Critical Wit Podcast

Due to technical problems with my recording system, I can not provide a new episode of Critical Wit this week.  However, I have stitched together two excerpts of earlier episodes that either you may have not heard, or would appreciate a recap of some of the more interesting parts of the interviews.  The first excerpt [...]

Marc Zimmer is a professor of physical sciences with a specialization in computational chemistry at Connecticut College.  He is also the author of “Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology.”  In this episode we discuss why the search for glowing jellyfish resulted in a biotechnological innovation that would be almost as important as the invention of the microscope. If you enjoy this [...]

Richard Mendel is a beekeeper, Vice President of the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association, and contributor to the Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers.  In this episode, we discuss the science of beekeeping, the concerns over the issue of bee colony collapse disorder, and at the end we talk about killer bees (otherwise known as Africanized honeybees). If you enjoy this podcast, please [...]

Due to technical problems with my recording system, there won’t be a new episode of Critical Wit for a couple of weeks.  However, I have stitched together two excerpts of earlier, popular episodes that either you may have not heard, or would appreciate a recap of some of the more interesting parts of the interviews.  The first [...]

Amy Sisson is a librarian, book reviewer, writer, and science fiction fan. She is also a personal friend of guest host Julia Jenkins. In this episode, Amy and Julia talk about several sci fi and fantasy books of which Amy recommends, especially to mainstream (or non-sci-fi) readers.  Learn more about Amy, her book reviews, and her own [...]

Dr. Richard White is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Standford University and author of “Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America.” In this episode we discuss how the grand achievement of building railways in the West was based on corruption, fraud, and poor business acumen.  The end of this period consisted [...]

Madeline Miller is the author of “The Songs of Achilles“, released in March of 2012, which retells the events leading up, to and throughout the Trojan War through the eyes of Patroclus, a minor character in Homer’s Iliad.  We follow Patroclus from childhood as he develops a close friendship with the Greek hero Achilles and [...]

Zen Faulkes is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Texas-Pan American and science communicator at the blog, Neurodojo.  In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick talks with Zen about another project that he’s working on – the SciFund Challenge.  The SciFund Challenge is an organization of scientists who pitch their ideas for science [...]

Aaron Santos is a physicist and author of “Ballparking: Practical Math for Impractical Sports Questions.”  In this episode, Aaron talks about some of the hypothetical estimations involving sports that he covers in his book, such as how obese would a hockey player have to be to cover up the goal, how much could a person lift if he or she was the size of [...]

Ian Dille is a freelance journalist and co-author of “The Price of Gold: The Toll and Triumph of One Man’s Olympic Dream.”  In this episode, guest host Julia Jenkins  chats with Dille about the subject of this book, many-time track cycler champion Marty Nothstein.  Nothstein is an Olympic Gold and Silver medalist in Match Sprint bicycle racing, a sport [...]

Erin Blakemore is the author of “The Heroine’s Bookshelf“, a non-fiction story about twelve classic, literary heroines and the authors who created them.  In this episode, guest host Julia Jenkins talks with Blakemore about the book which explores how contemporary audiences can relate to the classic writers, and what life lessons can be appreciated even now [...]

In this episode, I talk with documentary film-maker, Scott Thurman.  We discuss his current documentary film, “The Revisionaries.”  It centers on the story from 2011 about the Texas State Board of Education’s push to update the school curriculum’s science standards as it relates to the teaching of evolution. This conversation originally took place in early February, [...]

Author Matt Bell, returns to discuss his new book “Cataclysm Baby” – a novella consisting of distinct stories set in a world devastated by an environmental disaster that cause children to be born with mutations that make them animal-like, and these childrens’ fathers’ struggling with how to raise them. “Cataclysm Baby” is published by Mud Luscious Press, [...]

Sophie Bushwick is a freelance science writer who contributes to Scientific American’s Sixty Seconds Podcast, and is a writer for the io9 blogging network.  In this episode, we discuss the topic of graphene, a substance that has promising features and qualities for future technological innovations, such as more efficient solar cells, improved semiconductors, and more.  You can subscribe [...]

Dr. Jennifer Rohn is a cell biologist, novelist, and founder of LabLit.com.  In this episode, Jennifer and I talk about why there are not many stories that involve scientists as main characters.  And so, LabLit.com was created to be a resource for storytelling and art that involve science, whether it’s characters or laboratory settings.  Jennifer is also the [...]

Sheridan Tongue is a film music and television programmer in England.  In this episode, we discuss the process of writing compositions for film and television, his work on the popular science series ‘Wonders of the Universe with Brian Cox’ and ‘Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.’  You can find out more about Sheridan’s work by visiting his website [...]

In this episode, I give you more interview excerpts from off of the cutting room floor, such as Zachary Moore gives his favorite evidence of evolution that’s not relevant to molecular genetics (episode 43), why Rosie Redfield thinks it’s important for scientists to blog (epsd 42), what Sean B Carroll thinks are some of the under-appreciated qualities [...]

Katie McKissick is a “former high school biology teacher who simply loves to talk, write, and read about science.”  She’s also the author and illustrator of “Beatrice the Biologist,” a fun, informative website about science.  In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick chats with Katie about her unique way of describing science through blogging and illustrating.  And [...]

Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of critically-acclaimed books, such as her short story collections “Women And Other Animals,” and the 2009 National Book Award finalist, “American Salvage.”  In this episode, we talk about her recent novel, “Once Upon A River.”  A story about a young girl’s journey up the river in search of her [...]

Dr. Sean B Carroll is an award-winning scientist, author, and educator. He is currently Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Wisconsin.  With Darwin Day coming up, we talk about Charles Darwin.  We discuss some of the interesting aspects to the famous naturalist, [...]