A Scientist Walks Into A Bar

How does someone who grew up in the urban landscape of Singapore end up leading birding expeditions on horseback in Montana? Biologist and environmental advocate Dr. Wenfei Tong has done that, and MUCH more. Join us for a conversation about her life, work, books, art, and why she thinks of herself as Darwin's Jackal. Check out Wenfei's art and photography and her Big Sky birding safaris. Join us for Wenfei's talk at Science on Tap on March 10, 2021 talking about Bird Love: The Family Life of Birds. Watch a recording of Wenfei's Science on Tap talk on her book "Understanding Bird Behavior" on September 24, 2020. ******** Help support the podcast and live Science on Tap events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Chet Lyster for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

With everything going on in the news right now we thought it was a good time to talk about psychopaths. Here is a recording of our Science on Tap event held in October 2020 on The Neuroscience of Real Life Monsters: Psychopaths, CEOs, & Politicians with forensic psychiatrist Dr. Octavio Choi. Check out our YouTube channel for more Science on Tap events. ******** Help support the podcast and live Science on Tap events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Learn about sharks, sawfish, and what it's like to be a marine biologist in this interview with Jasmin Graham. Also, find out more about Jasmin's work as the President and CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS). SkypeAScientist.com ******** Help support the podcast and live Science on Tap events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Listen as we have a fun conversation about death with mortician and activist Caitlin Doughty about her book Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? that is now out in paperback! We discuss why it's important to talk to kids about death, what she thinks about Halloween decorations, and the worst thing about her work (hint: it has nothing to do with dead people.) Learn more about Caitlin Doughty: Buy Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs in paperback Caitlin's TED Talk Caitlin's talk at the XOXO Festival The Order of the Good Death Ask A Mortician YouTube Channel ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

In this episode we talk with Dr. Nicole Michel, Senior Quantitative Ecologist with the National Audubon Society and find out a little bit about what it's like to study birds. Also check out eBird and help do science in your neighborhood! Watch Nicole's Science on Tap talk on Hope Is The Thing With Feathers: Finding Joy in Birds recorded on April 23, 2020. (This interview was recorded in late April, 2020.) ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

You've probably heard of Jack Daniel's whiskey, but did you know that brand wouldn't exist if it weren't for Nearest Green, the first Black master distiller on record? In this episode we talk to Sailor Guevara, brand ambassador for Uncle Nearest Whiskey all about the science and history of whiskey. It’s also a story of slavery, emancipation, family connections, the legacy of traditions brought from Africa with enslaved people, a very determined woman from LA, and the push to encourage diversity in the distilling industry. Learn more about whiskey with Sailor Guevara, including food pairings and cocktail demonstrations The Gastropod episode that inspired this interview: The Secret History of the Slave Behind Jack Daniel’s Whiskey ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

In this episode we get another chance to talk to Dr. Ainissa Ramirez, materials scientist and author of the book The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another. We learn more about her background, what a materials scientist does, and why she calls herself a "science evangelist." Here are some suggestions on how to buy the book (that don't involve Amazon). ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

In this episode we have a long and fascinating conversation with epidemiologist Dr. Frank Franklin about the current pandemic, racism, poverty, public health, the Black Lives Matter protests, and what it's like to navigate the world as an African American scientist. Dr. Franklin is the Principal Epidemiologist & Director of the Epidemiology, Analytics and Evaluation Division at the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon. Questions? Speaker suggestions? Email us at info@scibarpodcast.org ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR Please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

In this episode we have a conversation with Dr. Eseosa Ighodaro, MD, PhD, a neurologist and a neuroscientist. Find out about what inspired her to study brains, what it's like to get an MD and a PhD at the same time, about her interest in studying the medical effects of racism on People of Color, and how she's teaching people about neuroscience. Find Dr. Ighodaro on Twitter and Facebook! ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

