Podcasts by Science Talk
Science Talk takes you deeply into the world of science audio. Sometimes we travel deep into the wilderness. Sometimes deep into the mind of a scientific expert. The experience will always stimulate your auditory neurons, even if you don't know quite where you're headed at the start. Also check our podcast from Scientific American : "60-Second Science." To view all of our archived podcasts please go to www.scientificamerican.com/podcast
Further podcasts by Scientific American
Podcast on the topic Wissenschaft
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Tears And Other Traits That Make Us Human; What Color Is Your Placebo Parachute from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.188689
In this episode, journalist Chip Walter, author of Thumbs, Toes and Tears, takes us on a tour of the physical traits that are unique to humans, with special attention to crying, the subject of his ...
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The Heat IS On: International Global Warming Consensus; and Academy Award Winning Audio Science from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.183777
In this episode, SciAm.com associate editor David Biello discusses the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released last week in Paris; Academy Award Winner and Dolby Laborato...
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Leave It To Beaver (To Return To New York City); and AccesScience '07, Communicating Science To Everyone from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.171058
In this episode, the Wildlife Conservation Society's Stephen Sautner and John Delaney talk about the appearance of a beaver in New York City for the first time in 200 years and journalist and autho...
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Baseball Science from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.093609
In this episode, former big league pitcher Dr. Dave Baldwin talks about his run-in with Ted Williams, his life in science, the physics of the gyroball versus the slider, and how he finally made it ...
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Small Matters: Microbes In Us And The Environment from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.089606
In this episode, Stanford's David Relman talks about the microbial life that lives on and in humans. Princeton's Andrew Dobson discusses the importance of parasites to an ecosystem. And former Nati...
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Beer Science; And A Cancer Research Report from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.088709
In this episode, University of California, Davis, professor Charles Bamforth talks about beer science. And journalist Kevin Begos discusses the centennial meeting of the American Association For Ca...
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Mark Twain: Fossil Hunter and Science Writer from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.084271
In this episode, Mark Twain scholar Michael Pratt from Elmira College talks about Twain's paleontological activities and his general interest in science and technology. And host Steve Mirsky reads ...
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Benjamin Franklin the Scientist from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.070342
In this Fourth of July episode, historian Joyce Chaplin discusses Benjamin Franklin the scientist, and how his science paved the way for his future career as a diplomat and elder statesman of the R...
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Is Privacy Dead? Technological Approaches to the Technological Threat from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.062108
In this episode Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Latanya Sweeney talks about the changes in privacy due to data collection and approaches to protect privacy in the future, with Scienti...
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Better Brains: The Revolution in Brain Science from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.061252
In this episode Scientific American correspondent Christie Nicholson talks to journalist Sharon Begley about the changing landscape of brain science. Begley is the author of the book "Train Your Mi...
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Putting Food on the Table: What to Eat from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.057441
In this episode New York University's Marion Nestle talks about her article in the September issue of Scientific American, called "Eating Made Simple." Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recen...
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The Final Frontier: Our Future in Space from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.053510
In this episode, Scientific American editors George Musser and Steven Ashley discuss the special section of the October issue devoted to the future of space exploration. Plus we'll test your knowle...
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The Ethics of Climate Change; and NOVA Does Dover from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.003914
In this episode, University of Wisconsin-Madison public health expert Jonathan Patz talks about the ethical issues raised by climate change--who's causing it and who suffers most from it. Also, wri...
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Three Whiz Kids, Two Winning Projects And A Nobel Laureate from 2022-02-22T11:52:53.000050
In this episode, Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology solo winner Isha Himani Jain and team titlist Janelle Schlossberger (who shared the win with Amanda Marinoff) discuss their projec...
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Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain: Sci Am's History of Debunking from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.996359
In this episode, Scientific American editor-in-chief John Rennie talks about the magazine's history of involvement with efforts to debunk medical quakery and paranormal fakery, which included a fis...
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Whose Phone Is It, Anyway: Did Bell Steal The Invention? from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.995521
In this episode, journalist and author Seth Shulman talks about his new book, The Telephone Gambit, in which he produces compelling evidence that Alexander Graham Bell plagiarized a key element of ...
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You Say Potato, I Say Cassava: Language, Culture and Perception from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.991727
In this episode, University of California, Berkeley, linguist Alice Gaby talks about the relationships among language, culture, cognition and perception. Plus we'll test your knowledge of some rece...
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A Mars Rovers Once-Over from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.979785
We look at the state of the rovers currently on Mars, the big accidental discovery by the Spirit rover, and the next-generation device slated to join them in 2010, the Mars Science Laboratory Rover...
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A Scientists' Bill of Rights? from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.975835
Francesca Grifo from the Union of Concerned Scientists talks about the need for legislation to protect federal scientists. We'll also hear from the UCS's Kurt Gottfried and Anthony Robbins, who spo...
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Expelled Explained from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.974615
A new movie, Expelled, claims that intelligent design is good science that is being censored by adherents to evolution, which is nothing but Darwinian dogma. Scientific American's editor-in-chief, ...
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Evolution Enclaves: Darwin the Botanist and Origins of Life Research from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.970841
David Kohn, curator of the Darwin's Garden exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden, discusses Darwin's botanical studies. And Harvard Medical School's Jack Szostak talks about research into the or...
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Fact and Fiction: James Randi's "Amaz!ng Meeting" and Mark Alpert's Physics Novel, Final Theory from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.967395
James Randi, famous debunker of frauds, talks about the "Amaz!ng Meeting" coming up in Las Vegas, and SciAm editor Mark Alpert discusses his new physics novel, Final Theory . Plus, we'll test your ...
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The Long and Winding Road: DNA Evidence for Human Migration; Plus July Issue Highlights from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.963635
Gary Stix discusses his July Scientific American cover article on DNA evidence for the history of human migration. And editor in chief, John Rennie, talks about the neuroscience of dance, the quant...
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Inside China: Science, Technology, Energy and the Environment from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.900828
Former Washington Post Beijing bureau chief, Philip Pan, author of Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China, discusses the science, technology, environment and culture of China...
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Inside SciAm: The August Issue from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.900009
In this special edition of Science Talk, Scientific American editor in chief, John Rennie, talks to Steve about the August issue of the magazine, which features articles on migraine, solar supersto...
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Who's Watching You: The Future of Privacy from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.896336
Scientific American editor in chief, John Rennie, discusses the future of privacy and security, the subject of the September single-topic issue of Scientific American magazine. Plus, we'll test you...
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Tom Friedman's New Book--Hot, Flat, and Crowded from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.895498
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Tom Friedman discusses his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--And How It Can Renew America . Plus, we'll test your kno...
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Searching for Intelligence from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.892641
Author and journalist Carl Zimmer talks about the search for the physiological and biological basis of intelligence, the subject of his article in the October issue of Scientific American magazine....
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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about E. Coli, Part 1 from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.891820
Author and journalist Carl Zimmer talks about E. coli, the bacteria that are the subject of his new book Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life . Web sites mentioned in this episode include...
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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about E. Coli, Part 2 from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.890373
Carl Zimmer continues his discussion of E. coli, the bacteria that are the subject of his new book Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life . Plus, we'll test your knowledge about the Nobel P...
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The Day After: Science in the Obama Administration from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.878360
Stanford University biologist Sharon Long, a science advisor to the Barack Obama campaign, talks about science in the upcoming administration. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science...
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The Science of Pain from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.867287
Stanford University pain expert Sean Mackey talks about the modern take on pain, how to treat it, why treatment is so important, and the relationship between pain and empathy. Plus, we'll test your...
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The Evolution of Evolution from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.862510
Scientific American Editor in Chief John Rennie discusses the special January issue of the magazine, which focuses on evolution--2009 being the 200th anniversary of the birth of Darwin and the 150t...
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The Naked Singularity Meets Social Media from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.859206
Scientific American Editor in Chief John Rennie talks about the content of the February issue, including naked singularities and the greenhouse hamburger. N.Y.U. journalism professor Jay Rosen disc...
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From Spooky Action to Tiny Radios from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.852913
Scientific American Editor in Chief John Rennie talks about the contents of the March issue of the magazine, including articles on quantum entanglement, nano radios, fresh brain cells and more. Plu...
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From Dark Energy to Lone Star Lunacy from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.849269
Scientific American magazine Editor in Chief John Rennie talks about articles in the April issue, covering dark energy, bee colony collapse and post-traumatic stress. And Eugenie Scott, executive d...
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People, Pan Troglodytes (Chimps) and Pigs from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.845723
Scientific American editor Christine Soares discusses the swine flu situation and Editor in Chief John Rennie talks about the May issue--topics include the specific genetic differences between huma...
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Atul Gawande Redux from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.840480
While Steve's at the conference of the World Federation of Science Journalists in London, we look ahead to some of the programming coming your way in the coming weeks, and we replay our 2007 interv...
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Where There Was Smoke, There's Science from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.792099
Wake Forest University School of Medicine neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin talks about the the Winston-Salem area's adoption of biomedical research as well as meetings with Congress about science fundi...
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New Nobel Laureate Jack Szostak and Surrogates Film Director Jonathan Mostow from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.790016
Jack Szostak, who just shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, talks about his latest research on the origin of life. And Scientific American editor George Musser talks to Jonathan M...
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Human Evolution II: Recent Evolution; and "Becoming Human" NOVA Preview from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.787627
Anthropologist John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin - Madison talks about recent human evolution, especially of our ability to digest lactose. And producer Graham Townsley discusses his three-...
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John Rennie's 7 Answers to Climate Contrarian Nonsense from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.777780
On the eve of the United Nations Global Warming Conference in Copenhagen and in the wake of the hacked climate researchers' e-mails, former Scientific American Editor in Chief John Rennie discusses...
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Alan Alda's Human Spark from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.771942
Alan Alda, star of stage, screen and science, talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about his new PBS science series The Human Spark as well as his strong interest in science and long association wi...
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Alan Alda's Human Spark, Part 2 from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.771174
Alan Alda, host of the new PBS science series The Human Spark, talks to podcast host Steve Mirsky about his experiences as a fictional physican, a real patient and an amateur scientist. Web sites r...
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The Science of Staying in Love; and Scientists as Communicators--and Heroes from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.758686
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and psychology researcher Robert Epstein, a contributing editor to Scientific American MIND magazine, talk about falling in love and staying...
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Your Inner Healers: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and More from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.755532
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about the contents of the May issue, including articles on induced pluripotent stem cells, high-speed a...
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The Big Dozen: 12 Events That Will Change Everything from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.746712
Scientific American magazine Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and news editor Philip Yam join podcast host Steve Mirsky to talk about the cover story of the June issue of the magazine, "12 Even...
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Will Your Plug-In Car Actually Be Coal-Powered? And Other July Stories from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.743440
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and staff editor Michael Moyer join podcast host Steve Mirsky to talk about articles in the July issue, including: "The Dirty Truth about Pl...
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Cooking for Geeks: Jeff Potter on Experimenting in the Kitchen from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.602035
Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks and Good Food, talks with daily podcast correspondent Cynthia Graber, and podcast host Steve Mirsky tests your knowledge of some ...
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Totally Bogus: The Science Talk Quiz from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.499941
In this special stand-alone edition, see if you know which of four science news stories is Totally Bogus.
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Photograph 51: Rosalind Franklin and the Race for the Double Helix of DNA, Part 1 of 2 from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.496427
Photograph 51 is a new play about Rosalind Franklin, Watson and Crick, and the race to determine the structure of DNA, at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City, running through November 21st...
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Photograph 51: Rosalind Franklin and the Race For The Double Helix of DNA (Part 2 of 2) from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.495618
Photograph 51 is a new play about Rosalind Franklin, Watson and Crick, and the race to determine the structure of DNA, at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City, running through November 21st...
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Self-Aware Robots? from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.482752
Journalist Charles Choi talks about work being done to make robots self-aware. Plus, we test your knowledge about some recent science in the news
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Can It Be Bad to Be Too Clean?: The Hygiene Hypothesis from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.481825
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine researcher Kathleen Barnes talks about the hygiene hypothesis, which raises the possibility that our modern sterile environment may contribute to conditions such as...
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The City That Became Safe: What New York Teaches about Urban Crime and Its Control from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.473085
U.C. Berkeley School of Law professor Franklin Zimring talks about his article, "How New York Beat Crime," in the August issue of Scientific American
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Science Legend Christian de Duve from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.469910
Christian de Duve, 1974 Nobel laureate for physiology or medicine, talks about going from a cell biologist to a theorist on evolution and the origin of life
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An Accelerating Universe: The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.467862
Listen to the announcement of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, to Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess, from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Following the formal announcement comes ...
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The Discovery of Quasicrystals: The 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.466668
Listen to the announcement of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, to Daniel Shechtman of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Then hear comments from the president of the American Chemical S...
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Out of Our Depth: Sea Level on the Rise from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.463615
Ocean and climate scientist Eelco Rohling talks with Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti about updated calculations of sea-level rise as a function of climate change
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Man from Mars: Health and Nutrition Research at Mars, Inc., and Beyond from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.460507
Hagen Schroeter, the director of fundamental health and nutrition research at Mars, Inc., talks about research on bio-active food compounds and the search for why a healthful diet is good for you
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More with Maryn: McKenna on Antibiotic Resistance from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.455599
In part 2 of our conversation with journalist and author Maryn McKenna, she talks about antibiotic resistance in agriculture and human health, MRSA, and offers a brief coda on the subject of fecal ...
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AAAS Report: Fracking, Whale Rights, Higgs Evidence and Twitter Truthiness from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.452287
Scientific American editors Mark Fischetti and Michael Moyer discuss some of the sessions they attended at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Subjects co...
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Food Poisoning's Lasting Legacy from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.449963
Scientific American Science of Health columnist Maryn McKenna talks about the new understanding that food poisoning can have long-lasting negative health effects
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Curiosity Lands on Mars from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.439853
Less than an hour after NASA received confirmation that the Curiosity rover was safely on the Martian surface , some principal members of the mission briefed the press. This is an edited presentati...
