Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science Podcast

Time to turn our focus to the mighty river systems of the Pacific Northwest to examine a mysterious titan of the deep—the white sturgeon! BTW there is only one episode left before the summer break and encore presentations. The guest for this episode is Dr. Stuart Willis, a fisheries geneticist with the Hagerman Genetics Lab . Together, we trace the evolutionary history of an apex scavenger, map ho...

The countdown to the end of season 2 continues. With only two new episodes left before our summer encore presentations, we are turning the lens back on ourselves to examine the modern scientific apparatus itself, the institutions, the funding models, and the historical policy shifts that built our world. Joining the conversation are Dr. Ina Ganguli, Professor of Economics at the University of Mass...

With only three new episodes left before a summer of algorithmic-refreshing encores, I dive headfirst into the frontier of material science. Thomas Karpiak , a PhD candidate from the Leznoff Group at Simon Fraser University , joins the show to tell us about the lanthanides. We explore how these 15 elements serve as the scaffolding for permanent magnets, electric vehicles, and fiber-optic telecommu...

Kilauea is one of the world's most studied volcanoes, but its deep plumbing still holds mysteries. In this episode, we dive into a "bottoms-up" view of Hawaii’s magmatic system with Gaetano Ferrante, exploring how pressure changes in the deep mantle conduit propagate to the surface. While volcanologists often focus on shallow, top-down triggers like summit collapses or CO2 degassing, Gaetano’s rec...

We treat modern medicine as a given, but for centuries, humanity was blind to the invisible agents of disease. In this solo episode, Dr. Jeff Zurek takes off his volcanologist hat to tackle a listener request. We start with the 14th-century Black Death, tracing how we moved from medieval superstition to engineering viral defenses. We break down the "Sausage-Making" of science, including how 19th-c...

For decades, the "field" has been treated as a character-building barrier in geosciences—a place for the rugged and the able-bodied. But what happens when we view the outdoors as a classroom rather than an obstacle? In S2EP16, Jeff Zurek welcomes Brett Gilley , a Professor of Teaching at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a master of field pedagogy. They dive into the results of a ground...

What if Alien wasn't science fiction, but a documentary? 2026 Science Podcast of the Year winner Dr. Jeffrey Zurek sits down with Dr. Rebecca Millena (University of Rochester) to explore Strepsiptera , an enigmatic & bizarre insect order. We untangle the "Strepsiptera Problem"—a century-long academic debate over where these creatures belong on the tree of life. From males with "raspberry" eyes...

Detecting volcanic eruptions on Earth is detective work; doing it on the Red Planet is a feat of cosmic proportions. 2026 Science Podcast of the Year winner Dr. Jeffrey Zurek welcomes Dr. Allison Graettinger (UMKC) to discuss the hunt for "Maars"—violent, steam-driven volcanoes—on Mars. We explore the sociology of becoming a scientist, from muddy kid to volcano expert, & how these unassuming c...

The Western Black Widow ( Latrodectus hesperus ) is a master of invisible chemistry. 2026 Science Podcast of the Year winner Dr. Jeffrey Zurek joins Dr. Andy Fisher (Greifswald University) to untangle the chemical love letters hidden in spider silk. We explore how "virtually blind" predators use smell & electrostatic charges to communicate. Discover the "stinky cheese" pheromone, why males des...

The "motherlode" is just a model away. In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo) bridges between the classroom & the boardroom with colleague & data scientist Frederick Jackson from Computational Geosciences Inc. Together, they explore how machine learning (ML) & artificial intelligence are revolutionizing mineral exploration. We dig into the expensive reality of drilling—where a sing...

What if the coldest, darkest craters on the Moon are quietly storing a record of solar system history and the resources that could power future exploration? In this episode, we dive into the science of lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) : craters near the Moon’s poles that sunlight hasn’t touched for potentially billions of years. Dr. Jeffrey Zurek is joined by Dr. Katlyn (Caitlin) Ahrens (...

Mount Meager last erupted 2,400 years ago, but today the hazard is the mountain literally falling apart. In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo) moves downstream with environmental professional Veronica Woodruff to unpack the legacy of the Capricorn Creek landslide —Canada's largest recorded mass wasting event. We explore how 40km of 1940s diking in the Pemberton Valley has complicated modern f...

