STEM Fatale Podcast

STEM Fatale Podcast

By Emlyn Gremlyn and Emma DilemmaScienceHistory
Download on the App Store

STEM Fatale Podcast episodes

  • Episode 011 - Mary Golda Ross | Space Engineer

    Alternate Title: Fire Planes and the Avian Industry Explosion

    This week, Emlyn tells Emma about the Cherokee rocket scientist (i.e. space engineer!), Mary Golda Ross, and Emma tells Emlyn about Earth's core and about why it matters how you refer to female scientists. 

    Sources:

    Main Story - Mary Golda Ross

    1. Article by Cherokee Pheonix newspaper: http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/Index/2470
  • Article by Society of Women Engineers: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/swe/spring14/index.php#/34
  • Williams JK. Mary Golda Ross: The first native american female engineer. New York Amsterdam News. Mar 2013:28. Available from: http://ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1349940805?accountid=7118
  • NPR Segment on Morning Edition: https://www.npr.org/2015/05/19/407664385/cherokee-chief-john-ross-is-the-unsung-hero-of-jacksonland
  • Wikipedia article on Lockheed Corporation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Corporation
  • Wikipedia article on Lil Abner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%27l_Abner
  • Massive Science article by Jenny Howard: https://massivesci.com/articles/mary-golda-ross-cherokee/
  • Smithsonian Magazine article by Andrew Chaikin: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-sr-71-blackbird-epitome-cold-war-spycraft-180953402/
  •  

    Further Reading

    1. Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab by Steve Inskeep

     

    Women who werk

    Shoutout #1

    • Dr. Jessica Irving and her team develop new models for the Earth’s outer core: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180627160232.htm

    Shoutout #2

    • PhD Candidate Stav Atir and advisor Dr. Melissa Ferguson found that people refer to male professionals by their surname more often than female professionals, and that this gender bias could negatively impact women in STEM careers. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2172515-calling-men-by-their-surname-gives-them-an-unfair-career-boost/
  • Scientific Article: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/06/19/1805284115.short


  • Music

    “Work” by Rihanna

    “Mary Anning” by Artichoke

    43 min
  • Episode 010 - Sally Ride | Physicist/Astronaut

    Alternate Title: Ride Sally Ride!

    Emma tells Emlyn about the first American woman and LGBTQ+ astronaut in space, Dr. Sally Ride, and Emlyn tells Emma about mammals going nocturnal and narwhal sounds!

     

    Sources:

    Main Story - Sally Ride

    1. Article by astronaut and engineer Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar: https://theconversation.com/astronaut-sally-k-rides-legacy-encouraging-young-women-to-embrace-science-and-engineering-97371
  • Interview by Rebecca Wright for NASA in 2002: https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm
  • Interview by Gloria Steinem in 1983 after Sally’s first space flight : https://blankonblank.org/interviews/sally-ride-space-shuttle-first-woman-space-nasa/#read-more
  • Obituary in the NY Times by Denise Grady https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/science/space/sally-ride-trailblazing-astronaut-dies-at-61.html?pagewanted=all
  • Article by Dr. Rhea Seddon: http://astronautrheaseddon.com/the-first-six-american-women-astronauts/
  • Review and summary of Lynn Sherr’s book by Andrew Liptak: https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-secret-life-of-sally-ride-the-first-american-woman-1586255004
  • (Extra reading) Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space  http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sally-Ride/Lynn-Sherr/9781476725772
  • Sally Ride Science Website: https://sallyridescience.ucsd.edu/about/   
  • Sally Ride’s UCSD research page: http://casswww.ucsd.edu/archive/personal/sride.html
  •  

    Women who werk

    Shoutout #1

    1. Gaynor, K. M., Hojnowski, C. E., Carter, N. H. & Brashares, J. S. The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality. Science 360, 1232–1235 (2018).   