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What's Next for Curiosity on Mars from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.398434
Scientific American contributor David Appell talks with Mars Science Lab Project leader John Grotzinger, professor of geology at Caltech, about the plans for the rover on the Martian surface
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The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.396049
The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent
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The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.395258
The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland for experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems
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Start Talking: Synthetic Biology and Conservation Biology Meet, Part 1 from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.378414
Conservation biologist Kent Redford talks about the issues facing the intersection of synthetic biology and conservation biology and a conference that starts April 9th called "How will synthetic bi...
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Start Talking: Synthetic Biology and Conservation Biology Meet, Part 2 from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.377612
Conservation biologist Kent Redford talks about the issues facing the intersection of synthetic biology and conservation biology and a conference that starts April 9th called "How will synthetic bi...
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Kids JUMP for Math [John Mighton's Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies] from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.371632
Mathematician John Mighton talks with Scientific American MIND editor Ingrid Wickelgren about getting math-shy kids interested, via JUMP: Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies
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The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Rothman, Schekman and Südhof from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.368149
The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport...
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The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics: Englert and Higgs from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.366963
The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to François Englert and Peter Higgs for the theory of how particles acquire mass, requiring the existence of the Higgs Boson, experimentally confirmed to e...
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The 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Karplus, Levitt and Warshel from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.366039
The 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel for applying both quantum and classical physics to develop computer models of chemical systems that show d...
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The Man Who Wasn't Darwin: Alfred Russel Wallace on the Centenary of His Death from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.364367
Alfred Russel Wallace biographer Peter Raby of the University of Cambridge talks about the great naturalist and co-creator of the theory of evolution by natural selection on the 100th anniversary o...
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What's So Funny?: The Science of Humor from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.355893
Cognitive neuroscientist Scott Weems talks about his book HA!: The Science of When We Laugh and Why
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Furious New Science Fiction from Mark Alpert from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.353195
Scientific American editor–turned-sci-fi-writer Mark Alpert, author of Final Theory and Extinction , talks about his latest book, The Furies
Kodiak Update: Scientific American Alaska Cruise, Part 4 from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.348062
Scientific American Bright Horizons Cruise 22 is in port in Kodiak, Alaska, on September 2nd. We talk about our last few stops and hear from passenger and Manhattan Project veteran Margaret Asprey
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The Map in Your Mind: 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.347273
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain—an in...
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Blue Light Special: 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.346281
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura for the invention of efficient blue light–emitting diodes, which has enabled bright and energy-saving w...
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Building a Better Microscope: 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.345501
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. The winning work is explained by ch...
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Ebola Expert Update from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.343900
Scientific American health and medicine correspondent Dina Fine Maron talks about Ebola with tropical medicine and infectious disease expert Daniel Bausch of Tulane University at the annual meeting...
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Mississippi Mound Builders Meet the 33rd Legion from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.295506
Astronomer Alan Smale spends his days at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center exploring celestial objects, but he's also the author of Clash of Eagles, an alternate-history novel in which a Roman Legio...
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Take a Bite out of the Math of Math from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.293732
Mathematician Eugenia Cheng, tenured in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. and currently Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute o...
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Olympics Loser Boston Wins Big Economically from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.287960
Smith College sports economist Andrew Zimbalist talks about why the Olympics is almost always a big financial hardship for the host city, a subject he treats at length in his book Circus Maximus: T...
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The Errors of Albert from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.286094
Physicist and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss, director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, talks about his article "What Einstein Got Wrong," in Scientific American ’s ...
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Medicine Nobel: Sifting Nature for Antiparasite Drugs from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.284454
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to William C. Campbell and Satoshi ?mura for their discoveries of a medication against roundworm parasites and to Youyou Tu for her discoveries c...
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Physics Nobel: Neutrinos Do Have Mass from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.283682
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass
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Chemistry Nobel: Keeping DNA in Good Repair from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.282678
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for discoveries of the mechanisms by which cells maintain the integrity of their DNA sequences
The Bowling Ball That Invaded Earth from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.271329
Former Scientific American editor Mark Alpert talks about his latest science fiction thriller, The Orion Plan, featuring the method whereby aliens most likely really would colonize our planet.
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The Science of Soldiering: Mary Roach's Grunt from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.266814
Best-selling science writer Mary Roach talks about her latest book, Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War.
Nobel Prize Explainer: Autophagy from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.263715
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded today to Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan for his discoveries concerning autophagy. Following the announcement, journalist Lotta Fredholm spoke to Jul...
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Physics Nobel Prize: Buns, Bagels and Pretzels Help Explain Exotic Matter from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.262657
The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded today to David J. Thouless, F. Duncan Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of...
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Chemistry Nobel Prize: Machines Too Small to See from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.261810
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded today to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir James Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.
Take the Tube: Underground as a Way of Life from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.249557
Emory University paleontologist, geologist and ichnologist Anthony J. Martin talks about his new book, The Evolution Underground: Burrows, Bunkers and the Marvelous Subterranean World beneath Our F...
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The Gestation Equation: Testing Babies' Genes from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.247906
Journalist Bonnie Rochman talks about her new Scientific American /Farrar, Straus and Giroux book, The Gene Machine: How Genetic Technologies Are Changing the Way We Have Kids—and the Kids We...
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Curiouser and Curiouser from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.244503
Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio ventures deep into the human mind in his new book, Why? What Makes Us Curious .
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The Great American Eclipse from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.243678
In advance of the big solar eclipse on August 21, author and journalist David Baron talks about his new book American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory...
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Nobel Prize Explainer: Circadian Rhythm's Oscillatory Control Mechanism from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.240832
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded today to Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young for discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythms.
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Nobel Prize Explainer: Gravitational Waves and the LIGO Detector from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.239064
The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded today to Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne for their contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.
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Nobel Prize Explainer: Catching Proteins in the Act from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.198860
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy that can determine high-resolution structures ...
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Out with the Bad Science from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.186523
NPR science journalist Richard Harris talks about his book, Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope and Wastes Billions .
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Here's Looking at Humanity, Kid from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.185011
Senior Editor Gary Stix talks about the September special issue of Scientific American , devoted to the science of being human. And Brown University evolutionary biologist Ken Miller discusses huma...
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Unleashing Immunity against Cancer: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.182020
James P. Allison and and Tasuku Honjo shared the Nobel Prize for their discovery of inhibition of negative immune regulation, the basis of new drugs against cancer.
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Laser Advances That Changed Our Lives: Nobel Prize in Physics from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.181171
Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland shared the Nobel Prize for finding ways to control and enhance laser light, leading to numerous common applications.
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Better Living through Evolution: Nobel Prize in Chemistry from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.180360
Frances Arnold, George Smith and Gregory Winter shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for using evolutionary principles to create highly efficient enzymes and antibodies, with numerous practical...
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Ultima Thule and the Apes of Earth from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.175651
As the New Horizons mission approached Ultima Thule, Rowan University paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara put our close-up study of the Kuiper Belt object into a deep-time perspective.
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Talking Health and Energy at U.N. Climate Action Summit from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.161974
Scientific American senior editor Jen Schwartz talks with WHO officials Maria Neira and Agnès Soucat about climate and health and with Rachel Kyte, special representative to the U.N. se...
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How Cells Sense Oxygen Levels: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.161142
William Kaelin, Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza share the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” ...
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Lithium-Ion Battery Creators Win Chemistry Nobel Prize from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.160272
John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino share the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the development of lithium-ion batteries” that have led to portable electr...
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The New Cosmos: A Conversation with Ann Druyan from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.154542
Emmy and Peabody Award–winning science writer, producer and director Ann Druyan talks about Cosmos: Possible Worlds, the next installment of the Cosmos series.
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COVID-19: The Need for Secure Labs--and Their Risks from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.146745
Coronavirus research requires high-containment labs. Journalist Elisabeth Eaves talks with Scientific American contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs about her article “The Risks of Building Too M...
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Galileo's Fight against Science Denial from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.143390
Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio talks about his latest book, Galileo: And the Science Deniers, and how the legendary scientist’s battles are still relevant today.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Ethics: Who Gets It First and Other Issues from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.100132
Contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs spoke with Arthur Caplan , head of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s division of medical ethics, about some of the ethical issues that researchers have t...
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Inventing Us: How Inventions Shaped Humanity from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.096115
Materials scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez talks about her latest book The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another .
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2020's Top 10 Tech Innovations from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.093938
Scientific American and the World Economic Forum sifted through more than 75 nominations for the most innovative and potentially game-changing technologies in 2020. The final top 10 span...
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On Finding Yourself in a Butterfly's Wings from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.090183
Today on the Science Talk podcast, Alexis Gambis , a New York University biologist and independent filmmaker, speaks about making Son of Monarchs , which won the 2021 Alfred P. Sloan Feature F...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 3: Where Lewis and Clark Trod from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.085338
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 4: Beautiful Swamp from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.084472
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 6: Yellowstone Bison and Marsh Birds from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.080659
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 8: The Blue Oaks of Sequoia from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.078718
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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Summer of Science Reading, Episode 1: The Many Mysteries of Fish from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.075881
In Science Book Talk, a new four-part podcast miniseries, host Deboki Chakravarti acts as literary guide to two science books that share a beautiful and sometimes deeply resonant entangle...
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Summer of Science Reading, Episode 4: Navigating Loss and Hope with Nature from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.073006
In Science Book Talk, a new four-part podcast miniseries, host Deboki Chakravarti acts as literary guide to two science books that share a beautiful and sometimes deeply resonant entangle...
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Listen to This: 'Hope Lies in Dreams,' a New Podcast from Nature Biotechnology from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.072116
This is a story of desperation, anger, poverty—and triumph over long odds to crack the code of a degenerative disease that had been stealing the lives of children since it was first discovere...
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Listen to This New Podcast: The Lost Women of Science from 2022-02-22T11:52:52.068980
A new podcast is on a mission to retrieve unsung female scientists from oblivion.
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Top Ten Emerging Tech of 2021 from 2021-12-14T13:00
The World Economic Forum and Scientific American team up to highlight technological advances that could change the world--from self-fertilizing crops, on-demand drug manufacturing, breath-sens...
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Top 10 Emerging Tech of 2021 from 2021-12-14T13:00
The World Economic Forum and Scientific American team up to highlight technological advances that could change the world—including self-fertilizing crops, on-demand drug manufacturing, b...
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An Unblinking History of the Conservation Movement from 2021-10-21T10:00
In her new book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, science journalist Michelle Nijhuis looks into the past of the wildlife conservation field, war...
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Singing New Songs: Urban Birds Vocalize Differently; Insurance Industry Worries About Warming from 2021-10-07T01:19:51.270336
In this episode, Leiden University bird song expert Hans Slabbekorrn notes the changes in bird vocalizations when they move from the forest to the city. And we wrap up our series on Scientific Amer...
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Inside the Nail-biting Quest to Find the 'Loneliest Whale' from 2021-09-28T12:00
It’s a tale of sound; the song of a solitary whale that vocalizes at a unique frequency, 52 Hertz, that no other whale—as the story goes—can seemingly understand.
It&rs...
Summer of Science Reading, Episode 3: Abandoned and Underground but Not Lost from 2021-08-27T11:00
In Science Book Talk, a new four-part podcast miniseries, host Deboki Chakravarti acts as literary guide to two science books that share a beautiful and sometimes deeply resonant entangle...
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Summer of Science Reading, Episode 3: Abandoned, Underground, But Not Lost from 2021-08-27T11:00
In Science Book Talk, a new four-part podcast miniseries, host Deboki Chakravarti acts as literary guide to two science books that share a beautiful and sometimes deeply resonant entangle...
Listen
Hide and Seen: Gestures and Facial Expressions Help Communication; Government Attempts to Keep Science Information Hidden from 2021-08-23T17:01:12.082084
In this episode, Scientific American Mind executive editor Mariette Dichristina talks about a special section of the magazine devoted to the roles of gestures and facial expressions in communicatio...
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Summer of Science Reading, Episode 2: Life beneath Our Feet from 2021-08-13T10:00
In Science Book Talk, a new four-part podcast miniseries, host Deboki Chakravarti acts as literary guide to two science books that share a beautiful and sometimes deeply resonant entangle...
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Shocking Research: Electroshock Therapy and Stem Cells from 2021-08-11T05:42:29.684839
In this episode, journalist Larry Tye talks about his new book, SHOCK, written with electroshock patient Kitty Dukakis, wife of former governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Following...
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Science Book Talk, Episode 1: The Many Mysteries of Fish from 2021-08-08T18:55:50.959411
In Science Book Talk, a new four-part podcast miniseries, host Deboki Chakravarti acts as literary guide to two science books that share a beautiful and sometimes deeply resonant entangle...
Listen
National Park Nature Walks, Episode 10: The Otherworldly Sounds of an Elk Rut from 2021-07-30T10:00
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 9: Inside a Migratory Bird Sanctuary from 2021-07-16T10:00
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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Judging Science: Making Judges Scientifically Literate; Eating Like An Animal; Listener Mail from 2021-06-30T01:17:40.375893
Court cases increasingly deal with complex science and technical issues. And the last time some judges were in a science classroom was before Watson and Crick published the structure of DNA (or at ...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 7: Into the Wilderness by Canoe from 2021-06-18T10:00
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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The Deepest Dive to Find the Secrets of the Whales from 2021-04-22T10:00
On Earth Day, Scientific American sits down with National Geographic underwater photographer Brian Skerry to talk about free diving with whales and filming the giant mammals within five meters or l...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 5: A Northwoods Voyage from 2021-04-16T10:00
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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Dark Matter; New Daily Scientific American Podcast, 60-Second Science; Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" from 2021-04-15T01:07:11.156941
In this episode, MIT astrophysicist Paul Schechter offers some perspective on recent research about the universe's mysterious "dark matter." Journalist Karen Hopkin and host Steve Mirsky talk about...
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First in Space: New Yuri Gagarin Biography Shares Hidden Side of Cosmonaut from 2021-04-12T19:00
It’s been 60 years, to the day, since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to travel to space in a tiny capsule attached to an R-7 ballistic missile, a powerful rocket originally...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 2: Sequoia Heights from 2021-03-26T08:00
Here is our next installment of a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a ...
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EPA Pesticide Controversy and Impact Astronomy from 2021-03-26T00:52:53.852684
In this episode, journalist Paul Raeburn talks about how the Environmental Protection Agency has been taking a long time, decades in fact, to figure out how to handle some potentially dangerous che...
