Science Night

The Science of Science Fiction 2023: Presented by Indiana Sciences

September 6th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  50 mins 57 secs

bethesda, fallout, gen con, portal, scicomm, science, science fiction, scifi, valve, video games

This week, we have the recording of our annual presentation of the science behind our favorite sci-fi franchises. This year we talked about two video games, Portal and Fallout. We got moon dust, super mutants, and of course a big helping of plasma. Be sure to check out our friends at Indiana Sciences (indianasciences.org) for more fun scicomm.

Fun & Games: A GenCon Special

August 30th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  40 mins 3 secs

5 years to mars, anatomy, astronomy, biology, board games, flux, gaming, gencon, holotype, paleontology, physics, scicomm, science

This week, we're bringing you our favorite moments from the best 4 days of gaming, GENCON!!!! We played games, made new friends, and spent lots of time walking the convention floor learning about games and the people who play them. Be sure to check out the page for this episode on our website for links to all the games we mention.

First Steps with Jerry DeSilva: Revisited and Remastered

July 26th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  39 mins 10 secs

bioanthro, biological anthropology, denaledi chamber, evolution, homo naledi, human evolution, naledi, paleoanthropology, rising star cave, scicomm, science

With homo naledi, the rising star caves, and human evolution trending, we decided to revisit one of our favorite episodes. We're looking back at James' conversation with Dr. Jerry DeSilva, talking about the evolution of upright walking, science communication, and all kinds of bioanthro goodness.

Cave of Bones with Lee Berger

July 19th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  34 mins 40 secs

bioanthro, biological anthropology, denaledi chamber, evolution, homo naledi, human evolution, naledi, paleoanthropology, rising star cave, scicomm, science

This week, we have the triumphant return of one of our favorite guests! Prof. Lee Berger is back to talk about some amazing new finds coming out of the Rising Star cave system. We're talking about symbolism, culture, and how it all applies to homo naledi. And don't miss Unknown: Cave of Bones, available right now on Netflix

Coconut Crabs and Famous Flyers

June 28th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  17 mins 2 secs

amelia earhart, aviation, coconut crabs, legends, myths, nikumaroro island, scicomm, science

This week, we're continuing our Summer Scicomm adventure on Nikumaroro Island. What do coconut crabs have to do with a famous flyer? Why does this story keep popping up? How do regular people become legendary? We attempt to answer these questions and more!

The Curious Case of the Painted Turtle-Remastered

June 21st, 2023  |  Season 3  |  41 mins 31 secs

biology, color, ecology, evolution, pigmentation, scicomm, science, turtles

It seems like turtles are popping up all over the place so we're revisiting one of our most popular episodes. This week we look back to our conversation with Dr.Beth Reinke from a few years ago. We talk about why painted turtles are so colorful, but also how species use color in nature.

Little Fires Everywhere

June 14th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  13 mins 39 secs

canada, climate action, climate change, climate crisis, fire season, global warming, scicomm, science, wildfires

This week we're starting our summer scicomm adventure by talking about the wildfires that are tearing through the True North and choking out the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Spoilers, it's climate change...it's always climate change

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!

Journal Club

May 17th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  35 mins 33 secs

anxiety, ase, bermuda triangle, burn out, cognitive science, elsevier, journal, probability, psychology, publication, scicomm, science, scientific journal

This week we're talking about the single most anxiety-inducing part of working in science...publication (cue thunderclap). Why do e-versions cost so much? how long does it take to review an article? But first, we're uncovering the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Then we talk about anxiety, burnout, and the pitch clock.

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.

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