    Shoutout #2

    1. Here’s what narwhals sound like underwater: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/what-narwhals-sound-underwater?tgt=nr
  • Blackwell SB, Tervo OM, Conrad AS, Sinding MHS, Hansen RG, et al. (2018) Spatial and temporal patterns of sound production in East Greenland narwhals. PLOS ONE 13(6): e0198295. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198295
  •  

    Music

    “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett

    “Work” by Rihanna

    “Mary Anning” by Artichoke

    49 min
  • Episode 009 - Louise Pearce | Pathologist

    Alternate title: 125 Syphilis Rabbits

    Emlyn tells Emma about the queer scientist who helped develop treatments for African Sleeping Sickness and Syphilis, Dr. Louise Pearce, and Emma tells Emlyn about the organizations 500 Women Scientists and 500 Queer Scientists!

    Sources

    Main Story -  Louise Pearce

    1. Chung, K., 1943. (2010). Women pioneers of medical research: Biographies of 25 outstanding scientists. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland.
  • https://greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com/tag/heterodoxy/
  • Further reading: Schwarz, J. (1982). Radical feminists of Heterodoxy : Greenwich Village, 1912-1940. Lebanon, N.H.: New Victoria Publishers.

     

    Women who werk

    500 Women Scientists has coordinated a ton of cool projects in the last two years that aim to increase visibility and inclusivity of minorities in STEM. Check out their organization and projects, or find a local chapter here: https://500womenscientists.org/

    You can also support this month’s new offshoot campaign, 500 Queer Scientists by sharing it and posting about it on your own social media, and by following their Twitter (@500QueerSci) and Instagram (@500QueerScientists). Or you can submit your own story at: https://www.500queerscientists.com/

    47 min
  • Episode 008 - Sarah Elizabeth Stewart | Viral Oncologist

    Alternate Title: Tumor Has It

    Emma tells Emlyn about Sarah Elizabeth Stewart, a Mexican-American researcher who convinced the world that cancer-causing viruses were real, and Emlyn tells Emma about how pollution may promote alzheimers and about Bonobo "doulas"! This episode gets a bit raunchy when we talk about bonobos. You have been warned.

     

    Sources:

    Main Story -  Sarah Elizabeth Stewart  

    1. Obituary by John P. Utz: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/37/12/4674.full.pdf
  • Biography by Carl Fulghieri and Sharon Bloom in Emerging Infectious Diseases: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012821/
  • Obituary by Bernice Eddy: https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article-abstract/59/4/1039/920231?redirectedFrom=fulltext
  • Article: “Ludwik Gross, Sarah Stewart, and the 1950s discoveries of Gross murine leukemia virus and polyoma virus” by Gregory J. Morgan https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/science/article/pii/S1369848614000946
  • The tale of the great cuckoo egg by George Klein. https://www.nature.com/articles/22906       
  • Women who werk

    Shoutout #1

    1. “Dirty air can harm your brain and stress the body” by Lindsey Konkel: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/dirty-air-can-harm-your-brain-and-stress-body
  • ​​L. Calderón-Garcidueñas et al. Hallmarks of Alzheimer disease are evolving relentlessly in Metropolitan Mexico City infants, children and young adults. APOE4 carriers have higher suicide risk and higher odds of reaching NFT stage V at ≤ 40 years of age. Environmental Research.Vol. 164, July 2018, p. 475. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.03.023.
  • Shoutout #2

    1. Pregnant bonobos get a little delivery help from their friends: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pregnant-bonobos-get-little-delivery-help-their-friends?tgt=nr
  • E. Demuru, P.F. Ferrari and E. Palagi. Is birth attendance a uniquely human feature? New evidence suggests that bonobo females protect and support the parturient. Evolution and Human Behavior. Published online May 9, 2018. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.05.003.
  • 55 min
  • Episode 007 - Grace Hopper | Computer Scientist

    Alternate Title: The Amazing Grace

    Emlyn tells Emma about the U.S. Rear Admiral and Computer Scientist, Grace Hopper, and Emma tells Emlyn about the dangers of traveling to mars and the importance of seagrass beds! 

