Sausage of Science

Chris and Cara talk with Dr. Graciela Cabana, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Dr. Cabana’s work focuses on the human genome from a biosocial and biopolitical context. In particular, she has been working on a project developed to understand how public perspectives of race and nationality are impacted by recent trends of genetic testing in Argentina. To...

Dr. Adam Van Arsdale, a Professor of Anthropology at Wellesley College chats with Chris and Cara about why and how we need to rethink the way human anatomical evolution is taught. He discusses his recent presentations at the AABA in Denver and highlights his talk with Dr. Robin Nelson on the inconsistencies in how the term "population" is used by anthropologists. You can find Dr. Van Arsdale's tal...

Dr. Briana Pobiner is a paleoanthropologist and Education Program specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. She chats with Chris and Cara about her research on the evolution of human diets and the possibility that Homo erectus may have been scavengers instead of hunters. She talks about the issues associated with making broad conclusions about the paleo diet and how academi...

On today’s episode, Dr. Janelle Wagnild and Dr. Justin Aunger discuss their Toolkit paper in AJHB on measuring sedentary behavior: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.23546. Dr. Wagnild is a postdoctoral scholar the University of Durham in Quantitative Methods and Anthropology of Health, you can find her webpage here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/j-m-wagnild/ and on Twitter @jwagnil...

Today Cara and Chris talk with Dr. Jennifer Raff all about her new book “Origin: A Genetic History of The Americas” (https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/jennifer-raff/origin/9781538749715/) and exciting/challenging ancient DNA research! Dr. Raff is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at The University of Kansas. This episode is chock-full of stunning and interesting insights! You can contact Dr....

From male reproductive aging, embracing human variability in sports, to cool dog science. On this episode, Chris and Cara talk with Dr. Peter Gray, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas about his diverse research on fatherhood and sexuality and the work he is mentoring! We hope you enjoy this fantastic episode and stay tuned for more after a week-long production break. So...

On todays episode of The Sausage of Science, Cara and Chris talk shop on dental calculus, telling a holistic story of the deceased, brown adipose tissue, and life in Copenhagen with Dr. Jonathan Robert Belanich. Dr. Belanich is a former student of Chris (Roll Tide!) and did his PhD in Microbiology from Mississippi State University and his Masters in Bioarchaeology. He is currently a post-doctoral...

Dr. Thomas McDade, Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University discusses why inflammation should not simply be branded a secret killer. He also chats with Chris and Cara about his ongoing research on the differences in antibody responses to COVID-19 infection and vaccination. Find some of Dr. McDade's work on inflammation at: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/109/Supplement_2/17281.full.p...

So, what’s the deal with sleep, immune function, and mortality risk? On today’s episode, Dr. Eric Shattuck and Dr. Corey Sparks discuss their collaboration to investigate how morality risks may be affected by sleep quality, through white blood cell function. Listen for more intriguing insights and read their paper here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33527525/ Dr. Eric Shattuck is an Assistant Pr...

In today's episode Chris and Cara talk to Dr. Stephanie McClure, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama. Dr. McClure talks about the importance and the benefits of bringing anthropology to public health as evidenced by her own work leading and organizing six Covid-19 vaccination clinics across the country. Her and Cara also discuss their discontent with...

Dr. Jessica Dimka is the Co-leader of the Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society at Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway. She chats with Chris and Cara about her work on the associations between behaviors and epidemics in Newfoundland and describes how modeling can be implemented in anthropological research. Find Dr. Dimka's most recent publication "“We didn't get much schooling because we w...

Evolutionary biologist Dr. Joseph L. Graves Jr. (North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University) and biological anthropologist Dr. Alan Goodman (Hampshire College)discuss their new book "Racism, Not Race" with Chris and Cara. They talk about how their new book addresses important common questions on race and racism and what their hopes are for a more just future. Buy "Racism, Not Race"...

To start the new year off right, Chris and Cara chat with Dr. Helen Davis, a research associate at Harvard University. In this episode, Dr. Davis talks about her work on cognition and learning among the Tsimane, Twa, Zemba, and Himba. She also discusses her nonprofit and how she and her team contribute to their research communities through the One Pencil Project. Contact Dr. Davis at helendavis@fa...

