AlgaTalk Podcast

We have to finally acknowledge the elephant in this algae room: biofuel. We’ve been talking about numerous aspects of algae and ways of using them but algae biofuels remained untouched. Until now.

This episode features Maxwell A Ware, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Peers lab at Colorado State University, who approached us with the idea of an episode about biofuels and some new developments in the area. Maxwell happens to be working on many of those developments, and undoubtedly possesses deep knowledge and expertise of the subject.

That was exactly the missing puzzle piece Jack and I were lacking, and of course, we seized the opportunity to talk to a person who knows a couple of (hundred) things about algae biofuels.

We’ve found this conversation tremendously educating and we suggest you check it out too.

A friendly reminder while you’re here…

We love making the podcast and bringing you all this amazing content for free. We don’t want to run any ads and believe in the idea of a community-supported content. If you like the show, please consider becoming our patreon, this will help the podcast grow. Even if you can’t make a pledge, your part is as important as everyone’s. Spread the word, share the links and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and any other podcast provider you use. Together we’ll succeed!

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See ya’ll next time!

Cover art by Pilow Dash

The wait is over! And even if you were not waiting (we know you were) still here it comes. The 2nd part of Jack’s interview with Madeline Hutchins and Frances Gallagher about Ellen Hutchins.

In the second half of their conversation, they talk more about the struggles of being a woman botanist in the 19th century and also about the influence Ellen’s work had on phycology.

Enjoy the show and we’ll see next time!

We are back! They are back! She is back!

Almost ten episodes ago, back in April 2019, we talked about a wonderful woman Ellen Hutchins, the first Irish female botanist, and guess what, we are talking about her again in this new episode.

There are two great reasons to get back to her, except for the obvious fact she was amazing.

First, the annual Ellen Hutchins Festival happened, and Jack got a chance to talk to Madeline Hutchins, a great great grand niece of Ellen Hutchins. Madeline is joined by our first comeback guest Frances Gallagher, and together they paint an exciting picture of Ellen’s life and work on seaweeds and algae.

The second reason happens to be an exhibition at The Royal Botanical Garden Kew called Celebrating Ellen Hutchins. It puts a long-deserved spotlight on her work as a field botanist, seaweed collector and illustrator. The exhibition is open till November 22.

This episode is the first part of Jack’s conversation with Madeline and Frances, so stick around for part #2 and we’ll see you next time!

This time on the podcast we have a special guest Courtney Boyd Myers from AKUA, a company that makes kelp jerky.

Jack interviews Courtney about the product itself, how it came to be and why they need chefs. They also talk about the efforts the company makes to keep production sustainable, eco-friendly and support local kelp farmers.

The AlgaTalk Podcast now has a Patreon page where you can show your love and support by joining one of the tiers. Jack and I are working hard to make the show better and your support is crucial.

Can’t join a tier? No sweats! You can do so much more still by simply going to the Apple Podcasts and leaving us a comment or a rating. Also, don’t underestimate the power of social media. Spread the word about the show and maybe send a link to someone who you think might need a bit more algae in their life.

See y’all next time!

Cover art by Pilow Dash

After a quite serious and heavy episode about alga blooms, we decided to talk about something more positive, more summer vibe-y. So in this episode, we talk about harmony, a certain kind that is called symbiosis.

There are many cases of symbiotic relationships between algae and animals, and we wanted to highlight some of the most curious stories in our opinion.

One of the most amazing facts that Jack and I have noticed was that not every symbiotic combination is mutually beneficial which is usually exactly the idea of symbiosis. Turns out sometimes one of the parties gets less or maybe even nothing at all. Nature works in exciting ways.

Here are the stories we talked about:

* GENITALS-BREATHING TURTLE WITH GREEN ALGAE ‘HAIR’ FACES POSSIBLE EXTINCTION, GROUP SAYS* Sloth fur has symbiotic relationship with green algae* Spotted Salamanders And Green Algae Have A Strange Symbiotic Relationship* Elysia viridis, the solar-powered sea slug

A bonus story that didn’t make it into the show is about crabs taking care of algae to keep those healthy and thus get protection for themselves.

Cover art by Pilow Dash

“Impossible to see the fish in the water is, algae blooms cloud everything,” said no Yoda ever but if he saw algae blooming that would probably be his reaction. That’s right, in this episode Jack and I are talking about harmful algal blooms (HABs), a phenomenon that people encounter in their local waters more and more every year.

We go over the current state of events, discussing some cases of algae blooms in recent history. Jack tells us what is going on in Florida, and what the Algae Task Force wants from the public.

Then we discuss some of the reasons for HABs with one of the major ones being human-made. And finally, we get to look at some of the solutions to the problem, both those that are being implemented now and those that are only in the R&D state.

Also, we maybe get a little sidetracked by our Star Wars analogies at the end (cough).

As usual, we’re always happy to get your feedback and comments via our Facebook page and Twitter, as well as email.

We’ll see you next time!

The OG crew is back together again and as it is often the case with Jack and me, we take on a huge topic to discuss. This time we try to look at algae as the food of the future.

Admitting the scope of the question, we go over some known cases of algae being used as/in food in the modern world and also try to imagine what the algae-based food of the future gonna look and taste like.

We also wonder whether an algae-based burger or bacon will affect your perception of this meal? It’s the question for all of you, dear listeners, we’d love to hear what you think. Send us an email or leave a comment.

Some useful links to go with the main course episode:

* Technion students develop algae-based falafel to battle protein hunger* Inside IKEA’s Laboratory of Futuristic Foods* Hope You Like Algae, Because It’s Going To Be In Everything You Eat* RESEARCHERS DISCOVER SEAWEED THAT TASTES LIKE BACON AND IS TWICE AS HEALTHY AS KALE

The episode number “Baker’s Dozen” comes to you live, a format we haven’t tried before, which makes it very unusual. And it’s not the only thing that is special. It also needs a little bit of context.

Deep in the Israeli desert, there is an algae farming factory, Algatech, that has this tradition of an algae festival. Every year in spring they organize a fair and invite all the locals to celebrate algae and the community. Jack and I had a great opportunity to set up a table at the event and interview several people about their knowledge and experience with any kind of algae.

The whole atmosphere was quite upbeat as you’ll hear in the background, and people we talked to were all friendly and open. Recording this episode was a lot of fun, it’s nothing like we’ve done so far, and we are hopeful you will enjoy listening to it.

Till next time!

This new episode in its own way continues the topic of algae and health with the difference being this time we talk about the health of algae.

Growing algae, or seaweed in this case, has farmers face some challenges and diseases that infect the seaweed are among them. To get more insight into the problem and the ways of dealing with it, Jack talked to Dr. Anici Q. Hurtado, a phycologist and the Chair of the Integrated Services for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries (ISDA Inc.) in the Philippines, the organisation that promotes sustainable aquaculture and helps local seaweed farmers implement new technologies.

Useful links for the episode:

Integrated Services for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries website

The Scottish Association for Marine Studies (SAMS) website, Facebook page

Well, where do we even begin with this episode!

First, let’s welcome our guest Ally Hughes, a PhD student from Strathclyde Institute who is so knowledgeable, professional and straight up awesome. She kindly agreed to join us to talk on a topic of algae and their chemicals.

How do scientists get those chemicals? How do they know which one to get? What those can be used for? Do algae have bad days (Tuesdays)? Why do they behave like teenagers?

Questions were aplenty and Ally did a great job answering all of them, it was a blast to talk to her and we would love to have her back on the show in the future.

Enjoy this knowledge feast!

Links:

Ally Hughes on Twitter

Katherine Duncan Lab: Website

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre: Twitter and

Xanthella: Website