    SOURCES:

    Main Story - Grace Hopper    

    1. Biography of Grace Hopper: https://www.biography.com/people/grace-hopper-21406809
  • Navy Biography: https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg70/Pages/namesake.aspx
  • https://president.yale.edu/biography-grace-murray-hopper
  • Amazing Women in History: http://www.amazingwomeninhistory.com/amazing-grace-hopper-computer-programmer/
  • New York Time Obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/03/us/rear-adm-grace-m-hopper-dies-innovator-in-computers-was-85.html
  • Computer History Podcast: http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/grace-murray-hopper/
  •  

    Women who werk

    1.  Drug prevents brain damage in mice exposed to high levels of radiation. https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2018/05/410421/deep-space-radiation-treatment-reboots-brains-immune-system
    1. Seagrass meadow conservation is necessary to maintain fishery health. http://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/latest-research/worldsbiggestfisheriessupportedbyseagrassmeadows.php
    49 min
  • Episode 006 - Rita Levi-Montalcini | Neurobiologist

    Alternate Title: NERVE-ana: In Utero

    Emma tells Emlyn about the Italian neurobiologist and nobel laureate, Rita Levi-Montalcini, and Emlyn tells Emma about the mathematical rules of living cells and about males that choose very, very bad mates. 

     

    Sources

    Main Story - Rita Levi Montalcini  

    1. Biography in Treccani http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/rita-levi-montalcini_(Dizionario-Biografico)/
  • Biography in Neurological Sciences https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-013-1303-2
  • Obituary: https://source.wustl.edu/2013/01/obituary-nobel-laureate-rita-levimontalcini/
  • Biography in Trends in Cell Biology  https://www.cell.com/trends/cell-biology/fulltext/S0962-8924(04)00143-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0962892404001436%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
  • Biography in Nature https://www.nature.com/news/2009/090401/full/458564a.html


  • Women who werk

    Shoutout #1

    1. Robyn P. Araujo, Lance A. Liotta. The topological requirements for robust perfect adaptation in networks of any size. Nature Communications, 2018; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04151-6
  • Queensland University of Technology. "Math sheds light on how living cells 'think'." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 May 2018. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180502094636.htm
  •  

    Shoutout #2

    1. Shevy Waner, Uzi Motro, Yael Lubin, Ally R. Harari. Male mate choice in a sexually cannibalistic widow spider. Animal Behaviour, 2018; 137: 189 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.01.016
  • American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. "Brown widow male spiders prefer sex with older females likely to eat them afterwards." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 April 2018. .
  • 50 min
  • Episode 005 - Chien-Shiung Wu | Physicist

    Alternate Title: A Parody of Parity

     

    Emlyn tells Emma about the "First Lady of Physics," Chien-Shiung Wu, and Emma tells Emlyn about horses remembering human emotions and about the winner of the AWIS Pinnacle Award!

    Sources

    Main Story - Chien-Shiung Wu

    1. Atomic Heritage Foundation: https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/chien-shiung-wu
  • National Women’s Hall of Fame: https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/chienshiung-wu/
  • American National Biography: https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1302686
  • Madame Wu and the Holiday Experiment That Changed Physics Forever: https://gizmodo.com/madame-wu-and-the-holiday-experiment-that-changed-physi-1749319896
  • Inside Story: C S Wu – First Lady of physics research: http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/51556
  • Channeling Ada Lovelace: Chien-Shiung Wu, Courageous Hero of Physics:
  • https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/channeling-ada-lovelace-chien-shiung-wu-courageous-hero-of-physics/

    Women who werk

    1. Horses remember peoples’ facial expressions (Article): https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30364-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982218303646%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
  • Science Daily Article about paper: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180426130024.htm
  • Sue Desmond-Hellmann wins 2018 AWIS Pinnacle Award. https://www.awis.org/awis-announces-top-awards-for-stem-and-gender-equity-champions/
  •  

