Science... sort of

309 - AAAS Part II, Embrace the Undisciplined

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Utah State University journalism professor Matthew LaPlante (@mdlaplante), who teaches science graduate students how to communicate better all while doing #SciComm himself. They chat about Matthew's approach to helping scientists find the type of outreach that works best for them, amongst many other tangents. 00:23:53 - Impassioned conversation can lead to a powerful thirst, and this episode Ryan is staying hydrated with his trusty new water bottle. Get your own and show the dehydration haters who’s boss! 00:27:04 - The conversation continues. Matthew has a new book out, Superlative: The Biology of the Extremes, but instead he and Ryan mostly talk about his Utah Public Radio show UnDisciplined, which is also released as a podcast. Ryan was even on their April Science News Roundup which you can listen to now. 00:50:37 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like journalism; an important facet of society that we must protect. Ryan riding solo this episode so cranking through a few things like an e-mail from Julie S. harkening back to the long-forgotten episode 115 and a message from Bob M. about the more recent STEAM-focused episode 303. Worth noting that to celebrate the paperback edition of Soonish, The Weekly Weinersmith has returned with 10 new interviews for you to enjoy. Go check it out! And finally, a voicemail from Holly S. confirming that the voicemail line is indeed still active. Thanks for calling in, Holly! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music credit: Comma - Blue Dot Sessions

308 - AAAS Part I, Draw It Out

00:00:00 - Recorded live at the annual meeting of AAAS, Ryan is joined by Jason McDermott (@BioDataGanache) and Matteo Farinella (@matteofarinella), two comic creating scientists who ran a session titled: Scientists Who Draw Comics: The Double Life of Visual Science Communicators, which you know Ryan would be all about. 00:28:23 - Ryan’s wife Juliana joins him for a drink to break up the segments. They share an Astral Weeks by Right Proper Brewing in DC and its fine. For this episode, we also declare the drinks segment to be unofficially sponsored by James and his wonderful Isotope - The Comic Book Lounge. 00:33:26 - In the second half of Ryan’s conversation with Jason and Matteo they continue to talk about crafting comics centered around science. They’re both written about the topic before so you can read either or both pieces, Drawing Connections by Jason and Science Comics' Super Powers by Matteo. And if you want to support their work further, Jason does a webcomic called Red Pen/Black Pen and Matteo has been involved in a number of graphic novels you can buy via our affiliate link on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2VuiuJW  00:52:58 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like comics; people think they outgrow them, but they’re wrong. We begin with Juli recommending a few comics like Wicked + Divine, Paper Girls, and some artsy European comics by Jean-Pierre Gibrat. Next, Ryan has an e-mail from former guest of the show Martín trying to reassure Ryan about getting trapped in a water bubble in space, as mentioned during a recent iFanboy appearance. And Ryan shows Juli some dinosaur and comic themed drawings sent in by Sheli H. More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music for this episode: Charcoal Lines - Blue Dot Sessions 

307 - Laughing all the way to the lab

00:00:00 - This episode we’re thrilled to be joined by comedian Shane Mauss (@shanecomedy), currently touring his Stand Up Science show around the county and happy enough to sit down and chat with Ryan about it. In the first segment they talk about the way Shane thinks about comedy mathematically, growing up, and sloth poop because Ryan can’t help himself. 00:21:59 - Patrick and Charlie stop by to have a drink. Charlie is being refreshed by a Starbucks Refresher whereas Patrick is powering through some Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve in his quest to find a Scotch whisky he likes. Ryan tests out a Bittermilk No. 1 Handcrafted Cocktail Mixer which is… fine. 00:28:18 - In part two of our conversation with Shane we talk about what it’s like to do comedy about evolution in rural parts of the US and what scientists can learn from comedians about getting a message out to a sometimes hostile audience. You can hear the rest of their conversation on the “Sloths + Fossils” episode of Shane’s Here We Are podcast out now! Shane is touring with his comedy and has a new documentary out on streaming, Pyschonautics. Check it all out! 00:55:05 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like comedy; laughable. Ryan has an e-mail from Jon O. who appreciates the careful distinction between Creationists and other Christians. Patrick has an e-mail from a less irate Graeme N. about naked apes and potential shared beers. Charlie opines on molten salt reactors for Patron Matt R. who also doesn’t want a BSso thesis and since we can’t force a degree on someone that’ll just have to be that. Let us know if you’re ever read to submit and wrap up, Matt but for now: [file not found, degree requirements incomplete, BSso not awarded]. Charlie also wants folks to know that his department has a new degree if they’re thinking about going to school and not sure what to study. Ryan recently appeared on the UnDisciplined podcast for their April Science News Roundup and the Retro Movie Roundtable to discuss Disney’s live action early 90s The Three Musketeers. Plus he was featured in a AAAS piece about volunteering at his local high school. And to top it all off, Ryan and Abe are doing the first ever Patreon hangout this Sunday (May 5th) from 7—8PM EDT. If you’re a patron, we hope to see you there! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music for this episode: Good Times - Poddington Bear

