Planthropology

Send us Fan Mail Today is different, my friends. My grandfather passed away the evening of Tuesday, July 28. If you've been listening for a while, you've heard me speak about him and how he was the one who started my love of plants in nature. Today's episode is the best I can do to pay tribute to him. He was good and kind and selfless. That's the best compliment I know how to g...

Send us Fan Mail Coffee. Coffee coffee coffee. Coffee coffee. Coooofffffeeeeee! Ok so on this episode, I talk with Dr. Kerry Mayfield about plant breeding, his awesome coffee roasting business (have I mentioned that I love coffee), traveling the world, the ethics and philosophy of science, and so much more awesome stuff. We couldn't nearly fit everything we wanted to cover into an hour or les...

Send us Fan Mail Trees. Trees are the best thing. I've always been a huge tree nerd and I get super excited about the opportunity to talk with other tree nerds. Jon Motsinger is the Department Head of Central Texas Operations with the Texas A&M Forest Service and one of the most knowledgable arborists I've had the plasure of knowing. He's witty, funny, and really cares about tre...

Send us Fan Mail Reviews and stuff! I always love to hear what you humans think about the show, so I thought I'd read some reviews today, play some promos of a few excellent podcasts, and announce a contest for you to win some stuff! Come up with a funny backstory by July 20, 2020 for the 1-star Planthropology rating on iTunes that came without a review, send it to me on social media or via e...

Send us Fan Mail EPISODE 20! We made it! I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon, but big milestones are fun! Thanks for listening and for all the support. Y'all, today's episode is great. Dr. Becky Bowling is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Urban Water with the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M. She's also hilarious, brilliant, a wonder...

Send us Fan Mail How about a bonus episode? Listen to Episode 1 of the Jolly Green Scientists podcast that I'm co-hosting with Erfan Vafaie! It's fun and sciencey and great! Do us a huge favor and subscribe to the show wherever you like to listen to podcasts and drop us a review on Apple or Podchaser. It'll help with our exposure early on and let us know we're headed in the rig...

Send us Fan Mail I'll be honest, my heart is super heavy this week and I struggled with today's episode. Between my first plan falling through and just not feeling my backup idea, I was pretty lost until I remembered this little recording I did with my son Bradley from the end of March. It's silly, kind of pointless, and chaotic, and I hope it's a fun distraction from...well al...

Send us Fan Mail Memes. Olives. Guerrilla ecologists. What do all these things have in common? We talk about them all in this awesome episode with Rhett Barker and Curtis Sarkin from Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends. They were gracious enough to re-record with me after I had some technical problems and I'm so glad they did. We laugh a ton about memes and get serious about ecology. You&a...

Send us Fan Mail Y'all, I'm so excited for you to hear this one. Abby Morrison is the Publication Systems Assistant for ACSESS, a blogger, podcaster, writer, and such a cool person. We got to nerd out about science, storytelling, plants, science communication, Tolkien, and so many other things. I feel like I've found a friend and kindred spirit in Abby, and this episode made me so h...

Send us Fan Mail Hey Plant People! I'm SO excited about today's episode. Paige Boyle is a Presidential Doctoral Research Fellow at Utah State, an advocate for Women in STEM, a self-proclaimed "earthworm whisperer," and a wonderful human. We talked about her experiences in graduate school, how completely freaking WILD earthworms are, how to plug in as a graduate student (and imp...

Send us Fan Mail It's episode 15 and I'm so excited! Thanks so much for hanging in there with me through all the fun and nerdiness! To celebrate episode 15, I want to do another sticker giveaway! If you'll leave me a review on Apple or Podchaser (links below) then send me a screenshot, I'll mail you a couple of stickers and a handwritten thank you note for being the best! You k...

Send us Fan Mail Howdy, intrepid Plant People! I hope you're doing OK! I have a great guest for you today. Dr. Joey Young is an Associate Professor of Turfgrass Science at Texas Tech University. He's an excellent educator who's committed to teaching both in the classroom and out in the community. Joey is my PhD advisor and has been a long-time friend and mentor. It was great sitting...

