Planet B612

By Julie Laurin

Hosted by Julie Laurin, Planet B612 explores the lives and passions of interesting guests such as scientists, artists, historians, and more!... more

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How many episodes does Planet B612 have?

The podcast currently has 57 episodes available.

Planet B612 episodes:

April 06, 2021Ep.37 – Canadian Blacksmithing with Lynndon Novak
In this episode, I interview Canadian Blacksmith, Lynndon Novak. Lynndon lives and works out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He’s a welder, and an artistic blacksmith. We discuss what it takes to be a blacksmith, how to create a cheap forge, how artisans are doing in Canada, and why permanence in art is a beautiful thing.
(0:01:05) Canadian Blacksmiths and Bladesmiths group
(0:01:46) Growing up in Manitoba
(0:02:30) The World of Trades
(0:03:25) The School for Welding
(0:04:05) Leaving Tech and entering welding
(0:05:47) The many facets of welding and metalworking
(0:06:35) Working at New Flyer bus manufacturer
(0:08:15) Learning about welding
(0:09:00) Winnipeg South Tech Welding Program and choosing the right school and program for you
(0:10:35) The Abstract Blacksmith
(0:11:48) You don't need to be a big dude to be a blacksmith - Kv Artist Blacksmith
(0:13:43) GS Tongs
(0:14:35) Building your own tools - Lynndon's tools and workshop
(0:17:30) Lynndon’s journey in blacksmithing
(0:18:45) Cloverdale Forge and Matt Jenkins
(0:20:00) Making a starter forge without breaking the bank
(0:23:30) Stepping up your game - Building a more professional forge
(0:25:58) Fire hazards and safety awareness of building and running your own forge
(0:27:40) Building my brick propane forge
(0:28:30) Firebricks!
(0:29:55) Being a master of heat - the blacksmith wizard and metal magic
(0:30:40) What metals do you work with? Different metals and their properties
(0:35:35) Working with reclaimed steel
(0:36:00) Wootz Bloomery - the origins and history of damascus steel vs todays patterned damascus steel
(0:38:50) Acid washing and the creation of patterns
(0:40:35) Swords and knives
(0:42:58) The dream of permanence in art
(0:44:52) The appreciation of artistic metalwork in Canada
(0:48:30) Building a better marketplace
(0:49:30) Manitoba Blacksmiths Guild and upcoming events
(0:52:38) Lego! Lego! Lego!
(0:56:49) Smithlist
Visit The Abstract Blacksmith on FB: https://www.facebook.com/abstractblacksmith/
Follow The Abstract Blacksmith on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abstract_blacksmith/
Visit Smithlist: https://smithlist.ca/
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
...more
59min
March 30, 2021Ep.36 – Science Content Marketing with Dr. Justine Dees
In this episode, I speak with Science Writer and Founder of the Joyful Microbe blog and podcast, Dr. Justine Dees! We walk about why she got into content marketing, how she learned how to do it, and we get to talk about microbial life, too!
Who is Dr. Justine Dees? (0:01:05)
Writing for life sciences companies AND the public! (0:07:28)
Learning how to do science writing (0:08:29)
Marketing what you write (0:13:12)
Influencing other scientists to learn marketing (0:15:28)
What can be improved in science communication? (0:17:40)
Scicomm on Twitter (0:20:15)
What kind of content would Justine love to write about? (0:22:30)
The Joyful Microbe Podcast (0:25:10)
Is there a safe way to grow bacteria at home? (0:28:10)
Does Justine miss the hands-on science work? (0:31:25)
The science community on Twitter (0:37:09)
What is a ‘Winogradsky column’? (0:38:20)
Travel destinations for microbe lovers! (0:46:20)
Communicating with fans (0:47:53)
Discussing the Joyful Microbe podcast (0:49:30)
A day in the life of a content writer (0:51:36)
Visit Justine’s website: https://justinedees.com/
Follow Justine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justineldees
Follow Justine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justineldees/
Follow Joyful Microbe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joyfulmicrobe
Visit Joyful Microbe on the web: https://joyfulmicrobe.com/
Check out the Joyful Microbe podcast: https://joyfulmicrobe.com/category/podcast-episodes/
