Nature and Science Podcast

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In many public high schools all across America police are present on campus. This has led many criminal justice reform advocates to ask, do police belong on public high school campuses? Many also believe that police, often called resource officers, on high school campuses has led to the school to prison pipeline. Why? Because minor offenses on high school campuses sometimes lead to arrests and criminal records for students. Add to this the fact that the majority of arrests are of students that are non-white. Our guest, Montgomery County council member, Will Jawando has proposed legislation that would remove police officers from Montgomery County high school campuses.

Mr. Jawando was a candidate for Congress and served as Associate Director of Public Engagement in the White House during the Obama administration. He has a law degree from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America. We will explore the question, do police belong on public high school campuses?
In many public high schools all across America police are present on campus. This has led many criminal justice reform advocates to ask, do police belong on public high school campuses. Many also believe that police, often called resource officers, on high school campuses has led to the school to prison pipeline. Why? Because minor offenses on high school campuses sometimes lead to arrests and criminal records for students. Add to this the fact that the majority of arrests are of students that are non-white. Our guest, Montgomery County council member, Will Jawando has proposed legislation that would remove police officers from Montgomery County high school campuses.

Mr. Jawando was a candidate for Congress and served as Associate Director of Public Engagement in the White House during the Obama administration. He has a law degree from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America. We will explore the question, do police belong on public high school campuses?\

Proponents of high school resources officers argue that police officers are  campuses are now well trained to diffuse situations, act as deterrents to violence and they often serve as counselors and advocates for students. But this begs the questions as to whether these roles are appropriate for police officers. The training in counseling for example is up two weeks while a school guidance counselor receives two years or more of education and training. So do police officers really belong on high school campuses. Listen in on this lively discussion to find out more. 

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Almost a decade ago the Higgs Boson, once referred to as the God Particle, was discovered at CERN. In this podcast we ask one of the leading researchers at CERN, Dr. Aaron Dominguez, How do the miracles of Jesus compare to scientific discoveries? We pose this question to Dr. Dominguez because as a professor at The Catholic University of America he believes science and religion should co-exist and compliment each other.

Aaron Dominguez is the provost and an ordinary professor of physics at The Catholic University of America. His main area of research is in using particle colliders to search for new physics, including the recently discovered Higgs boson. His area of expertise is in instrumentation — designing, building and using silicon charged particle trackers as precision tools to reconstruct the complicated interactions taking place in these collisions.

He received his undergraduate degrees from Whitman College and Caltech, his Ph.D. in physics from UC San Diego and was a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In 2005, he was the recipient of the NSF CAREER award. He has played numerous leadership positions in the L3, CDF and CMS particle physics experiments at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland and Fermilab in Chicago. Specifically, he is currently deputy project leader for the upgrades of CMS, and is the principal investigator of an NSF project that is funding the U.S. efforts of nine universities to improve the silicon pixel detector, hadron calorimeter and trigger in preparation for high luminosity runs of the LHC in coming years. He has mentored seven postdoctoral researchers, three graduate students to completion, three currently in progress, and numerous undergraduates. He sits on several advisory boards, including QuarkNet, and is an author on more than 1,100 papers in experimental high energy physics and instrumentation.

As we explore the question, how do the miracles of Jesus compare to scientific discoveries? we will perhaps gain some insight into the relationship between religion and reason.

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Is GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence's new mind? Dr. Jared Kaplan is a theoretical physicist who has been recently working on Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), which is an autoregressive language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text. We all use a limited version when we ask google a question or when google auto corrects our email. However, this text generator is millions of times more powerful. It can write poetry, complete legal documents and write computer code. 

Jared Kaplan is a theoretical physicist with interests in quantum gravity, holography, and conformal field theory, as well as effective field theory, particle physics, and cosmology. He is also working on topics at the interface between physics and machine learning.

In the last few years he has also been collaborating with both physicists and computer scientists on Machine Learning research, including on scaling laws for neural models and the GPT-3 language model. His goal is to understand these systems and to help make them safe and beneficial.

We begin the podcast by discussing the difference between Newton's conception of gravity and Einstein's theory of general relativity. Then we delve into the subjects of quantum gravity and the curvature of space. We also discuss why theoretical physics is relevant to our understanding of reality.

In this podcast we will ask Dr. Kaplan if the advances in AI technology can lead to GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence's New Mind. In other words will this lead to a kind of sentience for AI giving it a brain much like ours? Dr. Kaplan has been working with OpenAI on scaling laws for neural models and the GPT-3 language model. OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory consisting of the for-profit corporation OpenAI LP and its parent company, the non-profit OpenAI Inc.

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Will a vaccination give you your life back?  Doctor Y Bruce Lee is a writer, journalist, professor, systems modeler, computational and digital health expert, and entrepreneur.  He will attempt to answer this question and more.

