Science Night

Eclipses, Amphibians, and the Future of Fusion

April 10th, 2024  |  Season 3  |  35 mins 58 secs

amphibians, astronomy, biology, eclipse, engineering, evolution, fusion, fusion energy, kstar, mammals, nuclear engineering, nuclear fusion, pppl, scicomm, science, solar eclipse, stellerator, tokamak

Fusion energy week is happening during the first week of May! To get ready, Dr. Diem is talking about a new design that may improve the Stellarator design and a new record for the KSTAR. We're also talking about our experience during the 2024 solar eclipse, and we have a strange new milk that will be sure to haunt your dreams.

The Great Geoengineering Debate

March 13th, 2024  |  Season 3  |  54 mins 49 secs

big oil, carbon emissions, climate change, climate crisis, engineering, fossil fuels, geoengineering, moths, pollinators, scicomm, science

This week Matt Sauers is back and we're looking we're looking at the shiny new technological idea that could turn back the clock on climate change...or it could fundamentally alter the atmosphere setting in motion a series of events that renders the planet unlivable. So let's ask the question, is it better to invest in solar engineering? Or would we be better served to put that time and effort into finding more sustainable types of energy. Plus we're also talking about some polluted pollinators that are covered in dinosaur juice exhaust.

Mouse Munchies, Featuring: Jamie Moffa

February 7th, 2024  |  Season 3  |  56 mins 45 secs

cannabis, engineering, munchies, neuroscience, scicomm, science, virtual reality, vr

This week, we're joined by the host of the In Plain English podcast, Jamie Moffa! Together we talk about how cannabis affects hunger...in mice, and whether or not a new, tiny VR rig...designed for mice, is worth the hype. We also talk at length about the horrors of St. Louis pizza.

Don't Call It A Comeback: The Season 4 Premier

September 27th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  32 mins 34 secs

biology, engineering, physics, robotics, scicomm, science, soft robotics, space, space travel

Science Night returns with a new season, a new logo, but the same great scicomm!!! This week, we have three stories that don't appear to have an obvious application to our lives, but who knows what the future will bring. We're talking about projects that are created and funded for the sake of discovering something about our world...its science for science's sake. So join us as we talk about soft robots that get even softer as they melt into a puddle of toxic goo, a nano bead that can write on water, and why our squishy human bodies aren't quite ready to explore the stars.

The End...For Now

May 31st, 2023  |  Season 3  |  38 mins 45 secs

ai, alpha fold, artificial intelligence, astrophysics, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, biomedicine, communication, democracy, engineering, neurology, physics, plasma, politics, protein synthesis, robotics, scicomm, science, soft robotics

It's time to say goodbye to season 3, but not before we bring you a little more scicomm. This week we're revisiting our first story from the relaunch era, but this time there's a wrinkle in the AlphaFold. It wouldn't be Science Night without something to make you simultaneously horrified and fascinate, this time it's a soft robot that can wrap your brain in its tentacles. Plasma remains a hot topic, and we couldn't pass up one last opportunity to talk about it with a solar selfie. Finally, we're riding out on a bit of a light-hearted topic...the downfall of democracy.

This may be the end of season 3, but there's still plenty of Science Night coming your way including some fun summer scicomm before the premiere of season 4 in the fall of '23. Make sure you're following us everywhere and subscribe to the show so you don't miss a thing!

A Flexible Mind

May 3rd, 2023  |  Season 3  |  40 mins 33 secs

astronomy, astrophysics, blackhole, engineering, nanotech, nanowire, neuroanatomy, neurology, neuroscience, prefrontal cortex, scary barbie, scicomm, science, spaghettification

This week, we're building a flexible scicomm mind. First, we gather strands of a long shredded star pulled into not so dreamy house, it's a super-massive blackhole called Scary Barbie. Next, we'll weave a network of nanowires that seem to work a lot like living neurons Finally, we'll look at a project that is attempting to explain how our brains adapt to a changing world.

Dont forget to share, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts!

Toxicity On Our Railways

March 1st, 2023  |  Season 3  |  47 mins 3 secs

d&d, east palestine, engineering, gamer, mechanical engineer, nerd, ohio, scicomm, science, trainwreck

This week friend of the show, engineer, and fantasy physicist Matt Sauers joins us! In the first half, Matt answers the age-old question "why engineering" and talks about how he brings science to a fantasy world. In the second half, we talk about the recent train derailment and chemical spill near East Palestine, OH.

Luxurious Chaos with Dr. Alexis Katsis

February 15th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  35 mins 29 secs

cellular engineering, chaos theory, engineering, fashion, gold, luxury, luxury goods, mathematics, medicine, microbiology, podcasting, scicomm, science, science podcasting

This week, Dr. Alexis Katsis from the Luxesci podcast is joining us to talk about her work as an immunologist during the COVID-19 pandemic and her shift looking at the more luxurious side of science. In the news, we're talking about some cyborg cells that could change the way we treat certain diseases (or usher in the end of humanity...) and James tries to talk about theoretical mathematics with some chaotic, and beautiful, results.

Its the End of the World (As We Know It)

February 1st, 2023  |  Season 3  |  36 mins 43 secs

engineering, geology, liquid metal, naturalist, robotics, scicomm, science, soft robotics

This week Kirk Mona from the Strange by Nature podcast joins us to talk about podcasting, science communication, and what it takes to be a modern naturalist. In the news, we're talking about twisted metal, a core issue, and whether or not either of these stories will cause the downfall of civilization.

Open Heart Listening with Dr. Jen Ma

July 6th, 2022  |  Season 3  |  51 mins 40 secs

bioengineering, communication, computing, empathy, engineering, listening, physics, quantum computing, quantum physics, robotics, scicomm, science

Tonight, we welcome back Dr. Jen Ma to talk about her recent event where she brought together people with different viewpoints and have them actually listen to each other. It’s a great conversation about communication, empathy, and re-building our listening skills. We even got Jen to join us in the news segment to talk about synthetic skin and a return to the land of time crystals.