Chris Pickard is a materials scientist who employs what are called first principles methods—modeling techniques that work out material properties using fundamental rules such as quantum mechanics and Newton’s laws. Trained as a condensed matter physicist, he refocused on materials science just as interest in the field was exploding amid advancements in computation. Switching between empirical and theoretical sciences was good preparation for a field that works closely with experimentalists and t...
Feb 18, 2025•29 min
An interview with the president and founder of African Gong, Elizabeth Rasekoala. Her current book "Race and Sociocultaral Inclusion in Science Communication" brings together perspectives from science communicators from the global south. Host, Katie L. Burke, Digital Features Editor at American Scientist. Edited by Nwabata Nnani.
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 10 min
An interview with Virginia Tech environmental engineer, Linsey Marr. Her expertise in aerosols came to center stage as she and her colleagues worked for years to change policies based on faulty ideas about the transmission of the coronavirus. Host, Katie L. Burke, Digital Features Editor at American Scientist. Edited by Nwabata Nnani.
Sep 05, 2023•39 min
We'll hear from science communication leaders and podcasters on why podcasting is an important platform for Science. Interviews from Samir Honwad—professor at the University of Buffalo, Wendy Zuckerman—host of Science VS and 2022 Sigma Xi IFORE award winner, and Aaron Scott and Emily Kwong from NPR Short Wave as well as one of their guests Dr. Tiana Williams-Claussen from the Yurok Tribe. Host, Jordan Anderson.
Jul 27, 2023•27 min
Andrea "Annie" Kritcher discusses her and her team's achieved ignition, raising new hopes for fusion as a practical energy source. Host Corey S. Powell and American Scientist Magazine.
Jul 20, 2023•43 min
Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias is melding enviromental data and how these early populations interacted. Host Corey S. Powell and American Scientist Magazine.
Jul 20, 2023•41 min
The collision of the Great Resignation and long-standing gender inequities in medicine is heightening calls for improved family leave policies at American health care institutions. Host Jordan Anderson and American Scientist editor Katie L. Burke discuss caregiving support policies, bringing in perspectives from interviewees Christina Mangurian of UCSC, Jessica Lee of UCSC, and Neda Laiteerapong of University of Chicago.
Jul 10, 2023•20 min
On using synthetic biology to create next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics -- an interview with James J. Collins of Harvard and MIT, one of founders of the field.
Mar 01, 2023•16 min
How science fiction promotes science curiosity and why that matters. Hear from science communication practitioners and scholars Reyhaneh Maktoufi, Thomas DeFrantz, and Stephanie Castillo.
Sep 06, 2022•25 min
The first images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are already transforming our view of the universe. Hear from John Mather, Nobel Laureate and senior project scientist for JWST at NASA.
Aug 01, 2022•14 min
There are many ways organisms adapt to their environments, which can be seen both with the eye and in an organism's genetic sequence.
Jul 01, 2022•19 min
Researchers are working to understand the cellular composition and diversity of the brain, creating a catalog of cell types as well as seeking to plot the relationships, structures, and functions of those cell types.
May 02, 2022•21 min
Arrays of microneedles that could replace injections have been the subject of research for some 50 years, but have not yet been commercially successful. A new type of high-resolution 3D printing could change that.
Apr 01, 2022•18 min
As entomologist Suzanne W.T. Batra has long argued, there are far better pollinator bees than they honeybee. Hear an interview with the researcher whose colleagues at the USDA named a research conference "Batrafest" to honor her.
Mar 01, 2022•15 min
Liquid-filled scaffolds that are not enclosed, but don’t leak? A team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory came with a 3D-printed unit with an internal structure that water clings to and flows into... even though it has holes.
Feb 01, 2022•18 min
Rewards and pitfalls to communicating science on social media: a discussion with Michael Xenos at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, BlackInNeuro and SciComm Collective's Danielle Nadin, and Samantha Yammine, also known on the internet as Science Sam.
Dec 01, 2021•23 min
Astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi discusses his memoir, A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Streets to the Stars.
Nov 01, 2021•25 min
Structural problems in STEM workplaces, and the importance of inclusivity in institutions -- a conversation with Shirley Malcom.
Oct 01, 2021•11 min
Structural problems in STEM workplaces, and the importance of inclusivity in institutions -- a conversation with Shirley Malcom.
Sep 01, 2021•24 min
Lessons from past biotechnology controversies and the potentials and concerns that lie ahead -- a conversation with Insoo Hyun.
Aug 02, 2021•28 min
Approaches to engage marginalized communities -- a conversation with Stephaun Elite Wallace.
Jul 01, 2021•23 min
Exploring all things data visualization.
Jun 01, 2021•17 min
Using art as a tool for environmental education.
May 03, 2021•19 min
How science communicators are using music to make science more reflexive, equitable, and engaging to audiences.
Jan 04, 2021•23 min
This remarkably diverse group of dinosaurs went far beyond Triceratops.
Nov 02, 2020•27 min
Seeking to better describe the world, researchers are attempting to blend the languages of science and art.
Oct 01, 2020•24 min
An interview with virologist Peter Jay Hotez on the anti-vaccine movement and other challenges to vaccine development, including poverty, war and conflict, urbanization, and climate change.
Sep 01, 2020•18 min
An interview with Anina Rich, who heads the Perception in Action Research Centre at Macquarie University and the Synaesthesia at Macquarie research group. She investigates synesthesia to learn about how the brain integrates information.
Aug 03, 2020•20 min
An interview with Manuel Lima, Senior UX Design Leader for Google, avid historian, and author of books exploring how certain visual themes, such as circles, go back to the beginnings of human understanding.
Jul 01, 2020•18 min
New computing applications are ahead for soft materials that can guide light.
Jun 01, 2020•23 min
