Due to technical problems with my recording system, I can not provide a new episode of Critical Wit this week. However, I have stitched together two excerpts of earlier episodes that either you may have not heard, or would appreciate a recap o

Critical Wit #64 – Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology (Marc Zimmer)

Jul 26th, 2012 19m 58s

Marc Zimmer is a professor of physical sciences with a specialization in computational chemistry at Connecticut College. He is also the author of “Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology.” In this episode we discuss why the search for gl

Critical Wit #63 – The Science of Beekeeping and Concerns with Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

Jul 12th, 2012 25m 13s

Richard Mendel is a beekeeper, Vice President of the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association, and contributor to the Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers. In this episode, we discuss the science of beekeeping, the concerns over the issue of bee col

Critical Wit #62 – Review: Penguin Evolution and Bat Conservation

Jun 28th, 2012 20m 47s

Due to technical problems with my recording system, there won’t be a new episode of Critical Wit for a couple of weeks. However, I have stitched together two excerpts of earlier, popular episodes that either you may have not heard, or would ap

Critical Wit #61 – Science Fiction Literary Reviews with Amy Sisson

Jun 14th, 2012 27m 50s

Amy Sisson is a librarian, book reviewer, writer, and science fiction fan. She is also a personal friend of guest host Julia Jenkins. In this episode, Amy and Julia talk about several sci fi and fantasy books of which Amy recommends, especially

Critical Wit #60 – Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (Richard White)

Jun 7th, 2012 20m 40s

Dr. Richard White is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Standford University and author of “Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America.” In this episode we discuss how the grand achievement of building r

Critical Wit #59 – The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller)

May 31st, 2012 25m 16s

Madeline Miller is the author of “The Songs of Achilles“, released in March of 2012, which retells the events leading up, to and throughout the Trojan War through the eyes of Patroclus, a minor character in Homer’s Iliad. We follow Patroclus f

Critical Wit #58 – The Science Fund Challenge: How the Public Can Finance Science

May 21st, 2012 26m 46s

Zen Faulkes is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Texas-Pan American and science communicator at the blog, Neurodojo. In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick talks with Zen about another project that he’s working on – t

Critical Wit #57 – Ballparking: Practical Math for Impractical Sports Questions (Aaron Santos)

May 17th, 2012 18m 11s

Aaron Santos is a physicist and author of “Ballparking: Practical Math for Impractical Sports Questions.” In this episode, Aaron talks about some of the hypothetical estimations involving sports that he covers in his book, such as how obese wo

Critical Wit #56 – The Price of Gold: The Toll and Triumph of One Man’s Olympic Dream (Ian Dille)

May 10th, 2012 20m 15s

Ian Dille is a freelance journalist and co-author of “The Price of Gold: The Toll and Triumph of One Man’s Olympic Dream.” In this episode, guest host Julia Jenkins chats with Dille about the subject of this book, many-time track cycler champ

Critical Wit #55 – The Heroine’s Bookshelf (Erin Blakemore)

Apr 26th, 2012 20m 44s

Erin Blakemore is the author of “The Heroine’s Bookshelf“, a non-fiction story about twelve classic, literary heroines and the authors who created them. In this episode, guest host Julia Jenkins talks with Blakemore about the book which explor

Critical Wit #54 – The Revisionaries (Scott Thurman)

Apr 19th, 2012 21m 35s

In this episode, I talk with documentary film-maker, Scott Thurman. We discuss his current documentary film, “The Revisionaries.” It centers on the story from 2011 about the Texas State Board of Education’s push to update the school curriculu

Critical Wit #53 – Cataclysm Baby (Matt Bell)

Apr 12th, 2012 20m 55s

Author Matt Bell, returns to discuss his new book “Cataclysm Baby” – a novella consisting of distinct stories set in a world devastated by an environmental disaster that cause children to be born with mutations that make them animal-like, and t

Critical Wit #52 – Graphene: Its Role In Future Technology Innovation

Mar 22nd, 2012 17m 26s

Sophie Bushwick is a freelance science writer who contributes to Scientific American’s Sixty Seconds Podcast, and is a writer for the io9 blogging network. In this episode, we discuss the topic of graphene, a substance that has promising featu

Critical Wit #51 – Lab Lit: Literature About Science and Scientists in the Laboratory

Mar 15th, 2012 20m 37s

Dr. Jennifer Rohn is a cell biologist, novelist, and founder of LabLit.com. In this episode, Jennifer and I talk about why there are not many stories that involve scientists as main characters. And so, LabLit.com was created to be a resource

Critical Wit #50 – In Studio With Sheridan Tongue

Mar 8th, 2012 21m 41s

Sheridan Tongue is a film music and television programmer in England. In this episode, we discuss the process of writing compositions for film and television, his work on the popular science series ‘Wonders of the Universe with Brian Cox’ and

Critical Wit #49 – From The Cutting Room Floor 5

Mar 1st, 2012 18m

In this episode, I give you more interview excerpts from off of the cutting room floor, such as Zachary Moore gives his favorite evidence of evolution that’s not relevant to molecular genetics (episode 43), why Rosie Redfield thinks it’s import

Critical Wit #48 – Meet Beatrice the Biologist!

Feb 23rd, 2012 20m 12s

Katie McKissick is a “former high school biology teacher who simply loves to talk, write, and read about science.” She’s also the author and illustrator of “Beatrice the Biologist,” a fun, informative website about science. In this episode, g

Critical Wit #47 – Once Upon A River (Bonnie Jo Campbell)

Feb 16th, 2012 22m 17s

Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of critically-acclaimed books, such as her short story collections “Women And Other Animals,” and the 2009 National Book Award finalist, “American Salvage.” In this episode, we talk about her recent novel, “Onc

Critical Wit #46 – On Charles Darwin: A Conversation with Sean B Carroll

Feb 9th, 2012 20m 6s

Dr. Sean B Carroll is an award-winning scientist, author, and educator. He is currently Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Wisconsin. With Darwin Day co

Critical Wit #45 – Using New Media to Create Art

Feb 2nd, 2012 19m 30s

In the second of this two-episode interview, Sophie Bushwick talks with Peggy Nelson, a new media artist who’s currently using Twitter to tell the amazing survival story of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. In the previous episode, Nelson p

Critical Wit #44 – Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure…Told On Twitter

Jan 26th, 2012 32m 2s

Peggy Nelson is a new media artist who’s currently using Twitter to tell the incredible survival story of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. In the first of this two-episode interview, Sophie Bushwick talks with Nelson, who recounts Ernest

Critical Wit #43 – Molecular Biological Evidence For Evolution

Jan 19th, 2012 22m 29s

Zachary Moore is a molecular biologist and host of the Evolution 101 podcast. The 38-episode podcast consists of short episodes that are designed to provide a simple explanation of the independent lines of evidence that support the theory of e

Critical Wit #42 – Rosie Redfield on ‘Arsenic Bacteria’: One Year Later

Jan 12th, 2012 31m 50s

Dr. Rosie Redfield is a microbiologist at the University of British Columbia and science writer for the Field of Science blog network. In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick talks with Dr. Redfield about her work on whether bacteria have

Critical Wit #41 – From The Cutting Room Floor 4

Jan 5th, 2012 15m 16s

In this episode, I give you more interview excerpts from off of the cutting room floor, such as when I asked Mark Stevenson about nanotechnology, as well as how it felt interviewing the great minds in science (epsd 32), why the articles about i