Sciencentric

KEITH SEIFERT is a Canadian mycologist who’s spent more than forty years studying fungi on five continents. He’s done research on microscopic fungi from farms, forests, food, and the built environment, as well as studied ways reduce fungal toxins and diseases affecting plants and animals.

Keith is a former president of the International Mycological Association, an executive editor of Mycologia, an associate editor of several other scientific journals, and an adjunct professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Keith spoke to Sciencentric about his upcoming book “The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi: Exploring the Microscopic World in Our Forests, Homes, and Bodies.”

Video version available here: https://youtu.be/BRWsPg0a7dw

(Keith would like to acknowledge the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Public Understanding of Science, Technology and Economics program for the receipt of a grant to support the writing of this book.)

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**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**

The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi: Exploring the Microscopic World in Our Forests, Homes, and Bodies (Affiliate Link) https://sciencentric.com/link/the-hidden kingdom-of-fungi-exploring-the-microscopic-world-in-our-forests-homes-and-bodies/

Keith’s curated “Fungi in the News” on Flipboard: https://flipboard.com/@stilbella/fungi-in-the-news-kk2a96v9z

**ABOUT THE HOST**

Eric R Olson is a filmmaker and  podcaster with a passion for science and the natural world. He was Scientific American's first full-time video producer and lead digital producer of the long-running PBS television show NATURE. Eric currently runs his own video-based media company, FLOWSPARK MEDIA LLC, which is the producer and publisher of this podcast.

Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ericrolson

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Fred Pearce is an English author and journalist based in London. Over his 20-year career, he has traveled to 87 countries to write about the environment, science, and development issues. In this episode of The Sciencentric Podcast, he spoke about his upcoming book "A Trillion Trees: Restoring Our Forests by Trusting in Nature."

Video version here: https://youtu.be/R4-F0Er6T3g

**SUPPORT**

Help support this podcast so we can create more great science content!

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**

A Trillion Trees: Restoring Our Forests by Trusting in Nature

**ABOUT THE HOST**

Eric R Olson is a filmmaker and podcast host with a passion for science and the natural world. He was formerly Scientific American's full-time video producer and lead digital producer of the long-running PBS television show NATURE. Eric currently runs his own company, FLOWSPARK MEDIA LLC, which is the producer and publisher of this podcast.

Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ericrolson

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Our guest in this episode is Dina Fine Maron, an Investigative Reporter for National Geographic covering Wildlife Crime. Dina was previously a health editor for Scientific American magazine and holds a master's degree in public health. In short, she knows a lot about wildlife trafficking and public health, and those appear to be two important factors in the origin of COVID.

We discuss the connection between healthcare and wildlife crime, how COVID-19 could have made its way from bats into humans, whether there’s any evidence coronavirus originated in a lab, and what China is doing to prevent future pandemics.

Watch the video version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ea61kCDtqw

**SUPPORT**

Help support this podcast so we can create more great science content!

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**

National Geographic’s Wildlife Watch

What the mink COVID-19 outbreaks taught us about pandemics

China’s exotic farms may be a missing link behind the pandemic’s leap to people

'Wet markets' likely launched the coronavirus. Here's what you need to know.

**ABOUT THE HOST**

Eric R Olson is a filmmaker, video producer, and podcast host with a passion for science and the natural world. He was formerly Scientific American's full-time video producer and lead digital producer of the long-running PBS television show NATURE. Eric currently runs his own company, FLOWSPARK MEDIA LLC, which is the producer and publisher of this podcast.

Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ericrolson

**TELL US WHAT YOU THINK**

Email us at [email protected]

**FOLLOW US**

YouTube: http://youtube.com/sciencentric

Our guest in this episode is Rémy Marion -- author, photographer, and documentary filmmaker. Rémy is a member of France’s national society of geographers and explorers, and an authority on bears. In particular, brown bears and polar bears, which he has been observing in the wild since the 1980s.