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
...more
57min
March 23, 2021Ep.35 – Signs of Life in the Universe with Ben K.D. Pearce
In this episode, I speak with Ben K.D. Pearce, again! This time, we talk about the latest Mars mission, as well as the building blocks for life in meteorites, and whether or not there’s phosphene on Venus!
Introduction (0:00:38)
Ben’s research on the origin of bio-molecules (0:01:35)
Building blocks of life on meteorites (0:03:42)
How do scientists know the composition of rocks in space? (0:06:10)
What about drilling into asteroids? (0:08:33)
Useful data in meteorites that land on Earth (0:12:32)
Keeping on top of all the news in astrobiology (0:14:50)
The role of nitrogen (0:15:43)
Talking about the latest Mars mission (0:18:02)
Could they find diatom fossils on Mars? (0:20:17)
Was there life on Mars? (0:21:54)
Phosphene on Venus? (0:27:14)
No known chemistry (0:31:31)
Why hadn’t we seen this before? (0:33:30)
Common disagreements in the field of astrobiology (0:36:36)
What’s the Canadian field like? (0:37:40)
Saturn’s moon (0:40:40)
The excitement around future expeditions (0:43:51)
Rate of bombardment (0:46:46)
The giant crater in Sudbury (0:48:50)
The moon base (0:50:15)
Ben’s work at Johns Hopkins (0:51:57)
Visit Ben’s website: https://www.benkdpearce.com/
Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AstroBio_Ben
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
...more
57min
March 16, 2021Ep.34 – Temporary Ponds with Gavin Campbell
In this episode, I speak with PhD student Gavin Campbell. Gavin studies the aquatic and terrestrial creatures that inhabit temporary ponds. We also talk about education in Jamaica, research on Mars, and Gavin shares some quirky facts about mosquitoes!
Gavin lives and works in Jamaica (0:00:30)
Talking about Perseverance on Mars (0:02:12)
Collaboration within researchers (0:06:01)
Differences between Jamaican and North American universities (0:07:08)
Gavin’s research into aquatic and terrestrial organisms in temporary ponds (0:12:00)
Gavin discovered a new species of shrimp in Jamaica (0:14:30)
Where do new pond creatures come from? (0:17:33)
How Gavin got the idea to research temporary ponds. (0:18:48)
What does Gavin find when there is water in the pond? (0:21:01)
What does Gavin find when the pond is starting to dry out? (0:23:33)
The way creatures can change based on environmental changes (0:25:20)
What happens when a pond is completely dry? (0:27:02)
Experiments with temporary ponds (0:31:30)
The species “Notonecta” eats a LOT of mosquitoes! (0:32:20)
The kind of water that mosquitoes breed in. (0:34:25)
Mosquitoes can smell predators from far away (0:36:58)
Notonecta can be found in ponds (0:38:42)
Pond jars (0:40:02)
Gavin adopted and cared for a dragonfly. (0:40:29)
Gavin’s obsession with dragons. (0:43:15)
Cool facts about dragonflies. (0:44:20)
Gavin’s obsession with his research (0:45:30)
What cartoons does Gavin enjoy? (0:47:37)
The desire to do voice acting. (0:49:25)
Follow Gavin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dragonecology
Visit Gavin’s website: https://www.dragoninflight.com/
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
...more
59min
March 02, 2021Ep.33 – Oyster Microbiome with Dr. Rachel Diner
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Rachel Diner. She is researching the microbiome of oysters. Her research helps us learn how oyster microbiomes affect human health. We also talk about science communication, surfing, and other microbes that exist in coastal areas!
Dr Diner’s career path (0:00:48)
Why are we studying the microbiome of oysters? (0:02:50)
What is a ‘microbiome’? (0:04:28)
Viruses as part of the microbiome (0:06:00)
Learning about the oyster species (0:07:32)
How learning about oyster microbiome informs human health (0:08:19)
Artificial oyster reefs (0:10:42)
Working at Scripps (0:12:54)
What’s been surprising about her research so far? (0:15:01)
Early days of microbiome research (0:16:02)
Things humans can get from oysters (0:17:43)
Threats to oyster microbiomes (0:21:54)
How do microbes evolve within a microbiome? (0:23:54)
