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist (W. W. Norton, 2022), world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal draws on decades of observation and studies of both human and animal …

Biology and Evolution

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Interviews with biologists and evolutionary scientists about their new books.

Biology and Evolution June 22, 2022

Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You

Busting Myths about Human Nature (Second Edition)

Agustín Fuentes

Hosted by Sine Yaganoglu
There are three major myths of human nature: humans are divided into biological races; humans are naturally aggressive; and men and women are wholly different in behavior, desires, and wiring …
Science June 21, 2022

Plan S for Shock

Science. Shock. Solution. Speed.

Robert-Jan Smits and Rachael Pells

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Plan S: the open access initiative that changed the face of global research.  Robert-Jan Smits and Rachael Pells's book Plan S for Shock: Science. Shock. Solution. Speed. (Ubiquity Press, 2022) tells …
Biology and Evolution June 20, 2022

The Silken Thread

Five Insects and Their Impacts on Human History

Robert N. Wiedenmann and J. Ray Fisher

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Insects are seldom mentioned in discussions surrounding human history, yet they have dramatically impacted today's societies. The Silken Thread: Five Insects and Their Impacts on Human History (Oxford UP, 2021) …
Biology and Evolution June 16, 2022

Life on the Rocks

Building a Future for Coral Reefs

Juli Berwald

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: extraordinarily diverse, deeply interconnected, and full of wonders. When they're thriving, these fairy gardens hidden beneath the ocean's surface burst with color …
Science June 15, 2022

Hidden in Plain Sight

The History, Science, and Engineering of Microfluidic Technology

Albert Folch

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Hidden from view, microfluidics underlies a variety of devices that are essential to our lives, from inkjet printers to glucometers for the monitoring of diabetes. Microfluidics--which refers to the technology …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones June 14, 2022

The Future of Religion

A Conversation with Robin Dunbar

Robin Dunbar

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
Of the many differences between the West and the rest of the world the issue of religiosity is one of the most striking. In the West ever fewer people belong …
Biology and Evolution June 14, 2022

Sloth Lemur's Song

Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present

Alison F. Richard

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Madagascar is a place of change. A biodiversity hotspot and the fourth largest island on the planet, it has been home to a spectacular parade of animals, from giant flightless …
Biology and Evolution June 13, 2022

The Secret Perfume of Birds

Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent

Danielle J. Whittaker

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
The puzzling lack of evidence for the peculiar but widespread belief that birds have no sense of smell irked evolutionary biologist Danielle Whittaker. Exploring the science behind the myth led …
Medicine June 13, 2022

The Infertility Trap

Why Life Choices Impact your Fertility and Why We Must Act Now

R. John Aitken

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
A potential crisis in human fertility is brewing. As societies become more affluent, they experience changes that have a dramatic impact on reproduction. As average family sizes fall, the selection …
Science June 10, 2022

Spark

The Life of Electricity and the Electricity of Life

Timothy J. Jorgensen

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
When we think of electricity, we likely imagine the energy humming inside our home appliances or lighting up our electronic devices--or perhaps we envision the lightning-streaked clouds of a stormy …
Environmental Studies June 7, 2022

Geoengineering

The Gamble

Gernot Wagner

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Stabilizing the world's climates means cutting carbon dioxide pollution. There's no way around it. But what if that's not enough? What if it's too difficult to accomplish in the time …
Medicine June 6, 2022

The End of Genetics

Designing Humanity's DNA

David B. Goldstein

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Since 2010 it has been possible to determine a person's genetic makeup in a matter of days at an accessible cost for many millions of people. Along with this technological …
Biology and Evolution June 3, 2022

Sounds Wild and Broken

Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction

David George Haskell

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
We live on a planet alive with song, music, and speech. David Haskell explores how these wonders came to be. In rain forests shimmering with insect sound and swamps pulsing …
Biology and Evolution June 2, 2022

A Natural History of the Future

What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species

Rob Dunn

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Our species has amassed unprecedented knowledge of nature, which we have tried to use to seize control of life and bend the planet to our will. In  A Natural History …
Geography June 1, 2022

Nature's Broken Clocks: Reimagining Time in the Face of the Environmental Crisis

Paul Huebener

Hosted by Nicholas Pritchard
In Nature's Broken Clocks: Reimagining Time in the Face of the Environmental Crisis (University of Regina Press, 2020), Paul Huebener argues that "the environmental crisis is, in many ways, a crisis of time." …
Environmental Studies May 31, 2022

Song of the Earth

Understanding Geology and Why It Matters

Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim

Hosted by Matthew Brown
In today’s podcast, Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim explains how understanding harmonics of the earth provides a forward-thinking methodology to confront the challenges presented by the massive changes in the climate. In …
Environmental Studies May 31, 2022

Plastic Matter

Heather Davis

Hosted by Adam Bobeck
Plastic is ubiquitous. It is in the Arctic, in the depths of the Mariana Trench, and in the high mountaintops of the Pyrenees. It is in the air we breathe …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones May 31, 2022

The Future of the Brain

A Conversation with Daniel Graham

Daniel Graham

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
When people describe the brain they often compare it to a computer. In fact, the metaphor of the brain as a computer has defined the field for decades now. And …
Science May 30, 2022

Impact

How Rocks from Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong

Greg Brennecka

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
The Solar System. Dinosaurs. Donkey Kong. What is the missing link? Surprisingly enough, it's meteorites. They explain our past, constructed our present, and could define our future. Impact: How Rocks …