His book, “On Being a Bear: Face to Face with Our Wild Sibling”, was recently translated into English and is set for release in the U.S. at the end of March 2021.The book delves into humanity’s two million-year-old love/hate relationship with bears, covers all the latest science on these fascinating creatures, and includes accounts of Remy’s up-close and personal encounters with bears...perhaps a little too up-close and personal.  If you love bears, you’ll love his book.

Video version here: https://youtu.be/U1m8A34kmPA

**SUPPORT**

Help support this podcast so we can create more great science content!

Become a member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencentric

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**

On Being a Bear: Face to Face with Our Wild Sibling

Remy’s Facebook Page

**ABOUT THE HOST**

Eric R Olson is a filmmaker, video producer, and podcast host with a passion for science and the natural world. He was formerly Scientific American's full-time video producer and lead digital producer of the long-running PBS television show NATURE. Eric currently runs his own company, FLOWSPARK MEDIA LLC, which is the producer and publisher of this podcast.

**TELL US WHAT YOU THINK**

Email us at [email protected]

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Our guest in this episode is German chemist, journalist, author, TV host and YouTube star Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim. Her first book, “Chemistry for Breakfast: The Amazing Science of Everyday Life,” has recently been translated into English. It follows a typical day in Mai’s life, drilling down into the molecules that make it all happen. It’s an interesting and entertaining read for anyone who likes to geek out on the science of everyday existence.

We spoke about Mai about her journey from chemistry PhD to TV host and author, how she balances a passion for the truth with the demands of creating content, how science informs her philosophy of life, and her chemistry secret for making amazing chocolate desserts.

**SUPPORT**

Help support this podcast so we can create more great science content!

Become a member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencentric

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**

Chemistry for Breakfast: The Amazing Science of Everyday Life

**ABOUT THE HOST**

Eric R Olson is a filmmaker, podcaster, and producer with a background in molecular biology and genetics. He was formerly Scientific American's full-time video producer and lead digital producer of the long-running PBS television show NATURE. Eric currently runs his own company, FLOWSPARK MEDIA LLC, which is the publisher of this podcast.

**TELL US WHAT YOU THINK**

Email us at [email protected]

**FOLLOW US**

YouTube: http://youtube.com/sciencentric

In our inaugural episode, we spoke with science and environmental journalist Rachel Nuwer about her book "Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking." We spoke about her process for writing the book, the time she spent with actual wildlife traffickers, and what can be done to stop the illegal wildlife trade--particularly in Asia.    

Help support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencentric 

Receive 25% off any web hosting plan using the promo code "science": http://hostgator.com 

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**  

Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking

In this episode, we’re delving into some controversial topics. In fact, I really couldn’t think of more controversial topics than sex and gender and how the two relate.

Much like religion or politics, how we understand sex and gender are fundamental to how we operate in the world and inspire a whole range of opinions--often in conflict with each other.

But in the last five years or so, I’ve noticed some rather unusual ideas taking root.

Number one is that distinct biological sexes don’t exist; sex categories like male and female are arbitrary and socially constructed and sex exists on some kind of “spectrum”,

Number two is that gender is completely divorced from biology. Meaning that the gender you identify with and your outward expression of it, aren’t influenced by the sex you were born with.

In my mind, denying these biological realities around sex and gender is to engage in science denialism. Most troubling is that these ideas are finding a mainstream voice in scientists who also moonlight as gender activists, giving them scientific credibility.

And, unfortunately, denying science that’s inconvenient to ideology makes it impossible to reach any kind of consensus on public policy issues, particularly thorny ones like transgender rights or gender disparities in certain career fields.

Diving headfirst into these issues is our guest Zach Elliot. Zach isn’t a scientist or a professional journalist, but rather an architecture student who sees himself as an educator. Zach has written a short book on sex and gender called the Gender Paradox. And he has also started producing videos about these subjects for YouTube. I actually first became aware of him on Twitter because of his activity debunking misinformation about intersex conditions, also known as Disorders of Sexual Development.

