Periodic Round Table

We interview entomology graduate student Mika Pagani about the creepy-crawlies of our world, and talk about everything from their effects on agriculture to what the coolest bugs undoubtedly are.

We're all focused on being safe right now with the threat of a pandemic bearing down upon us. But what about lab safety? We sit down with Dr. Brian Tissue to discuss safety in research, academic, and industrial settings.

With a bit of a delay thanks to our favorite pandemic virus COVID-19, we bring you today's episode with Lee Mason on investing in technology. What are the fastest-growing tech industries and which investment opportunities are the highest risk (or even lowest risk), but highest reward?

Why does it take so long to get a drug from the research phase to clinical trials to on the market? Why are we losing our fight against bacteria despite the use of antibiotics and hand sanitizers? How can we use microbes to do all of our drug research grunt work for us? Dr. Andrew Lowell answers all of these questions and more on today's episode!

What are the solutions to our growing energy crisis? Where are we heading in both best- and worst-case scenarios in terms of energy, climate change, and conservation efforts? What needs to change? We sit down with Dr. Joe Merola, chemistry professor at Virginia Tech, to talk about sustainable energy, both in the present and future.

We're back for Season 2 with more interviews! Today, we talk with plasma physicist Petr Cagas about fusion energy, spacecraft thrusters, and the history of plasma physics.

We're back for a second season! More interviews from experts! Better equipment! And most importantly, more segments!

We talk about the dirty truth of soil conservation with Bill Keith, including composting, no-till farming, and the price of organics.

We talk with biologist Sam Freeze about the cutest flying death on the planet: bats! We learn about their behavior, their interesting courting styles, and how important bats are to the ecosystem.

We talk with Thomas Reilly about a topic sometimes considered a science, but sometimes considered an art -- finance -- and learn that the only real solution is to overthrow the system, eat the rich, and start our own religion/bank.