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 of some of the more interesting parts of the interviews.  The first excerpt […]

Critical Wit Podcast

Contingency Episode 2 (re-title if ever used)

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 glowing jellyfish resulted in a biotechnological innovation that would be almost as important as the invention of the microscope. If you enjoy this […]

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

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 colony collapse disorder, and at the end we talk about killer bees (otherwise known as Africanized honeybees). If you enjoy this podcast, please […]

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

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 appreciate a recap of some of the more interesting parts of the interviews.  The first […]

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

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 to mainstream (or non-sci-fi) readers.  Learn more about Amy, her book reviews, and her own […]

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

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 railways in the West was based on corruption, fraud, and poor business acumen.  The end of this period consisted […]

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

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 from childhood as he develops a close friendship with the Greek hero Achilles and […]

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

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 – the SciFund Challenge.  The SciFund Challenge is an organization of scientists who pitch their ideas for science […]

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

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 would a hockey player have to be to cover up the goal, how much could a person lift if he or she was the size of […]

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

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 champion Marty Nothstein.  Nothstein is an Olympic Gold and Silver medalist in Match Sprint bicycle racing, a sport […]

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

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 explores how contemporary audiences can relate to the classic writers, and what life lessons can be appreciated even now […]

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

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 curriculum’s science standards as it relates to the teaching of evolution. This conversation originally took place in early February, […]

Critical Wit #54 – The Revisionaries (Scott Thurman)

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 these childrens’ fathers’ struggling with how to raise them. “Cataclysm Baby” is published by Mud Luscious Press, […]

Critical Wit #53 – Cataclysm Baby (Matt Bell)

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 features and qualities for future technological innovations, such as more efficient solar cells, improved semiconductors, and more.  You can subscribe […]

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

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 for storytelling and art that involve science, whether it’s characters or laboratory settings.  Jennifer is also the […]

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

A podcast about science, literature, and the arts.

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Critical Wit Podcast

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