The Sci'more Podcast

If you are a fan of public transit, you will enjoy this episode! Today, we had a special opportunity to chat with Jerome Alexander Horne, the communications manager for the Baltimore Red Line. Jerome will discuss the revival of the Baltimore Red Line, how the residents of Baltimore can contribute to the decision-making processes, and the upcoming open houses with the Red Line Project Team. Check o...

Do you listen to music every day? What is your favourite music to listen to? How do you feel when you listen to your favourite piece? Do you listen to music to feel excited, to relax, to be hyped up, or to sleep? Music surrounds us and impacts us in ways that we cannot imagine. You probably would not be surprised if we told you all that music is even used as part of medical care nowadays! In this...

Welcome back to part 2 of our series on science policy! Last time, we talked with Adriana, Ona, and Vivian about hot topics in science policy and how we as voters can learn more about how our electoral candidates view science. This time, we’ll be doing a deepdive into Ona and Vivian’s organization, the Johns Hopkins Science Policy and Diplomacy Group. Through this group, Ona and Vivian engage othe...

Happy 2024! This year is an election year, and a very big one at that. What do you look for in a candidate? We at the Sci’more Podcast look for people with an interest in science, both as a worthwhile investment and as a tool for the betterment of our communities. In this episode, we speak with scientists actively involved in bridging the gap between science and policymaking, a key facet of the fi...

Today, we will bring you a special episode, which is the live recording of the Science Gong Show. The Gong Show is a science communication event where scientists give brief explanations of their research without using any jargon. The audience can ring cowbells or hit the Gong when they capture jargon. At this moment, the speaker needs to pause and explain the jargon in more understandable terms. I...

It’s time for the final episode in our virology series, which we’re producing in partnership with the American Society for Virology! Last time, we met Dr. Chris Beyrer, Director of Duke University’s Global Health Institute and an expert on all things mpox and HIV. We spoke with him about what mpox (formerly, monkeypox) is, where it comes from, and why outbreaks have been happening around the world...

It’s time for the long-awaited part three of our virology series, which we’re producing in partnership with the American Society for Virology! In this two-parter, we cover mpox, or the virus formerly known as monkeypox. We brought out former Bluejay Dr. Chris Beyrer, the current Director of Duke University’s Global Health Institue. Before his transition to Duke, Dr. Beyrer spent years developing p...

Ticks : little bugs, with big appetites for your blood. They won’t bleed you dry, but it’s what they leave behind that hurts. For this two-part episode of the Sci’More Podcast, Phil and Chris interviewed three tick and tick-borne disease experts to get the scoop on tick safety, Lyme disease, and Alpha-gal syndrome, in which a tick bite can cause a red meat allergy. Our guests this episode (part 1...

Ticks : little bugs, with big appetites for your blood. They won’t bleed you dry, but it’s what they leave behind that hurts. For this two-part episode of the Sci’More Podcast, Phil and Chris interviewed three tick and tick-borne disease experts to get the scoop on tick safety, Lyme disease, and Alpha-gal syndrome, in which a tick bite can cause a red meat allergy. Our guests this episode (part 1...

Time for an episode on the coronavirus pandemic! Don’t worry, in this episode we’ll give the virology discussion a break and explore how the pandemic has disrupted our communities. More specifically, we’ll take a look at the housing and eviction crisis as well as changes in primary and secondary education. To do this, we interviewed Tori Tavormina, a public health and business student at Johns Hop...

“Brrraaaaiiiinnsssss!” No, that’s not a zombie looking for a snack; it’s the crowd at Brainfest! Brainfest is a free spring event put on by graduate students at Johns Hopkins University meant to make neuroscience cool, fun, and educational for everyone. To learn more about this event, we talked with Blake and Isis, neuroscience graduate students at JHU and the directors of this year’s Brainfest. I...

Valentine’s day coming up may have many of us weak at the knees. But elite athletes, like those set to play in Superbowl LVII, go through detailed training and conditioning schedules to strengthen joints like the knee, prepare for big games, and reduce the risk of injuries. If they do occur, how are sports injuries assessed and treated in high-level athletes? Why are we told to bend our knees when...