#Hackademics webinars will be featured here: : https://physanth.org/meetings-and-webinars/aabas-monthly-webinar-series/ Registration is free here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3688886120668576013

On our last episode for 2021, Chris and Cara talk to Dr. Elizabeth Sweet who is a biocultural anthropologist and social epidemiologist who works as an Associate Professor of Anthropology at The University of Massachusetts. She is currently studying the health consequences of neoliberalism, namely the effects of debt. You can find out more about the Price of Debt study here: https://www.umb.edu/deb...

Dr. Gavin Naylor is the Program Director at the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum. Before his ALLELE (Alabama Lectures on Life's Evolution) talk he carved out some time to chat with Chris and Cara about his career path working with sharks and rays, the need for a greater genetic library of vertebrates, and how different walking shark species are impacted by climate change. C...

On today’s episode Chris and Cara talk to Dr. Charles Roseman about his recent paper “Lewontin did not commit Lewontins fallacy, his critics do: Why racial taxonomy is not useful for the scientific study of human variation” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bies.202100204. Dr. Roseman is an Associate Professor in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior and Anthropology in the School of Integ...

The Chief of Science and Harry W. and Diana V. Hind Dean of Science and Research Collections at the California Academy of Science, Dr. Shannon Bennett shares how her confinement at a leper colony led to her career as a virologist studying the evolution of viruses. She provides us with an in-depth look at how Covid-19 works and what the future might look like as we learn to live with the virus. You...

On todays episode, Cara and Chris talk to James Gibb who is a current Ph. D. student at Northwestern University. James is broadly interested in LGBTQ2+ population health. His prior work has focused on sexual-orientation-based disparities in food security and bone health as well as sex and gender minority vulnerabilities throughout COVID-19. You can find out more about his work here: https://www.re...

Dr. Erin P. Riley is a Professor of Anthropology at San Diego State University. As one of the few non-human biologists on the podcast she discusses the importance of bridging the gap between subfields and how ethnoprimatology can contribute to anthropology and ecology alike. Her newest book "The Promise of Contemporary Primatology" is a must-read for students, seasoned scholars, and everyone else....

Dr. Tina Lasisi joins Chris and Cara today to discuss her methodological innovations to understand variation in human hair morphology on this installment of our #Methodsandmeasuring series. Dr. Lasisi is currently a post-doctoral researcher and you can find out more information about her here: https://www.tinalasisi.com/ and on Twitter @TinaLasisi You can contact Dr. Scelza at bscelza@anthro.ucla....

Dr. Brooke Scelza is a human behavioral ecologist (but she doesn't limit herself to one label)at UCLA studying reproductive strategies among the Himba of Namibia. Dr. Scelza tells Chris and Cara about how to ethically collect and share paternity data, how to form strong bonds with your research community, and highlights the importance of slow science. You can contact Dr. Scelza at bscelza@anthro.u...

On today’s episode, Chris and Cara talk to Dr. Kathrine Starkweather, who is a biocultural and biological anthropologist and is an Assistant Professor at The University of Illinois- Chicago. They discuss her recent paper “Are fathers a good substitute for mothers? Paternal care and growth rates in Shodagor children” and her other exciting work. You can find more about her on her website: https://k...

Continuing our #MethodsandMeasuring series, Chris and Cara chat with Dr. Claudia Valeggia about her inspirational origin story, her work on reproductive health in the Qom of Argentina, and the importance of biological meaningfulness in data analysis. Dr. Valeggia is a Professor of Anthropology at Yale University and a PI in the Yale Reproductive Ecology Lab. You can contact Dr. Valeggia at claudia...

Dr. William (Bill) Dressler is a professor emeritus at the University of Alabama. He is a biocultural anthropologist who pioneered the cultural consonance method. On this episode, he talks with Chris and Cara about the three 'c' words: cultural consonance, consensus, and competence as well as his thoughts on mixed methods in anthropology to kick off our special series on Methodological Pluralism i...