He has over two decades of experience developing mathematical and computational models.  The models assist a wide range of decision makers in health and public health. Currently, he is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy.  There he is the Executive Director of PHICOR (Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research). Dr. Lee is also the CEO of Symsilico, which develops and uses computational methods, models, and tools to help decision-making.

His previous positions include serving as Associate Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  He also served as Executive Director of the Global Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC).  In addition he served as Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Senior Manager at Quintiles Transnational. There he worked worked in biotechnology equity research at Montgomery Securities, and co-founded Integrigen.

Bruce has authored over 200 scientific publications. This includes over 100 first author and over 65 last author.  He is the author of three books. 

Doctor Bruce Y Lee has written extensively for the general media and often addressed the question, will a vaccination give you your life back?  He is a Senior Contributor for Forbes.  At Forbes he covers a wide range of health-related topics.  These include medicine, wellness, digital health and the business of health and having written over 700 articles.

His writing has also appeared in a number of other media outlets.  Most notably these have included Time, The Guardian, the HuffPost, and the MIT Technology Review. His work and expertise have appeared in leading media outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, CBS News, Businessweek, U.S. News and World Report, Bloomberg News, Reuters, and National Public Radio (NPR). Dr. Lee received his B.A. from Harvard University and M.D. from Harvard Medical School.  He earned his  M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He completed his internal medicine residency training at the University of California, San Diego.

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In this week's episode we will have a conversation about Golf, social justice and race, and their strained relationship over the years. In this week's podcast we are joined by Michael Williams. Michael is a golf journalist. 

Michael has interviewed many of the legends of golf including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player and many others. During last year's US Open at Pebble Beach Michael was confronted with golf's ugly relationship with race during a sponsor event. How he handled it is a lesson in how Americans can have a conversation about race that leads to a better America. Michael's thoughtful and empathetic conversation about golf, social justice and race will help you understand how to have a conversation with your friends, family and peers about race in America.

Michael recently penned a provocative missive titled: “An Open Letter to Golf From A Black Man Who Loves the Game”. It is a commentary about racial inequality in the game and solutions for what can be done.

Michael is the Founder and Managing Director of Cyrano Communications, a Washington-based consultancy that advises organizations in the public and private sectors on cultural exchange through commerce, athletics and the arts.

Michael is also a contributor to a wide range of charitable organizations, including being a board member of The Peter G. Dodge Foundation. Mr. Williams is a special consultant to the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, which is authorized by The White House and Congress to establish the Memorial to President Eisenhower. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission’s mission is to complete a National Memorial to honor Dwight D. Eisenhower and inspire future generations with his devotion to public service, leadership, integrity, life-long work ethic, and his total devotion to the values and processes of democracy. Michael's role is to act as a liaison to the governing bodies and corporations that are connected to the game, to engage them with Ike's legacy as a golfer and the to the mission of the EMC.

Michael is also a member of the United States Golf Association and was recently named to the USGA Golfer Journal editorial board. 

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National Parks Traveler founder and editor-in-chief, Kurt Repanshek will discuss the destructive behavior in national parks caused by the Covid19 virus and other topics about our National Parks. Kurt is the founder and editor-in-chief of National Parks Traveler, the No. 1-ranked, editorially independent nonprofit media organization that provides daily news, feature, and commentary coverage of national parks and protected areas.

Traveler's journalists work to inform the general public of environmental, scientific, and newsworthy developments surrounding, involving, and affecting these areas and their governing bodies. 

As the Covid19 pandemic has taken hold of the world ironically more people have sought to escape to the outdoors and visitation to parks has increased causing tremendous pressure of delicate resources and brining a new breed of visitor. That visitor is often unfamiliar with park etiquette and has led many to observe the destructive behavior in national parks caused by the Covid 19 virus. Kurt will share his thoughts on this subject and other issues affecting our parks.

Kurt does not just write about our parks, he has climbed the Grand Teton, river rafted the Grand Canyon, hiked Mount Ranier and taken his family on trips to many of the National Park Service's most sacred historical and cultural sites.

The Traveler has an annual readership of ~3 million via its flagship website and affiliated Apple News feed. The New York Times, Washington, Post, CNN, and many other media outlets follow our coverage. Our weekly podcasts, launched in mid-February 2019, provide a complementary medium for staying atop national parks and related topics.

Traveler's social media footprint is ~300,000 between Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The Traveler has been mentioned or cited by the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Huffington Post, Yahoo! Travel, the Daily Kos, smartmoney.com, and backpacker.com. It's coverage of national parks has been profiled by the prestigious Columbia Journalism Review. 

