Critical Wit Podcast

Zen Faulkes is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Texas-Pan American.  In this episode, Zen talks about Senator Tom Coburn’s report that criticized the National Science Foundation’s funding of certain science research. Zen also talks aboutwhy it’s important for scientists to do replication work on other scientists’ research, as well as getting replication research published in science journals.  […]

Steve Hamilton is a two-time Edgar Award winning author.  Steve discusses his second stand-alone novel, The Lock Artist, which won both an Edgar Award for best mystery, and also the Alex Award for best young-adult novel (which as you hear in the interview came as a total surprise to him).  The Lock Artist is now available in paperback, […]

Rob Mies is a scientist and conservationist, and co-founder of the Organization of Bat Conservation.  He educates and entertains for public and has appeared on national television shows in order to promote the importance of bats in our ecosystems.  And Rob talks about how people can help with bat conservation in modest ways. You can […]

Mick West is a pilot and creator of the website, ContrailScience.com.  We talk about the history and science of contrails; how they are formed, how they take on a variety of shapes, and why they can last for short or long durations.  And we’ll also discuss Mick’s criticsm of the chemtrail conspiracy.  We also discuss another website […]

Dr. Daniel Ksepka is a vertebrate paleontologist that works at North Carolina State University. Dan has done a lot of research in studying penguin fossils, and we discuss the evolutionary history of penguins as determined from the fossil record.   Dan also has a fantastic blog called March of the Fossil Penguins and you can follow him on Twitter @ksepkalab. There is […]

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Kevin deLaplante, a Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies at Iowa State University. We’ll discuss his work online at The Critical Thinker Academy, an educational resource that teaches critical thinking.  And Kevin breaks down five elements of critical thinking; logic, argumentation, rhetoric, background […]

In this supplemental episode, Dr. Charles Bamforth, provides an overview on the complex process of making beer.  This episode is intended to be listened to after Episode 9 “The Science of Brewing.” (episode 9 supplemental)

Dr. Charles Bamforth is an enzymologist and an Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Science at the University of California – Davis.  He is also the author of many books including, Beer: Tap into the Art and Science of Brewing and Beer Is Proof God Loves Us: Reaching for the Soul of Beer and […]

Science writer, Jill Adams, discusses three of her recent stories from the LA Times.  The first story is about antibiotic-resistant bacteria that was found in food. The second story concerns debate over whether food dyes promote hyperactivity in children. And the third story deals with a study on restricted diets as a treatment for ADHD. You can follow Jill on Twitter […]

Brian Wecht, particle physicist at the University of Michigan talks about the theoretical particle of the Standard Model of Physics called the Higgs Boson, and why he’s certain the LHC will eventually find it.  We also talk about his other project, The Story Collider – which is an event and podcast of people talking about […]