Science for the People

No, not that C word. This week, we’re talking about Cancer; its myriad forms, many causes, and most promising treatments. We’re joined by engineering professor Brendan Harley, who works on making cancer research more effective, and Dr. David Gorski, surgical oncologist and prominent science blogger. And on the podcast, author Kayt Sukel returns to the show, to discuss the efficacy and application of screening for breast cancer, and what effect pink-saturated awareness campaigns actually have on research and treatment efforts.

This week, we’ll spend the hour talking about genetically modified foods, that are causing conversation among scientists, lawmakers and the public. Horticulture professor Kevin Folta returns to the show, along with Karl Haro von Mogel and Anastasia Bodnar, co-editors of Biofortified.org. They’ll give us the scientific perspective on the benefits, and possible dangers, in manipulating the genes of  common food crops.

This week, we’re looking at the science – and pseudoscience – that affects the healthcare decisions parents make for their children, and women make for themselves. We’re joined by Allison Hagood and Stacy Herlihy, to talk about their book Your Baby’s Best Shot: Why Vaccines are Safe and Save Lives. And we’re joined by Skepchick.org founder Rebecca Watson, to talk about pseudoscience that’s targeted and marketed specifically at women.

This week, we’re looking at two science stories making headlines and stirring debate. Science writer David Dobbs returns to the show, to discuss the controversial neuroscience in Naomi Wolf’s new book Vagina: a Biography. And genetics researcher Michael White joins us to sort out the science from the hype in the results of the ENCODE genomics project.

This week, we’re looking at film and video as an exciting, engaging way to communicate science to the public. Guest host Marie-Claire Shanahan spends the hour with independent film-maker and former BBC video journalist Brady Haran, and artist and filmmaker Henry Reich, creator of the Minute Physics YouTube series. They’ll discuss the promise and pitfalls of telling science stories in moving pictures.

This week, we’re looking at new and evolving ways of bringing important science news to the public. Journalist and author Maryn McKenna returns to the show, to talk about her recent report for the Food & Environment Reporting Network, about evidence for a link between a common human infection and the overuse of antibiotics in chicken production. And science writer Jennifer Ouellette gives us the scoop on The Best Science Writing Online 2012, a collection of last year’s best science blog posts.

This week, we’re thinking about science as an instrument, and the parallels between an understanding of music and the history of science. Thomas Levenson, Professor of Science Writing at MIT and author of Newton and the Counterfeiter, returns to talk about his 1994 book Measure for Measure: A Musical History of Science. And on the podcast, we’re joined by Vaughan Macefield, Professor of Integrative Physiology at the University of Western Sydney, to talk about his project that translates neural impulses into audible sound.

This week, we’re listening back to one of our all-time most popular episodes. Evolutionary biologist John Logsdon explains the amazing diversity of sperm design, and its connection with mating behaviour. And Scientopia blogger Scicurious discusses some of our favorites from her Friday Weird Science archives, covering everything from the antidepressant properties of semen, to smelly semen, to testicle receptacles, and much, much more.

This week, we’re discussing some fascinating science focused on the liquid portions of our big blue planet. We’re joined by graduate researcher Andrew David Thaler, founder of Southern Fried Science, to talk about the weird and wonderful networks of life that exist in the Deep Sea. And University of Alberta researcher David Schindler joins us to talk about the work, and the uncertain future, of Ontario’s Experimental Lakes Area and its freshwater ecosystem research.

This week, we’re looking at a possible future where integrated technology makes exchanging digital information as natural as using the senses we’re born with. We’ll talk to technology writer Michael Chorost, about his book World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet. And anthropologist Greg Laden gives us a primer on the origins and evolution of human communication.