2Scientists

2Scientists

By Scientists IncScience
Download on the App Store

2Scientists episodes

  • Math the vote pt I: The geometry of gerrymandering
    Gerrymandering has been described as the process by which the people being
    elected get to chose the people that elect them. It turns out that, while
    many people would argue that gerrymandering is not healthy for democracy,
    doing it right requires some maths.
    Dr. Thomas Weighill is a mathematician “weighing in” to do just that.
    1 hr 1 min
  • COVID-19 special: The Math Epidemiologist
    A journey through ecology, evolution, infectious disease, mathematics and
    computational biology in medicine is what has made Dr. Brandon Ogbunu the
    scientist he is today. And he is completely unapologetic about it because
    Brandon’s believes that all these facets of his work, personality and
    ethnicity put him in a unique position to understand complex interactions.
    That includes those that we’re seeing in the midst of a pandemic.
    1 hr 10 min
  • COVID-19 special: The Microbiologist
    Dr James Gurney is a microbiologist interested in infectious diseases. He
    is also a big fan of science communication whether that means talking to
    students in classrooms, hosting his own podcast, or consulting for
    Kurzgesagt. In fact it’s the latter that inspired us to ask James on our
    show. You can find the Kurzgesagt on the novel coronavirus here.
    We talked about James’ current research, armchair scientists and naturally,
    COVID-19.
    1 hr 24 min
  • COVID-19 special: The Conservation Biologist
    Bats are a hot topic right now in light of COVID-19, but anyone working on
    them will tell you these are some of the most misunderstood mammals.
    Thankfully Dr. Susan Tsang is an expert and she sat down with us to talk
    about her favorite pollinators. Yes, just like the birds and the bees, we
    should be including bats among the organisms that help transfer seeds.
    1 hr 25 min
  • Eat the crust
    Eat the crust? No, we’re not talking bread, we are talking about that layer
    of our planet earth, because our guest is geoscientist, Beth Bartel. For
    someone who’s worked a lot with GPS, much of Beth’s career has been pretty
    meandering. For now though she’s settled on a job she loves, helping
    communicate the science of geology and natural hazards, while training
    other scientists to share their work.
    We talked to Beth about the challenge of tackling pseudoscience, and the
    need for including social sciences to inform other fields of research.
    53 min
  • The doctor will see you now
    Oz Ismail went from being a research scientist taking pictures of bones, to
    a doctoral scientist, taking pictures of brains. He spent his PhD imaging
    as part of a project on Alzheimer’s disease. We talked to him about what’s
    known about the disease and the difficulties in treatment and diagnosis.
    We also talked about how along the way he’s performed stand-up, worked with
    friends to create the Minorities in STEM community, and how he himself is
    co-host of a science podcast called Why aren’t you a doctor yet?
    Thankfully, Oz now is Dr. Ismail and currently playing up his Britishness
    in Portland, OR.
    40 min
  • The H.E.A.R.T. doctor
    How many people knew what they wanted to do when they were 9? Sure, maybe
    you wanted to be a rockstar or a fire fighter, but a psychologist? Well we
    know one person at least! Dr. Lindsey Rodriguez is a social psychologist
    interested in the science underlying close relationships. As the director
    of Healthy Emotions and Relationship Theories (HEART) Laboratory she and
    her colleagues are looking for new ways to help people with difficult
    relationships.
    We talked to Lindsey about her work studying how alcohol can be harmful
    and helpful in romantic relationships, and how to do that in a scientific
    manner.
    55 min
  • When science gets political
    Science, genetics, teaching and policy. Four things that easily define our
    guest Dr. Amy J Hawkins. She’s studied the ways that DNA can be damaged in
    cancer. She’s worked on curricula to help teach genetics at the Genetics
    Science Learning Center in Utah. She’s worked with policy makers to help
    improve the lives of fellow Utahans.
    All makes sense because science, people and politics are all connected.
    Find out how in this episode with Amy.
    53 min
  • Academic stand-up
    Knock knock.
    Who’s there?
    Since this is the extent of our joke-telling ability, we’ll leave the real
    thing to the experts and one of our favorites is Kyle Marian. She began her
    scientific career as an anthropologist, but has since transitioned into
    communicating science through…comedy?
    Find out more about the parallels between academia and stand-up, and how
    Kyle uses her art as a powerful tool to include those most disenfranchised.
    Before we go on though, this episode contains a lot of strong language and
    explicit content. Now that you’ve been warned, go forth and enjoy!
    1 hr 8 min
  • The power of words
    What’s the shape of a word? How do you save a dying language? How is
    studying languages a science anyway?
    All excellent questions for our guest Prof. David Adger a linguist at Queen
    Mary University of London. He is interested in what underlies the patterns
    found in the grammar of human languages.
    Why would anyone study this? As David states, just to better understand the
    world. But there are also more practical applications like saving dying,
    often Indigenous languages which hold within them stories and knowledge
    that can help everyone’s understanding of the world.
    56 min

About 2Scientists

From the publisher's feed

Curious about the cosmos? Intrigued by evolution? Two scientists put their heads together to help answer your questions. You can show your love for science by supporting us on patreon.com/2scientists