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With the sounds of her native Brooklyn, New York in the background Accessibility advocate Janice Lintz tells her story of how she has used eternal vigilance to make sure the hard of hearing has access to information that everyone else has.  She is a passionate and accomplished consultant/advocate across the hearing advocacy and related political spectrum. She effects change and implements creative solutions across organizational and geographic boundaries. Janice is the “go-to” person on matters relating to access for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Janice is the CEO of Hearing Access & Innovations. Hearing Access & Innovations is the only business in the world that helps the world’s corporations, cultural and entertainment institutions. In addition HAI helps the over 480 million people worldwide with hearing loss. HAI has established or enhanced hearing access programs at over 100 international organizations, including:

The American Museum of Natural History, Apple, Association of National Advertisers, Cunard, Delta, Disney, Graceland, Heinz History Center, Lincoln Center, Marriott, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, NBC Universal, NFL, NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission, NYC Transit, The New York Times, Yankee Stadium, and The Wall Street Journal.

Accessibility Advocate Janice Lintz is also a Consumer Education/Travel writer. Her articles appeared in Forbes, Forbes Africa, Yahoo Travel, Medium, Thrive Global, Huffington Post, and The Outdoor Journal. Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, Travel + Leisure, Consumer Reports, Bustle, Southern Living, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, NPR, Fox Business, and msn.com are among the many media outlets quoting Janice. She visited 139+2/193+2 UN countries and 194/329 TCC destinations.

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Conservation Biologist Jim Tolisano has worked on nature conservation projects in more than 50 countries, ranging widely and wildly through such experiences as Grizzly Bear conservation work in Colorado, to forest conservation work with remote communities in Papua New Guinea, chimpanzee conservation work with Jane Goodall’s Institute in West Africa, nature-based business development with Afro-Ecuadorian communities in Ecuador, national park developments in Sri Lanka, wolf conservation in rural Italy, lowland gorilla and forest elephant conservation in Congo, and marine conservation in Cuba.  Jim worked principally as an independent consultant since his early 20s.   Jim joined support conservation teams working with non-government organizations (NGO's) such as the World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy and large development institutions like the World Bank and USAID.  Jim has been a Trainer for Peace Corps volunteers, developed an interdisciplinary undergraduate program in conservation-social science-arts at The College of Santa Fe and developed and directed a unique conservation leadership program, the Kinship Conservation Fellows, which continues to be on the cutting edge leadership programs for conservation professionals.  For the past 8 years he has been an adjunct Professor in the interdisciplinary Gallatin School at New York University, where he teaches a very cross-disciplinary approach to conservation biology.  He completed a memoir that recounts a 2,000 kilometer journey I took on bicycle from Palermo, Sicily to Venice as an homage to his late wife after she died suddenly from a voracious and fast-acting cancer.  He is working on a second book that ties together the connections between the recent pandemic, illegal wildlife trafficking, and people’s relationship to nature. He is also working on a novel that explores the immigrant experience in rural America, again through our relationships to land and nature.  Conservation Biologist Jim Tolisano is joined on this episode by his daughter, Coral who joined him on many of his adventures in the wilds around the globe.

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Latino Outdoors' José González is an experienced educator in formal and informal education settings with an array of associated interests in the arts, education, conservation, and the environment. He has broad experience as a K-12 public education teacher, environmental education advisor, outdoor education instructor and coordinator, and university adjunct faculty. He received his B.A at the University of California, Davis, and his M.S at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment. His teaching credential coursework was at the Bilingual Multicultural Education Department at California State University, Sacramento.

As a public school teacher, he taught courses in Spanish, Social Studies, Behavior Intervention for at-risk youth, and English Language Development in middle school and high school settings. As a Program Coordinator at San Jose State University with the California Mini-Corps Program, he trained and led groups of undergraduate students providing direct instructional services to migrant students in partner school districts and in outdoor education programs. At the University of Michigan, School of Education, he was an instructor for science education in their undergraduate program. Recently, at the National Hispanic University, he has taught course on Science Methods, Math Methods, Primary & Secondary Language Development, Latino Culture, and Technology Integration at the Teacher Education Department.  

Latino Outdoors is a community first and an organization second. They are a community that strives for an outdoors that is safe and welcoming for all people, regardless of race, creed, nationality, language, gender, sexual orientation, or ability. They also are a community that celebrates diverse forms of outdoor engagement. and a community that believes meaningful outdoor experiences make us stronger, healthier, and happier.

José founded Latino Outdoors to provide for a focused conversation on the Latinx experience without being limited to it. Our community’s voices are varied while remaining united in celebrating diversity and declaring it a core tenet of Latino Outdoors.

Latino Outdoors' José González looks forward to opportunities and collaborating with organizations seeking to diversify their outdoor and conservation programs. He is available for trainings, workshops, and speaking engagements around these topics.

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National Parks Advocate Audrey Peterman is President and Co-founder of Earthwise Productions, Inc., and in 2014 co-launched the Diverse Environmental Leaders Speakers Bureau. Earthwise Productions focuses on connecting the public lands system and the American public.  Audrey will share how her life was transformed by a mystical experience at Acadia National Park.  She talks about her commitment to raise awareness of national parks in diverse communities.  As an advocate for National Parks Audrey Peterman believes all people should experience the wonder, majesty and history of our parks, open spaces and protected lands.

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