How long do oysters live? (0:25:02)
Fecal matter transplants? (0:26:14)
Opportunities to study other microbiomes (0:27:20)
Assumptions made about marine biology work (0:29:27)
Science communication (0:30:17)
The post-doc reality (0:33:52)
Free Living microbes (0:35:52)
Dr. Diner’s love of surfing (0:37:43)
Ear infections from microbes (0:38:24)
How and why she picked up surfing (0:40:27)
Research freedom (0:43:18)
Does Dr. Diner still eat oysters? (0:48:15)
Visit Rachel’s website: https://racheldiner.com/
Follow Rachel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/racheldiner
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
...more
49min
February 23, 2021Ep.32 – Science Communication with Jenn Blanchett
**
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld**
In this episode, I speak with Jenn Blanchett. Jenn has worked as a Science Communicator with Science North, and now works as a teacher. We talk about science communication for the public by non-scientists, the important role that artists play in scicomm, and the joys of sharing knowledge with different audiences.
Introduction (0:00:30)
What is Science North?(0:01:33)
The animals at Science North (0:04:31)
Jenn’s background (0:07:26)
The controversy of scicomm when you’re not a scientist (0:12:45)
The importance of simplifying scientific knowledge (0:18:51)
The science community should work with artists (0:21:30)
Grad programs in scicomm (0:25:07)
Jenn Learns Stuff video series (0:28:15)
Scicomm on TikTok and other video mediums (0:34:54)
Targeting audiences (0:36:44)
Science North theatre shows (0:39:18)
Bizarre questions from the public (0:40:56)
Communicating with different audiences (0:42:23)
Scicomm training on the job (0:44:54)
High school teaching (0:48:14)
Is the talent for scicomm innate or learned? (0:51:50)
What Jenn does for pleasure (0:53:33)
Watch “Jenn Learns Stuff” on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCoUzSOhJy8&list=PLhAjGkpomY84qb4tDHLIVv-4McHMJat1u
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
...more
57min
February 16, 2021Ep.31 – Culture and the arts with Ira Seidenstein, PhD.
**
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld**
In this episode, I speak with Ira Seidenstein, PhD. He’s a teacher, author, and director currently living and working in Australia. We talk about the state of the arts today, teaching actors, as well as what it was like to work and tour with large productions like Cirque du Soleil.
Introduction (0:00:30)
Why he settled in Australia (0:01:38)
The arts in Australian culture then, and now (0:02:53)
Did the lack of work promote innovation or stagnation? (0:04:30)
How bureaucracy and academia might stifle creativity (0:07:10)
Local culture makes a big difference (0:11:00)
Working at Cirque du Soleil (0:16:33)
The culture of Cirque du Soleil (0:19:45)
He’s worked on over a hundred shows (0:25:36)
Transitioning to directing (0:28:43)
Not fitting into the commercial environment (0:35:30)
Stories from touring (0:37:20)
Quantum Theatre: Slapstick to Shakespeare (0:40:00)
Vulnerability and empowerment (0:51:30)
A book recommendation for artists (0:56:09)
Visit Ira’s website: https://iraseid.com/
Ira’s new book: https://iraseid.com/book-quantum-theatre-slapstick-to-shakespeare
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
...more
59min
February 02, 2021Ep.30 – Art and Architecture with Jennifer Demitor
In this episode, I speak with Jennifer Demitor, an installation artist, and an architect! I’d never spoken to an architect before, so we discussed what an architect does, how Jennifer plans for new projects, how inspiration plays a role in her work, and in her art. She also gives us some good tips on creating interesting spaces!
Introduction to Jennifer’s work (0:00:50)
Jennifer’s artistic process (0:04:15)
Finding places to explore as an artist (0:05:25)
Discussing concrete as a material (0:06:32)
Can you sand or shape concrete? (0:08:51)
Making an income as an artist (0:10:45)
Private commissions vs public commissions (0:11:44)
Working with, and bending wood (0:13:23)
What kind of wood does Jennifer work with? (0:14:50)
How does a new design start? (0:16:00)