If you've ever heard the name Frances Glessner Lee you might think "wasn't she that lady who made crime scene dollhouses?" Making dioramas wasn't just her hobby; she actually had profound influence on the field of forensic science. We learn a bit about her in this brief interview with her biographer, Bruce Goldfarb. Join us for Science on Tap Online on Thursday, June 18, at 7pm Pacific for a live talk by Bruce about his book 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics. ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Listen to our short interview with neuroscientist Dr. Larry Sherman from OHSU. He has spoken at MANY previous events, such as Music and the Anxious Brain on April 9, 2020 (this interview took place a few minutes after that event ended), and you can hear podcast episodes of his talks The Neuroscience of Racism, The Neuroscience of PTSD, and The Neuroscience of Pleasure and Love. ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Find out how bacteria help us digest food, battle disease, and may influence our behavior in Microbes and the Human Gut by Dr. Lisa Sardinia recorded at an event in 2017. Lisa also spoke on High Anxiety: The Gut Microbiota’s Effect on Mental Health at a Science on Tap Online event on May 14, 2020. Resources mentioned at the end of the talk: Some of My Best Friends Are Germs by Michael Pollan Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues by Martin Blaser Also, Peep dioramas. ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Want a real-life adventure story mixed with modern-day science? Listen to this short interview with Gillen D’Arcy Wood, author of Land of Wondrous Cold: The Race to Discover Antarctica and Unlock the Secrets of Its Ice. Pick up and enjoy the book, then join us on Thursday, June 11 for a Science on Tap Online event with Gillen at 7pm Pacific. Find out more about the live event on Facebook and our website. Get a 20% discount and free shipping when you buy the book through the Princeton University Press website! Use the code LOWC-FG at checkout. (Note: The coupon code is ONLY valid on the Princeton site.) Thank you to Princeton Press for their support of this podcast and live event! ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

What if everything we think we know about cancer is wrong? Listen as Dr. Athena Aktipis, author and Arizona State University professor talks about her new book The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer. Rather than trying to eradicate all cancer, she describes how changing our approach could help us learn to control and live with cancer instead. Get a 20% discount and free shipping when you buy the book through the Princeton University Press website! Use the code AKT20-FG at checkout. (Note: The coupon code is ONLY valid on the Princeton site.) Check out Athena's podcast Zombified and get some fresh brains! ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Do you need a computer nerd with writing skills to help with social media and blogs? Check out Chelsea Schuyler! Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

How have simple inventions changed our lives? Learn more in this short interview with Dr. Ainissa Ramirez, materials scientist and author of the book The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another. Pick up and enjoy the book, then join us on May 21 at 7:00pm Pacific for a Science on Tap Online event with Ainissa! Find out more about the live event on Facebook and our website. Here are some suggestions on how to buy the book (that don't involve Amazon). ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Is there life on other planets? How would we find out? Listen to a short interview with NASA scientist and author Kevin Peter Hand about his new book Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space. Pick up and enjoy the book, then join us on May 28 for a Science on Tap Online event with Kevin! Find out more about the live event on Facebook and our website. Two ways to buy the book! 1) Support a local Vancouver small business and buy from Vintage Books. 2) Buy through the Princeton University Press website and receive a 20% discount by using the code HAND20-FG at checkout. (Note: The coupon code is ONLY valid on the Princeton site.) ******** Help support the podcast and live events! Make a one-time donation to Make You Think OR If you are able, please support us on Patreon ******** Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Science shows that friends are vital for our mental and physical well-being, and that may be even more true in these strange, pandemic times. Listen as author Lydia Denworth talks about her book Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond, recorded at a Science on Tap event in February 2020. This talk was recorded on February 12, 2020 at the Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, WA. ******** Help support the podcast through Patreon! Watch a live online Science on Tap event every Thursday in April and May! Thanks to Graham Tully and Stephen Perry for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Technology impacts our sex lives in a lot of ways, and we don't just mean porn. Better access to education and intimacy is great! But maybe too many matches on Tinder isn't so great? Also, what's the deal with sex robots? In this episode Dr. Kris Gowen talks about many of the ways we use technology to connect with each other, and why it's so hard to get good data on the subject. Recorded in February 2018 at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR. Also check out Kris's other book project One Nation Under Song where she chronicles her quest to sing karaoke in all 50 States. ******** Want to come to an event? Visit www.ScienceOnTapORWA.org for more info. Thanks to Graham Tully and Stephen Perry for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

Here's scientific proof that friends are good for you! We're trying something new this episode. Listen as we chat with Lydia Denworth, author of Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond. Then join us at Science on Tap at the Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, WA on Wednesday, February 12 to hear her full talk. We'll record that talk as well, so check back for the full episode in the next few months. Also, you should definitely buy her book. ******** Want to come to an event? Visit www.ScienceOnTapORWA.org for more info. Thanks to Graham Tully for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.

In this special episode we interview Robert Frank, economist and author of the new book Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work. He talks about using social and economic theories to encourage more climate-conscious behavior, and proposes structures for carbon taxes that wouldn't require painful sacrifices from anyone. As he says in the interview, "every little bit helps, way more than you think." ******** Want to come to an event? Visit www.ScienceOnTapORWA.org for more info. Thanks to Graham Tully and Stephen Perry for sound production. As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song "Mandelbrot Set" as our theme music.