Bryan MacNeill didn't used to be a plant guy. "They don't move," he said. "How dumb are they?" he asked. But after a field botany course, he learned to love our little green friends. In this episode, Louis and Meghan talk about that journey as well as Bryan's experience as a extra in Dolphin Tale 2, his unfortunate pocket dial to his university's IT department, and his stories about Glondo the gnome lawyer.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Nick Roberts has been all over the globe, from the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest to the Azores in the Atlantic. They just returned from a research expedition to the bottom of the world and they're excited to tell us all about it. Nothing comes close to the Antarctic experience--except possibly Taco Bell Crunch Wraps and/or throwing a scholarship game in a college-level gaming tournament.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

In this episode, we interview Cody Poe, a PhD Student at the University of Iowa. We talk about Mike Tyson, how to talk to COVID deniers, why Leishmania is a dangerous pathogen despite its cool-sounding name, and how engaging in ritual combat makes you a better public speaker.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Episode two features Abbey Ramirez, an owl-catching expert and future PhD student. She's been working as an environmental consultant in Oklahoma where she's been getting a good idea of the area's flora and fauna, including a possible giant killer octopus lurking in the Sooner State's lakes.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

We are back for season two! We're kicking it off with Andrew Osborne, a hydrogeology student at the University of South Carolina. He's a man of many hobbies and interests such as swimming, chess, and eating chocolate chip cookies--all of which have taught him valuable lessons. He's also Louis's childhood best friend, so we might be a bit biased when we say we're excited to have him for our season two opener.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

On this episode of Yakademia, we talk to Jordan Rogan who has just gotten back from the cloud forests of Costa Rica. We chat about teaching during a pandemic, why recycling is hard, how to collect data on elusive mammals, and why Calvin Klein Obsession for Men is a crucial component of any field biologist's toolbox.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

On this episode of Yakademia, we are excited to talk to Tom Franzem, a PhD student at the University of Alabama. In his undergraduate degree, Tom spent a summer catching insects because it was a way to pass the time, but quickly fell in love and now works with insects in grasslands full-time. On the side, he loves reading about alien and UFO conspiracy theories from the 60s and 70s and we even take a crack at creating our own conspiracy theory about wind, only for a tornado to touch down near Louis only minutes later...

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week we talk to Charlayna Cammarata, a PhD student at Texas A&M University. From her upbringing in rural Missouri, she has hunted, fished, and foraged for food her whole life. We get down into the details about fermentation, food preservation, how cooking can bring people together, and why local culture is an important thing to factor in when deciding on a job. After all of that, we discuss the dark side of food: parasites! Watch out turtles of Texas, you have something lurking in your bloodstreams.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

On the show today is Andrea Rivero, a PhD student at the French National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks. We discuss her moving from Bolivia to France to Bolivia and back to France again and all the culture shock and challenges that entails. She talks about her time working at a large company and why she decided to go back to academia, and she tells us all about metallic nanoparticles and why they can cause so much trouble when they leak into freshwater ecosystems.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

WE ARE BACK. With us today is Alyson Brokaw, a PhD candidate at Texas A&M University. She gives us the scoop on one of the most diverse groups of mammals there is: the bats. From flying foxes to vampire bats to the Mexican free-tailed bats that are famous in Austin, Texas, Alyson loves it all. We explore why bats are cool, why people are afraid of them, and what we can do about it.

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetency.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License