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30 Oct 2018

Playing with Science History – Jean-François Gauvin

Almost lost to history, these toys quite literally put quantum mechanics at one’s fingertips. In episode 35, Jean-François Gauvin from Université Laval in Canada discusses how he came to understand the purpose and value of unique toy blocks that ended up on his desk at Harvard University in 2014 a...
Listen to episode..Playing with Science History – Jean-François Gauvin
18 Sep 2018

Speech-to-Song Illusion – Mike Vitevitch

Can auditory errors and illusions better help us understand how the brain works? In episode 32 Mike Vitevitch from the University of Kansas talks with us about his research into the cognitive mechanisms underlying the Speech-to-Song auditory illusion. His open-access article "An account of the Spe...
Listen to episode..Speech-to-Song Illusion – Mike Vitevitch
15 May 2018

Uncovering Uncertain Identities – David Kernot

We set out talk with David Kernot from Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group about William Shakespeare's true identity, but soon discovered his work has implications on national security and suicide prevention, as well as diagnosing Alzheimer's years before it can be otherwise identifie...
Listen to episode..Uncovering Uncertain Identities – David Kernot
1 May 2018

Linguistic Artifacts in Creole – Nicole Creanza

What might migration patterns tell us about how modern languages came about? Vanderbilt University's Nicole Creanza talks with us about her research into how migration during the colonial era contributed to the development of the creole language, Sranan. Her open-access article "Using features of ...
Listen to episode..Linguistic Artifacts in Creole – Nicole Creanza
20 Feb 2018

Universals in Song – Sam Mehr & Manvir Singh

Sam Mehr and Manvir Singh from Harvard's Music Lab talk with us about their research suggesting that people across the world can detect the social purpose of other cultures' songs based only on how they sound. Their open-access article, "Form and function in human song"  was published in Current B...
Listen to episode..Universals in Song – Sam Mehr & Manvir Singh
23 Jan 2018

Deciding to Move – Bill Clark

Bill Clark from the University of California Los Angeles discusses his research applying the endowment effect of Prospect Theory to decisions of why people move from, or stay in, their homes. His open-access article, "Prospect theory and the decision to move or stay," co-authored with William Liso......
Listen to episode..Deciding to Move – Bill Clark
3 Oct 2017

Archaeology of Space Culture – Alice Gorman

The rich archaeological records of human space exploration can tell us much about human behavior, geopolitics, and the history of science and technology. In this episode we're joined by Alice Gorman of Flinders University in South Australia. Alice tells us about her research that explores archae......
Listen to episode..Archaeology of Space Culture – Alice Gorman