Science... sort of

280 - Chatting with Chirpers

00:00:00 - Ben and Ryan are joined by Ben's actual friend Miya Warrington. Miya studies the behavioral ecology of animal communication, which we spend the first segment discussing the generalities of the research and why this type of research is important. You can learn more about her research at her website or by checking out the comic Jorge Chan did about her work in Ph.D. Comics.  00:44:24 - Talking about talking is thirsty work, so Ben and Ryan enjoy a drink. Ben has a Thai basil soda from Portland that doesn't sound all that great, but Ryan really enjoys his Two Claw Rye IPA which, of course, leads to a discussion about crabbing.  00:59:27 - For the second part of our chat with Miya, we discuss her recently published paper about how noisy equipment in the grasslands of Canada changes how birds are able to talk to each other, and what conservation implications this might have for the future. Important stuff! You can follow along with Miya on Twitter @miya_warrington 01:15:19 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like diesel-powered oil pumps, they don't inherently seem to make sense. First up is a thesis for Patreon supporter Alex K., which Ben absolutely nails on the first try with Descalate the alarms: A silencing method for counter-measuring early rising chirpers. Great job, Ben and congrats Alex on your BSso degree! Next, Ben and Ryan discuss an e-mail from Harper with a link to an article about a guy trying to predict the origin of life using entropy, which is a fun thing for a physicist and a paleontologist to discuss. More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon! Music for this week's show:Bird Problems - LimbeckCrabbuckit - K-OSBird On The Wire - Leonard Cohen

279 - On the Move for Science

00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan are joined by Justin "The Yeti" Yeakel who has a new paper in Nature Communications about a model he and his co-authors have developed about starvation and body size in mammals, turns out, bigger is generally better. The interview was conducted during Justin's commute, so the connection comes and goes, but it's always good to catch up with one of the originals. You can follow Justin on Twitter (@jdyeakel) and check out his lab's website here. And if you want to read more about big ideas in ecology, check out James Brown's seminal book Macroecology. 00:44:56 - Saying goodbye to Justin is so upsetting we need a drink. But first, Justin (safely off the road) sends us a quick audio update with a drink of his own, the Go West! IPA from Anchor Brewing Company. Next up, Patrick runs with the big dogs and enjoys a 9% collaboration Brown IPA from Heavy Seas and Stone, but Ryan one-ups him per usual with a 10% Higher Ground from Franklin's. You can't win, Patrick, he has the high ground. 00:52:12 - For our second segment, Ryan chats with Dr. Eloise Marais from the University of Birmingham about her idea to use the GPS in a smartphone to dynamically track a person's exposure to air pollution. The first attempt had some interesting hiccups but shows promise. You can read the abstract from her AGU talk here, and check out Eloise's lab website here. 01:25:22 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like air pollution; you can't avoid it no matter how far you run. First up, we are thrilled to have Jeff C. on board as a patron, and he lets us know a little about his story with geology, including some unfortunate discrimination. Sorry to hear about that, but glad you found a better place still in STEM. Jeff also get's a thesis, which in this case is: Hothouse techniques to develop ideal allometric size-constrained pollution resistant Coffea arabica beans: Hothouses for cold beans. Thanks again, Jeff! Next, Cliff E. wanted us to know about the Mammal March Madness based on an NPR article he read, spearheaded by Prof. Katie Hinde and an all-around swell idea! Patrick's geochemistry students are getting ready to produce some podcasts, you can listen to the last class' episodes on Soundcloud here. And Ryan is giving a talk at the Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers in Roanoke, VA as part of the Science Museum of Western Virginia's STEM Tavern series on April 11th, so come on by if you're in the area! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon! Music for this week's show:One Call Away - Charlie PuthHigher - CreedNo Particular Place To Go - Chuck Berry

278 - LOST

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan is joined by four (4!) guests to talk about their paper published in Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics about whether or not humans are to blame for the extinction of Caribbean mammals. What did they discover? You can read a summary of the work written by co-author Alexis Mychajliw here and then listen to find out even more! 00:31:08 - Island life goes better with a drink. Doing the show all these years means there are occasionally bottles with a very small amount of left in them being "saved for the show." This week, Ryan downs the final two ounces out of a batch 1 bottle of Barrell Bourbon, a very good overproof whiskey, if you like that sort of thing.  00:33:12 - Part two of Ryan's chat covers how a multi-first author collaboration even works, as well as what we can expect to see from their team next. We also discuss the recent hurricanes in the region, and what that means for both the people and for the science. You can help out by donating to Puerto Rican scientists and contributing to crowd-sourced projects to better understand hurricanes like this one. Follow along with each of the interviewees using these handy links! Aleix Mychajliw: Website and Twitter Siobáhn Cooke: Website and Twitter Liliana M. Dávalos: Lab website and Facebook Nate Upham: Website and Twitter 01:05:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like localized extinctions: entirely avoidable but sometimes inevitable. This week we're keeping it short with a simple thanks to Lisa K. for her recurring donation. Thanks, Lisa! No thesis this week since Ryan is solo, but if you want your own thesis title, head on over to Patreon and sign up for the Avogadro's Army level or higher. More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon! Music for this week's show:Main Title from "LOST" - Michael GiacchinoButtons - The WeeksBarrel of a Gun - GusterChange the World (Lost Ones) - Anberlin

