That Science and Nature Show

Aired 5/7/2024. For the final episode of the Spring semester, Jeremy and Becky are joined by guest and fellow grad student Giulia de Gennaro. The three discuss news on making white bread healthy, bird flu contaminating meat and milk, and the upcoming double cicada bloom. Topic of the show this week is about museums and cool museum exhibits.

Aired 4/30/2024. This week on the podcast, Jeremy and Webster are joined by George Todd, finally returning to the show since Season 1. News this week covers cities in China sinking into the ground, organ transplants causing changes in human personality and sexuality, and the science behind escape rooms. Topic of the show this week is on science education, with conversations about why it is necessary, our experiences with it, challenges of teaching science, and how much we want to be involved with it moving forward.

Aired 4/23/2024. This week on the show, Jeremy, Becky and Webster are joined by fellow grad student and zoo fellow, John Bender. The four discuss blood sucking bacteria, a potential panacea vaccine, and nature enjoying royalties from music streaming. Topic of the the show is about zoos, covering their history, our interactions with them, their research and community interactions, and some controversies around them.

Aired 4/16/2024. This week on the podcast, Jeremy, Becky, and Webster are joined by Dr. Katy Mike Smaistrla, head of UMSL Sustainability. The 4 discuss the news of the cute aggression response, eating seafood sustainably, and a study on an interesting practice to reduce anger. Topic of the show covers environmental activism, what it means to us, how we feel we fit into the movement, and how to convince others and remain positive in the wake of environmental losses. Doom and Bloom.

Aired 3/19/2024. This week on the show, Jeremy and Becky are joined by returning Jenn Voss and James Ott from UMSL Sustainability. The 4 discuss a man illegally breeding hybrid sheep in Montana, an indigenous and wildlife rehabilitation conflict in India, and the rebranding of slugs and snails in the news. Topic of the show covering gardening and how to get into it as things warm up and we head into the Spring season.

Aired 3/12/2024. This week on the show, Jeremy, Becky, and Webster are joined by a post doctoral researcher Dr. Bethany Williams. The four discuss an AI bug zapper umbrella invention from an ingenious high school student, resurrecting the wooly mammoth, and obese dogs as a result of a genetic defect. Topic of the show covers conspiracy theories, what they are, how they are damaging to the credibility of science, some of the wildest theories we have heard about, and how to combat them.

Aired 3/5/2024. This week on the podcast, Jeremy, Becky, and Webster, are joined by guest Ketra Oketcho. For the news, the four discuss using comedy to get across issues in science, a potential new universal snake antivenom, and growing testicles in a lab. Topic of the show covers the overreliance of technology, and whether we are getting dumber and lazier as a result.

Aired 2/20/2024. This week on the show, Jeremy, Becky, and Webster are joined by Kristin Ranker, recent alumni from UMSL's Master's Biology program, and current dog trainer at the ZoomRoom. For the news, the 4 discuss magic mushrooms and drug busts, prosthetics now incorporating temperature sensors, and a growing amount of poop on Mt. Everest. Topic of the show covers animal training largely through the focus of dogs, with Kristin Ranker providing her expertise on the subject through her years in the field.

Aired 2/6/2024. This week, Jeremy and Webster are joined by special guest, Brandon Schack, Professional Wetland Scientist and Project Manager at Tetra Tech. The three discuss the news of scientists deflecting lightening bolts, AI chatbots being tricked into misbehaving, and famous aviator Amelia Earhart's plane potentially being found. Topic of the show covers wetlands, what they are, why they are important, their history, and how we can better conserve them for future generations.

Aired 1/30/2024. This week in the news, the cast discusses a complicated ecological web of how invasive ants affect lion's hunting success, if T-cells might be the fountain of youth, and the Doomsday clock getting ever closer to zero. Topic of the show covers viruses, what they are, the good and bad off them, society's thoughts on them, and if science research on viruses should have limits.