Ikonokast

Dr. Peter Carter is an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Dr. Peter Carter and Elizabeth Woodworth co-wrote Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival. Dr. Peter Carter is our guest for this episode.

It is too late for the planet, and civilization, to not suffer serious consequences of climate disruption owing to human release of fossil carbon into the atmosphere for a century or too. But, perhaps it is not too late to reduce the effects to the point where we can maintain our civilization. But, Carter and Woodworth argue, for that to happen, we need to get past the criminals who are holding us back and get on with the changes that should be made.

Our podcast returns with a fun interview of the author of Strange Survivors: How Organisms Defend and Attack in the Game of Life.  Oné Pagán is a researcher and professor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania and he blogs at Bald Scientist. This is his second book and it is a fascinating tour of adaptations … Continue reading "Episode 17 – Strange Survivors with Dr. Oné Pagán"

Dr. One Pagan

Our podcast returns with a fun interview of the author of Strange Survivors: How Organisms Defend and Attack in the Game of Life. Oné Pagán is a researcher and professor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania and he blogs at Bald Scientist. This is his second book and it is a fascinating tour of adaptations that work well to enhance the survival of organisms in, as he refers to it, the game of life.

Here is an episode of another podcast interview he did at People Behind the Science.

Mike and Greg converse on the subject of the geology and geography of Arizona and the red rocks of Sedona. The rocks tell the story of the ages of the earth, and this is a pretty chapter.  We also talk about the end of ScienceBlogs, which has been a seminal collective that set the tone … Continue reading "Episode 16 – Three things: Red Rocks, Science Blogs and a new Echo Skill"

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Mike and Greg converse on the subject of the geology and geography of Arizona and the red rocks of Sedona. The rocks tell the story of the ages of the earth, and this is a pretty chapter. We also talk about the end of ScienceBlogs, which has been a seminal collective that set the tone in many ways for a new means of science communication through social media. And finally, Greg interviewed Shanthan Kesharaju, who has created an Amazon Echo Skill to tutor in mathematics. There are implications for the future of how we use adaptive systems to teach skills and develop our minds, with the possibility of staving off dementia in patients as well.

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In the podcast, you may hear Mike refer to John as a "Vulcan Historian." What Mike meant to say is that John J. McKay is a historian with a specialty in the history of the Balkans, and that is an important distinction. He is also interested in the many weird theories that abound to explain (often not very well) natural history of the earth. He discovered that the mammoths are used as ersatz evidence in many of those theories, such as the idea that the ice build up at the poles became so heavy that the poles slid southward 40 degrees latitude and that pushed Atlantis to where Antarctica now freezes.

There were many other strange ideas to explain the discovery of these giant bones and Mr. McKay relates how the process of discovering the mammoth is important to the development of science itself. You can read more from John at Mammoth Tales, his blog, but we highly advise that you read his book!

Said book you may conveniently purchase here to support Ikonokast.

Discovering the Mammoth: A Tale of Giants, Unicorns, Ivory, and the Birth of a New Science

We don’t do too many shows on cuisine, but this week we asked scientist and author Bill Schutt to speak with us about his research in cannibalism. His new book, Cannibalism: A perfectly natural history, explores the behavioral and evolutionary biology of cannibalism in general, and within that context, examines cannibalism among humans. Cannibalism: A … Continue reading "Episode 14 – Cannibalism, what’s it good for? Author Bill Schutt"

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We don't do too many shows on cuisine, but this week we asked scientist and author Bill Schutt to speak with us about his research in cannibalism. His new book, Cannibalism: A perfectly natural history, explores the behavioral and evolutionary biology of cannibalism in general, and within that context, examines cannibalism among humans.

Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History

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