Latest Episodes:
Life is beautiful – with Ursula Goodenough Jul 24, 2023
Dr. Ursula Goodenough has a scientific career that spans six decades, numerous accolades, and is a writer of both textbook and popular science books. But her crowning achievement …
Choanoflagellates and animal evolution – with David Booth Apr 17, 2023
Choanoflagellates are unicellular protists but they also happen to be the closest living relatives to animals. This week, David Booth discusses what choanoflagellates are, where …
Getting to know lichens – with Dennis Waters Apr 10, 2023
Do you ever walk past an old building or a tree or a big rock and notice splotchy green or orange or yellow blobs growing all over it? Well, these are probably lichens! Lichens are …
Fungi are everywhere – with Kaydubs the hiking scientist Mar 20, 2023
Is fungi everywhere? Is it on our eyeballs and in our nose hairs? Yes, yes, and yes! This week I talk to Dr. Kristen aka Kaydubs about fungi in general and forest fungi in particul …
Tardigrade takedown – with Chloé Savard Mar 13, 2023
Tardigrades aka water bears aka moss piglets are extremely popular! This is due to their tolerance of harsh environments and because of their perceived “cuteness”. This week, I speak with Chloé Savard (@tardibabe) about what tardigrades are, what it actually means to “survive” in extreme conditions, and how to find them in nature…
The gut microbiome – with Haley Hallowell February 27, 2023
What are the microbes in our gut up to? And how does their life affect our lives? This week, Dr. Haley Hallowell teaches us all about the gut microbiome and virome, that is, how …
Polar microbes – with Jaz Millar February 20, 2023
Did you know there are microbes living in holes in glaciers? What are they doing there and what can we learn from them? Quite a lot actually! This week, Dr. Jaz Millar and I talk a…
The Great Oxygenation Event – With John Encarnacion February 13, 2023
How do we know what the Earth was like billions of years ago? And where did all the oxygen come from? Spoiler alert: it’s microbes! This week I speak with Dr. John Encarnacion about…
Hobby microscopy – with Lena Struwe February 6, 2023
How can you get started with hobby microscopy? What products and practices do we recommend? Why do we have a conflict with the Unicode emoji consortium? And what on earth is a vine…
Hot springs archaea – with Arthur Charles-Orszag Jan 30, 2023
Why don’t we ever talk about archaea? What can we learn from this domain of life? Why would someone want to cook a chicken in a Yellowstone National Park geyser? Find out about the…
Genetic engineering of algae – with Kyle Lauersen Jan 16, 2023
What can we get algae to do for us (other than be beautiful and produce half of our oxygen)? How can we engineer different algae to create products and services we need? And what …
Cyanophora paradoxa – with Debashish Bhattacharya Jan 09, 2023
What the heck are glaucophyte algae? And where are they found? Spoiler alert: everywhere and nowhere. This week, Prof. Debashish Bhattacharya talks about Glaucophyta, one of the most …
Photosynthetic Paulinella – with Arwa Gabr Jan 02, 2023
“Photosynthesis is very important if you care about breathing.” Half of the oxygen on the planet is produced by microbes. Dr. Awra Gabr talks about the photosynthetic Paulinella …
Cassava mosaic begomoviruses – with Alvin Crespo Dec 26, 2022
As a society we have (rightly) spent soooo much time talking and thinking about SARS-CoV-2 but what about the billions of other viruses out there, most of which don’t infect humans …
The microbes transforming our food system – with David Zilber Dec 19, 2022
Did you know that one third of the food we eat is transformed by microbes? Why did people start eating sauerkraut? Will veggie burgers ever taste better? Is humanity doomed??? We a …
Physarum polycephalum – with Kyle DavidDec 12, 2022
What do some amoebozoans and the urban planners of Tokyo have in common? And who is smarter? What even is intelligence? Find out by learning about Physarum polycephalum, a slime mo …
Leptospira spp. – with Kyra Hartog Dec 05, 2022
If you have a dog, you’ll want to listen to this one! Leptospira is a genus of spirochete bacteria that can infect many different mammals, from rats to rhinos. Veterinarian Kyra Ha …
Naegleria fowleri – with Seth Bromagen Nov 28, 2022
Naegleria fowleri is a Percolozoan flagellate protist known as the “brain-eating amoeba”. While fatal to humans, this microbe doesn’t have a sinister motive. In fact, as Dr. Bromag …
Tiny Living Beings: Trailer Nov 26, 2022
“The world shimmers, a pointillist landscape made of tiny living beings.” -Lynn Margulis Tiny Living Beings is a weekly podcast where listeners get to know a scientist, a weird mic …