    Trivia

    Article: “Almost a Fellow…” by the Royal Society

    http://blogs.royalsociety.org/history-of-science/2012/03/08/almost-a-fellow/

    57 min
  • Episode 004 - Barbara McClintock | Cytogeneticist

    Alternate Title: The A-MAIZE-ing Race

    Emma tells Emlyn about the "Mother of Chromosomes," Barbara McClintock, and Emlyn tells Emma about the Bajau people and why male fruit flies like to mate. This episode gets a bit raunchy when we talk about fruit flies. You have been warned.

    Sources:

    Main Story - Barbara McClintock  

    A Feeling for the Organism by Evelyn Fox Keller

  • The Tangled Field: Barbara McClintock's Search for the Patterns of Genetic Control by Nathaniel C. Comfort
  • The Barbara McClintock Papers - NIH  https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/retrieve/Narrative/LL/p-nid/45
  • Biography by Cold Spring Harbor Labs http://library.cshl.edu/sp/scientists/barbara_mcclintock/mcclintock_biography.html
  • Biography by American National Biography http://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1302550


  • Women who werk

    Shoutout #1

    1. Larger spleens may help ‘sea nomads’ stay underwater longer: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/larger-spleens-help-bajau-divers-stay-underwater-longer?tgt=nr
  • M. Ilardo et al. Physiological and genetic adaptations to diving in sea nomads. Cell. Published online April 19, 2018. doi:10/1016/j.cell.2018.03.054
  • Shoutout #2

    1. Male Fruit Flies Love to Cum, and Turn to Alcohol If They Can't: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43b87b/male-fruit-flies-love-to-cum-and-turn-to-alcohol-if-they-cant
  • S. Zer-Krispil et al. Ejaculation induced by the activation of Crz neurons is rewarding to Drosophila males. Current Biology. Vol. 28, May 7, 2018.  doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.039.
  •  

    Trivia

    Article: “Almost a Fellow…” by the Royal Society

    http://blogs.royalsociety.org/history-of-science/2012/03/08/almost-a-fellow/

    1 hr 4 min
  • Episode 003 - Lillian Moller Gilbreth | Engineer

    Alternate Title: She Dozen Have it All

    Emlyn tells Emma about the engineer who inspired "Cheaper by the Dozen," Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and Emma tells Emlyn about self-medicating orangutans and the winner of the NSF Waterman Award!

     

     

    Sources

    Main Story - Lillian Moller Gilbreth

    1. The Economist; Gurus; Frank and Lillian Gilbreth https://www.economist.com/node/12060343
  • The management theory of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. https://www.business.com/articles/management-theory-of-frank-and-lillian-gilbreth/
  • Remembering the Contributions of Engineer Lillian Gilbreth. http://alltogether.swe.org/2017/08/remembering-contributions-engineer-lillian-gilbreth/
  • Feminist Voices, Profile: Lillian Gilbreth. https://www.feministvoices.com/lillian-gilbreth/
  • Lillian Moller Gilbreth Pressed for Inclusion. https://womensenews.org/2009/09/lillian-moller-gilbreth-pressed-inclusion/
  • Episode 59: Lillian Gilbreth. http://thehistorychicks.com/episode-59-lillian-gilbreth/
  • Pictures from Frank and Lillian Gilbreth papers, MSP 7, Box 114, Folder 6, Courtesy Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries
  • Women who werk

    1. Orangutans use plant extracts to treat pain: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orangutans-use-plant-extracts-to-treat-pain1/
  • Kristina Olson wins NSF Waterman Award: https://www.washington.edu/news/2018/04/12/uws-kristina-olson-wins-nsf-waterman-award-for-studies-of-how-children-see-themselves-and-the-world/
  • Trivia

    (no sources this week)

    45 min

About STEM Fatale Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Emma and Emlyn teach each other about historic (and current) women in STEM and remind each other about things they DEF should know.