Nerdin’ About

Misunderstanding Evolution: From Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z

What are some of the first things that come to mind when you think about evolution? What arguments have you heard to challenge it? From the famous monkey-to-human diagram, to the assertion that “evolution is just a theory”, we’ve got our evolution education superhero Dr. Greg Bole (he/him) to help us debunk some of these common misconceptions. Greg is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Departments of Zoology and Botany at the University of British Columbia. He’s heard it all, so by the end of this episode you’ll be equipped with a little more information about what evolution really is. A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3gKz8mA

 

LIGO Wrangles Wiggles in Spacetime

What happens in a galaxy far, far away, doesn’t stay there. In this episode Corey Gray (he/him) explains how LIGO (The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detects cosmic events unfolding across the universe. Corey is a detector operator at LIGO in Washington State. He is also Scottish and Blackfoot and a member of the Siksika Nation of Alberta, Canada. We get into gravitational-wave astronomy and the story of how Corey recruited his Mom to translate the historic press release of the first gravitational-wave detection into the Blackfoot language! Plus your nerd herd questions, and our wavey, possibly musical nerd outs! A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3dfm8U4

Rebranding Math: Keeping up with the KarMathians

Math needs a makeover. So often, people put themselves into a category of being “not a math person”, but Vanessa Vakharia (she/her) is working to change math culture so that everyone can embrace their inner mathematician. In this episode we learn about how failing Grade 11 math twice changed Vanessa’s life, why there’s “no such thing as a math person”, and Kaylee and Michael get a little math therapy. Vanessa is a math education expert and the founder and director of The Math Guru, a math tutoring studio in Toronto. Vanessa is also the host of the podcast Math Therapy, and author of the new book Math Hacks working to make math fun for kids and parents. A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3rGDihc

How Are You? Virtual Health Care in the 21st Century

With an ongoing global pandemic, many of us have had to rethink how we access health care. In this episode Dr. Alison Müller (she/her) explains how virtual health can not only help to fill the void of in-person health care, but also encourage us to seek care sooner. Alison is a postdoctoral fellow at The University of British Columbia studying how virtual health interventions can facilitate health care communications with patients during COVID-19. In addition to nerding out about virtual health, Kaylee, Michael, and Alison share a 'nerd out' theme of TV/film, but with a science twist. A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3eQX6f0

Pufferfish: Metalheads of the Sea

From pufferfish to Arctic char, we’re diving in with Amy Liu (she/they) to learn more about these fishy friends. Amy is a pufferfish enthusiast who teaches us a thing or two about why we should admire pufferfish. Spoiler: there’s much more stuff than just the puff! Amy is also a graduate student studying Arctic char genomics, and we discuss why this tool is so important to identifying species within the Arctic char complex. A transcript of this episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3b4hNC2

ACRONYMs: Abbreviated Code Rarely Or Never Yielding Meaning

“Science communication is hard, and scientists aren’t making it any easier” says Jay Ingram (host of CBC’s ‘Quirks and Quarks’, and Discovery Channel Canada’s ‘Daily Planet’). Whether it’s overuse of acronyms, or inaccessible communication, there are many pitfalls scientists and science communicators can fall into. Kaylee and Michael dig in with their former science communication mentor from Banff Beakerhead to find some solutions, which as it turns out is exactly what you’ll hear in this episode: a fun in-person conversation! A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3jWkgBg

Breast Cancer is a Drag

We’re back for Nerdin’ About Season 2! Grab your lab coat and your rhinestones because this week we’re mixing Science and Drag. In this episode we chat with Shawn Hercules, a PhD candidate who studies breast cancer at McMaster University. Shawn is investigating why an aggressive form of breast cancer disproportionately affects people of African ancestry, and he shares some potential explanations. When he’s not sifting through genetic data, Shawn transforms to Miss Rawbyn Diamonds in drag. Rawbyn is a fierce artist, challenging cis/heteronormative sterotypes in science to bring her true self to the table as a queer person and scientist. We’re excited for you to meet Shawn and Rawbyn! A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/39FWlSV

Nerdin’ About Season One

For the final episode of Season One of Nerdin’ About, Kaylee and Michael wrap up this weird and wild year by nerding out together. They talk about some of the things they’ve learned pivoting from doing a live event to producing a podcast. They answer the Nerd Herd’s questions about rats in space, and even get their first audience-audio nerd out as they put a cap on 2020. Season 2 will be released in early 2021! A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3oTHERa

The Optimistic Rat

Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? 2020 has been a tough year, testing our collective positivity, but what are optimism and pessimism? Neuroscientist Dr. Travis Hodges has some answers as he studies these patterns of thinking IN RATS. Travis is a postdoctoral fellow at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at UBC. We talk to Travis about his research, how he studies pessimism and optimism in adolescent rats, and ultimately what that can teach us about ourselves especially as we get older. A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3kGHpGG

The Future of Education

Over the past few months we have witnessed a huge transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But is it as easy as just transitioning what we use to do in-person to an online platform? In this episode of Nerdin’ About, we’re joined by Sultan Rana, a teacher of soon-to-be educators at York University’s Faculty of Education. We discuss how to integrate technology wisely into teaching and the need for accessible tech education. Sultan also shares his experience delivering equity, diversity, and inclusion training for teachers and why that training alone isn’t enough. A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3eq6TXq