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National Park Nature Walks, Episode 1: Rocky Mountains from 2021-03-19T08:00
Today we launch a new pop-up podcast miniseries that takes your ears into the deep sound of nature. Host Jacob Job , an ecologist and audiophile, brings you inches away from a multitude of creature...
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AI Can Now Debate with Humans and Sometimes Convince Them, Too from 2021-03-17T13:45
Today on the Science Talk podcast, Noam Slonim of IBM Research speaks to Scientific American about an impressive feat of computer engineering: an AI-powered autonomous system that can engage ...
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The Expert Mind and the Interplanetary Bicycle Ride from 2021-03-06T00:37:36.891277
In this episode, Phil Ross talks about what scientists have learned is necessary to achieve expertise in virtually any field. Ross's article on the subject, The Expert Mind, is in the August issue ...
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Climate Change Could Shred Guitars Known for Shredding from 2021-02-12T08:00
It is the wood that the rock greats have sworn by—swamp ash, in the form of their Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars—for more than 70 years. If you have ever listened to rock, y...
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Space Shuttle and Fingerprints from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode, former astronaut Dr. James Bagian, currently the director of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Patient Safety, talks about being in space and safety issues rel...
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CSI Reality and Coke/Pepsi Espionage from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode, Max Houck, director of the Forensic Science Initiative at West Virginia University and author of the July Scientific American article "CSI: Reality," talks about the effect the CSI...
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Ice Cream Science from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode, we go to the research and development facility of Ben and Jerry's in Vermont, to talk about the science of ice cream. We'll talk to Derek Spors, ice cream scientician (a.k.a. "seni...
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Bering Sea, radiation, historic tortoise. from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode, science writer Karen de Seve shares her adventures in the Bering Sea; journalist Dr. John Miller talks about a radiation health conference; and taxonomist and paleontologist Scott ...
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Pulitzer Prize-winning naturalist Edward O. Wilson from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode, the special guest is renowned biologist and author Edward O. Wilson. First we'll hear clips from a talk he gave last week at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City...
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Evolution Update from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode, freelance reporter Beth Baldwin talks about some of the goings-on at the recent annual meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, entitled "Genomes, Evolution, and...
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A Walk in the Park: Central Park and the Spring Bird Migration. from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode, Liz Johnson and Felicity Arengo from the American Museum of Natural History take Scientific American podcast host Steve Mirsky for a walk in the park--Central Park--to talk about t...
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A Breakdown of Beavers from 2020-12-30T16:00
Environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb talks about his book Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter .
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America on Dialysis from 2020-12-14T10:30
Kidney disease affects millions of Americans, but corporate capture of dialysis, along with disparities in treatment and transplant access, mean that not everyone's journey is the same.
On thi...
What Science Has Learned about the Coronavirus One Year On from 2020-12-11T08:00
About a year ago, SARS-CoV-2 (which wasn’t called that yet) was just beginning to emerge in a cluster of cases inside China . We know what has happened since then, but it bears repeating...
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175 Years of Scientific American: The Good, the Bad and the Debunking from 2020-08-29T17:30
We look back at some highlights, midlights and lowlights of the history of Scientific American, featuring former editor in chief John Rennie. Astrophysicist Alan Guth also appears in a sponsored se...
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Bread Science: A Yeasty Conversation from 2020-08-24T14:55
“Baking is applied microbiology,” according to the book Modernist Bread . During pandemic lockdowns, many people started baking their own bread. Scientific American contributing editor ...
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The Coming or Possibly Nearly Here Storm from 2020-08-13T19:30
Former Scientific American editor Mark Alpert talks about his latest sci-fi thriller The Coming Storm, which warns about the consequences of unethical scientific research and of ignoring the scient...
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How Your Homes and Buildings Affect You from 2020-07-30T17:36
Journalist and author Emily Anthes talks about her book The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness .
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African-Americans, Nature and Environmental Justice from 2020-07-21T18:52
Journalist Bob Hirshon reports from the Taking Nature Black conference, reporter Shahla Farzan talks about tracking copperhead snakes, and nanoscientist Ondrej Krivanek discusses microscopes with s...
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How Nature Helps Body and Soul from 2020-06-27T19:00
Journalist and author Florence Williams talks about her book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative .
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The Messenger Is the Message from 2020-06-25T21:51
Behavioral scientist Stephen Martin and psychologist Joseph Marks talk about their book Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don’t, and Why .
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Air, Sea and Space: Ocean Health, Atmosphere Insights and Black Holes from 2020-06-20T20:04
Biological oceanography expert Miriam Goldstein talks about issues facing the oceans. Reporter Adam Levy discusses air pollution info available because of the pandemic. And astrophys...
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Science on the Hill: Calculating Climate from 2020-06-18T11:35
For the fourth Science on the Hill event, Future Climate: What We Know, What We Don’t, experts talked with Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti about what goes into modeling ...
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Your Brain, Free Will and the Law from 2020-05-29T15:16
Stanford University neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky talks about human behavior, the penal system and the question of free will.
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No, No Nobel: How to Lose the Prize from 2020-05-19T17:20
Physicist Brian Keating talks about his book Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science’s Highest Honor .
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Where Is Everybody Else in the Universe? from 2020-04-27T20:54
Guest host W. Wayt Gibbs talks with Jason Wright, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, about what’s k...
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Why Exercise Is So Good For You from 2020-04-24T19:23
Health journalist Judy Foreman talks about her new book Exercise Is Medicine: How Physical Activity Boosts Health and Slows Aging .
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COVID-19: What the Autopsies Reveal from 2020-04-23T21:00
Pathologists are starting to get a closer look at the damage that COVID-19 does to the body by carefully examining the internal organs of people who have died from the novel coronavirus.
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Flat Earthers: What They Believe and Why from 2020-03-27T13:49
Michael Marshall, project director of the Good Thinking Society in the U.K., talks about flat earth belief and its relationship to conspiracy theories and other antiscience activities.
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COVID-19: Predicting the Path and Analyzing Immunity from 2020-03-24T16:10
Scientific American contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs continues to report on the coronavirus outbreak from his home in Kirkland, Wash., site of the first U.S. cases. In this installment, he talks w...
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COVID-19: How and Why the Virus Spreads Quickly from 2020-03-23T19:30
Scientific American contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs reports from the original U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak: Kirkland, Wash. In this installment of our ongoing series, he talks with ...
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COVID-19: The Wildlife Trade and Human Disease from 2020-03-19T22:58
Christian Walzer, executive director of global health at the Wildlife Conservation Society, talks about how the wildlife trade, especially for human consumption, can lead to disease outbreaks.
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David Quammen: How Animal Infections Spill Over to Humans from 2020-03-18T21:31
In this 2012 interview, David Quammen talks about his book Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, which is highly relevant to the emergence of the coronavirus that has chan...
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COVID-19: Dealing with Social Distancing from 2020-03-16T21:28
Judy Moskowitz, a professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University, talks about ways to cope during this time of missing out on our usual diet of social interactions.
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Coronavirus Hot Zone: Research and Responses in the U.S. Epicenter from 2020-03-14T18:28
Scientific American contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs reports from the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak: Kirkland, Wash. In this installment of our ongoing series, he talks with researche...
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Coronavirus Hot Zone: The View from the U.S. Epicenter from 2020-03-10T01:15
Scientific American contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs reports from the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak: Kirkland, Wash. In this first installment of an ongoing series, he looks at w...
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Advancing Efforts in Disease Interception from 2020-02-27T11:45
Ben Wiegand, global head of the World without Disease Accelerator at Janssen, the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, talks about efforts to prevent a disease or to identify it in it...
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Kirk, Spock and Darwin from 2020-02-12T19:20
Duke University evolutionary biologist Mohamed A. F. Noor talks about his book Live Long and Evolve: What Star Trek Can Teach Us about Evolution, Genetics, and Life on Other Worlds .
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How to Make a Mass Extinction from 2020-01-30T15:10
Journalist and author Peter Brannen talks about his book The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions .
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Air Pollution: An Unclear and Present Danger from 2019-11-21T18:30
Journalist and author Beth Gardiner talks about her new book Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution . And CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna talks about gene editing.
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150 Years of the Journal Nature from 2019-11-11T15:17
Nature is arguably the world’s most prestigious scientific journal. Editor in chief Magdalena Skipper spoke with Scientific American ’s acting editor in chief Curtis Brainard about her ...
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Kicking Climate Change: Wins for Health, the Economy and Security from 2019-09-27T20:00
Former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy talks with Scientific American ’s Andrea Thompson about the widespread benefits of taking action against climate change.
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The Mathematical Language of Nature from 2019-09-24T17:56
Physics historian Graham Farmelo talks about his latest book, The Universe Speaks in Numbers: How Modern Math Reveals Nature's Deepest Secrets.
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Jacks-of-All-Trades Make the Grade from 2019-08-10T13:37
Journalist and author David Epstein talks about his new book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World .
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It's Melting: Science on Ice from 2019-07-21T14:00
Glaciologist Elizabeth Case of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University’s Earth Institute takes us out near Juneau, Alaska, to study and live on the shifting ice.
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Joseph Lange's Campaign against HIV from 2019-07-17T17:05
Seema Yasmin, director of research and education at the Stanford Health Communication Initiative, talks about her book The Impatient Dr. Lange: One Man’s Fight to End the Global HIV Epidemic....
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Bone Up on What's Inside You from 2019-06-25T20:02
Author and self-described fossil fanatic Brian Switek talks about his new book Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone.
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Solving Our Plastic Problem from 2019-06-19T14:00
At Scientific American 's third Science on the Hill event, experts from academia and the private sector met at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill to talk with Scientific American edi...
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Secrets of the Universe Revealed! from 2019-05-23T19:14
Cornell University applied mathematics professor Steven Strogatz talks about his new book Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe.
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How the Black Hole Said Cheese from 2019-04-29T11:00
Scientific American 's chief features editor Seth Fletcher talks about his book Einstein's Shadow, an account of the long effort to image a black hole that recently came to fruition.
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A Tree and Its People in a Warming Landscape from 2019-04-22T16:28
Conservation scientist Lauren Oakes discusses her book about Alaska ecology and sociology, In Search of the Canary Tree: The Story of a Scientist, a Cypress, and a Changing World.
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Science Couple Phages Out Superbug from 2019-03-13T13:15
Medical researcher Steffanie Strathdee needed to save the life of her husband, researcher Tom Patterson, when he contracted one of the world's worst infections. She turned to phage therapy: using a...
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Vaccine Rejection: Truth and Consequences from 2019-02-20T14:45
Kent State epidemiologist Tara Smith talks about vaccines, recent preventable measles outbreaks and her 2017 journal article on vaccine rejection.
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On the Origin of Darwin from 2019-02-12T18:50
On this 210th anniversary of Darwin's birth we hear evolution writer and historian Richard Milner perform a brief monologue as Charles Darwin, and former Scientific American editor in chief John Re...
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Warming Arctic on Thin Ice from 2019-01-31T17:42
Scientific American collections editor Andrea Gawrylewski talks to managing editor Curtis Brainard about how warming in the Arctic affects us all. And glaciologist Elizabeth Case takes us out near ...
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Fake Whiskeys and Octo-Ecstasy from 2019-01-14T14:00
Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, take a deeper look at two short articles from the Advances news section of the December issu...
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Meet the Real Ravenmaster from 2018-12-18T12:09
Christopher Skaife talks about his new book The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London, in front of a live audience at Caveat, “the speakeasy bar for intelligent nightlif...
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The Crusade against Dangerous Food, Part 2 from 2018-11-22T00:01
Pulitzer Priz?e–winning journalist Deborah Blum talks about her book The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the 20th Century, Part 2.
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The Crusade against Dangerous Food, Part 1 from 2018-11-21T21:39
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Deborah Blum talks about her book The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the 20th Century, Part 1.
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Bones and Stones: Cemetery Geology from 2018-10-31T14:53
A tour of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, N.Y., focuses on the geology of the landscape and the mausoleums.
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Tinder for Cheetahs; and an Unusual Blindness from 2018-10-17T17:28
Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, host a new podcast that takes a deeper look at short articles from the Advances news section of t...
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Where There's a Wills There's a Way to Explain the Home Run Rise from 2018-09-30T20:18
Astrophysicist and sports data scientist Meredith Wills talks about why a subtle change in Major League baseballs may be behind the jump in home runs after 2014.
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More People, but Less Hardship? from 2018-09-25T17:25
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann talks about the just-issued Goalkeepers Report, tracking progress against poverty and disease even as the population keeps rising.
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Life at the Improv: The Power of Imagination from 2018-08-16T22:36
Stephen Asma, professor of philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, talks about his two latest books, The Evolution of Imagination and Why We Need Religion .
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AI, Robotics and Your Health from 2018-06-18T20:12
At the second Science on the Hill event, AI, Robotics and Your Health, experts from academia and the private sector talked with Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina about the fu...
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Dinosaurs: From Humble Beginnings to Global Dominance from 2018-05-23T12:37
Edinburgh University paleontologist Steve Brusatte talks about his May 2018 Scientific American article, "The Unlikely Triumph of the Dinosaurs," and his new book, The Rise and Fall of th...
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Humans Evolved but Are Still Special from 2018-04-30T18:25
Brown University biologist and author Ken Miller talks about his new book The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness and Free Will .
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A Brain Deprived of Memory from 2018-03-30T13:00
Michael Lemonick, opinion editor at Scientific American , talks about his most recent book, The Perpetual Now: A Story of Amnesia, Memory and Love , about Lonni Sue Johnson, who suffered a specific...
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Blockchain beyond Bitcoin: The Energy Sector from 2018-02-28T18:58
Freelance science journalist Kevin Begos reports from the U.S. Power and Renewable Summit in Austin, Texas, on the use of blockchain technology to make more efficient energy markets and distributio...
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Enrico Fermi: The Last Man Who Knew Everything from 2018-02-19T17:35
David N. Schwartz talks about his latest book, The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age .
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A Future for American Energy from 2018-01-29T16:37
At the first Science Meets Congress event, Energy Solutions for a Sustainable Future, energy and innovation experts from academia, government and the private sector talked with Scientific American ...
