general science

#733 Andrew Knoll - A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters

Jan 20, 2023

Dr. Andrew Knoll is the Fisher Professor of Natural History at Harvard University. Dr. Knoll’s research focuses on the early evolution of life, Earth’s environmental history, and, especially, the interconnections between the two. For the past decade, he has served on the science team for NASA’s MER mission to Mars. Professor Knoll’s honors include the Walcott Medal and the Mary Clark Thompson Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the Phi Beta Kappa Book Award in Science (for his 2003 book Life on a Young Planet), the Moore Medal of the Society for Sedimentary Geology, the Paleontological Society Medal, and the Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society of London. Dr. Knoll is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Microbiology. He is the author of A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters. More»
#704 Matthew Cobb - As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age

Nov 14, 2022

Dr. Matthew Cobb is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester, where his research focuses on the sense of smell, insect behavior and the history of science. He is also a historian of the French Resistance. He’s the author of several books, including As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age. More»
#698 James Zimring - Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking

Oct 31, 2022

Dr. James Zimring is Thomas W. Tillack Professor of Experimental Pathology at the University of Virginia. He is the author of What Science Is and How It Really Works (2019). His latest book is Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking. More»
#697 John Allen Paulos - Who’s Counting?; Uniting Numbers and Narratives with Stories

Oct 28, 2022

Dr. John Allen Paulos is a Professor of Mathematics at Temple University. He has written scholarly papers on probability, logic, and the philosophy of science as well as scores of OpEds, book reviews, and articles in publications such as the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Nation, Discover, the American Scholar, and the London Review of Books. In 2003, he received the American Association for the Advancement of Science award for promoting public understanding of science, and in 2013 the Mathematics Communication Award from the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. He is the author of several books, the most recent one being “Who’s Counting?: Uniting Numbers and Narratives with Stories from Pop Culture, Puzzles, Politics, and More”. More»
#693 Stuart Vyse - The Uses of Delusion: Why It's Not Always Rational to Be Rational

Oct 20, 2022

Dr. Stuart Vyse is a psychologist, teacher, speaker, and author who specializes in belief in superstitions and critical thinking. He is a contributing editor for Skeptical Inquirer magazine. He has written personal and professional essays in a variety of places, including the Observer, Medium, The Atlantic, The Good Men Project, Tablet, and Time. His book Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition won the American Psychological Association's William James Book Award. His latest book is The Uses of Delusion: Why It's Not Always Rational to Be Rational. More»
#677 Mahtab Jafari: The Truth About Dietary Supplements

Sep 12, 2022

Dr. Mahtab Jafari is Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the School of Biological Sciences, and Director of the UCI Center for Healthspan Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests include Healthspan Pharmacology: the impact of botanical extracts and dietary supplements on longevity and health; Anti-Aging Pharmacology; and Preventive Medicine. She is the author of The Truth About Dietary Supplements: An Evidence-Based Guide to a Safe Medicine Cabinet. More»
#639 Leo Tiokhin: Producing Scientific Knowledge, and Improving the Social Sciences

Jun 16, 2022

Dr. Leo Tiokhin is Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Amsterdam, an Interdisciplinary Research Specialist at Strategic Alliance: TU/e, WUR, UU & UMC Utrecht, and a postdoctoral researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Dr. Tiokhin is a meta-scientist who studies the forces that shape how scientists do their work and make inferences from the populations that they study. Much of his research focuses on how incentive structures affect scientific efficiency and reliability, and how we can improve the recognition and reward structures in science. More»
#634 Simon Garnier: Swarm Intelligence, Collective Decision-Making, and Human Societies

Jun 3, 2022

Dr. Simon Garnier is an Associate Professor of Biology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is the head of the Swarm Lab, an interdisciplinary research lab that studies the mechanisms underlying Collective Behaviors and Swarm Intelligence in natural and artificial systems (http://www.theswarmlab.com). His research aims to reveal the detailed functioning of collective intelligence in systems as diverse as ant colonies, human crowds or robotic swarms. More»
#629 Robert Pennock - An Instinct for Truth: Curiosity and the Moral Character of Science

May 23, 2022

Dr. Robert Pennock is University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University, where he is on the faculty of Lyman Briggs College, the Departments of Philosophy and Computer Science & Engineering, and the Ecology, Evolution and Behavior program. His research involves empirical and philosophical questions that relate to evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and the scientific character, such as the evolution of altruism, complexity, and intelligence. He is the author of books like An Instinct for Truth: Curiosity and the Moral Character of Science. More»
#618 Lee McIntyre - How to Talk to a Science Denier

Apr 28, 2022

Dr. Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He is interested in comparative methodology across the natural and social sciences. He is the author of books like Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience. His new book is How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason. More»