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11 May 2021

Cold War Ice Core Reveals Historic Glacial Melt – Andrew Christ

How did a Cold War era debacle help us better understand the dangers of climate change? In episode 99 of Parsing Science, we talk with Drew Christ from the University of Vermont about his research into how fossils plucked from forgotten experiment in the Arctic led to his discovery the last time Gre......
Listen to episode..Cold War Ice Core Reveals Historic Glacial Melt – Andrew Christ
20 Apr 2021

DNA Evidence of Denisovan Interbreeding – João Teixeira

What can DNA tell us about the migration of the earliest modern humans and other hominins? In episode 98 of Parsing Science, we talk with João Teixeira from the University of Adelaide about his research which examined the genomes of modern humans to investigate the interbreeding between ancient huma...
Listen to episode..DNA Evidence of Denisovan Interbreeding – João Teixeira
6 Apr 2021

The Dyatlov Pass Incident – Alexander Puzrin

Can science help solve a real-life mystery? In episode 97 of Parsing Science, we talk with Alexander Puzrin from ETH Zurich about his research into The Dyatlov Pass incident, a 62-year-old mystery involving the deaths of nine hikers in the freezing Russian wilderness, a tragedy that’s been attribute...
Listen to episode..The Dyatlov Pass Incident – Alexander Puzrin
29 Dec 2020

Pet Project – Eric Tourigny

What do changes in our beliefs about the death of our pets over the past century say about the relationship we have with our companion animals? In episode 90, Eric Tourigny from Newcastle University's School of History, Classics and Archaeology discusses his research into historic pet cemeteries a......
Listen to episode..Pet Project – Eric Tourigny
15 Dec 2020

Drones Revealing the Past – Jesse Casana

How can drones help us find settlements long-lost to time? In episode 89, Jesse Casana from Dartmouth College's Department of Anthropology discusses his research into using multi-sensor drones to collect data about a major Native American settlement in what is now Southeastern Kansas. His article ......
Listen to episode..Drones Revealing the Past – Jesse Casana
17 Mar 2020

The Minds of Single-celled Organisms – Jeremy Gunawardena

Can even a single-celled organism truly learn? In Episode 70, Jeremy Gunawardena with the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School talks with us about his replication of an experiment originally conducted over a century ago, which suggested that at least one single-cell organism - t......
Listen to episode..The Minds of Single-celled Organisms – Jeremy Gunawardena
12 Nov 2019

Ritual Pain for Social Gain – Dimitris Xygalatas

Sure, you might have a tongue piercing. But would you consider something far more extreme for a bump on the social ladder? In episode 62, we're joined by Dimitris Xygalatas from the University of Connecticut, who talks with us about how extravagant and painful rituals can foster greater subjective......
Listen to episode..Ritual Pain for Social Gain – Dimitris Xygalatas
30 Apr 2019

Sampling Music Networks – Mason Youngblood

Can the sharing of drum break samples among musicians help us better understand how networks of artists collaborate? In episode 48, Mason Youngblood from the City University of New York discusses his research into the cultural transmission of digital music samples through collaborative networks of......
Listen to episode..Sampling Music Networks – Mason Youngblood
25 Dec 2018

Archaeology of the Recent Past (Part 2 of 2) – P.J. Capelotti

While we often associate archaeology with the study of cultures whose eras have long-since come and gone, artifacts from the recent past can tell us about culture as well. Part one of our conversation with P.J. Capelotti from Penn State University Abington concerned terrestrial archaeology. In par...
Listen to episode..Archaeology of the Recent Past (Part 2 of 2) – P.J. Capelotti
11 Dec 2018

Archaeology of the Recent Past (Part 1 of 2) – P.J. Capelotti

Ordinary objects from the recent past often hold secrets about our cultural history. In episode 38, P.J. Capelotti from Penn State University Abington talks with us about the history, archaeology, and anthropology of exploration as he writes about it in his recent book Adventures in Archaeology: T...
Listen to episode..Archaeology of the Recent Past (Part 1 of 2) – P.J. Capelotti