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The Skinny on Fat from 2017-12-11T19:27
Biochemist Sylvia Tara talks about her book The Secret Life of Fat: The Science behind the Body's Least-Understood Organ and What It Means for You .
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Your Brain Is So Easily Fooled from 2017-11-27T14:15
Journalist Erik Vance talks about his first book, Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain’s Ability to Deceive, Transform and Heal .
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Come On and Zoom (through the Universe) from 2017-11-11T21:19
Caleb Scharf, director of Columbia University’s Astrobiology Center talks about his latest book, The Zoomable Universe: An Epic Tour through Cosmic Scale, from Almost Everything to Almost Not...
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Monsters: Not Just for Halloween from 2017-10-25T10:44
Stephen Asma, professor of philosophy at Columbia College Chicago and author of On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, talks about our enduring fascination with monsters.
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Maryn McKenna's Big Chicken, Part 2 from 2017-10-18T00:02
Award-winning journalist Maryn McKenna talks about her latest book, Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats . (Part 2 of 2)
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Maryn McKenna's Big Chicken, Part 1 from 2017-10-17T23:55
Award-winning journalist Maryn McKenna talks about her latest book, Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats . (Part 1 of 2)
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Does Evolution Repeat Itself? from 2017-09-27T18:43
Jonathan Losos, biology professor at Harvard and curator of herpetology at the university’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, talks about his latest book, Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance and ...
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The Shark That Conquered the Whorl from 2017-07-21T21:10
Journalist and author Susan Ewing talks about her new book Resurrecting the Shark: A Scientific Obsession and the Mavericks Who Solved the Mystery of a 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil . (And we'll disc...
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Undersea National Monument Could Be Left High and Dry from 2017-07-11T21:08
Scott Kraus, vice president and senior science advisor at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium in Boston, talks about the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Nati...
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Wacky Florida's Weird Science from 2017-06-19T17:35
Journalist Craig Pittman of the Tampa Bay Times talks about his book, Oh, Florida! How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country .
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5G Wiz: What's on the Horizon for Mobile from 2017-05-30T18:10
Verizon’s director of network planning, Sanyogita Shamsunder, talks with Scientific American 's Larry Greenemeier about the coming 5G and EM-spectrum-based communications in general.
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Killer Cats Bash Biodiversity from 2017-04-24T17:07
Conservation biologist Peter Marra talks with journalist Rene Ebersole about the threat of outdoor cats to wild animals and to human health. Marra is the co-author, with writer Chris Santella, of t...
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Dogging It: Turning Wild Foxes into Man's Second-Best Friend from 2017-04-18T12:03
Evolutionary biologist and science historian Lee Dugatkin talks about the legendary six-decade Siberian experiment in fox domestication run by Lyudmila Trut, his co-author of a new book and Scienti...
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What's Driving the Self-Driving Cars Rush from 2017-03-28T11:10
Scientific American technology editor Larry Greenemeier talks with Ken Washington, vice president of Research and Advanced Engineering at Ford, about self-driving cars.
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Biology's Lessons for Business from 2017-03-21T20:58
Martin K. Reeves and Simon Levin talk about their Scientific American essay "Building a Resilient Business Inspired by Biology."
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Churchill's Extraterrestrials from 2017-02-15T13:50
Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio writes in the journal Nature and talks to Scientific American about the recently rediscovered essay by Winston Churchill that analyzed with impressive scientif...
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Rapid-Response Vaccines for Epidemic Outbreaks from 2017-01-30T20:27
Trevor Mundel, president of global health at the Gates Foundation, talks to Scientific American editor-in-chief Mariette DiChristina about the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)...
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Exit Interview: Presidential Science Advisor John Holdren from 2017-01-19T18:08
Scientific American executive editor Fred Guterl talks with Pres. Obama’s science advisor, John Holdren , about climate science, space travel, the issue of reproducibility in science, the bra...
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We're Taking You to Bellevue from 2017-01-17T16:28
Pulitzer Prize–winning N.Y.U. historian David Oshinsky, director of the Division of Medical Humanities at the N.Y.U. Langone Medical Center, talks about his latest book, Bellevue: Three Centu...
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Best Science Books of 2016 from 2016-12-31T13:18
Barbara Kiser, books and arts editor at Nature , talks about her favorite science books of 2016, especially three works about the little-known history of women mathematicians.
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Getting Robots to Say No from 2016-12-21T15:43
Gordon Briggs, a postdoc at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, talks about the article he and Matthias Scheutz, director of the Human Robot Interaction Laboratory at Tufts University, wrote in the...
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How Myths Evolve over Time and Migrations from 2016-11-15T17:28
Julien d’Huy, of the Pantheon–Sorbonne University in Paris, talks about the use of evolutionary theory and computer modeling in the comparative analysis of myths and folktales, the subj...
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Attack On the Internet: Weak-Link Nanny Cams from 2016-10-26T17:00
Paul Rosenzweig, former deputy assistant secretary for policy in the Department of Homeland Security and founder of Red Branch Consulting, PLLC, talks about the October 21 attack on internet servic...
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Flint's Water and Environmental Justice from 2016-10-17T08:00
The University of Michigan's Paul Mohai, a leading researcher of issues related to environmental justice, talked about the Flint water crisis at a workshop sponsored by the Institute for Journalism...
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They Do What?!: The Wide Wild World of Animal Sex from 2016-09-26T18:44
Carin Bondar talks about her new book Wild Sex, which covers the strange, surreal and sometimes scary sex lives of our animal cousins.
Big Bang of Body Types: Sports Science at the Olympics and beyond from 2016-08-16T20:01
David Epstein talks about his 2013 bestseller The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance and his recent Scientific American article "Magic Blood and Carbon-Fiber...
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Grand Canyon Rapids Ride for Evolution Education from 2016-08-15T19:25
Each summer, the National Center for Science Education organizes a boat trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to bring visitors face to wall-face with striking examples of geologic ...
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Electric Eels versus Horses: Shocking but True from 2016-06-27T16:08
Kenneth Catania of Vanderbilt University talks to Cynthia Graber about electric eel research that led him to accept 19th-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt's account of electric eels attacki...
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Tiger, Tiger, Being Tracked from 2016-06-16T18:35
Wildlife Conservation Society researcher Ullas Karanth talks about his July, 2016, Scientific American article on state-of-the-art techniques for tracking tigers and estimating their populations an...
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Gravitational Wave Scientists Astounded--by Your Interest from 2016-06-14T17:40
Caltech’s Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever and MIT’s Rainer Weiss were the founders of the LIGO experiment that detected gravitational waves. They were just awarded the Kavli Prize in Astro...
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Sean M. Carroll Looks at The Big Picture from 2016-05-12T17:29
Caltech theoretical physicist Sean M. Carroll talks about his new book The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself . (Dutton, 2016)
Different Minds: The Wide World of Animal Smarts from 2016-04-29T12:45
Primatologist Frans de Waal discusses his latest book, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? (Norton, 2016).
The Perfect Bet: Taking the Gambling out of Gambling from 2016-04-14T19:46
Mathematician and author Adam Kucharski talks about his new book The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling (Basic Books, 2016).
Gorilla's Hum Is a Do-Not-Disturb Sign from 2016-02-29T13:54
If a socially prominent gorilla is in the midst of a meal, it may hum or sing to tell others nearby that it's busy at the moment and will get back to you later.
Bill Gates Wants a Miracle from 2016-02-25T16:38
Scientific American 's energy and environment editor, David Biello, met with Bill Gates on February 22 to discuss tackling carbon emissions while at the same time making necessary energy available ...
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From AI to Zika: AAAS Conference Highlights from 2016-02-16T16:44
Scientific American editors Mark Fischetti, Dina Maron and Seth Fletcher talk about the info they picked up at the just-concluded annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of S...
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Gravitational Waves Found: Kip Thorne Explains from 2016-02-11T22:12
Scientific American 's Josh Fischman talks with renowned astrophysicist and general relativity expert Kip Thorne about the discovery of gravitational waves by the LIGO Project, co-founded by Thorne...
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The Big Gath Dig: Goliath's Hometown from 2016-02-10T16:50
Freelance journalist Kevin Begos talks with archaeologist Aren Maeir, from Bar Ilan University in Israel, at his dig site in Gath, thought to be Goliath's hometown and a major city of the Philistin...
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Roman Sanitation Didn't Stop Roaming Parasites from 2016-01-12T22:07
The University of Cambridge's Piers Mitchell, author of the 2015 book Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations, talks about the counterintuitive findings in his recent pape...
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Evolution Still on Trial 10 Years after Dover from 2015-12-20T00:01
Evolutionary biologist Nicholas Matzke talks about the Kitzmiller v. Dover evolution trial on the 10th anniversary of the decision. He advised the plaintiffs while working for the National Center f...
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Lifting the Visor on Virtual Reality from 2015-12-15T18:55
Ken Perlin, a New York University computer science professor and virtual reality pioneer, talks with Scientific American tech editor Larry Greenemeier about the state of virtual reality , its histo...
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The Epic History of the Horse from 2015-12-10T19:51
Science journalist and equestrian Wendy Williams talks about her new book The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion
Math Can Equal Fun from 2015-11-20T20:15
Harvey Mudd College math professor Arthur Benjamin talks about his new book The Magic of Math: Solving for x and Figuring Out Why
Teaching Machines to Learn on Their Own from 2015-11-10T12:47
Stephen Hoover, CEO of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center, talks with Scientific American tech editor Larry Greenemeier about the revolution underway in machine learning, in which the machine ...
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The Hunt for the Fat Gene from 2015-09-16T16:40
Medical researcher Richard Johnson, of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, talks about his October Scientific American article "The Fat Gene," co-authored by anthropologis...
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Public Health Hero Jimmy Carter; SA Turns 170 from 2015-08-31T16:07
Jimmy Carter talks about his public health efforts to eradicate guinea worm and improve global mental health and women's health. Plus, magazine collector Steven Lomazow brings part of his collectio...
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Betting Lots of Quatloos on the Search for Alien Civilizations, Part 2 from 2015-07-21T00:01
Stephen Hawking and entrepreneur and former physicist Yuri Milner announce a $100-million, 10-year initiative to look for signs of intelligent life in the cosmos
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Betting Lots of Quatloos on the Search for Alien Civilizations, Part 1 from 2015-07-20T19:50
Stephen Hawking and entrepreneur and former physicist Yuri Milner announce a $100-million, 10-year initiative to look for signs of intelligent life in the cosmos
Pluto Mission Finally Calls Home from 2015-07-15T10:50
At 8:52 P.M. Eastern time, July 14, 2015, an all's-well signal from the New Horizons spacecraft finished its 4.5-hour, three-billion-mile trip from near Pluto through the solar system to alert miss...
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Pluto, Ready for Your Close-Up! from 2015-07-14T11:33
At just before 7:50 A.M. today, July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto. After a 9.5-year, three-billion-mile voyage, the ship got within about 7,750 miles fro...
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Restore Research to Preserve the American Dream from 2015-06-23T11:54
Norman Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin and former undersecretary of the Army talks about the report he co-chaired for the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, "Restoring the Found...
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Migratory Birds: What a Long-Range Trip It's Been from 2015-06-18T19:44
Ornithologist Eduardo Inigo-Elias, senior research associate with the conservation science program at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, talks about the challenges of studying migratory birds a...
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Animals Don't Use Facebook but They Have Social Networks, Too from 2015-05-16T12:50
Lee Dugatkin, evolutionary biologist and behavioral ecologist at the University of Louisville, talks about his article in the June Scientific American called "The Networked Animal," about...
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The Ebola Outbreak: Past, Present and Future from 2015-03-26T15:09
Scientific American ’s Dina Maron talks with Keiji Fukuda, assistant director general for health security at the World Health Organization, about the current Ebola outbreak, the threat of sex...
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Humans and the Amazon: A 13,000-Year Coexistence from 2015-03-20T15:51
University of Exeter archaeologist José Iriarte talks to freelance journalist Cynthia Graber about his efforts to understand human activity in and influence on the Amazon region ...
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The Placement Excitation: Scientific American on The Big Bang Theory from 2015-03-12T12:45
In conjunction with this magazine's inclusion on the March 12 episode of The Big Bang Theory , here's an edited version of a talk by the sitcom's science advisor, U.C.L.A. physicist David Saltzberg...
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Science Goes to the Movies: A New TV Program from 2015-02-20T21:00
Heather Berlin, assistant professor of psychiatry and of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, is the co-host of the new CUNY TV program Science Goes to the Movies
&...
Every Life Has Equal Value, Part 2: Gates Foundation CEO Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann from 2015-01-30T19:35
Gates Foundation CEO Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann and Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talk about the foundation set forth in its recently released annual letter. Part 2 of 2 ...
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Every Life Has Equal Value, Part 1: Gates Foundation CEO Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann from 2015-01-30T19:26
Gates Foundation CEO Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann and Scientific American Editor in-Chief Mariette DiChristina talk about the foundation set forth in its recently released annual letter. Part 1 of 2
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Best of Thanksgiving, Part 2: Let's Talk Stuffing—Your Face! from 2014-11-27T08:57
Cornell University's Brian Wansink talks about eating behavior and how mindless eating has us consuming way more calories than we suspect
Best of Thanksgiving, Part 1: Let's Talk Turkey! from 2014-11-27T08:55
Turkey scientist Rich Buchholz of the University of Mississippi talks about the turkey on your plate and his own turkey research
Doctors Without Borders Fight on Ebola's Front Lines from 2014-11-14T16:58
Scientific American health and medicine correspondent Dina Fine Maron talks with Armand Sprecher of Doctors Without Borders, who has fought Ebola in Guinea and Liberia. And Steve talks Ebola with S...
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Let's Get Small: A Panel on Nanoscience from 2014-10-15T16:53
Scientific American senior editor Josh Fischman joins nanoscience researchers Shana Kelly, Yamuna Krishnan, Benjamin Bratton, along with moderator Bridget Kendall from the BBC World Service program...
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The Juneau Tour: Scientific American Alaska Cruise, Part 3 from 2014-08-31T14:55
Scientific American Bright Horizons Cruise 22 arrives in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 31st, which allows us to post audio from a fascinating taxi trip through Juneau on August 28th.
