The STEM Read Podcast

Episode 4: Learning by Doing with Nancy Cavanaugh, Jasmine Carey, Mackenzie Thompson, and Melanie Koss

Episode 4: Learning by Doing with Nancy Cavanaugh, Jasmine Carey, Mackenzie Thompson, and Melanie Koss Kristin (@kbrynteson) and Gillian (@gkingcargile) mock some of Kristin’s job titles and then sit down with NIU seniors Jasmine Carey and Mackenzie Thompson to talk about why they are pursuing engineering and why every little girl should play with power tools. Melanie Koss (@melaniekoss‏) from NIU’s Department of Literacy interviews Gillian and author Nancy Cavanaugh (@NancyJCavanaugh) during a

Episode 3: Inquiry with Zack Gilbert and M.T. Anderson

Episode 3: Inquiry with Zack Gilbert and M.T. Anderson Students and sci-fi authors tend to question everything, but not all educators are ready to bring inquiry into their classrooms. Until recently, it has been the stuff of science labs. Now there is a push to embrace essential questions across the curriculum. This week, Gillian and Kristin interview social studies teacher and fellow podcaster Zack Gilbert ( ) and award-winning author M.T. Anderson ( ) to learn how to use inquiry to explore

Episode 2: What If? with Aaron Starmer and Lynne M. Thomas

Episode 2: What If? with Aaron Starmer and Lynne M. Thomas On this episode of the STEM Read Podcast, we explore the magical little question, “What If.” Hugo-Award Winning editor, Lynne M. Thomas ( and speculative fiction author, Aaron Starmer ( weigh in on the importance of fostering fun and embracing genre fiction in the classroom. Aaron Starmer’s book Spontaneous was sparked by the question, “What if high school seniors started spontaneously combusting?” Lynne Thomas’s Uncanny Magazine was

Episode 1: Science and Storytelling with Erika Gebel Berg and Mike Mullin

Episode 1: Science and Storytelling with Erika Gebel Berg and Mike Mullin In their debut episode, Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) and Dr. Kristin Brynteson (@kbrynteson) talk dinosaurs, cannibals, and the science of storytelling with biophysicist and science writer Erika Gebel Berg (@erikagebelberg) and award-winning author Mike Mullin ( mikemullinauthor.com ). Northern Illinois University’s STEM Read is part of the NIU STEAM family of programs that explore science, technology, engineering,