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8 Jun 2021

Science Writing as Storytelling (rebroadcast) – Ryan Kelly

What matters more in getting cited — what you say or how you say it? In this remastered and remixed version of our first episode of the show, we're revisited by Ryan Kelly from the University of Washington's School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. He talks with us about his article "Narrative St...
Listen to the episode...Science Writing as Storytelling (rebroadcast) – Ryan Kelly
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 the 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 the 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 the episode...The Dyatlov Pass Incident – Alexander Puzrin
23 Mar 2021

Monkey Business – Jean-Baptiste “JB” Leca

Do monkeys know how much fruit your sunglasses are worth? In episode 96 of Parsing Science, we talk with Jean-Baptiste "JB" Leca from the University of Lethbridge's Department of Psychology about his field research observing interactions among macaques at a Hindu temple in Bali. There, the monkeys h......
Listen to the episode...Monkey Business – Jean-Baptiste “JB” Leca
9 Mar 2021

Positively Negative – Shiri Melumad

How much can you trust people's retelling of information the've read? In episode 95, Shiri Melumad from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business discusses her research showing that when – much like the children’s game “telephone” – news is repeatedly retold, it undergoes a stylist...
Listen to the episode...Positively Negative – Shiri Melumad
23 Feb 2021

How Mosquitoes Target Us – Zhilei Zhao & Lindy McBride

Why do mosquitoes prefer us over other animals? In episode 94, we talk with Zhilei Zhao and Lindy McBride from Princeton about their research into how mosquitoes that can carry dangerous diseases - such as Zika, dengue, West Nile virus and malaria - are able to track us down so quickly while ignorin...
Listen to the episode...How Mosquitoes Target Us – Zhilei Zhao & Lindy McBride
9 Feb 2021

Epistemic Puzzles in ‘The Witness’ – Luke Cuddy

What can a video game teach us about our epistemic philosophy? In episode 93, Luke Cuddy from Southwestern College’s philosophy program talks with us about the video game The Witness, which presents players with a multitude of increasingly sophisticated and frustrating puzzles that perhaps result fr...
Listen to the episode...Epistemic Puzzles in ‘The Witness’ – Luke Cuddy
26 Jan 2021

Unintended Consequences of Legal Reforms – Ángela Zorro Medina

What effect did copying the U.S.'s legal system have on Colombia's incarceration system? In episode 92, Ángela Zorro Medina from the University of Chicago discussed her research into how transitioning to an adversarial model of criminal procedure – one controlled by the prosecutor and defense, rat...
Listen to the episode...Unintended Consequences of Legal Reforms – Ángela Zorro Medina
12 Jan 2021

Bots’ Meddling in the 2020 Presidential Election – Emilio Ferrara

How are automated social media bots manipulating our political discourse? In episode 91, Emilio Ferrara from the University of Southern California discusses his research into bots' amplification of conspiracies theories across more than 240 million tweets regarding the 2020 U.S. presidential elect......
Listen to the episode...Bots’ Meddling in the 2020 Presidential Election – Emilio Ferrara