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Juneau Where I Am: Scientific American Alaska Cruise, Part 2 from 2014-08-28T11:45
Scientific American Bright Horizons Cruise 22 arrives in Juneau, Alaska
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Catch Me If You Ketchikan: Scientific American Alaska Cruise, Part 1 from 2014-08-26T12:32
Scientific American Bright Horizons Cruise 22 arrives in Ketchikan, Alaska.
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Shakespeare and Science, Part 2 from 2014-08-19T15:17
Dan Falk discusses his latest book, The Science of Shakespeare: A New Look at the Playwright's Universe
Shakespeare and Science, Part 1 from 2014-08-19T14:45
Dan Falk discusses his latest book, The Science of Shakespeare: A New Look at the Playwright's Universe
Under the Dome: Scientific American Editor in Chief Talks to the Senate from 2014-07-22T14:43
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina testifies before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation about the value of scientific research and development. Also t...
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Wild Sex: Beyond the Birds and the Bees from 2014-07-15T21:00
Joy Reidenberg , comparative anatomist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, talks about her new PBS series Sex in the Wild , about the sex lives of elephants, orangutans, kangaroos and d...
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Hunting the Wild Neutrino from 2014-05-23T15:52
Astrophysicist Ray Jayawardhana , of the University of Toronto, talks about his new book Neutrino Hunters: The Thrilling Chase for a Ghostly Particle to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
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Sometimes the Hoofprints Are from Zebras from 2014-04-30T23:59
David J. Hand , emeritus professor of mathematics at Imperial College London, talks about his new book The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles and Rare Events Happen Every Day
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The First Nuclear Arms Race: Churchill's Bomb, Part 2 from 2014-04-24T20:01
Graham Farmelo is the award-winning author of the Dirac biography The Strangest Man . His latest book is Churchill’s Bomb: How the United States Overtook Britain in the First Nuclear Arms Race
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The First Nuclear Arms Race: Churchill's Bomb, Part 1 from 2014-04-24T20:00
Graham Farmelo is the award-winning author of the Dirac biography The Strangest Man . His latest book is Churchill’s Bomb: How the United States Overtook Britain in the First Nuclear Arms Race
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Take Me Out to the Run Expectancy Matrix Analysis from 2014-03-18T11:00
Smith College economics professor Andrew Zimbalist talks about his latest book, The Sabermetric Revolution: Assessing the Growth of Analytics in Baseball (co-authored with Benjamin Baumer), at the ...
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Found in Space, Part 2 from 2014-02-27T00:01
Journalist Lee Billings Talks about his book Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search For Life Among the Stars , Part 2 of 2
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Found in Space, Part 1 from 2014-02-26T23:59
Journalist Lee Billings Talks about his book Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search For Life Among the Stars , Part 1 of 2
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From Gadgets to Galaxies: Conference Reports from 2014-02-10T09:15
Scientific American technology editor Seth Fletcher talks about the recent Consumer Electronics Show and astronomy editor Clara Moskowitz discusses last month's American Astronomical Society confer...
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Fighting Cancer with Physics from 2014-01-27T10:00
Rakesh K. Jain, director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology in the radiation oncology department of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, talks about his artic...
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Perv-View: Jesse Bering's New Book PERV from 2013-10-29T09:16:08
Psychologist Jesse Bering talks about his latest book PERV: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us .
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Alan Alda Communicates Science from 2013-09-30T19:18:08
At the Learning in the Digital Age summit at Google's New York City offices, Scientific American editor in chief Mariette DiChristina talked with Alan Alda about communicating science to the genera...
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Ira Flatow and the Teachable Moment from 2013-09-20T22:20:08
At the Learning in the Digital Age summit at Google's New York City offices, Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talked with Science Friday host Ira Flatow about the "teachable...
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Adam Rutherford's Creation Science (The Real Kind) Part 2 from 2013-08-29T20:05:08
Science journalist, author and Nature editor Adam Rutherford talks about new book Creation: How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself , which looks at the science of the origin of life and at the emer...
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Adam Rutherford's Creation Science (the Real Kind), Part 1 from 2013-07-31T10:30:08
Science journalist, author and Nature editor Adam Rutherford talks about new book Creation: How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself, which looks at the science of the origin of life and at the emerg...
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Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto: The Threatened Enlightenment from 2013-07-25T19:45:08
Nobel laureate Harry Kroto, who shared the 1996 chemistry prize, talks with Scientific American Executive Editor Fred Guterl at the recent Lindau Nobel Laureates meeting, about the role of science ...
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Penis Enlightenment: Bering Straight Talk from 2013-06-27T12:37:08
Jesse Bering discusses his 2012 book Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? (And Other Reflections on Being Human)
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Close Shave for Bill Nye the Science Guy from 2013-06-18T18:50:08
Bill Nye the Science Guy ponders Superman's tonsorial travails, and science education
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Is There a Doctor in the Spaceship? from 2013-04-29T23:59:08
NASA astronaut and medical doctor Michael Barratt spoke to schoolkids at the Family Science Days event at this year's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston
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Mary Roach Cruises the Alimentary Canal from 2013-04-16T11:05:08
Mary Roach talks about her new book Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, which traces what she calls "the whole food chute"
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Imagine All the People Turning Blue and Green from 2013-03-29T20:07:08
Science writer Dennis Meredith talks about his new science fiction book The Rainbow Virus, in which a bioterror plot turns people all the colors of the rainbow
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Biotech's Brave New Beasts, Part 2 from 2013-03-27T08:43:08
Journalist and author Emily Anthes talks about her new book, Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts
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Biotech's Brave New Beasts, Part 1 from 2013-03-26T20:40:08
Journalist and author Emily Anthes talks about her new book, Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts
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CSI: 19th-Century France and the Birth of Forensic Science from 2013-03-15T22:34:08
Reporter and storyteller Steven Berkowitz talks to science journalist and author Douglas Starr about his book The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
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John Rennie Hacks the Planet from 2013-02-28T12:05:08
Former Scientific American editor in chief John Rennie talks about his new six-episode Weather Channel TV Show, Hacking the Planet, which debuts February 28
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Inside Isaac: A Discussion of Newton, Part 2 from 2013-02-25T10:00:08
A panel of physicists, science historians and playwright Lucas Hnath discuss Newton following a performance of Hnath's play about Newton, called Isaac's Eye, at the Ensemble Studio Theater in New Y...
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Inside Isaac: A Discussion of Newton, Part 1 from 2013-02-24T23:59:08
A panel of physicists, science historians and playwright Lucas Hnath discuss Newton following a performance of Hnath's play about Newton, called Isaac's Eye, at the Ensemble Studio Theater in New Y...
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Extinction: New Sci-Fi from Mark Alpert from 2013-02-14T09:17:08
Mark Alpert is a former editor at Scientific American who has gone on to become a best-selling science fiction writer. We talk about his latest book, Extinction , an apocalyptic tale hinging on bra...
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Science and Tech in President Obama's SOTU from 2013-02-13T20:42:08
In his 2013 State of the Union address, Pres. Obama talked about climate change, energy and manufacturing technology innovation, and STEM education—that is, science, technology, engineering a...
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Michael C. Hall Analyzes His Dexter's Mind, Part 2 from 2013-01-24T10:23:08
Actor Michael C. Hall , TV's Dexter , talks with psychologist Kevin Dutton , author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths , at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City
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Michael C. Hall Analyzes His Dexter's Mind, Part 1 from 2013-01-23T23:59:08
Actor Michael C. Hall , TV's Dexter , talks with psychologist Kevin Dutton , author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths , at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City
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Psychopathy's Bright Side: Kevin Dutton on the Benefits of Being a Bit Psychopathic, Part 2 from 2012-12-29T00:03:08
Kevin Dutton is a psychologist at the University of Oxford. He talks about his latest book, The W isdom of Psychopaths : What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us about Success
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Psychopathy's Bright Side: Kevin Dutton on the Benefits of Being a Bit Psychopathic, Part 1 from 2012-12-28T23:50:08
Kevin Dutton is a psychologist at the University of Oxford. He talks about his latest book, The W isdom of Psychopaths : What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us about Success
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Creativity's Dark Side: Dan Ariely on Creativity, Rationalization and Dishonesty from 2012-12-25T23:59:08
Dan Ariely is professor of behavioral economics at Duke University. He talks about the subject of his most recent book, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone--Especially Ourse...
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Darwin in Space: How Multigenerational Missions Could Shape Human Evolution from 2012-12-18T23:59:08
Portland State University anthropologist Cameron Smith talks with Scientific American 's John Matson about how multigenerational space exploration missions and colonization might change the human g...
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David Quammen: The Spillover of Animal Infections to Humans from 2012-11-18T08:50:08
David Quammen talks about his latest book, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic . From his Web site : "The next big and murderous human pandemic, the one that kills us in m...
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Scientific American after Sandy from 2012-10-31T15:35:08
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina brings us up to date on the state of our New York City-based operation after Sandy. Recorded October 31 at 2:30 P.M Eastern time
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The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry from 2012-10-10T08:02:08
The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors, which are the portals by which information about the envir...
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The Climate of Climate Science from 2012-09-28T12:00:08
James McCarthy , Alexander Agassiz professor of biological oceanography at Harvard, talks about climate science and testifying before Congress, and the collaborations between climate scientists and...
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The Flynn Effect: Modernity Made Us Smarter from 2012-08-20T15:09:08
James Flynn studies intelligence at the University of Otago in New Zealand. And he features prominently in an article called “Can We Keep Getting Smarter?” in the September issue of Sci...
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Plants Know Stuff from 2012-06-29T19:55:08
Daniel Chamovitz , director of the Manna Center for Plant Biosciences at Tel Aviv University, talks about his new book What a Plant Knows .
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Super-Earths: Bigger, and Maybe Better from 2012-06-21T19:35:08
Dimitar Sasselov, professor of astronomy at Harvard University and the founder and director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative, talks about his new book The Life of Super-Earths: How the Hun...
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The Transit of Venus, Part 2 from 2012-05-31T14:45:08
Mark Anderson, author of the book The Day The World Discovered the Sun , talks about the transit of Venus coming up on June 5th or 6th in different parts of the world and how it will be of use to a...
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The Transit of Venus, Part 1 from 2012-05-30T19:55:08
With a transit of Venus coming up on June 5th or 6th in different parts of the world, Mark Anderson, author of the book The Day The World Discovered the Sun, talks about the great efforts to track ...
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Virus Victors: People Who Control HIV from 2012-05-29T07:50:08
Bruce Walker, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, M.I.T. and Harvard, talks about his article in the July issue of...
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The Football Concussion Crisis from 2012-05-15T19:15:08
NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson joins former NBC anchor Stone Phillips and pathologist Bennet Omalu for a discussion of chronic traumatic encephalopathy among football players. Recorded May 12th at ...
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Killer Chimps and Funny Feet: Report from the AAPA Conference from 2012-04-27T14:27:08
Scientific American editor Kate Wong talks about the recent conference of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Portland, Ore., where subjects included killer chimps, unprecedente...
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Getting Guinea Worm Gone: Report from the AHCJ Conference from 2012-04-26T14:16:08
Scientific American editor Christine Gorman talks about the recent conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists, including Jimmy Carter's efforts against guinea worm and trachoma, and R...
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Fukushima Anniversary: We Listen Back from 2012-03-11T14:15:08
Scientific American editor David Biello takes us through newly released audio from the first week of the nuclear meltdown crisis at Fukushima Daiichi
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If You're Happy, How You Know It from 2012-02-22T16:50:08
Social scientist Roly Russell, of the Sandhill Institute in British Columbia, talked with Scientific American 's Mark Fischetti at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement...
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The Coming Entanglement: Bill Joy and Danny Hillis from 2012-02-15T14:20:08
Digital innovators Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and Danny Hillis, co-founder of the Long Now Foundation, talk with Scientific American Executive Editor Fred Guterl about the technologi...
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Fecal Transplants: The Straight Poop from 2012-01-31T21:47:08
Journalist and author Maryn McKenna talks about fecal transplants, which have proved to be exceptionally effective at restoring a healthy intestinal microbiome and curing C. diff infections, yet re...
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State of the Union: Research, Technology and Energy from 2012-01-25T13:00:08
About six minutes of President Obama's State of the Union address dealt with research, technology and energy
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A Second Science Front: Evolution Champions Rise to Climate Science Defense from 2012-01-16T16:35:08
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, long the nation's leading defender of evolution education, discusses the NCSE's new initiative to help climate scienc...
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The YouTube SpaceLab Competition from 2011-12-12T00:01:08
If you're 14 to 18 years old, you still have until December 14th to prepare a two-minute video of a suggestion for an experiment to be performed at the International Space Station and upload it to ...
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Large Hadron Collider Backgrounder from 2011-12-11T18:10:08
Thomas LeCompte of Argonne National Lab was the physics coordinator for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. He talks about the instrument and its future, as we await the December 13t...
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Brian Greene Talks Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos from 2011-11-23T05:00:08
Physicist Brian Greene, host of the NOVA series The Fabric of the Cosmos, addresses the question of faster-than-light neutrinos at a Q&A session after the debut of the PBS series
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The Mind's Hidden Switches from 2011-11-22T22:48:08
Eric J. Nestler, director of the Friedman Brain Institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, talks about his article in the December issue of Scientific American magazine on epigen...
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Cancer Vaccines from 2011-09-30T17:30:08
Eric von Hofe, cancer researcher and president of the biotech company Antigen Express talks about his article in the October issue of Scientific American called "A New Ally against Cancer,&quo...
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Carl Zimmer on Rats, Cats, Viruses and Tattoos from 2011-08-26T18:50:08
In part 2 of our interview, award-winning author Carl Zimmer talks about his latest books, and a new study that shows how Toxoplasma influences the behavior of rats--and maybe of us
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Carl Zimmer on Evolution in the Big City from 2011-08-24T22:20:08
The annual Scientific American September single-topic issue is all about cities. And award-winning author Carl Zimmer recently penned a piece on evolution research in the urban environment for The ...
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Nobel Laureate Avram Hershko: The Orchestra in the Cell from 2011-07-27T20:00:08
Nobel laureate Avram Hershko, who determined cellular mechanisms for breaking down proteins, talks about his research in a conversation recorded at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germ...
