Isabella: The Warrior Queen

Guest: Kirstin Downey, author, "Isabella: the Warrior Queen"

Queen Isabella was much more than Ferdinand's side kick. She was a powerful warrior queen who reunited Spain but left a bloody legacy that haunted Spain for three centuries. 

How We Almost Lost the Bison for Good

Guest: Andrew C. Isenberg, Professor, American History, University of Kansas, and author, "The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History"

This is the tragedy of the near-extermination of the American bison, and the story of their eventual return, an effort launched, improbably, in New York City.

Nocturnal Brain

Guest: Guy Leschziner, clinical lead for the Sleep Disorders Centre, Guy's Hospital, and consultant neurologist at London Bridge Hospital, the Cromwell Hospital and within the Department of Neurology and Sleep Disorders Centre at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals; author, "The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep"

Meet people who deliver snacks, run from helicopters, and drive motorcycles, all while sound asleep. What we can learn about healthy sleep and brain function from extrene sleep disorders. 

Blue Light Isn't as Dangerous as You've Heard

Guest: Philip Yuhas, Assistant Professor, Optometry, The Ohio State University

Blue light isn’t the devil it’s made out to be.

Diving Sea Nomads (Originally Aired on: May 22, 2019)

Guest: Melissa Ilardo, Evolutionary Genomicist, University of Utah, and Intergrative Biologist, UC Berkeley

Humans have adapted to live in some of the most extreme environments on earth, from the high altitude of the Tibetan Himalayas to the dry wasteland of the world's deserts. The Bajau, a people of the Malay Archipelago, spend almost all of their lives at sea. These sea nomads, who live on floating houses, have prodigious diving capabilities.