Category: Podcasts
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111: The Refugee Seeds

Seeds hold history. They carry the genetic blueprints of the past and the key to our future. But when disaster strikes, how far will scientists go to save them before they’re lost forever? In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate traces the incredible journey of some of the world’s most valuable seeds –…
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109: The Great Cicada Symphony with Jorin Graham

It’s the hottest day of the year, and deep underground, a mysterious countdown has finally hit zero. After years of silence, millions of cicadas are emerging from the earth, ready to take the stage in a once-in-a-lifetime event. But how do these creatures synchronize their grand entrance? In this episode of The Show About Science,…
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108: The Anachronisms in our Backyards with David Zaya

In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate unearths the surprising history of the Kentucky Coffee Trees growing in his backyard and quickly becomes obsessed with germinating their seeds. This obsession leads him to a lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he meets up with plant ecologist, David Zaya, to uncover…
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107: Bacteriophages with Ben Chan

Photo Credit: Emily Brown Bacteriophages, also known as ‘phages,’ are the most common lifeform on the planet. They are constantly hunting for bacteria to infect and kill. What if we could harness these tiny microbes to help us in our fight against harmful, disease-causing bacteria? On this episode of The Show About Science, Ben Chan,…
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106: Urban Water Chemistry with Stephen MacAvoy and Melissa Pierce

In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate heads to the banks of the Chicago River to meet up with Melissa Pierce, PhD, the Technical Program Director at Current, a nonprofit water innovation hub. Together, they explore the complex world of urban water chemistry, focusing on the river’s historical pollution problems and the measures…
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104: The Twenty-One with Elizabeth Rusch

What happens when 21 kids sue the U.S. government for a dream of a world without climate change? On this episode of The Show About Science, Nate interviews Elizabeth Rusch about the kids who are working to make that dream a reality. Elizabeth is the author of the new book, “The Twenty-One, The True Story of…
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103: The Puzzling Platypus with Frank Grützner

The platypus is a fascinating animal that has perplexed generations of scientists. Now researchers are studying the platypus on the molecular level, and it’s just as surprising. Frank Grützner is a professor of genetics at the University of Adelaide. Frank studies the monotremes, a different lineage of mammals that includes the iconic egg-laying duck-billed platypus…
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102: Our Extreme Universe with Kimberly Arcand

Dr. Kimberly Arcand is a Visualization and Emerging Technology Scientist at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard, and Smithsonian. In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate and Dr. Arcand dive into the mysteries of the universe illuminated by Chandra’s use of X-ray light. From uncovering the intricacies of black…
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101: The Science of Sound with Kimberly Arcand, Martin Gruebele, Carla Scaletti, and Mark Temple

Can sound help us understand the complex patterns in our universe? This question leads Nate to Symbolic Sound in Champaign, Illinois, where composer Carla Scaletti guides him on a journey where sound, music, and data intertwine in captivating and thought-provoking ways. Along the way, we’ll meet Kimberly Arcand, who unveils the hidden melodies of space…