Send us Fan Mail What's up, Plant People?! I'm so excited for you to hear today's episode! I had the chance to interview Dr. Erica Irlbeck and Kelsi Opat (twice...you'll hear more about that in the episode) from the Texas Tech Department of Agricultural Education and Communications. We talked about how to address distance education, changes that may be coming in academia, how t...

Send us Fan Mail What's up plant people? I recorded the episode with my friends Amber Bates and Kaylee Deck of Grove Hill Farms like 1000 years ago, and I can't wait for you to hear it! Their business is a super rad agrotourism operation in North Texas and was such a beautiful place to record. I got to sit in Amber's dining room in her home on the farm and catch up with these two wo...

Send us Fan Mail Jessica and I were texting the other day, and there were a few things she wanted to add to the most recent episode in light of our current public health situation. Please hang in there, friends, and don't give up hope! Links from Jessica: Resources to help you be successful if you are wanting to grow your own: https://www.westtexasorganicgardening.com/ Texas A&M Agrilife:...

Send us Fan Mail Hey, what's up Plant People? I hope everyone is doing well during these wild times we're in. I can't wait for you to hear today's episode. My guest, Dr. Jessica Tullar Caroom, is an epidemiologist and public health professional, community activist and organizer, leader of an organization that addresses hunger through gardening efforts, and the founder of a scho...

Send us Fan Mail I should come up with good show notes for this, but it's late, and my brain is tired, and there's this pandemic thing going down. Just listen in to me talk about plant stuff, struggle with technology, and answer some questions!  As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It really helps the show keep...

Send us Fan Mail What's up, Plant People! It's episode 10 and the Crossover event of the Century! That's wht my guest, Ellen Weatherford and I decided anyway. Ellen is host of the Just the Zoo of Us podcast. It's a WONDERFUL show that teaches us the ins and outs of 2 animals per episode. Along with her husband, Christian, Ellen does such a great job of providing a fun, family-f...

Send us Fan Mail Hey, everyone! Super nerdy bonus episode coming at you! I'll be posting the recording of my first live show, Plants in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, from Lubbock-Con 2020 a couple of weeks ago! Tune in tomorrow for my thoughts on world building, Tolkien, weird blue aliens, and, like, so much Sam Gamgee. It was a lot of fun and I think you'll really enjoy it! Prepare yourself for a...

Send us Fan Mail What's up, Plant People? Let's talk about insects. Come on, you know you want to. It'll be fun. Everyone's doing it. You guest today is Texas A&M AgriLife Extension IPM specialist, Erfan Vafaie. We had an incredible conversation about insects, science, life, and moving from Canada to East Texas. You're going to love it. Check out the links below to fin...

Send us Fan Mail What's up, Plant People?? I have a great one for you today. I sat down (several months ago, actually) with my dear friend Kristin Bingham to talk about plants, college education, and just life in general. Kristin is an Assistant Professor of Biology at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. She also runs the greenhouse and gardens at SPC (sound familiar?) and is super hila...

Send us Fan Mail What's up, Plant People? It's your host, Vikram Baliga, back again with Episode 7! Listen, do you like water? Of course you do! I know for a fact you like to drink, eat, bathe (at least I hope), and, well, just have the ability to live in general. Water is totally necessary for life and 100% irreplaceable to us as living organisms. It's a good thing there are people...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Glen Ritchie is an associate professor of crop physiology and chair of the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University. Dr. Ritchie took on the role of Department Chair in September of 2019 and has already made a big impact on the students, staff, and faculty in the department. I got the chance to sit down and have a great conversation with Dr. Ritchie about...

Send us Fan Mail Hallie Casey is one of the hosts and the mastermind behind the One to Grow On Podcast. On this amazing pod, they "dig into questions about agriculture and try to understand how food production impacts us and our world." Kid, adult, and scientist (which falls somewhere between) friendly, One to Grow On fights the good fight of science and agricultural communication and re...

Send us Fan Mail Hey there, plant people! It's our first bonus episode! I was recording remotely from home one day, and my little dude came into the room and wanted to talk into the microphone. I decided it would be a lot of fun to see what he had to say. He didn't disappoint! Join us as we discuss our favorite plants, dinosaurs, ice cream, numbers, jokes, and all kinds of other stuff. T...