Working with steel (0:18:10)
Collaboration in architecture (0:19:50)
International differences in building materials (0:20:56)
What kind of architect is Jennifer? (0:21:47)
Architects are the ‘general practitioners’ of a build (0:23:20)
How it would work to build an eccentric building! (0:25:09)
Why do we have so many square rooms? (0:26:58)
Meaningful designs (0:29:22)
Castles are dark and cold! (0:34:26)
Plants and vegetation (0:35:33)
What role does nature play in Jennifer’s work? (0:38:20)
Environmentally-friendly design (0:39:44)
How to improve playgrounds (0:43:17)
Designing for playfulness (0:45:36)
Different architects, different styles? (0:47:01)
Work-life balance and the personal side of things (0:49:23)
Visit Jennifer’s Artist website: https://www.jenniferdemitor.com/
Visit Fabricae Architecture on the web: https://www.fabricaearchitecture.com/
Follow Fabricae Architecture on FB: https://www.facebook.com/fabricaearch/
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
...more
57min
January 26, 2021Ep.29 – Academic editing with Dr. Kel Pero
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Kel Pero, owner of KMP and Associates. Kel left academia to start her own business as an academic editor and copywriter. We discuss all sorts of topics relating to writing and editing, such as the importance of clarity, popular mistakes in writing, and how the command of language can play a big role in your success in the working world.
Introduction to Dr. Kel’s background (0:00:54)
Working independently vs working in academia (0:07:35)
Advice for academics who want to communicate their research (0:09:45)
“Alternative Academy” (0:15:35)
The importance of clarity (0:19:57)
How the editing process works (0:25:27)
Popular mistakes in writing (0:30:07)
Context, content, and the formal use of language (0:34:08)
Being skilled at writing in the corporate world (0:39:03)
Potential for work as a good writer (0:43:31)
The Oxford Comma: yay or nay? (0:49:11)
The acting business (0:50:46)
Dr. Kel’s recommendations for writers (0:56:25)
Visit KMP and Associates: https://www.kmpandassociates.com/
Follow Dr. Kel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKel_Editor
Follow KMP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kmpandassociates/
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
...more
58min
January 19, 2021Ep.28 – Flies and Termites with Hannah Davis
In this episode, I speak with Hannah Davis, a PhD student in Biology. We talk about her research with fruit flies, her previous research with termites, and we talk a bit about wasps, hover flies, and what it’s like to be expecting a child for the first time!
Introduction (0:00:30)
Why fruit flies are a model organism in science (0:01:33)
Choosing to study insects out of curiosity (0:02:50)
What is a “chill coma”? (0:04:01)
Fruit fly cold tolerance traits (0:06:12)
The hardiness of one specific fruit fly species (0:08:40)
Research during COVID (0:09:58)
Differences between ants and termites (0:10:35)
Body structure between ants and termites (0:12:55)
Termites are social cockroaches! (0:14:09)
The caste system in termite colonies (0:15:28)
Termites have a king! (0:16:30)
Lab colonies are different from the wild (0:17:45)
Watching termites is fun! (0:18:48)
The termite soldier class (0:19:27)
What did they feed termites in the lab? (0:22:20)
Hannah’s research with termites (0:23:42)
Diseases that affect termites (0:25:20)
Pest insects are great to study! (0:26:37)
The smell in labs! (0:28:30)
Studying science in Germany (0:31:20)
University differences between Canada and Germany (0:34:39)
Differences in creatures and fauna (0:37:50)
Talking about hornets! (0:39:45)
A hornet’s stinger is a modified lady part! (0:40:56)
Hannah’s love of hover flies (0:43:20)
Mimicry in nature (0:46:25)
The love of spiders (0:48:07)
Hannah is expecting a baby! (0:49:12)
Plans for the next year (0:55:34)
Hannah Davis on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hannah_Davis3
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld
...more
58min

FAQs about Planet B612:

How many episodes does Planet B612 have?

The podcast currently has 57 episodes available.