A handful of podcast recommendations from the Crastina crew
For the Science and Sound theme Crastina’s editors and writers compiled a subjective selection of podcast episodes that impressed, amused, and inspired us. Explore the variety of topics and formats, and immerse yourself in these fascinating stories and conversations.
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Episode info: What do colors look like when you sing them? This episode investigates the science of colors, showcasing some creatures that can see light frequencies way beyond what humans can experience. The ingenious presentation of this highly visual topic in an audio-only format includes choral music!
Podcast: Radiolab
Episode link: click here
Recommended by Dorota: “This episode came to mind immediately when we started talking about the science of sound, even though it’s actually about color vision. If you want to hear a rainbow, have a listen.”
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Episode info: This episode explores Dr. Ana Delicado’s research into people’s perceptions of key scientific topics and their most used sources of information. Her work finds that people mostly rely on official sources for scientific information, and that newspapers are still considered more reliable than social media when it comes to science communication. However, Dr. Delicado also points out people seem to not proactively research scientific topics on their own. It is fortuitous that this work features in the ‘90 seconds of science’ podcast, a Portugal based project started in 2016, which aims to bring portuguese-led research to the public in two-minute long episodes played twice a day on mainstream radio. These bitesize packets of science are slipped into people’s usual radio content consumption, making learning about real-life scientific research effortless to the public. It is almost like tricking your cat into taking their meds by hiding it in ham – clever!
Podcast: 90 segundos de ciência (in Portuguese)
Episode link: click here
Recommended by Natércia: “More than one single episode, I like this podcast for its ingenious way of bringing real research conversations to the wider public. There are more than 800 episodes of incredibly interesting topics, and the two-minute clips are perfect to deliver just enough information for people to be aware of important work, even to perhaps ignite a spark of curiosity that takes them to want to learn more.’’
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Episode info: What´s the science behind self-driving cars, hospital entry architecture and faster computers? In this episode, we meet eight PhD-students presenting five minutes stories about their research projects at Chalmers University of Technology. We also hear from Dr. Raychelle Burks from St. Edwards University in Texas and Professor Lars Öhrström from Chalmers, about how they work to get science out to the society. Come along with RadioScience to a workshop on science communication, a warm and sunny day in June. We went to Gothenburg to give tips and tricks on recording and editing a podcast. In return, we got eight really interesting short stories within the field of technology.
Podcast: Radioscience
Episode link: click here (part 1) and here (part 2)
Recommended by: Elizabeth: “A lovely insight into the way that science communication is taught at graduate level at Chalmers University of Technology, and bonus bits of PhD students delivering their own mini-podcasts.”
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Episode Info: Episode 33: Black People Don’t Need Vaccines. In a 2018 interview, Akon stated that Black people don’t need to be vaccinated in order to go to Africa. This week, we discuss the role of culture in medical misinformation. Plus, we chat to Dr Furaha Asani as to why certain communities might be less likely to accept vaccinations and why labeling them “anti-vax” ignores their legitimate concerns.
Podcast: Why Aren’t You A Doctor Yet?
Episode link: click here
Recommended by: Claire: “I liked this episode because it really made me think about why some people are anti-vaxxers. The reason isn’t always obvious and discussions are as much about listening as talking.”
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Episode info: “Potterology (WIZARD SCIENCE) with Dr. Rebecca Lai”- In this episode Ali Ward (Host) interviewed Dr. Rebecca Lai who teaches a university course called “A Muggle’s Guide to Harry Potter’s Chemistry” where they chat about disappearing ink, gold nanoparticles, ancient alchemy and spells that burn your enemy’s eyes! Very entertaining!
Podcast: Ologies
Episode Link: click here
Recommended by Lauriane
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Episode info: The science of sound, hearing, and how hearing aids work, from the creators of SipNSci podcast, which amplifies Black voices in STEM.
Podcast: SipNSci
Episode link: click here
Recommended by Dorota: “SipNSci is fun and educational, in a format of an in-depth interview. If the invited experts slips any jargon into the conversation, the penalty is to have a sip of whatever alcoholic beverage they are drinking. This episode goes into details of the science of sound and hearing, so it’s right up the alley of our current theme.”