Zach and I spoke about how he got interested in this topic as a non-scientist, how intersex conditions are misused in discussions of transgender rights, and his step-by-step guide for writing an article that muddies the water around these controversial topics.

Help support this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencentric

Receive 25% off any web hosting plan using the promo code "science":  http://hostgator.com

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**

The Paradox Institute

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In this episode, we’re speaking to award-winning French journalist and documentary filmmaker Guillaume Pitron.  For the last decade or so, Guillaume has been following the global trade in rare earth metals. There are around 30 of these metals and they can be found in virtually all of our electronic devices and in green technologies like solar panels and electric cars. 

Unfortunately, mining these materials come with heavy environmental and social costs. Mining generates massive amounts of polluted wastewater, which left untreated, poisons crops and makes people sick.  Guillaume documents these issues in his 2018 book "Rare Metals War', which has recently been translated into English. 

I spoke to Guillaume about why rare earth metals are so important for consumer electronics, why the U.S. outsourced the mining of these metals mostly to China, and how companies like Apple and Tesla can make their products, which rely heavily on rare earth metals, more environmentally-friendly.

Help support this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencentric

Receive 25% off any web hosting plan using the promo code "science":  http://hostgator.com

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**

Rare Metals War (book)

Guillaume's website

George Zaidan is the executive producer for the American Chemical Society and a former co-host of CNBC's “Make Me a Millionaire Inventor.” Most recently, he authored the book, “Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of What We Put in Us and On Us”.  

As the title suggests, “Ingredients” is about the chemistry of the food we eat and the products we use, but it’s more than that. It’s actually a crash course in epidemiology and epistemology. Epidemiology tells us if something is good or bad for us and epistemology looks at how we know what we think we know. 

Those topics may sound a little dry, but George has packed this book with his own brand of humor that will have you laughing from cover-to-cover.   George and I spoke about understanding risk in both long-term and short-term scenarios, whether eating more processed foods really shortens our lifespans, and how a self-professed chemistry nerd ended up in the quagmire of nutritional epidemiology. 

Help support this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencentric  

Receive 25% off any web hosting plan using the promo code "science":  http://hostgator.com  

 **DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE** 

 Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of What We Put In Us and On Us

Eating Processed Foods Tied to Shorter Life (NY Times)

In this episode, we speak with Carin Bondar, a biologist, writer, TV host, and public speaker. Carin is probably best-known for covering the topic at the forefront of everyone’s mind: sex. In various forms, she has documented all the strange and fascinating ways that animals approach enterprise reproduction--including us.  

As a presenter, Carin has appeared in shows for Discovery, Netflix, and an independent online video series “Wild Sex”, which has reached millions of people worldwide. She’s also authored several books. “Wild Sex”, which shares the same name as her video series, looks at all the weird and wacky ways that animals mate and rear their young, drawing parallels to our own human condition. Her most recent book, “Wild Moms”, published in 2018, focuses on the post-coital side of reproduction, which is all about the survival of offspring, a responsibility that falls most heavily on the shoulders of females.   

And if she wasn’t busy enough, she still holds an adjunct professorship at the University of Fraser Valley in British Columbia and leads expeditions to Borneo to help citizen scientists discover new species.   In our interview, we spoke about how she went from a crayfish biologist to stay-at-home mom to television host, what humans can learn about sex from animals, whether humans were designed for monogamy and much more.

Help support this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencentric

Receive 25% off any web hosting plan using the promo code "science":  http://hostgator.com   

**DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE**  

Wild Sex (Book) https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Sex-Science-Behind-Kingdom/dp/1681771667  

Wild Sex (YouTube series) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLprl6grN2nB2DhNqJccISirm7KdZQ30o1   

Wild Moms  https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Moms-Motherhood-Animal-Kingdom/dp/1681776650/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=wild+moms&qid=1585503565&sr=8-2  

Sex At Dawn  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007679QTG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1  

Carin's Website http://carinbondar.com  

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Email: [email protected]