Big Picture Science

Latest Episodes:

Seth's Garage Jun 07, 2010

Show notes

It’s always a surprise to go digging in Seth’s garage – who knows what we’ll find! In this impressive heap of paraphernalia, tucked between boxes of old radio tubes and hydraulic jacks, we stumble upon the secrets to our galaxy’s central black hole… witness the dance of the PhD theses… uncover the genome of milk (while moo-ving boxes) and … hey? Who’s that crunching numbers in the corner? It’s astrophysicist Mario Livio addressing the mathematical mysteries of universe.

Guests:

Andrea Ghez - Astronomer at University of California, Los Angeles
Kathryn Denning - Professor of Anthropology at York University
Mario Livio - Senior Astronomer at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute and author of Is God a Mathematician?
John Bohannon - Gonzo Scientist and Contributing Correspondent for Science
Katrien Kolenberg - Astrophysicist, University of Vienna
Danielle Lemay - Nutrition Scientist at the University of California, Davis

Descripción en español

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Life of Brain May 24, 2010

Show notes

We should award frequent travel miles to your brain. After all, it’s evolved a long way from the days of guiding brachiation from tree-to-tree to become the three pounds of web-surfing, Sudoku-playing powerhouse it is today. But a suite of technologies may expand human brains further still.

From smart pills to nano-wires: discover the potential – and peril – of neuro-engineering to repair and enhance our cognitive function.

Also, how our brains got so big in the first place: a defense of the modern diet.

Guests

Bill Leonard - department chairman and professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University
Michael Gazzaniga - neuroscientist and director of the University of California – Santa Barbara’s SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind. Author of
Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique
Ian Pearson - futurologist at Futurizon
Steven Rose - biologist and director of the Brain and Behavior Research Group at the Open University in London. Author of The Future of the Brain: The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow's Neuroscience
Ed Boyden - neuroscientist at MIT’s Media Lab and Department of Biological Engineering

Descripción en español

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Skeptic Check: Fraudcast News May 17, 2010

Show notes

There are a lot of scientific claims out there – how do you separate the good from the bad and the outright fraudulent? Experts failed to do so for years in the case of a physicist whose published papers claimed the invention of a new bio-based transistor. Plus, other stories of deceit – such as the scientist who stooped to coloring mouse fur with markers.

Also, why climate science is solid, but its scientists need to be more open with the public.

And, from the undersea “bloop” to the Denver airport conspiracy theory. Why urban myths are so popular.

Plus, Phil Plait describes someone’s plans to meditate away the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

Phil Plait - Astronomer, keeper of badastronomy.com, and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . .
Eugenie Samuel Reich - News reporter and author of Plastic Fantastic
Michael Shermer - Publisher of Skeptic Magazine and columnist for Scientific American
Sheila Jasanoff - Professor of science and public policy at Harvard University
Brian Dunning - Science journalist and producer of the podcast Skeptoid

Descripción en español

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Robots Call the Shots May 03, 2010

Show notes

Dr. Robot, I presume? Your appendix may be removed by motor-driven, scalpel-wielding mechanical hands one day. Robots are debuting in the medical field… as well as on battlefields. And they’re increasingly making important decisions – on their own. But can we teach robots right from wrong? Find out why the onslaught of silicon intelligence has prompted a new field of robo-ethics.

Plus, robo-geologists: NASA’s vision for autonomous robots in space.

Guests:

P.W. Singer - Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution, and the author of Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century
Wendell Wallach - Chair of a technology and ethics working group for Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, and the co-author of Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong
Pablo Garcia - – Principal engineer working on medical robotics at SRI International, Menlo Park, California
Robert Anderson - Planetary geologist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Robyn Asimov - Daughter of author Isaac Asimov

Descripción en español

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Seas the Moment Apr 26, 2010

Show notes

With more water than land on this planet, Earth is more aptly-named “Ocean” or “Water.” The oceans have been here for billions of years, and make all life possible. Yet, it’s taken less than a century for humans to deal some serious blows to the watery cradle of our existence. Discover how our oceans are changing and the worrisome increase in their acidity from the maker of the documentary film, A Sea Change

Also, hear how hope is bubbling up for ocean recovery from famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle. Learn about her record-breaking voyages underwater and how her reprimand to a Silicon Valley entrepreneur gave birth to Google Ocean. Plus, farming the seas for new antibiotics.