You hear about it every year: “It’s flu season! Be sure to get a flu vaccine!” But what exactly is the flu, how can it harm you, and why do we need to be vaccinated every single year? Learn the answers to these questions and more in the first episode of the Sci’more Podcast’s virology series! We interview Cami and Nico, microbiology PhD students researching the small (but mighty!) world of viruses...

Welcome back to our series on artificial intelligence (AI)! Last time, we learned about our interview, Dr. Monica Lopez-Gonzalez, an AI expert based at Johns Hopkins University. She shared with us her work involving AI and the myriad ways that AI has been integrating with society. In this episode, we continue the conversation by first learning where Maryland fits into the picture of AI. Then, we d...

Is Hollywood right? Will the Terminator, Ultron, and HAL 9000 take over the world? These and other artificial intelligences (AIs) have sparked our imagination for centuries, but in the last fifty years our dreams have become reality. Join us for our two-part series on AI as we delve into its uses, implications, and governance with Dr. Monica Lopez-Gonzalez, an AI expert at Johns Hopkins University...

We discuss the science behind brewing beer with JHU alum Judy Neff, owner of the Checkerspot Brewing Company and David Hooper, lead brewer at the Diamondback Brewing Company. We’ll be touching on the step-by-step process of brewing beer, a day in the life of a brewer, and, how working in a brewery is surprisingly similar to working in a lab. --- Glossary 4:45 Lupulin: part of the hop plant contain...

On this episode of the Sci’more podcast, we discuss the current developments regarding the function of the trash incinerators in the city and how high levels of air pollution can affect our health. We delve into the push to close trash incinerators in the city with a local environmental justice advocate, Mr. Dante Swinton. The organization Mr. Swinton works for, Clean Air Baltimore Coalition, play...

Join us as we discuss allergies, asthma, and city living with the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital Baltimore Breathmobile Medical Director, Dr. Mary Bollinger, and former Clinical Director of the Allergy Clinical Practice at Johns Hopkins, allergist and immunologist Dr. Jody Tversky. We’ll be touching on what allergies are, how living in the city can impact your allergies and asthma, and...

The pricing of drugs and medicines- from the Tylenol we pick up at the pharmacy to the special prescriptions we receive from our doctors- is something that affects all of us. In this special cross-release episode, we teamed up with our friends from the Hopkins Biotech Podcast (HBP) to learn a little more about why drugs cost what they do and how government, insurance companies, and society bargain...

Welcome to the Sci’more Podcast! We are a group of early-career scientists based at Johns Hopkins University. As members of Project Bridge, a student-run science communication group serving the Baltimore community, we enjoy sharing the fascinating stories of science happening right here in Baltimore and Maryland! Are our beloved Chesapeake Bay blue crabs invading the waterways of the world? What’s...

Join us as we discuss light pollution in Baltimore and its effects on birds, bugs, and even you with Lights Out Baltimore and Dr. Clint Francis from the California Polytechnic State University. We’ll be touching on what light pollution in Baltimore looks like and how it impacts our local wildlife, namely the birds that migrate through the mid-Atlantic each year. Then, we’ll learn more about how li...

On this episode of the Sci’more podcast, Dr. Megan Latshaw, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Samuel Jordan, president of the Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition, join us to share their thoughts on how a data-driven approach could bring a more equitable future to public transit in Baltimore. We discuss the current state of the transit system, its roots in Baltimore’s seg...

Happy holidays, B'more! We bring you another deep dive with an episode on sound and a very important sense for the members of our audience-- hearing. A Ph. D. candidate at Johns Hopkins shares her experiences with investigating the mysteries of sound waves and why we should be thankful this holiday season for our cochleas! (Please note: The interviewee discusses the controversial use of animals in...

This week on the Sci'more podcast, Harbor Waterkeeper Alice Volpitta from Blue Water Baltimore joins us to talk about recent water quality concerns with the rivers that are flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, specifically at the Patapsco and Back River Wastewater Treatment Plants. We talk about how they came to discover this worrisome issue, what this means for the future of Chesapeake Bay, and what...

2021 is truly an exciting year for baseball! With incredible players such as Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr., and so many more, everyone's attention is on baseball right now. With the playoffs coming up so soon, there is going to be a big battle between the pitchers and the hitters. Hitters swinging their bats at a breaking ball curving, dropping, and deceiving the hitters - and strike out!&nbsp...