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Episode info: Back in 2003, Belgium was holding a national election. One of their first where the votes would be cast and counted on computers. Thousands of hours of preparation went into making it unhackable. And when the day of the vote came, everything seemed to have gone well. That was, until a cosmic chain of events caused a single bit to flip and called the outcome into question. Today on Radiolab, we travel from a voting booth in Brussels to the driver’s seat of a runaway car in the Carolinas, exploring the massive effects tiny bits of stardust can have on us unwitting humans.
Podcast: Radiolab
Episode link: click here
Recommended by: Elizabeth
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Episode info: The ‘Frontiers of Science’ podcast is aimed at ‘discussing the limits between what is science and what is myth’, as is said in the intro of each episode. The podcast is hosted by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, and has been running for ten years. Most episodes are thirty minute long discussions on a wide range of scientific topics, from volcanoes to genetics, chemical engineering, nanotechnology, health and everything in between and beyond, but often the discussion breaks the boundaries of science to consider also its interactions and overlaps with the wider societal context. In the suggested episode, part of their special series ‘Roots of Civilization’, the panelists discuss the role of mass media in shaping the public’s perceptions of key topics such as climate change; an incredibly relevant and timely discussion that is much worth listening to.
Podcast: Fronteiras da Ciência (In Portuguese)
Episode link: click here
Recommended by Natércia. ‘‘I truly believe that mass media, and in particularly social media, has drastically changed the landscape of science communication and will play a key role on how people interact and perceive science in the future. The rise of fake news and associated movements is one of the biggest challenges of our times to science communication and, ultimately, to democracy. This episode provides a rich and interesting discussion on the topic and I recommend anyone interested in these questions to give it a listen!’’
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Episode Info: This Podcast Will Kill You is dedicated to infectious diseases, and like most episodes the one about hookworms might stay in your memory for a long time. From your bare feet to the gut, the hookworm journey will take you into some surprising places, including mines and fossilized poop.
Podcast: This Podcast Will Kill You
Episode link: click here
Recommended by: Dorota: “It’s hard to pick just one episode from TPWKY – in a fun conversation over drinks the two co-hosts talk about history and biology of infectious diseases and other things that can kill you (like poisonous plants). A feature that all science podcasts should aspire to is that each episode’s citations are included in the show notes!
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Episode Info: The Case Of The Drug Farm Labyrinth – Chris Ehrhardt. Can forensic science help Batman track down a drug kingpin chemist fleeing from the Caped Crusader? Find out on this week’s episode of School of Batman!
Podcast: School of Batman
Episode link: click here
Recommended by: Claire: “I love the School of Batman podcasts. It’s great to see how research used to help Batman!”
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Episode info: The story behind the Svalbard Seed Vault, which houses the world’s largest seed collection of edible plants. This incredibly moving tale includes the pioneer of crop biodiversity research Nikolay Vavilov, and the team of scientists who safeguarded his seed collection during the siege of Leningrad.
Podcast: 99 percent invisible
Episode link: click here
Recommended by Dorota: “The main focus of the 99pi podcast is design and architecture, but it also includes many science-related topics. Their productions are always masterful, and intertwine the contemporary with history, and the science with art and culture. I have listened to a lot of podcasts, and this is the one episode that made me cry.”
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Episode info: “Animal Welfare in Scientific Research” In this episode Dr. Dennis Eckmeier (Host) interviewed Nuno Franco, an expert on animal well-being in scientific research. They discuss why and how scientists conduct animal experiments as well as the ethics and regulation surrounding it. This is a great episode to send to your entourage!
Podcast: Science for Progress
Episode link: click here
Recommended by Lauriane
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Recommended by:
Lauriane Nallet Khosrofian
Dorota Paczesniak
Claire Price
Natércia Rodrigues Lopes
Elizabeth Vaisbourd
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- Let’s have a productive conversation about GMO – but first, stop saying “GMO”! - September 23, 2019
- The song of plankton – “visualizing” big data as music - April 9, 2018
- Darwin Day celebrated to promote public understanding of evolution - February 12, 2018
- Crastina Column, Sep–Oct 2017: Can a simple card game help us see things from ”the other’s” point of view? - September 19, 2017
- Talking science from the top of a soap box - February 13, 2017
- Science Gingerbread competition - December 13, 2016
- Dance your PhD – 2016 edition open for registration - September 14, 2016
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