Science Talk

Latest Episodes:

The Heat IS On: International Global Warming Consensus; and Academy Award Winning Audio Science Feb 07, 2007

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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 Laboratories Senior VP Ioan Allen talks about the cyan dye audio track innovation that will be honored Saturday at the Scientific And Technical Academy Awards ceremony. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com; blog.sciam.com; www.sciammind.com

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TV Of Tomorrow; Battle Of The Science Journals; US Budget Crunch Threatens National Lab Jan 31, 2007

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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 broadcasting, scheduled to take place February 17, 2009; SciAm.com associate editor David Biello discusses the war being waged between open access science journals and those that charge readers; and Scientific American magazine editor Mark Alpert gives us the lowdown on how the last Congress's failure to pass a budget has left Fermi National Laboratory in the lurch. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com; blog.sciam.com; www.sciammind.com

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Good News About Coffee And Amazing Skeptic Conference Jan 24, 2007

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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 talks about pseudoscience and paranormal debunker The Amazing Randi's skeptic conference last weekend in Las Vegas. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.ift.org; blog.sciam.com; www.sciam.com/news

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Better Ways To Cut A Cake and To Pick A Champion Jan 17, 2007

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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 Laboratory theoretician Eli Ben-Naim talks about relative competitiveness of professional team sports and devising more efficient schedules. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com/podcast; http://cnls.lanl.gov/~ebn; http://www.ams.org/notices/200611/fea-brams.pdf; http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=15&articleID=1373A988-E7F2-99DF-3DF48A64628C76E9

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The Inevitability Of Cancer's Commonality; and High School Math Whiz Jan 10, 2007

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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 tendency for human beings to develop the disease. Dmitry Vaintrob, winner of the 2006-07 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology for high school students, talks about his project in string topology. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com/podcast; www.carlzimmer.com; www.siemens-foundation.org

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Tears And Other Traits That Make Us Human; What Color Is Your Placebo Parachute Jan 03, 2007

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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 article in the current issue of Scientific American MIND. The University of Cambridge's Gordon Smith discusses the alarming lack of any randomized, controlled trials to determine the efficacy of parachutes. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciammind.com; www.chipwalter.com; www.bmj.com.

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Rampaging Robots and Killer Komodos Dec 27, 2006

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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 University of Florida talks about wrangling Komodo Dragons. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com/podcast; www.sciam.com/news; www.danielhwilson.com; www.robotuprising.com; www.sciamdigital.com; http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=1&articleID=9312A198-E7F2-99DF-31DA639D6C4BA567

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Radioactive Spy Dust and the Litvinenko Case; Ode To Grad Students Dec 20, 2006

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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 about the polonium poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko. We'll also hear a Christmas poem dedicated to the graduate students and postdocs who burn the midnight oil even on Christmas Eve. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include blog.sciam.com; www.sciam.com/podcast; www.sciam.com/news

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Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus and Rocky the Flying Mesozoic Mammal Dec 13, 2006

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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 Institution's Hamilton Project. And the American Museum of Natural History's Jin Meng discusses a major new fossil find, a flying mammal some 130 million years old. Plus we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com/podcast; www.sciam.com/news; www.sciamdigital.com; www.hamiltonproject.org; www.amnh.org/science; www.nature.com.

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Singing New Songs: Urban Birds Vocalize Differently; Insurance Industry Worries About Warming Dec 06, 2006

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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 American magazine's "SA 50" citations with Ivo Menzinger, managing director of sustainability and emerging risk management for the reinsurance company Swiss Re. Plus we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com/podcast; www.sciam.com/news

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