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Nobel Laureate Peter Agre: From Aquaporins to Lutefisk from 2011-07-20T12:40:08
Peter Agre, 2003 Chemistry Nobel laureate for his work on aquaporins, the proteins that allow water into and out of cells, talks about his research, his upbringing and why he almost ran for the Sen...
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Let's Make a Probabilistic Deal: A Fresh Look at the Monty Hall Problem from 2011-06-25T13:10:08
Scientific American math and physics editor Davide Castelvecchi revisits the Monty Hall problem, so you can know whether you're better off holding on to your original pick or switching when new inf...
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How Physics Limits Intelligence from 2011-06-17T16:55:08
Award-winning author Douglas Fox talks about his cover story in the July issue of Scientific American on The Limits of Intelligence, placed there by the laws of physics
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Dying for Science: The 100th Anniversary of the Doomed Scott Antarctic Expedition from 2011-05-26T18:00:08
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Larson talks about his article "Greater Glory" in the June issue of Scientific American on the forgotten science of the doomed Scott expedition a hundred years ago
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Skirting Steak: The Case for Artificial Meat from 2011-05-17T17:39:08
Journalist Jeffrey Bartholet talks about his June Scientific American magazine article on the attempts to grow meat in the lab, and Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talks about the cover piece ...
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Astronaut Love: An Interview with Spacewalker Stanley Love from 2011-04-28T14:05:08
On the eve of the launch of the penultimate space shuttle mission, STS-134, Scientific American astronomy editor George Musser talks to veteran astronaut Stanley Love about being in space and the f...
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Editors' Roundtable: Science Conference Reports from 2011-04-21T19:25:08
Scientific American editors Christine Gorman, Robin Lloyd, Michael Moyer and Kate Wong talk about their recent trips to different science conferences: the meetings of the Association for Health Car...
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The Cornucopia Conference: Roundtable on the AAAS Meeting from 2011-02-24T21:35:08
Podcast host Steve Mirsky talks with Scientific American magazine Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina, news editor Anna Kuchment, feature editor Mark Fischetti and online news editor Robin Lloyd a...
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The Spirit of Innovation: From High School to the Moon from 2011-02-17T14:00:08
Nancy Conrad, chair of the Conrad Foundation, talks about the Spirit of Innovation competition for high school students, and about her late husband, Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the moon
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What's New with Science News from 2011-02-16T23:12:08
Former Scientific American editor in chief and current Gleaming Retort blogger John Rennie, blogger and Scientific American blogs network director Bora Zivkovic, and Scientific American online news...
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Jefferson's Moose: Thomas's Fauna Fight against European Naturalists from 2011-01-26T17:10:08
Biologist and author Lee Dugatkin talks about his article "Jefferson's Moose" in the February issue of Scientific American, the story of Jefferson's battle against the European theory of American b...
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What Is the Watson Jeopardy-Playing Supercomputer, Alex? from 2011-01-14T00:02:08
Scientific American editor Michael Moyer talks about the sneak preview he caught of IBM's Watson Jeopardy! -playing computer. And ScientificAmerican.com 's Larry Greenemeier spoke with Ford's Brad ...
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Vinod Khosla: Searching for the Radical Solution from 2010-12-23T23:50:08
Clean technology investor Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, talks with Scientific American editor Mark Fischetti about the energy payoffs to be had by reinventing mainstream technologies
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How You Gonna Keep Flu Down on the Farm?: Pig Farms and Public Health from 2010-12-22T12:20:08
Journalist Helen Branswell discusses her January Scientific American article, "Flu Factories," about the attempts to monitor new strains of flu that can originate on pig farms and the difficulties ...
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Anna Deavere Smith: Let Me Down Easy from 2010-12-20T23:05:08
Actor, playwright and journalist Anna Deavere Smith talks about the health care crisis and her play about people dealing with illness, health and the health care system, Let Me Down Easy
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The Spewings of Titan (and More from the AGU Meeting) from 2010-12-16T21:15:08
Scientific American editor Davide Castelvecchi joins us from San Francisco to talk about some of the highlights of the meeting of the American Geophysical Union, including volcanoes on Titan, x-ray...
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Let's Talk Stuffing--Your Face from 2010-11-25T00:02:08
Cornell University's Brian Wansink talks about eating behavior and how mindless eating has us consuming way more calories than we suspect
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Let's Talk Turkey! from 2010-11-24T20:38:08
Turkey scientist Rich Buchholz talks about the turkey on your plate and his own turkey research
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Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men? from 2010-11-19T18:06:08
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and podcast host Steve Mirsky talk about longevity differences in the sexes, the importance of music education, the pros and cons of the Kin...
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Physics Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg from 2010-11-15T21:00:08
Nobel physicist Steven Weinberg spoke to an audience of science journalists, and then to podcast host Steve Mirsky
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The Quest for the Giant Pumpkin from 2010-10-29T16:15:08
Susan Warren, author of the book Backyard Giants, talks about "the passionate, heartbreaking and glorious quest to grow the biggest pumpkin ever." Plus, we'll test your knowledge about some recent ...
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Not Your Grandfather's Scientific American from 2010-10-20T13:51:08
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talks about the new look and new outlook of Scientific American magazine and of ScientificAmerican.com
Plus, we discuss the results of ...
The Harlem Science Renaissance from 2010-10-15T13:52:08
Molecular geneticist Sat Bhattacharya talks about his creation, the Harlem Children Society, which gets underprivileged kids involved in scientific research. And 13-year-olds Mitchell Haverty and A...
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Exactly When Is a Person Dead? from 2010-09-23T19:58:08
Award-winning science journalist Robin Marantz Henig and podcast host Steve Mirsky discuss Robin's article in the September issue about organ donation and definitions of death. Plus, we test your k...
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Could Time End? from 2010-09-21T23:55:08
Scientific American staff editor George Musser joins podcast host Steve Mirsky to discuss his article in the September issue about the possibility of time itself coming to an end
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The End: Death, Endings and Things That Should End from 2010-09-14T08:06:08
Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and issue editor Michael Moyer talk with podcast host Steve Mirsky about the September single-topic issue of Scientific American --endings in science. Plus, we ...
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Mary Roach Is Packing for Mars, Part 2 from 2010-08-21T00:03:08
Podcast host Steve Mirsky talks with author Mary Roach about her new book "Packing For Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void." Part 2 of 2. (Part 1 is at http://www.scientificamerican.com/p...
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Mary Roach Is Packing for Mars, Part 1 from 2010-08-20T18:15:08
Podcast host Steve Mirsky recently attended a talk by author Mary Roach about her new book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void . In part 1 of this two-part episode, we'll hear...
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When Humans Almost Died Out; Earthy Exoplanets; And Scientific American's 165th Birthday from 2010-08-12T18:25:08
Podcast host Steve Mirsky talks with human evolution expert Kate Wong about the small group of humans who survived tough times beginning about 195,000 years ago and gave rise to all of us, a story ...
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Arguing with Non-Skeptics, Part 2 of 2 from 2010-07-28T18:05:08
A panel discussion on arguing with non-skeptics at the recent Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism in New York City featured James Randi, George Hrab, D. J. Grothe and podcast host Steve ...
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Arguing with Non-Skeptics, Part 1 of 2 from 2010-07-27T21:35:08
A panel discussion on arguing with non-skeptics at the recent Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism in New York City featured James Randi, George Hrab, D. J. Grothe and podcast host Steve ...
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Whiz Kids: Intel Science Talent Search Documentary from 2010-07-19T14:48:08
The new documentary film Whiz Kids follows three high school student-scientists as they attempt to get their projects accepted into the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. Scientific American ...
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Paul Dirac: "The Strangest Man" of Science, Part 2 from 2010-06-25T18:35:08
Award-winning writer and physicist Graham Farmelo talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about The Strangest Man, Farmelo's biography of Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Paul Dirac. Part 2 o...
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"The Strangest Man" of Science, Part 1 from 2010-06-24T19:45:08
Award-winning writer and physicist Graham Farmelo talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about The Strangest Man, Farmelo's biography of Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Paul Dirac. Part 1 o...
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Physics Now and Then: From Neutrinos to Galileo from 2010-06-15T19:15:08
Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, director of the Origins Initiative at Arizona State University, talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about neutrinos and gravity waves. And Cynthia Graber tal...
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Remembering Martin Gardner, with Douglas Hofstadter from 2010-05-24T08:27:08
Martin Gardner died May 22nd at 95. He wrote the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American magazine for 25 years and published more than 70 books. Podcast host Steve Mirsky talks with Gardn...
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More from MacMania: Kindle v. iPad, Mac v. PC and App Development from 2010-05-19T16:15:08
MacWorld editorial director Jason Snell and app developer Peter Watling talk with podcast host Steve Mirsky about the iPad, computer culture and apps, aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic during Ma...
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David Pogue on Tech, Twitter and Transgenic Goats from 2010-05-10T19:50:08
The ubiquitous David Pogue, author of the Missing Manual series and tech columnist for The New York Times, talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic during MacMania,...
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Bill McKibben's Eaarth, Part 2 from 2010-04-22T16:29:08
Writer and activist Bill McKibben talks to Scientific American 's Mark Fischetti about his new book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet . Part 2 of 2. Edited and produced by podcast host St...
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Bill McKibben's Eaarth, Part 1 from 2010-04-21T22:15:08
Writer and activist Bill McKibben talks to Scientific American 's Mark Fischetti about his new book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet Part 1 of 2. Edited and produced by podcast host Stev...
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Invisible Ink and More: The Science of Spying in the Revolutionary War from 2010-04-20T21:29:08
John Nagy, author of Invisible Ink: Spycraft of the American Revolution, discusses the codes, ciphers, chemistry and psychology of spying in the American Revolution, in a talk recorded by podcast h...
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From Eternity to Here: Sean M. Carroll's Quest to Understand Time from 2010-03-30T12:18:08
Sean M. Carroll, theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about his new book From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of ...
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Are We Pushing Earth's Environmental Tipping Points? from 2010-03-19T11:02:08
Jon Foley, director of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about his article in the April issue of Scientific American, "Boundaries for ...
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Where's My Fusion Reactor? from 2010-03-17T16:39:08
Scientific American staff editor Michael Moyer talks about his article "Fusion's False Dawn" in the March issue, and Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina discusses the rest of the issue. Web sites ...
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Algae, Art and Attitudes: A Roundtable about the AAAS Conference from 2010-02-27T08:45:08
Scientific American staffers Mark Fischetti and Robin Lloyd talk with podcast host Steve Mirsky about sessions they attended--including those about algae for energy, dissecting the astronomy in art...
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The Poisoner's Handbook: The Sinister Side of Chemistry from 2010-02-25T14:57:08
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Deborah Blum talks about her new work, The Poisoner's Handbook, a look at how easy it used to be to kill someone with poison and the researchers who made poisoning...
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Ice, Ice, Baby: The Physics of Curling from 2010-02-18T10:46:08
Mark Shegelski of the University of Northern British Columbia talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about the physics of curling, currently taking its turn on the world stage at the Vancouver Olympi...
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Whaddaya Do with a Dead Whale? from 2010-02-10T20:10:08
Scientific American magazine Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about some of the articles in the February issue, including one on the ecosystems that arise a...
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Cleopatra's Alexandria Treasures from 2010-01-31T20:20:08
Renowned archaeologist Franck Goddio talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about his efforts to recover artifacts from the ancient cities of Alexandria, Heracleion and Canopus, with special attentio...
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Creating Darwin's Biopic; and Consumer Electronics from 2010-01-23T16:27:08
Science Talk correspondent John Pavlus talks with Jon Amiel, director of the new Darwin biography movie Creation, and with Randal Keynes, Darwin's great-great-grandson and one of the film's scriptw...
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Mining for Online Game Gold and Other Amazing Stories from 2010-01-15T19:49:08
Scientific American magazine Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talks about the January issue, including articles on the chances of conditions conducive to life elsewhere in the multiverse and th...
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The Science Talk Quiz: "Totally Bogus" from 2009-12-29T17:59:08
Here are four science stories, but only three are true. See if you know which story is TOTALLY BOGUS.
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Christmas Season Science from 2009-12-23T16:35:08
Scientific American daily podcast contributor Karen Hopkin talks about a few recent studies related to the science of the Christmas season
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Copenhagen and Everywhere Else from 2009-12-18T10:37:08
ScientificAmerican.com 's David Biello is in Copenhagen at the climate conference, and he'll tell us what's going on there. And the Wildlife Conservation Society's Steven Sanderson discusses his Fo...
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World Changing Ideas: December's Scientific American from 2009-12-11T18:15:08
Scientific American magazine Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and editor Michael Moyer talk about the "World Changing Ideas" feature as well as other contents of the December issue. Plus, we'll...
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Darwin's Influence on Modern Thought from 2009-11-24T14:35:08
On the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, we review Darwin's influence on the the modern world, as analyzed by Ernst Mayr, one of the 20th century's most pr...
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Tree Ring Science and Tomorrow's Water from 2009-11-18T11:42:08
Tree ring expert Kevin Anchukaitis, of the tree ring lab at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of Columbia University's Earth Institute, talks about the information available in tree rings....
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Human Evolution: Lucy and Neandertals from 2009-10-23T16:37:08
Anthropologist Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London talks about Neandertals. And Scientific American 's Kate Wong, co-author with Donald Johanson of Lucy's Legacy, talks about the...
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Brain Enhancement: October Issue of Scientific American from 2009-10-14T11:49:08
In this episode Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina discusses the contents of the October issue of Scientific American, including articles on brain enhancement, lost cities of the Amazon and a cen...
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Clean Energy Contest; and Counting Crickets and Katydids from 2009-09-28T18:20:08
Scientific American podcast correspondent Cynthia Graber talks about the M.I.T. Clean Energy Prize Competition. And we take part in the recent Cricket Crawl, an effort to take a census of crickets ...
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Origins of Everything: The September Scientific American Magazine from 2009-08-31T19:50:08
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina discusses the September special single-topic issue of Scientific American magazine, which covers origins, from the universe to the horse sti...
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Colony Collapse and Ruptured Ribosomes; Minding Darwin's Beeswax from 2009-08-25T20:05:08
John Williams, the beekeeper at Down House in England, talks about Darwin's bees. And May Berenbaum, entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, talks about the latest publicati...
