The discussion today centers on the pressing issue of science communication and the alarming erosion of public trust in scientific endeavors. Our guest, Alex Kirkpatrick, a distinguished scholar in science communication from Washington State University and Cornell Engineering, offers a novel perspective by examining the dynamics between scientists and the public, particularly through the lens of identity and perceived threat. We delve into the inadequacies of the prevalent knowledge deficit mode...
Jul 25, 2025•1 hr 28 min
Is science political? Yes, and that's not an inherently a bad thing. In this episode I try to unpack my thinking on why science is political and more specifically where and why political influences enter the picture. From here I explore how an understanding of these influences can improve scientific research and also ruminate on how this affects science communication aimed at two important audiences: politicians and we the people. Science is a human endeavor and is subject to all the foibles of ...
Apr 25, 2025•34 min
In this episode, we dive into the weird world of nanomaterials and their game-changing role in sustainable technology and space exploration. My guest is Connor Boland , a researcher a Dublin City University. He breaks down how everyday substances like gypsum or pencil lead are transformed into high-tech nanostructures with applications for electronics, engineering, or space travel. He also explains how this can be down with minimal environmental impact. In some cases only requiring a kitchen ble...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 23 min
We broke the century mark and to celebrate we're revisiting the topic of mental health and social media. This time I turn the focus on myself and two good friends as we take a critical look at our own usage and how we feel it impacts our own mood and behavior, for better or worse. To add a professional and scientific element to the show we compare our habits to published research on the correlation between social media use, irritability, depression, anxiety and mental health.
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 26 min
Disease has profoundly shaped human history, influencing major events such as wars, colonization, and migration, while simultaneously being impacted by human behaviors and societal decisions. This conversation dives into the intricate relationship between pathogens and people, exploring how ecological changes and human activities create environments conducive to the spread of diseases. Environmental historian John McNeill and disease ecologist Elizabeth Blackmore discuss key historical moments w...
Nov 05, 2024•1 hr 15 min
The great science broadcaster and author Jay Ingram joins me once again to talk about science that goes mainstream. Why does do some topics jump out of dedicated science news channels and how should critics respond? Is there any good way to present the process behind science and why is that crucial for critiques of misleading stories. These are some of the topics we explore and Jay provides some positive examples of efforts to communicate the changing nature and long term vision of scientific re...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Today we delve deep into the fascinating world of the placebo effect, exploring its implications in medical treatments and the ethics surrounding its use. Dr. Helena Hartman, a neuroscientist, joins the show to talk about how expectations can significantly influence treatment outcomes. Hartman shares her research insights into pain, empathy and placebo and the importance of expectation in driving placebo effects. We also talk about the work being done by the Treatment and Expectations group unco...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 8 min
In June an independent advisory committee recommended the FDA not approve MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD. This came as a surprise to many working in and following the field of psychedelic assisted therapy. It also raised questions as to where the field is at and what challenges still exist. To provide some context and perspective on this decision and some of the specific criticism raised during the hearing Henrik Jungaberle , a psychedelic and public health researcher in Berlin joined the show. ...
Jul 15, 2024•58 min
In this episode we have two interesting news stories from the unrelated worlds of infectious disease and psychedelic research. What's all the fuss with H5N1 moving into cows and is my milk safe? Plus a breakdown of a fascinating set of experiments aimed at answering whether MDMA increases empathy and why this could influence how doctors prescribe the drug in the future. This is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really ...
May 06, 2024•39 min
Have you ever thought about how knowledge, sometimes thought of as facts, get from the scientists, to journalists, to the articles and videos on your screen? Turns out there is a pipeline taking science discoveries from the lab to the news media. This pathway is a useful and well-used system but it is not without problems. Information can be distorted as it is translated and passed on and the fact checks you might assume are present sometimes aren't. My guest Elisa Nelissen is a Ph.D. researcher...
Mar 30, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Ants and other eusocial insects have taken group living to the extreme and while we may not think of these animals as representative of human societies studying the fundementals of the evolution of and consequences of social living using ants makes a lot of sense. My guest Yuko Ulrich is a behavioral ecologist and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany. She joined me to discuss how she uses a unique ant species, commonly known as the clonal raider ant, to ...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 10 min
When's the last time you checked your butt? It could save your life. This episode I chat with Anthony Morgan, host of CBC's The Nature of Things, about their upcoming film Butt Seriously and so much more. As Anthony explains the idea for the arose because people are literally dying from embarassment by not getting their butt's checked out by a doctor. This soon expanded to a deep dive into butt's from all over the animal kingdom. Creatues that breathe through their butt's and the researchers who...
Jan 16, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Two major breakthroughs in gene editing recently occurred and show how our ability to edit the human genome is rapidly increasing. This episode we dive into how these technologies work and how they were able to treat two diseases. One a rather mundane sounding cholesterol problem and the other an exteremely painful and potentially deadly condition known as sickle cell disease. Both stories invovle a combination of new technologies, mRNA techniques and gene editing either using or inspired by CRI...
Dec 22, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Some recent episodes have really got me thinking about science communication and our responsibility as citizens to be informed. Also, about the challenges of being informed and of informing people about issues, discoveries and topics that will not only change our lives but could end them too. Contemplating these things led me to look back at the pandemic as a lens through which many of the issues facing science communication and public discourse become more clear. This episode is my attempt to t...
Oct 27, 2023•57 min
Responsible members of society should have some understanding of science. Hot take? I don’t think so. Decisions on personal and public health require some knowledge and look no further than debates surrounding the application and use of things like AI and gene editing technology. Citizens should have and use their voice to speak on these topics. And this is why science communication exists as a volunteer activity for many academics and as a career for people like me. Unfortunately, the very peop...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Psychedelics receive a lot of positive press regarding their potential as tools for introspection, therapy, and lifestyle or health improvements. And rightfully so, there is compelling evidence for their benefit in treating some mental health issues and a ton of anecdotal evidence and writings about the positive benefits both mentally and physically from tripping. But just below the surface of positive headlines there is a sea of unknowns. We really don’t know how these compounds work physically...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 18 min
How does one go from believing in every conspiracy under the fake moon to being an atheist activist dedicated to critical thinking and reason? Read the Bible. At least that’s what did it for this episode’s guest Calvin Smith . Calvin is podcaster, Tik Tok’er (check below for all his links and handles) and the social media manager for the Secular Alliance of Michigan. In this episode we talk about his path from self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist to self-proclaimed atheist activist. We discuss th...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 37 min
Every other month it seems there is some news coming out regarding psychedelic assisted therapy. Just recently the FDA posted some draft guidelines for clinical trials . But the topic of today’s episode concerns psychedelics outside of a clinical setting. As some places move to decriminalize or even legalize the use of LSD, psylocibin and other psychedelics there is a looming question. How can a society with very little context or experience with these substances and states of mind incorporate t...
Jun 30, 2023•55 min
How can AI improve upon the design of mRNA vaccines? How much is too much when it comes to sperm donations? Turns out the Netherlands has a problem with serial donators. And a quick note on some interesting patterns in data associating smartphone usage with adolescent depression, anxiety, self harm, and suicide. Plus, a special debut of an excellent new track by friends of the show The Dust Collectors. This episode is a mix of stories and were chosen for different reasons. The first is a more po...
May 09, 2023•36 min
Whether or not you think bugs (including spiders) are gross or awesome you probably have some bias about these animals. This episode we talk with Dr. Catherine Scott ( @Cataranea ) about black widows specifically and how our biases influence the way we think about and research species like spiders and bugs more generally. Catherine studies black widow mating strategies and was featured in an upcoming CBC The Nature of Things documentary titled Bug Sex: It's Complicated ( @bugsexthedoc ). She tal...
Mar 10, 2023•1 hr 17 min
We’ve all seen The Last of Us right? The hit franchise is based on the real life Cordyceps fungus, but did you know the fungus doesn’t take over the brain? The true mechanism behind the zombie fungus is perhaps more terrifying. Also, there is actually a more compelling example of zombie parasites that receives shockingly little attention. In response to listener messages about The Last of Us, Brad puts his Ph.D. studying zombie parasites to work and explains the stories behind Cordyceps , Dicroc...
Feb 22, 2023•39 min
Patent law is not front of mind for most people with an interest in psychedelics it is an important story to follow. Just like cannabis before it or pharmaceuticals like painkillers and insulin, companies are looking to patent not only psychedelic molecules but peripheral technologies like delivery methods and in some extreme cases therapy protocols too. Graham Pechenik is a registered patent attorney and founder of Calyx Law, a firm specializing in patents in the cannabis and now psychedelic fi...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Friend of the show and go to source for weird internet stuff, Jared Cuthbertson, is back for our last episode of the year. This episode started as an experiment in Brad joining Tik Tok and seeing where the algorithm would take him. The guys chat about all things Tik Tok and social media. What is the future of content creation? Will Tik Tok replace YouTube? What are the most annoying social media sub cultures and what do we rage watch the most? It's always fun and weird when Jared is on the pod a...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Play. We all do it and we all know it when we see it. But what is play and why is it so crucial for brain development in a select group of animals (humans included) that do it? Dr.Sergio Pellis has studied play and specifically 'rough and tumble play' for decades and joins us to break down exactly what play is, how you study it and how it affects development. The question of nature versus nurture features prominently and Dr. Pellis recounts experiments that show behaviors like learning are more ...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Brad is solo this month and digging into his favorite topic...infectious disease! There is a report of possible 'herd safety' for COVID-19, a debate on the transmission route for monkeypox (is it sexually transmitted or just transmitted during sex and why that matters), plus a few interesting tidbits regarding hemorrhagic fevers Ebola and Marburg virus. Also, the show is now available on the Newsly App ! Newsly curates articles and podcasts on topics of your choosing and get this, reads those ar...
Aug 31, 2022•51 min
Jonathan Pettit, professor at the University of Aberdeen joins to discuss the amazing story of how C. elegans, a rotting plant eating worm, changed biology. This is a story of an intrepid group of researchers who set out to "tame a metazoan" and ended up with one of the most important model systems for developmental biology, genetics and more! You can find Jonathan on Twitter @genotripe WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the sh...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 4 min
The great Jay Ingram, author, broadcaster, and science communicator returns to talk about the latest season of Anthropomania, his fascinating podcast that explores the weird and complex ways humans interact with wildlife. Brad and Jay discuss a range of topics that come up on season 2 of Anthropomania, from our relationship with chickens, to the coming insect apocalypse. They spend a lot of time mulling over de-extinction and whether it’s worth the effort and explore the many ways trash is influ...
Jun 06, 2022•49 min
Surprise, surprise, the latest big, well controlled, credible trials of ivermectin for COVID-19 found no effect. But this episode isn't about the illogical and frankly wrong arguments of the ivermectin for COVID booster club. Instead Brad and veterinarian / research scientist Dr. John Gilleard are here to restore the reputation of the anti-parasitic wonder drug by recounting the amazing story of it's discovery and the fascinating way in which it works. Basically everything we know and don't know...
May 04, 2022•1 hr 18 min
Marvin Däumichen from the Mind Foundation joins to talk about uniMIND, an international network of journal clubs discussing all things related to psychedelic research and the uniMIND Symposium 2022 Synergies & Crossroads taking place Friday April 9th 2022 in Maastricht. Marvin also gives his take on the importance of the scientific approach for investigating the complicated topics of consciousness, spirituality and altered states as well as a why a new generation of people are interested in ...
Apr 04, 2022•52 min
Brad is joined by Ethan Brown, founder and host of the funniest podcast about climate change, The Sweaty Penguin. They discuss using humor as an approach to serious topics like climate change, how honesty and nuance need to be embraced for truly honest discussion and some specifics about climate change and climate change solutions that show it's not all bad news. Check out The Sweaty Penguin wherever you get podcasts, on social media and via their website thesweatypenguin.com WE WANT TO HEAR FRO...
Mar 25, 2022•55 min