Summary Subduction zones don't carry passports, and the Cascade Volcanic Arc doesn't stop at the U.S.-Canada border. In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo) welcomes his mentor Dr. Glyn Williams-Jones ( Simon Fraser University ) to discuss Canada’s most dangerous volcano: Mount Meager . We dig into the "detective story" of Meager’s last explosive eruption 2,400 years ago—an event that sent ash...

Nikola Tesla has been credited with large leaps forward like AC current and wireless transmission. Including things that are conspiratorial or not feasible like a death ray and limitless free power. Ya his legacy is complicated. So fire up the device and lets get going with this episode! Here is a demo for a Tesla Coil by me! : https://youtu.be/DQK1zZ87Gko?si=yw4C0AABspUCNTYs Some of the stuff I r...

Before we looking forward to a new year of discovery, we have to know the past to understand the present. In this solo episode, Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo) takes a deviation from cutting-edge research to chronicle the history of the planets—from the "wandering stars" of antiquity to the mathematical hunt for Planet Nine . We explore how the Babylonians set the stage for modern astrology, the high-st...

Usually, we look outwards to the stars, but this week, we're turning the telescope around. The scientists themselves are under observation. Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo) is joined by Dr. Zachary Richards , a researcher at the American Museum of Natural History , to discuss his recent paper: Astronomy Identity Framework for Undergraduate Students and Researchers . We dive into the "transcendental pheno...

How do we map the subsurface without digging? It is finally time we explore geophysical inversions —the math of working backward from surface data to Earth's hidden structures. Jeff Zurek and researcher Jonathan Kataj discuss using Image Segmentation and foundational AI models (like Meta’s "Segment Anything") to resolve "fuzzy" data into precise geological maps. From the Athabasca Basin to remote...

How did the first vertebrates take to the skies? In this episode, we venture into the Mesozoic to explore the world of pterosaurs —the remarkable flying reptiles that ruled the air for over 150 million years. Dr. Jeffrey Zurek is joined by Adele Pentland, a researcher and PhD candidate from Curtin University, to discuss her discovery and description of Haliskia peterseni . We investigate research...

Is plastic truly the environmental demon it’s painted to be? In this episode of Whimsical Wavelengths, we step away from the traditional paper-based deep dive to look at the material that defines modern life. Dr. Jeffrey Zurek is joined by Dr. Chris DeArmitt, a world-leading polymer scientist and independent consultant, to separate media narratives from peer-reviewed reality. From the concentratio...

What happens at the gravitational center of a galaxy? In this episode of Whimsical Wavelengths, we spiral into the dark heart of the universe with Dr. James Chan , a postdoctoral researcher at the American Museum of Natural History. As a geophysicist, host Dr. Jeffrey Zurek steps out of his "wheelhouse" and into the event horizon to explore how supermassive black holes grow, interact, and occasion...

Why is homemade ice cream never as fluffy as store-bought? This week on Whimsical Wavelengths , we trade liquid rock for liquid dairy and food science. Host Dr. Jeffrey Zurek finds surprising parallels between volcanology and frozen desserts—from rheology and viscosity to the glass transition temperature . Joining the pod is Dr. Abigail Thale , a food scientist and expert in fat structures. We bre...

How can a "well-behaved" volcano produce explosions that dwarf Mount St. Helens? In the Season Two premiere, host Dr. Jeffrey Zurek explores the deadly volcanic paradox of Nicaragua’s Masaya Volcano . Masaya is a "persistently active" shield volcano, yet the geologic record reveals a history of violent Basaltic Plinian eruptions . By "probing the crystals" through melt inclusion geochemistry , thi...

Today the pod shows its fitness with im-peck-able wordplay. That's right, today's episode is for the birds. At least those which have a raven-ous appetite for knowledge. Our guest, PhD candidate Miranda Zammarelli (Dartmouth College) has research that takes place in what I guess can be best described as the closest we can get for lab conditions in the natural world. The site for her work is the Hu...

Part2 jumps in where part 1 left off so more about Theropods! specifically about one of Dr François Therrien's recent studies about a Gorgosaurus and what was found inside its stomach!!!! incase you missed it from the notes of the last episode: Dr François Therrien - The Curator of Dinosaur Palaeoecology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller Alberta https://tyrrellmuseum.com/ Dr François Therr...

This time we take a deep dive into an hypothesis The longevity bottleneck hypothesis: Could dinosaurs have shaped ageing in present-day mammals ?” by João Pedro de Magalhães https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202300098 See our branch of the animal kingdom, mammals, first evolved around 200 million years ago. During the age of dinosaurs. To quote the paper “ long evolutionary pressure on early mammals fo...