Guests:

Sylvia Earle - Oceanographer, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, founder of DeepSearch Foundation, and author of Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas (National Geographic Atlas)
Sven Huseby - Co-producer of the documentary A Sea Change
Peter Moeller - Toxin and Natural Products Chemist at NOAA
Pacific Ocean - Largest oceanic division of the world, overlay of the Pacific Plate

Descripción en español

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Habitats Not For Humanity Apr 19, 2010

Show notes

We place sharks in aquariums and elephants in zoos – to observe and conserve. But what if aliens have done the same to us? We’ll hear from Stephen King on a doomed result of a domed experiment - hatched by off-Earth beings, and why captivity may actually save some species on this planet.

Plus, you’re entering the Habitable Zone: which is the best bet for life elsewhere in the Solar System - Europa, Enceladus or Mars?

Guests:

Stephen King - Novelist, author of Under the Dome: A Novel
Jim Kasting - Geoscientist, Penn State University and author of How to Find a Habitable Planet (Science Essentials)
Oliver Morton - Journalist, author of Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet
John Fraser - Director for the Institute for Learning Innovations and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hunter College CUNY
Amanda Hendrix - Planetary Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Bob Pappalardo - Planetary Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Descripción en español

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Seth's Crawl Space Apr 12, 2010

Show notes

It’s always a surprise to go digging in Seth’s crawl space – who knows what we’ll find! In this cramped never-never land, tucked between piles of spilled cat litter and old clarinet reeds, we stumble upon the language of whales … the future of technology … the secret to plant power … and the answer to whether photographic memory exists. Tune in, find out and, grab a broom, will you?

Guests:

Larry Squire - Professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and a scientist at the V.A. Medical Center in San Diego
Nathan Myhrvold - CEO of Intellectual Ventures
Oliver Morton - Journalist and author of Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet
Fred Sharpe - Executive Director and Principal Investigator at the Alaska Whale Foundation

Descripción en español

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Skeptic Check: Conspiracy! Apr 05, 2010

Show notes

The Apollo moon landing is a hoax! 9-11 was an inside job! Our government keeps alien bodies racked and stacked in an underground bunker! And as for the evidence … well … put on your tin hats, folks, we’re going deep, deep, deep into conspiracy with journalist David Aaronovitch.

Also – the truth is out there, but it’s ignored. Jonah Lehrer on why scientists can overlook evidence.

Plus, money for meters and your spooks for free: ghost detectors hit the market.

And Hollywood Reality Check and Phil Plait on bogus bomb detectors.

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

Phil Plait - Astronomer, keeper of badastronomy.com, and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . .
David Aaronovitch- Columnist with the Times newspaper of London and author of Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History
Jonah Lehrer - Contributing editor at Wired magazine and author of How We Decide
Matt Lowry - High school physics teacher and keeper of the Skeptical Teacher web site
Jim Underdown - Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, West - Los Angeles

Descripción en español

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SETI: Now What? Mar 29, 2010

Show notes

Hello! Is anyone out there? As the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence marks its 50th anniversary, there’s been no contact as yet with alien beings. But SETI researchers maintain that we are not alone. Find out why in a SETI retrospective that looks at the past and future of the search.

We remember the first scientific SETI search… Carl Sagan... how the SETI Institute began… the WOW signal…and the 1993 NASA budget cuts.

We’ll also hear from critics of the search… scientists involved in optical SETI and SETI@home. Plus, international collaborations… and where the search is headed.

Guests:

Frank Drake - Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute
Jill Tarter - Director of the Center for SETI Research, SETI Institute
Tom Pierson - CEO, SETI Institute
Paul Horowitz - Physicist, electrical engineer, Harvard University
Dan Werthimer - Chief Scientist, SETI@home, University of California, Berkeley
Ben Zuckerman - Physicist, Astronomer, UCLA

Descripción en español

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Skeptic Check: Climate Clamor Mar 08, 2010

Show notes

Arctic ice is melting, atmospheric temperatures are climbing – yet climate change science is under attack. Detractors claim that researchers are manipulating data and hoodwinking the public. And the public is increasingly skeptical about the science.

Find out what’s behind the surge of climate change skepticism - and what global warming deniers learned from big tobacco about how to spin scientific evidence.

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it!

Guests: