Science Story Time!

Chapter 1 of The Space Merchants by C. M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl, 1952.

Chapter 1 of Star Gods by Jack Lovejoy, 1978. Cover copy: “Were they Earth’s salvation – or it’s doom?”

Chapter 1 of City at World’s End by Edmond Hamilton, 1957.

Introducing Chapter 1, a new podcast where I read the first chapter to pulpy 1950s-1980s sci-fi novels. Are they good? Who knows? I found them in a box in my closet. Let’s see!

Today I talk with my friends Parth, Colin, and Amy about some of the strangest beers America has to offer and then, for better or worse, we drink them. https://archive.org/download/BBBSEp1VFINAL/BBBS%20Ep%201_vFINAL.m4a

Today I interview my friend Sean, who is a lawyer-turned-geophysicist and then talk to him about the long and strange history of Centralia, PA. https://archive.org/download/CentraliaPAWithAGeophysicistFINAL/Centralia%20PA%20with%20a%20Geophysicist%20-%20FINAL.m4a

Today I talk about the Thomas Edison employment quiz with my friend Edward who is an accountant. This test was considered the definitive IQ test in the 1920s and determined if you could work for the man, the miracle, the mastermind who was the Wizard of Menlo Park. How well can you do? As always, drop me a line at sciencestorytime@gmail.com and rate, review, and subscribe to the show on iTunes. Here’s the full test! https://archive.org/download/ThomasEdisonsJobTest/Thomas%20Edison%27s%20Job%20Test.m4a

Today I talk with my friend Don about the complicated history of Fritz Haber. Haber won a Nobel Prize for discovering a way to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, leading to manmade fertilizer and increasing the world’s food supply by up to 50%. He also developed chemical weapons during WWI. My numbers for current nitrogen usage come from this paper: Galloway et al. 2008, Science: 320, 889-892 http://sciencestorytime.podomatic.com/enclosure/2016-02-25T15_21_19-08_00.m4a

Today I talk with my friend Ben who designs electrical propulsion systems at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA! We discuss his current work and what the future looks like for efficient space travel and then talk about the plans that the US government had for peaceful applications of nuclear weapons with Project Plowshare in the 1950s to 1970s. The Edward Teller paper can be found here (http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1951-Teller-Ulam-LAMS1225.pdf) and the Ted Talk Ben mentions is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVGjQSnLg4Y). To read more about Project Plowshare I recommend this Wired article (http://www.wired.com/2009/04/yourfriendatom/). http://sciencestorytime.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-10-14T12_28_22-07_00.m4a

I talk with my friend Elyse about philanthropy in modern day America and the historical trends that led to how charitable dollars are distributed today. Time to get your Junto on! Also, here is the link to the book chapter by Peter Hall that I read from: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/phall/Powell%20Essay-Final%20-%20rev.pdf. Enjoy! http://sciencestorytime.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-08-26T11_33_25-07_00.m4a

I talk with my friend Amy about the history of food science in the United States. Corrections! At the 45 minute mark I say 73% of the US population is in the agricultural sector when the actual number is 7.3%. Also, the blueberry was domesticated in 1908 and first commercially sold in 1916 in Whitebog, NJ. http://sciencestorytime.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-08-02T19_03_15-07_00.m4a

I talk with my friend Jim about the men who built rockets and their plans for Mars. http://sciencestorytime.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-07-20T12_27_27-07_00.m4a

I talk with my friend Jim about the troubled history of the battery and the man who loved them. http://sciencestorytime.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-07-20T12_21_51-07_00.m4a