306 - The World Without Us

00:00:00 - Thanks to the wonders of isotopic geochemistry, scientists have a found a link between the genocide of the native peoples of the Americas and a carbon drawdown that temporarily cooled global temperatures (Open access paper here: Koch et al. 2019). Doesn’t seem like a great option for thwarting climate change, but good to know regardless. 00:21:45 - Ben wanted something interesting and managed to find Grace Brand Peanut Punch, which he loves. Patrick returns to his roots with a little Gentleman Jack, which gives Ryan a chance to expound on bourbon vs. TN whiskey. Yay. Ryan is also in need of some True Respite, which happens to be the name of the brewery that made the beer Alpin Haus, which he is enjoying. 00:30:08 - For decades there have been concerns about growing human populations, but a recent book, Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline, explores the idea that as the developing world continues to develop population growth might stall or even reverse. What happens if we actually run out of people? Many sci-fi scenarios and references are discussed. 00:50:52 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like population trends, they both require a minimum replacement rate to be stable. First, we have a BSso thesis to confer to Patron Bradley S. who has done the work and submitted: It’s the end of the world as we know, but do you feel fine? Meta-analysis of happiness indices regarding impending climate-mediated anti-Malthusian events. Thanks, Bradley! Next, Ben has an update from Drake H. on his (slightly erroneous) claims regarding coyote pack dynamics and the role of carnivore conservation and hunting. Last, Kyle W. wants to know what’s up with t-shirts and other merch? Listen in and find out! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! P.S. We didn’t realize when we picked this theme that it was already the title of a book. If you’re interested in that you can get the book here: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman Music for this episode: Sage the Hunter - Blue Dot Sessions

305 - AGU Part V, How To Train Your Science

00:00:00 - In our final AGU episode, Abe and Ryan host a roundtable discussion with some of the researchers who took the train from Scripps Oceanographic Institute (@scripps_ocean) in San Diego all the way to DC as part of their #trAinGU initiative that they've been doing for several years now. You may have gotten a glimpse of this chat if you follow us or Scripps on twitter. In no particular order we chatted with:  Wesley Neely (@SIOHydrogeodesy), Adrian Doran, Dara Goldberg (@dara_berg_), and Margaret Lindeman (@maaahge). We begin with their science, each of there abstracts can be read here (they're in the same order as listed above): The Ups and Downs of California’s Central Valley from GPS-enhanced InSAR  Lateral heterogeneity of the upper oceanic lithosphere surrounding Hawaii  Multi-Sensor Natural Hazard Structural Monitoring at the UC San Diego Geisel Library  Ocean Warming Drives Increased Mass Loss at 79 North Glacier, Northeast Greenland  00:37:40 - Joe enjoys another drink from his local poke place, this time a ume juice drink. Ryan and Abe are sharing a Partner Ship collaboration beer from Heavy Seas and Maine Brewing Co., who contribute a portion of the proceeds to the Clean Water Fund, and that seems like a no brainer as a good thing. 00:43:50- And then we talk about why taking the train to scientific meetings can send an important message about how we each manage our own personal carbon footprint as well as how much fun a multi-day train trip sounds. You can see tweets from past trips and follow along the next time they embark with the hashtag #trAinGU. 01:02:07 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like train journeys, they’re best when they stay on the rails. We begin with the immense pleasure of grating a BSSO, this time to Patron Leah A. The title of her thesis is: Testing the efficacy of supersonic nuclear-powered mag-lev trains as high-capacity rapid evacuation vectors during massive tectonic events: derailing the strike-slip damage of the San Andreas. Thanks, Leah! Next, Abe has an e-mail from IRL friend of the show Morgan Marshall, who has questions about a certain city-wide destruction movie starring Dwayne Johnson, which doesn’t narrow things down as much as one might think. And Joe reads an impromptu tweet about the show from artist Kat MacDonald (@macdokat) which just gives us all the warm and fuzzies. Finally, a brief reminder that the back catalog of Joe’s show Technically Speaking is still available on Soundcloud here. More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music credit: Take a Tiny Train - Blue Dot Sessions