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To Bee or Not to Bee from 2009-08-21T21:00:08
In part 2 of our bee podcast, we talk with May Berenbaum, entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and inspiration for the X Files fictional entomologist Bambi Berenbaum, abou...
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Bee Afraid, Bee Very Afraid from 2009-08-14T16:13:08
May Berenbaum, entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and inspiration for the X Files fictional entomologist Bambi Berenbaum, talks about colony collapse disorder and disapp...
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Swimming In Spacetime and Other Stories from 2009-07-31T23:45:08
Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and staff editor Kate Wong talk about the contents of the August issue, including articles on some of the odd consequences of general relati...
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Nuts, Bolts, Photons and Electrons of Solar Energy from 2009-07-23T19:30:08
Jeff Wolfe, the CEO and co-founder of groSolar, talks about solar energy's present and future. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news. Web sites related to this episode ...
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Movie Magic (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs), Part 3 from 2009-07-14T01:00:08
In this series of episodes, we talk to many of the scientists at Blue Sky Studios, which created the Ice Age series of animated features, including the recently released Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosa...
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Movie Magic (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs), Part 2 from 2009-07-11T13:18:08
In this series of episodes, we talk to many of the scientists at Blue Sky Studios, which created the Ice Age series of animated features, including the recently released Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosa...
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Movie Magic (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs), Part 1 from 2009-07-10T23:57:08
In this series of episodes, we talk to many of the scientists at Blue Sky Studios, which created the Ice Age series of animated features, including the recently released Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosa...
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Hello Moon, Good-Bye Rennie from 2009-06-26T11:19:08
We look at the contents of the July issue of Scientific American magazine, the last under outgoing Editor in Chief John Rennie, including an article by moon explorer Harrison Schmitt, a piece on th...
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Panamania!: A Visit to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute from 2009-06-17T19:30:08
We take a walking tour of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, with the STRI's Beth King and Harilaos Lessios. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some rec...
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The Truth about Cats and Dogs from 2009-05-29T11:05:08
Scientific American magazine Editor in Chief John Rennie talks about the contents of the June issue, including articles on the evolution of cats and the physiology of sled dogs. Plus, we'll test yo...
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High Achievement High Schoolers from 2009-05-19T16:00:08
High school scientists Sruti Swaminathan, Maia ten Brink, Alyssa Bailey, Moyukh Chatterjee and Fedja Kadribasic, all winners of state competitions sponsored by the American Junior Academy of Scienc...
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Beauty Is Truth (and Science) from 2009-05-11T11:41:08
Procter & Gamble scientists Greg Hillebrand and Jay Tiesman talk about scientific research related to beauty products and cosmetics. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the ne...
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Sherwin Nuland's Tales from the Bedside from 2009-04-23T11:20:08
Surgeon and author Sherwin Nuland talks about his new book The Soul of Medicine: Tales from the Bedside, a Chaucerian take on doctors and their relationships with patients and each other. Plus, we'...
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Life Goes on within You and without You: Health and the Environment from 2009-04-17T10:59:08
In this episode, we'll hear parts of three talks from the recent symposium, Exploring the Dynamic Relationship Between Health and the Environment, organized by the American Museum of Natural Histor...
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Why People Believe What They Do from 2009-04-10T09:59:08
University of California, Berkeley, psychologist Tania Lombrozo talks about why people believe what they do, especially regarding evolution or creationism. Author Steve Miller discusses his new boo...
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What Shape Is Your Galaxy? from 2009-03-26T18:17:08
Yale astrophysicist Kevin Schawinski talks about Galaxy Zoo, a distributed computing project in which laypeople can help researchers characterize galaxies. And we tour Kroon Hall, the new green hom...
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In Search of Time from 2009-03-19T17:50:08
Journalist and writer Dan Falk talks about his new book In Search of Time, about the cultural, physical and psychological aspects of the mysterious ticking clocks all around us. Plus, we'll test yo...
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Phrasing a Coyne: Jerry Coyne on Why Evolution Is True from 2009-03-13T10:18:08
During a Scientific American cruise in the Caribbean, University of Chicago evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne talks about his new book Why Evolution Is True . And we hear a brief example of what i...
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Remarkable Creatures (and Getting Them Fixed) from 2009-02-25T12:45:08
University of Wisconsin evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll talks about his new book, Remarkable Creatures, which chronicles the derring-do of some of natural history's brightest stars. And FoundAn...
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Stars of Cosmology, Part 2 from 2009-02-19T00:05:08
In part 2 of this podcast, cosmologists Alan Guth from M.I.T., Arizona State University's Lawrence Krauss, John Carlstrom from the University of Chicago, and Fermilab's Scott Dodelson take reporter...
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Stars of Cosmology, Part 1 from 2009-02-18T16:08:08
In part 1 of this podcast, cosmologists Alan Guth from M.I.T., Arizona State University's Lawrence Krauss, John Carlstrom from the University of Chicago, and Fermilab's Scott Dodelson discuss the s...
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Darwin Day Special, Part 3: Origins of Paleontology and the Impact of Religion on the Development of Evolutionary Theory from 2009-02-13T00:15:08
In part 3 of this special Darwin Day podcast, the Reverend Thomas Goodhue, executive director of the Long Island Council of Churches and author of the book Curious Bones: Mary Anning and the Birth ...
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Darwin Day Special, Part 2: Evolutionary Psychology and Religion from 2009-02-12T12:55:08
In part 2 of this special Darwin Day podcast, Hofstra University religion professor John Teehan discusses the study of religion from an evolutionary psychology perspective
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Darwin Day Special: Bicentennial of the Birth of Charles Darwin from 2009-02-11T23:39:08
In part 1 of this special Darwin Day podcast, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Darwin on February 12th, Richard Milner performs part of his one-man show about Darwin; Scientific Am...
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CO2 Rising: Follow the Bouncing Carbon Atom from 2009-01-28T21:39:08
Scientist and author Tyler Volk talks about his new book CO 2 Rising: The World's Greatest Environmental Challenge . Plus, we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Web sites...
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Darwin: Ghostbuster, Muse and Magistrate from 2009-01-22T10:19:08
Darwin historian Richard Milner shares some of the lesser known aspects of Darwin's life. And Scientific American columnist Michael Shermer talks about the stock market, religion and other belief s...
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From Astronomy to Zune from 2009-01-14T11:19:08
Scientific American astronomy expert George Musser discusses the recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society and SciAm.com 's Larry Greenemeier reports on the Consumer Electronics Show. Plu...
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The Manhattan Project and the Met from 2008-12-31T13:35:08
The Metropolitan Opera's production of the new opera Doctor Atomic aired on PBS on December 29th. We'll hear from Manhattan Project veterans Roy Glauber (Nobel laureate), Murray Peshkin, Leonard Jo...
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Christmas at the Moon; and Instant Egghead Guide: The Mind from 2008-12-24T13:15:08
Scientific American editor Michael Battaglia discusses the online In-Depth-Report on Apollo 8, which orbited the moon 40 years ago this week. And author Emily Anthes talks about her new book, Insta...
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From Carbon to the Cretaceous: Report from the American Geophysical Union Meeting from 2008-12-19T11:27:08
Scientific American editor Davide Castelvecchi reports from the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. Subjects include the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Orb...
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Klaatu's Back and He's Not Happy from 2008-12-10T13:19:08
Scott Derrickson, director of the new version of The Day the Earth Stood Still, talks about his take on the iconic sci-fi movie. And Nobel laureate Richard Roberts discusses the importance of open-...
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Viruses against Disease; Going Batty for Bats from 2008-11-26T13:57:08
Scientific American editor in chief, John Rennie, talks about the contents of the December issue, including bat evolution and how magicians are helping neuroscience. And Boro Dropulic of Lentigen t...
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Approval of Seals: Wildlife Docs and Their Exotic Patients from 2008-11-19T11:05:08
Some veterinarians treat animals much more exotic than the family pet. Jeffrey Boehm, executive director of the Marine Mammal Center, talks about the challenges of caring for sick sea mammals. And ...
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Kayaking Antarctica with Jon Bowermaster from 2008-11-12T05:25:08
How a warming climate leads to freezing penguins, with journalist and author Jon Bowermaster, who has kayaked the world's seas, most recently in Antarctica. And Cynthia Graber takes us on a tour wi...
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Cemetery Science: The Geology of Mausoleums from 2008-10-30T11:25:08
For Halloween, we take a tour of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, N.Y., with geologist Sidney Horenstein and Woodlawn expert Susan Olsen, concentrating on the geology of the rock used in the memoria...
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Today's Alternative Energy; and November Issue Topics, Including Computer-Brain Interfaces and DNA Computing from 2008-10-22T12:15:08
Scientific American magazine editor in chief, John Rennie, talks about the November issue's contents, including computer-brain interfaces, DNA computing, the ongoing attempts to find an HIV vaccine...
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More Than Pickles and Ice Cream: The Link Between Diet and Fertility from 2008-10-15T06:00:08
Harvard School of Public Health epidemiologist Walter Willett talks to SciAm correspondent Cynthia Graber about his latest book, The Fertility Diet as well as about the links between nutrition and ...
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The Large Hadron Collider Goes to Work from 2008-09-11T16:12:08
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek and Scientific American editor George Musser talk about the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful particle accelerator ever built, which went online t...
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Return of a Killer: Tuberculosis in Russia from 2008-08-27T00:01:08
Veteran journalist Merrill Goozner, director of the Integrity in Science project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, discusses his series of articles for SciAm.com on the rise of tube...
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What's the Buzz: A Conversation with Buzz Aldrin from 2008-08-20T10:14:08
Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, talks about solar energy, buses between the planets, the Constellation program, his time on the moon and his new animated movie, Fly Me to the Moon ...
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Superdove!: The Straight Poop on Pigeons from 2008-08-13T00:05:08
Courtney Humphries talks about her new book, Superdove: How the Pigeon Took Manhattan...And the World . Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news. Web sites mentioned in th...
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Outsmarting Bombers; and A Warless Future? from 2008-07-30T08:55:08
IEEE Spectrum editor in chief, Glenn Zorpette, talks about high-tech attempts to battle improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq as well as the state of reconstruction of Iraq's electricity grid...
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Visit to the Fair: Inside a Tech Expo from 2008-07-23T09:05:08
In this episode we feature five interviews conducted at the Digital Experience! computer and electronics expo that took place in New York City in June. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recen...
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The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory from 2008-07-16T00:01:08
George Musser talks about his new book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory . Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news
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Gott Ya: Astrophysicist J. Richard Gott on Time Travel and Presidential Polling from 2008-06-25T10:20:08
Princeton astrophysicist J. Richard Gott discusses some of the realities and speculations of time travel (one human holds the record for time travel--1/48 of a second) as well as how best to evalua...
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One Singular Sensation: Will We Upload Our Brains, and Other Questions Related to "The Coming Singularity" from 2008-06-18T00:30:08
Glenn Zorpette, executive editor of IEEE Spectrum magazine, and journalist John Horgan discuss various ideas related to what some call "the coming singularity," a point where computers will alleged...
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The Happening: A Conversation with Director M. Night Shyamalan from 2008-06-12T10:00:08
M. Night Shyamalan's new film, The Happening, involves an environmental backlash, the limits of reason and the beauty of math. SciAm editor George Musser discusses the film with the director. Plus,...
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The Feral Biologist: A Talk with George Schaller; A Look in the June SciAm from 2008-05-28T00:01:08
The Wildlife Conservation Society's George Schaller talks about his new book, "A Naturalist and Other Beasts," which covers his 50 years of documenting important large animal species in the field. ...
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Little Brains, Big Brains: Latest Flores Hobbit News and the Intel Science Fair from 2008-05-21T00:01:08
Kate Wong brings us up to date on the ongoing research into fossils of the tiny human, called the Hobbit, found on the island of Flores. And Ivan Oransky reports from the Intel International Scienc...
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China Quake Update; Fictional Scientists; What's New at SciAm.com from 2008-05-14T10:30:08
David Biello reports from China on the aftermath of the major earthquake that struck this week. Mark Alpert talks about the portrayal of scientists in fiction. And new online managing editor Ivan O...
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Plasma Physics: From Black Holes to Radio Reception from 2008-04-30T10:45:08
Plasma plays a big role from the ionosphere to black holes. Stanford physicist Roger Blandford explains plasma and its connection to black holes in a conversation with Scientific American 's JR Min...
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Can Science Save the Banana? from 2008-04-23T10:25:08
The banana is the world's most important fruit. But it's under threat from a disease spreading around the world. We'll hear from Dan Koeppel, author of the book "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That ...
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On The Shoulders of Giants: John Wheeler and Salome Waelsch from 2008-04-16T15:30:08
Physicist John Wheeler and geneticist Salome Waelsch both had incredibly long and fruitful careers, providing numerous fundamental insights in their respective fields. We'll hear from Kenneth Ford,...
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For the Birds: A look at birds, habitat conservation and environmental economics from 2008-03-19T00:00:08
Ornithologist and conservation biologist Jeffrey Wells talks about birds and their roles as markers for environmental health. He also discusses the Boreal Forest, the Boreal Birdsong Initiative, th...
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Science and America's Future from 2008-03-12T00:00:08
Argonne National Laboratory director Robert Rosner talks about the role of science in keeping America an economic leader. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news. Web sit...
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Arachnophilia! And War...What Was It Good for (in Human Evolution)? from 2008-02-27T00:00:08
Spider expert Greta Binford, from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and her student MG Weber talk about the fascinating world of spiders. And economist Samuel Bowles, from the Santa Fe Ins...
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Science, Science Everywhere: AAAS Conference Highlights from 2008-02-22T00:00:08
In this episode, we'll hear about the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which took place last week in Boston. Nobel Laureate and AAAS President Da...
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Fat Chance: Do Dietary Guidelines Actually Contribute to Obesity? from 2008-02-13T00:00:08
In this episode Albert Einstein College of Medicine public health researcher Paul Marantz questions whether dietary guidelines are counterproductive, and talks about the philosophy of recommendatio...
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Knock, Knock, Hal's There: Teaching Computers Humor; and the 50th Anniversary of America's First Satellite from 2008-01-30T00:00:08
In this episode, University of Cincinnati researchers Lawrence Mazlack and Julia Taylor discuss their efforts to improve human-computer communications by teaching computers about contextual humor. ...
