Two Brad For You

'll be honest with you — when I first stumbled across Rachel Armstrong's papers, I genuinely thought I had the wrong person. The work was filed under architecture, but it was talking about chemistry, microbes, the origins of life, and the philosophy of matter. Rachel Armstrong is a professor at KU Leuven's Faculty of Architecture, but she trained as a medical doctor at Oxford and Cambridge, spent...

When you hear the word "science," what do you feel? Bored? Intimidated? In awe? Suspicious? Turns out, that gut reaction matters more than you think — and it might be the key to understanding why science communication so often fails, and why grifters and pseudoscientists are so successful. In this episode I sat down with Daniel Silva Luna, a science communication researcher from Colombia, now base...

Biology can be beautiful and disgusting all at once. This is why I loved studying biology and parasites, and why I am captivated by the story of screwworm. Screwworm is a nasty parasite that is making a come back in North America and in this episode we'll dive into the story of screwworm and hear from Dr. Phillip Kaufman, Head of the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M. He breaks down how sc...

In this episode, I'm joined science-communication researcher Miguel Vissers for a funny, honest, and wildly insightful look at how science actually reaches the public —and why it so often goes wrong. Check out the links below to see Miguel's work and check back for updates as one of the pieces of research we discuss will be available soon. We start with the question, why science needs its own comm...

Science isn’t just happening in labs in the U.S. or Europe — it’s a human story unfolding everywhere. In this episode, Brad talks with Dr. Patience Kiyuka, a Kenyan scientist and National Geographic Explorer, about what it really means to do science for and with the communities it serves. From fighting malaria to battling misinformation, Dr. Kiyuka shares how African scientists are changing global...

Humor feels like a universal language—but can it really help people understand science? In this episode researchers Hauke Riesch and Bruno Pinto discuss the surprising limits of using jokes to teach science and what happens when scientists try to get laughs while explaining complex ideas. They discuss the psychology of humor, the risks of being “too funny,” and what it means for trust, emotion, an...

The discussion today centers on the pressing issue of science communication and the alarming erosion of public trust in scientific endeavors. Our guest, Alex Kirkpatrick, a distinguished scholar in science communication from Washington State University and Cornell Engineering, offers a novel perspective by examining the dynamics between scientists and the public, particularly through the lens of i...

Is science political? Yes, and that's not an inherently a bad thing. In this episode I try to unpack my thinking on why science is political and more specifically where and why political influences enter the picture. From here I explore how an understanding of these influences can improve scientific research and also ruminate on how this affects science communication aimed at two important audienc...

In this episode, we dive into the weird world of nanomaterials and their game-changing role in sustainable technology and space exploration. My guest is Connor Boland , a researcher a Dublin City University. He breaks down how everyday substances like gypsum or pencil lead are transformed into high-tech nanostructures with applications for electronics, engineering, or space travel. He also explain...

We broke the century mark and to celebrate we're revisiting the topic of mental health and social media. This time I turn the focus on myself and two good friends as we take a critical look at our own usage and how we feel it impacts our own mood and behavior, for better or worse. To add a professional and scientific element to the show we compare our habits to published research on the correlatio...

Disease has profoundly shaped human history, influencing major events such as wars, colonization, and migration, while simultaneously being impacted by human behaviors and societal decisions. This conversation dives into the intricate relationship between pathogens and people, exploring how ecological changes and human activities create environments conducive to the spread of diseases. Environment...

The great science broadcaster and author Jay Ingram joins me once again to talk about science that goes mainstream. Why does do some topics jump out of dedicated science news channels and how should critics respond? Is there any good way to present the process behind science and why is that crucial for critiques of misleading stories. These are some of the topics we explore and Jay provides some p...

Today we delve deep into the fascinating world of the placebo effect, exploring its implications in medical treatments and the ethics surrounding its use. Dr. Helena Hartman, a neuroscientist, joins the show to talk about how expectations can significantly influence treatment outcomes. Hartman shares her research insights into pain, empathy and placebo and the importance of expectation in driving...

In June an independent advisory committee recommended the FDA not approve MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD. This came as a surprise to many working in and following the field of psychedelic assisted therapy. It also raised questions as to where the field is at and what challenges still exist. To provide some context and perspective on this decision and some of the specific criticism raised during th...

In this episode we have two interesting news stories from the unrelated worlds of infectious disease and psychedelic research. What's all the fuss with H5N1 moving into cows and is my milk safe? Plus a breakdown of a fascinating set of experiments aimed at answering whether MDMA increases empathy and why this could influence how doctors prescribe the drug in the future. This is the only link you n...

Have you ever thought about how knowledge, sometimes thought of as facts, get from the scientists, to journalists, to the articles and videos on your screen? Turns out there is a pipeline taking science discoveries from the lab to the news media. This pathway is a useful and well-used system but it is not without problems. Information can be distorted as it is translated and passed on and the fact...

Ants and other eusocial insects have taken group living to the extreme and while we may not think of these animals as representative of human societies studying the fundementals of the evolution of and consequences of social living using ants makes a lot of sense. My guest Yuko Ulrich is a behavioral ecologist and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany. She...

When's the last time you checked your butt? It could save your life. This episode I chat with Anthony Morgan, host of CBC's The Nature of Things, about their upcoming film Butt Seriously and so much more. As Anthony explains the idea for the arose because people are literally dying from embar ass ment by not getting their butt's checked out by a doctor. This soon expanded to a deep dive into butt'...

Two major breakthroughs in gene editing recently occurred and show how our ability to edit the human genome is rapidly increasing. This episode we dive into how these technologies work and how they were able to treat two diseases. One a rather mundane sounding cholesterol problem and the other an exteremely painful and potentially deadly condition known as sickle cell disease. Both stories invovle...

Some recent episodes have really got me thinking about science communication and our responsibility as citizens to be informed. Also, about the challenges of being informed and of informing people about issues, discoveries and topics that will not only change our lives but could end them too. Contemplating these things led me to look back at the pandemic as a lens through which many of the issues...

Responsible members of society should have some understanding of science. Hot take? I don’t think so. Decisions on personal and public health require some knowledge and look no further than debates surrounding the application and use of things like AI and gene editing technology. Citizens should have and use their voice to speak on these topics. And this is why science communication exists as a vo...

Psychedelics receive a lot of positive press regarding their potential as tools for introspection, therapy, and lifestyle or health improvements. And rightfully so, there is compelling evidence for their benefit in treating some mental health issues and a ton of anecdotal evidence and writings about the positive benefits both mentally and physically from tripping. But just below the surface of pos...

How does one go from believing in every conspiracy under the fake moon to being an atheist activist dedicated to critical thinking and reason? Read the Bible. At least that’s what did it for this episode’s guest Calvin Smith . Calvin is podcaster, Tik Tok’er (check below for all his links and handles) and the social media manager for the Secular Alliance of Michigan. In this episode we talk about...

Every other month it seems there is some news coming out regarding psychedelic assisted therapy. Just recently the FDA posted some draft guidelines for clinical trials . But the topic of today’s episode concerns psychedelics outside of a clinical setting. As some places move to decriminalize or even legalize the use of LSD, psylocibin and other psychedelics there is a looming question. How can a s...

How can AI improve upon the design of mRNA vaccines? How much is too much when it comes to sperm donations? Turns out the Netherlands has a problem with serial donators. And a quick note on some interesting patterns in data associating smartphone usage with adolescent depression, anxiety, self harm, and suicide. Plus, a special debut of an excellent new track by friends of the show The Dust Collec...