277 - AGU 2017, Part 2

00:00:00 - After a brief intro from Ryan and Abe, where explains his new job with the USGS (congrats!) we dive right into Ryan's yearly AGU catch-up with Miles Traer. The first section is mostly about food. You can find Ryan's mom's gumbo recipe here: seafood gumbo. 00:26:25 - Since they're recording in person, Ryan thought it'd be fun to exchange beers and Abe agreed. Abe gives Ryan a Hitachino Nest XH, and Ryan gives Abe a Free Will 5th of May. Juliana joins for a moment to give us her hot take on each. 00:33:39 - Ryan and Miles keep chatting, much as before, there's comic book movies, Star Wars, and probably something about the session they chaired at the meeting (i.e., the reason they were there in the first place). You can see Ryan's gator selfie on Instagram. You can read Ryan and Mile's session proposal here: Science and Sci-Fi: Using Real Science to Explore Fictional Worlds, you can read Mile's abstract for the session here: Stop saving the planet! Carbon accounting of superheroes and their impacts on climate change, and Ryan's here: InGen Inconsistencies: The “Dinosaurs” Of Jurassic Park May Not Be What The Corporation Claims. Doing the session was a lot of fun, and it was even written up in The Washington Post by Sarah Kaplan! 01:00:25 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like New Orleans, they're both big and easy. First up, we thank Zach B. for being a Patron and give him his thesis title. It takes a minute to figure out, but we now know his project is: Saved by the Salt: A Source Dependent Comparative Analysis of Nutrient Composition of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) Using Spectroscopic Satellite Image Data. Thanks, Zach! Next, Ryan celebrates our 501st iTunes review from Bettyk239. Thanks, Betty! Finally, Abe wants to encourage young Latino/a/x volcanologists to get some money from AGU to go a conference. If you know about a pool of money to help young scientists present their work, let us know so we can promote it!  Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon! Shrimp & Gumbo - Dave BartholomewSalty Eyes - The MatchesNew Orleans - Trampled by Turtles

276 - AGU 2017, Part 1

00:00:00 - Here begins our coverage of the 2017 meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Ryan is joined by Matt Candeias, host of Brachiolope Media's In Defense of Plants podcast. 00:02:58 - First, Ryan chats with Susheel Adusumilli about his work looking at changes in Antarctic peninsular ice over the last 20+ years using satellite imagery data. Plus, tips on how best to set up your home wifi network to get the fastest speeds! 00:19:13 - Next up is Mike MacFerrin, who takes us to the other side of the ice ball so we can learn about what's happening in Greenland. Mike has some great stories to share regarding his work on the firn of Greenland's ice sheet, how the sheet is changing, what that means for communities their, and his journey from teacher to scientist (and what scientists can learn from teachers). Awesome chat with an awesome dude. 00:43:05 - Ice goes drinks so let's have some. Matt enjoys a gin and tonic. Ryan says something probably incorrect about India. Ryan pretends to be classy with some Root: 1 Sauvignon Blanc, because the label is pretty, which leads to a discussion on grafting about which Matt says something probably correct. The wine is being used for mushroom pasta, and they both get excited about fungus.  00:51:20 - Rounding out part one is Sarah Arveson, who studies the core... of the earth! Ryan struggles to come to grips with how to use diamond anvils and lasers and high pressures all come together to understand how the earth works. She explains it better than we can type it. She also wrote and op-ed about the thankfully failed Republican tax bill that threatened to tax grad student tuition, which is a bad idea and we talk about why. She continues to serve her community via union organizing, which is impressive, bold, and empowering. Get to work helping your local area, people. What are you even waiting for?  01:29:59 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the earth's core, they're both dynamic, but we're not quite sure how. Patron David M. is here for his thesis, and we aim to provide it, however clunkily. David, your thesis is: Glacial melt effects on light element incorporation into the terroir of wine growing regions in southern South America. Thanks, David! Next, Matt tells us about the documentary he has on Kickstarter, Botany of the Cascades. Consider pitching in a few bucks to get yourself some sweet rewards. Finally, a voicemail from an unknown caller about whether or not Storm's powers have anything to do with airborne algae. Matt and Ryan argue their sides, listen in to see who emerges victorious. If you want to read more about the plausibility of mutant powers, check out Science of the X-Men and tell Ryan if it holds up. Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon! Music for this week's show:Ice Melts - Matt and KimThe Seed (2.0) [feat. Cody Chestnutt] - The RootsParting of the Sensory - Modest Mouse