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What's The Matter?: Cold Dark Matter and the Milky Way's Missing Satellites from 2008-01-23T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American editor George Musser talks with Caltech Astronomer Josh Simon about dark matter, and about the efforts to try to locate the so-called missing satellites of the ...
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Mindful Motion: Miguel Nicolelis and Mind-Powered Robots; and Creating Science Cities in Brazil and Beyond from 2008-01-16T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American editor Christine Soares talks with Duke University neuroengineer Miguel Nicolelis about his groundbreaking work in controlling robot movement using only thought...
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What's In A Latin Name: The Legacy of Linnaeus from 2007-12-26T00:00:08
In this episode, Harvard naturalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author EO Wilson talks about Linnaeus and the continuing effort to classify life on earth. From a talk given at the New York Botanical...
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Here Comes the Sun--A Grand Plan for Solar Energy; and Sci Am's New Body from 2007-12-19T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American editor Mark Fischetti talks about an audacious new plan, featured in the January issue of Scientific American, for turning the US into a solar-powered country. ...
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Are There (Microbial) Aliens On Earth? from 2007-12-12T00:00:08
In this episode, theoretical physicist, cosmologist and astrobiologist Paul Davies ponders the question of whether life originated more than once on earth, and how to find examples of a second orig...
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Neuroscience and the Law from 2007-11-28T00:00:08
In this episode, neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga talks about neuroscience's impact on legal practice, and The Law and Neuroscience Project, a new MacArthur Foundation effort, which he directs, to ...
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The Science of Cheese; and Scientific American's New Community from 2007-11-21T00:00:08
In this episode, University of Wisconsin-Madison cheese researcher Carol Chen explains the physics, chemistry and biology of cheese. And Scientific American's Christie Nicholson talks about our new...
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Need For New Nukes?; and News From Neuroscience from 2007-11-14T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American's David Biello discusses his article on nuclear weaponry in the November issue of the magazine. And Scientific American Mind's Karen Schrock talks about some of...
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Quest for the Giant Pumpkin from 2007-10-31T00:00:08
In this episode, journalist Susan Warren, author of the new book Backyard Giants, talks about the art and science involved in the Quixotic quest to grow the world's biggest pumpkins. Plus we'll tes...
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Good Germs, Bad Germs from 2007-10-24T00:00:08
In this episode, journalist Jessica Snyder Sachs, author of the new book Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World, talks about the complex relationships between you and the n...
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Chickens and Pigs and Yeast, Oh My!: The Public Health Threat of Animal Diseases; and Gene Duplication in Evolution from 2007-10-17T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American news editor Phil Yam discusses how veterinarians, physicians and multinational food companies need to work together in the global fight against animal-borne inf...
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When Worlds Collide: The Ig Nobel and Nobel Prizes from 2007-10-10T00:00:08
In this episode, Ig Nobel Prize maven Marc Abrahams discusses this year's crop of "winners." And we'll review the recipients of the 2007 real Nobel Prizes in science. Plus we'll test your knowledge...
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Who Do You Think You Are: Chatting With Bots, and the Sexuality Spectrum from 2007-09-26T00:00:08
In this episode, pyschologist Robert Epstein talks about his articles in the upcoming issue of Scientific American Mind, on being fooled by a chatterbot--a computer program designed to make you thi...
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What's In A Rose: Ethnobotany and the Search for Useful Plants from 2007-09-19T00:00:08
In this episode, ethnobotanist Nat Bletter talks about his field and his recent article about the new plant family Simulacraceae--the phony plants. Plus we'll test your knowledge of some recent sci...
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Can Fat Be Fit? from 2007-09-12T00:00:08
In this episode, award-winning journalist Paul Raeburn talks about his article in the September issue of Scientific American, called "Can Fat Be Fit?" as well as another piece he wrote as a sidebar...
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Another Look at The World Without Us; and What's New At Scientific American from 2007-08-29T00:00:08
In this episode, journalist Alan Weisman continues his discussion (started on the June 27th podcast) about his bestselling book "The World Without Us," a massive thought experiment about the afterm...
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The World Is Fat: Obesity Now Outweighs Hunger WorldWide from 2007-08-22T00:00:08
In this episode University of North Carolina Chapel Hill nutrition epidemiologist Barry Popkin discusses the growing problem of obesity, even in developing countries that only recently faced hunger...
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Is Your Food Contaminated; New Orleans Now; And the Science of Dogs from 2007-08-15T00:00:08
In this episode Scientific American editor Mark Fischetti talks about the challenges of keeping the food supply safe and about the state of New Orleans hurricane preparedness. And journalist Jackie...
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Saddle Up That Stegosaurus--A Visit to the Creation Museum from 2007-07-25T00:00:08
In this episode Columbia College Chicago's Stephen Asma discusses the new antievolution Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., as well as his books on natural history museums and monsters, both mythol...
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Space For Both?--Human Vs. Robotic Space Missions from 2007-07-18T00:00:08
In this episode Cornell University astronomer Jim Bell talks about future space missions and why people need to be part of them. Bell is the leader of the team operating the color cameras on the Ma...
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Systems Biology: The Future of Biomedical Science? from 2007-07-11T00:00:08
In this episode eminent biologist Leroy Hood, founder of the Institute for Systems Biology, talks about systems biology, an approach to understanding complex biological systems in their entirety, w...
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The World Without Us: Suppose Humans Just Vanished--Then What? from 2007-06-27T00:00:08
In this episode, journalist Alan Weisman, Laureate Associate Professor in Journalism and Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona, discusses his new book "The World Without Us," a massiv...
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Why We Eat, Eat and Eat Some More; and Remembering Mr. Wizard from 2007-06-20T00:00:08
In this episode, Brian Wansink, eating behaviorist and director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, talks about "Mindless Eating" habits; and Doug Lane, who was once a youngster on the Mr...
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Jared Diamond on the State of the World Environment from 2007-06-13T00:00:08
In this episode, biologist, ecologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jared Diamond discusses the environmental state of the world and the relationship between the environment and economics and p...
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How Cargo Containers Shrank the World and Transformed Trade; and Smart Skylights from 2007-05-30T00:00:08
In this episode, Maritime History Professor Arthur Donovan talks about cargo containerization and how it transformed world markets. And architect Paul Topogna discusses skylights that change shape ...
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Lying in Weight: The Hidden Epidemic of Eating Disorders in Adult Women (And A Few Men) from 2007-05-23T00:00:08
In this episode, molecular biologist and journalist Trisha Gura discusses her new book, Lying In Weight, about eating disorders in adult, even elderly, women, as well as a small percentage of men. ...
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The Encyclopedia of Life; and the End of John Horgan's Pessimism from 2007-05-16T00:00:08
In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist and writer E.O. Wilson talks to award-winning journalist John Horgan about the Encyclopedia of Life project and finding common ground between scien...
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Peer Review of Peer Review; and the Franklin Institute Awards from 2007-04-25T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American editor-in-chief John Rennie discusses peer review of scientific literature, the subject of a panel he recently served on at the World Conference of Science Jour...
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Atul Gawande, Author of Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance from 2007-04-18T00:00:08
In this episode, surgeon, writer and MacArthur grantee Atul Gawandee talks about his new book Better, which focuses on performance as a science. Plus we'll test your knowledge about recent science ...
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Catching Corrupted Photos; and Big Bird Brains from 2007-04-11T00:00:08
In this episode, animal behavior expert Bernd Heinrich discusses his article in the April issue of Scientific American on animal intelligence, and Adobe Systems scientists David Story and Martin Ne...
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Alcoholism and Genetics; and Why Aren't the Pioneer Spacecraft Where They Should Be? from 2007-03-28T00:00:08
In this episode, psychiatric geneticist Laura Jean Bierut talks about her article in the April Scientific American about the influence of genes on alcoholism. And Scientific American editor George ...
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Naturally Speaking: Finding Nature's Treasure Trove with the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition; and Natural Products Chemistry from 2007-03-21T00:00:08
In this episode, the J. Craig Venter Institute's senior computational biologist Douglas Rusch talks about the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition's genomic treasure hunt and the first batch of researc...
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Made To Stick: Crafting Memorable Messages; and Cycling For Days On A Gallon Of Gas from 2007-03-14T00:00:08
In this episode, Stanford University's Chip Heath talks about his book Made To Stick, which discusses the secrets behind crafting messages and ideas that capture the imagination; and Nick Goddard d...
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Who Speaks For Science? from 2007-02-28T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American contributing editor Wayt Gibbs talks about a session at the recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science devoted to the question of...
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No Laughing Matter: Mo Rocca On Humor Theory; Report From the AAAS Conference from 2007-02-21T00:00:08
In this episode, TV essayist and radio host Mo Rocca talks about the science of comedy and vice versa; and journalist Corinna Wu reports on the annual meeting of the American Association for the Ad...
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My Unfunny Valentine: The Truth About Online Dating; and The Myelin Repair Foundation--A New Model For Outcome-Oriented Biomedical Research from 2007-02-14T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American Mind contributing editor Robert Epstein talks about the pitfalls and potential of online dating. And Myelin Repair Foundation founder Scott Johnson talks about ...
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TV Of Tomorrow; Battle Of The Science Journals; US Budget Crunch Threatens National Lab from 2007-01-31T00:00:08
In this episode, journalist Michael Antonoff, author of the article Digital TV At Last? in the February issue of Scientific American, talks about the upcoming switch to all digital television broad...
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Good News About Coffee And Amazing Skeptic Conference from 2007-01-24T00:00:08
In this episode, food ingredient expert Roger A. Clemens discusses research suggesting that coffee drinking has numerous beneficial health effects. Scientific American editor-in-chief John Rennie t...
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Better Ways To Cut A Cake and To Pick A Champion from 2007-01-17T00:00:08
In this episode, mathematician Michael Jones talks about improved methodologies for cake cutting. (It involves the equitability of the division, not the sharpness of the knife.) Los Alamos National...
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The Inevitability Of Cancer's Commonality; and High School Math Whiz from 2007-01-10T00:00:08
In this episode, author and journalist Carl Zimmer talks about his Scientific American article Evolved For Cancer?, which looks at how natural selection has led to what appears to be an inevitable ...
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Rampaging Robots and Killer Komodos from 2006-12-27T00:00:08
In this episode, robotics writer Daniel Wilson talks about his book How To Survive A Robot Uprising: Tips On Defending Yourself Against The Coming Rebellion. Naturalist Kurt Auffenberg from the Uni...
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Radioactive Spy Dust and the Litvinenko Case; Ode To Grad Students from 2006-12-20T00:00:08
In this episode, Michigan State University historian of science Kristie Macrakis discusses the use of radioactive isotopes in the cloak and dagger world of cold war espionage, and what it tells us ...
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Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus and Rocky the Flying Mesozoic Mammal from 2006-12-13T00:00:08
In this episode, Nobel Prize winner Harold Varmus talks about the challenges facing the U.S. in science and technology competitiveness and some possible plans of action, related to the Brookings In...
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Tomorrow's Newspapers and Next Week's Cars from 2006-11-29T00:00:08
In this episode, MIT Communications Forum Director David Thorburn discusses the future of newspapers and news in light of new technology. Scientific American editor Steve Ashley talks about the mag...
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Tiny Technology and Talking Turkey from 2006-11-22T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American's "SA 50" research leader of the year, MIT's Angela Belcher, discusses her work using viruses and other organisms to help create nanoelectronics. Animal behavio...
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Looking Into the Future At The World Science Forum; Poetry And Science with Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann from 2006-11-15T00:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American editor-in-chief John Rennie talks about the World Science Forum, held in New York City last week. Forum speaker Mike Roco, nanotechnology advisor to the Nationa...
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The Making of the Fittest: A Conversation with Evolutionary Biologist Sean Carroll from 2006-10-25T00:00:08
In this episode, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll talks about his new book, "The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution." Even without fossils or comparative an...
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Test Tube Babies; Old Time Radio; What's In A Name from 2006-10-18T00:00:08
In this episode, journalist Robin Marantz Henig discusses a TV program airing on October 23 based in part on Pandora's Baby, the title of her book and Scientific American article about the early da...
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Virus-State Electronics; Baseball Oddsmaking; Star Trek Memorabilia Auction from 2006-10-11T00:00:08
In this episode, journalist Philip Ross discusses his article in the October Scientific American, called "Viral Nanoelectronics," about wires, batteries and microchips constructed out of viruses. N...
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Six Big Science Debates; Missions to Map Planets; Breaking Down Barriers: Women in Science from 2006-09-27T00:00:08
Last week, the National Academy of Sciences and other institutions released a report titled Beyond Bias
and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in
Academic Science and Engineering. ...
Human Evolution Fossil Find and Oil Company Conservation Comments from 2006-09-20T00:00:08
A major paleoanthropological fossil find was announced on September 20th. Donald Johanson is the director of the Institute of Human Origins and professor of human origins at Arizona State Universit...
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Nuclear Energy's Future, the Mouse-Cheese Relationship from 2006-09-13T02:00:08
In this episode, MIT physicist Ernest Moniz discusses the future of nuclear energy and the article he co-authored in the September issue of Scientific American called The Nuclear Option. David Holm...
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The Teen Brain; Flipping Magnetic Poles; What's Pluto? from 2006-08-30T02:00:08
In this episode, journalist Leslie Sabbagh discusses the teen brain, the subject of her cover story in the August/September issue of Scientific American Mind. Geologist Kip Hodges, the director of ...
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Scientific American Magazine single topic issue--Energy's Future: Beyond Carbon; and Well-Read Doctors. from 2006-08-23T02:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American editor-in-chief John Rennie talks about the September, single-topic issue of the magazine, the focus of which is Energy's Future: Beyond Carbon. He also explain...
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Is the Universe Bigger and Older; and the Status of Pluto. from 2006-08-16T02:00:08
In this episode, Scientific American editor George Musser explains recent research that could mean that the entire universe is 15 percent bigger and about two billion years older than previously th...
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The Mountain/Climate Relation and Patient Safety from 2006-07-26T02:00:08
In this episode, geologist Kip Hodges discusses how climate and mountain evolution influence each other in the Himalayas, the subject of his article in the August issue of Scientific American. And ...
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