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Latest Episodes:

SIO448: How To Build A Dinosaur May 21, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Eric Jaffe joins the show and walks us through the dream so many of us have had - building a dinosaur! With his expertise in molecular biology, we learn if this is even possible, and how exactly it would work. Would we use mosquitoes for this project like Jurassic Park tells us is totally possible and sound? Actually, what even is a dinosaur anyway? Lots of fascinating dino-talk in this one from a great science communicator!

Building a Dinosaur Is a project spearheaded by the Paleontologist Jack Horner. He has worked with the labs of numerous scientists including but not limited to: Hans Larsson, Dana Rashid and Mary Schweitzer.

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SIO447: Steve Vladeck on the Shadow Docket May 01, 2024

Show notes

Today's guest, or should I say last year's guest, is Steve Vladeck! He holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law, and is a nationally recognized expert on the federal courts, constitutional law, national security law, and military justice. Last year, he released the New York Times bestselling book, "The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic." We spoke about the book and about the state of our horrible Supreme Court. Steve will be appearing on Opening Arguments soon for a sequel to this conversation!

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SIO446: Believe It Or Not, The Right Has An Effective Youth Movement Apr 29, 2024

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Author and journalist Kyle Spencer knows - she wrote the book on it. It's called Raising Them Right, soon to be out in paperback. She spent extensive time with Charlie Kirk, among others, and saw how he built an effective right wing youth movement. How did he do it? Who is funding it? Do these people really believe what they say? She answers those questions and more.

We're also big fans of Kyle's Reporting Right newsletter. Check it out!

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SIO445: The Science of 3 Body Problem with Paul Sutter Apr 28, 2024

Show notes

We welcome back cosmologist and science communicator Dr. Paul Sutter! Previously, he had come on to talk about his book, Rescuing Science. This time, he's here to take us through some of the science of the super cool new Netflix show 3 Body Problem. What does it get right and what does it get wrong? Or does that even matter? Paul takes us through it! Make sure to check out his podcast Ask A Spaceman!

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SIO444: Climate Change Made "the Blob." It Killed Tons of Marine Life Apr 28, 2024

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Everyone's favorite marine biologist, Dr. Heidi Pearson is back! This time, we're talking about a new, large scale study just out about the massive loss of marine life caused by "the blob." It's another tale of man-made climate change wreaking havoc on the world. But, we've also got some more fun stories to talk about! Gay whales caught in the act, a solo orca that didn't wait for its pod to hunt and kill a Great White Shark, and menopause in whales.

You can upload photos and follow your favorite whales here: https://happywhale.com/home

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SIO443: Dr. Jo Boaler Tried To Improve Math Education. Then An Anti-woke Mob Came For Her Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Jo Boaler is a leading math education expert and one of the writers of the California Mathematics Framework, a set of guidelines focused on improving equity in California's math classrooms. We first talk about her upcoming book, Math-ish, and the beauty of pursuing more "ish" in our lives. Then, we discuss a recent anonymous complaint that was filed with Stanford University, accusing Dr. Boaler of misrepresenting research to serve her own agenda.

Update: Shortly after recording with us, Stanford University announced they would not be pursuing a formal investigation of Dr. Boaler, and that "...the allegations reflect scholarly disagreement and interpretation.”

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SIO442: Is Quantum Technology Actually Better? Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

In honor of World Quantum Day (April 14th), Quantum Anne is here to discuss when quantum is better, when it's worse, and when it could honestly go either way.

Quantum Sensing Quantum Computing Overview 100 Years of Quantum!

For ideas on how to celebrate World Quantum Day, check out: https://www.quantum.gov/world-quantum-day/! Anne made cake (photo attached), that represents a Hadamard gate. It turns a |0> or a |1> into a (|0> +|1>)÷2 - a qubit into a superposition of two states.

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SIO441: Elon Musk's Neuralink - Real Or Just Hype? Part 2 Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

Here's Part 2 of our deep dive into neural implants with Dr. Jenessa Seymour! The brain is still completely amazing, and so are the folks who are creating innovative technology to help people do things that have been otherwise out of reach. And then there's Elon.

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SIO440: Elon Musk's Neuralink - Real or Just Hype? Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

We've got an expert to take us through it! Dr. Jenessa Seymour is a former neuroscientist currently working in disability rights and she has looked through the history of neural implant efforts to investigate Elon's Neuralink claims. Just how full of it is he? And how in the world does any of this even work? What is clear is that the brain is insanely amazing.

There's so much to talk about that this ended up being a two-parter!

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SIO439: God and Country with Katherine Stewart Mar 30, 2024

Show notes

Author and journalist Katherine Stewart joins us today to discuss her reporting on religious nationalism, as well as the organization and structure behind these efforts, and what we can do in the face of it all.

Be sure to check out the recent film God and Country which is based on her 2020 book, The Power Worshippers!

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