SparkDialog
82 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingsScience and technology are everywhere in our lives. This podcast takes a look not only at the science itself, but its role in society, how it affects our lives, and how it influences how we define ourselves as humans. Episodes also throw in a mix of history, ethics, philosophy, religion, and the future! Hosted by Elizabeth Fernandez, an astronomer and science communicator. Let’s spark some dialog!
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Episodes
Ep 53: Down the Rabbit Hole: Scientific Comics and Storytelling – with guest Dr. Matteo Farinella
October 30, 2018 14:21 - 27 minutes - 37.7 MBWhen you think of ways general science is communicated to the public, you probably think of a PBS documentary, a fun youtube […] The post Ep 53: Down the Rabbit Hole: Scientific Comics and Storytelling – with guest Dr. Matteo Farinella appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
Ep 52: To GM or not to GM: GMOs in a Changing World – with guest Dr. Sarah Evanega
October 16, 2018 13:52 - 37 minutes - 50.5 MBI’m sure you heard about the debate, and you probably have an opinion about it. Should genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, be […] The post Ep 52: To GM or not to GM: GMOs in a Changing World – with guest Dr. Sarah Evanega appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
Ep 51: Rosie to RoboCop: Gender, Religion, and Robots – with guest Dr. Jennifer Robertson
October 02, 2018 13:38 - 33 minutes - 45.2 MBIt may not seem like it when you glance at your Roomba, but robots are influencing gender roles, family, and even religion. […] The post Ep 51: Rosie to RoboCop: Gender, Religion, and Robots – with guest Dr. Jennifer Robertson appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
Hurricane Florence
September 19, 2018 14:08 - 9 seconds - 487 KBThere is not a new episode of SparkDialog Podcast this week due to Hurricane Florence. We’ll be back in two weeks with a new episode. In the meantime check out sparkdialog.com for more episodes. The post Hurricane Florence appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 50: Keep on Moving, Stop Climate Change- with guest Dr. Ryan Allard
September 04, 2018 13:55 - 34 minutes - 46.1 MB“Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are often given to wonder what’s so great about point A that so many people […] The post Ep 50: Keep on Moving, Stop Climate Change- with guest Dr. Ryan Allard appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 49: Ice Cream and Nazis: The Origin of Moral Choices – with guest Dr. P. Kyle Stanford
August 21, 2018 13:27 - 28 minutes - 38.8 MBIf someone on the other side of the world uses a different type of spoon to eat their soup than you do, chances are it’s not going to bother you. But if they engaged in practices that hurt women and children, it would. What is the difference? It turns out that choices that we see […] The post Ep 49: Ice Cream and Nazis: The Origin of Moral Choices – with guest Dr. P. Kyle Stanford appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 48: Let There be Light: First Stars and Cosmic Dawn – with guest Dr. Harish Vedantham
August 07, 2018 13:36 - 40 minutes - 55 MBThe Universe was not always like it is today. Before the Universe was filled with light, it was a dark and lifeless place. This era, the dark ages, ended with the birth of the first stars. When the first star was born, the Universe was changed dramatically. As these first stars continued their lives, they […] The post Ep 48: Let There be Light: First Stars and Cosmic Dawn – with guest Dr. Harish Vedantham appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 47: Crowdsensing the Noise – with guest Julia Buwaya
July 24, 2018 12:30 - 18 minutes - 25 MBFrom the pleasant crunch of gravel under your feet to traffic of a nearby highway, noise is all around us. At high levels, this noise can even reach dangerous levels that can lead to health problems. If we could quantify the noise around us, we could understand how prevalent it is in our lives, what […] The post Ep 47: Crowdsensing the Noise – with guest Julia Buwaya appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 46: The Geology of Us: The Anthropocene – with guest Dr. David Grinspoon
July 10, 2018 12:48 - 32 minutes - 46.1 MBWhen we think of geology, we may think of the Grand Canyon. We imagine layers upon layers of geological strata containing rocks that were formed millions or even billions of years ago. But do we ever think about the geological layer that is being laid down today? How will humankind be remembered in the rocks? […] The post Ep 46: The Geology of Us: The Anthropocene – with guest Dr. David Grinspoon appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 45: Can Science Help Us Live Forever? – with guest Dr. Aubrey de Grey
June 26, 2018 12:34 - 27 minutes - 36.4 MBCan science help us live forever? Or maybe for just a really long time? Death has always been with us, our last big adventure, the giant question mark that ends our lives. Philosophers and religious have tried to understand it. And many people fear it. As long as we can remember, people have searched for […] The post Ep 45: Can Science Help Us Live Forever? – with guest Dr. Aubrey de Grey appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 44: Subglacial Lakes and Life on Frozen Moons – with guest Anja Rutishauser
May 15, 2018 17:58 - 19 minutes - 27.6 MBFar beneath the Canadian ice cap, isolated from the sun and the wind, lies two entire lakes. These subglacial lakes, recently discovered by Anja Rutishauser and her team, seem like they shouldn’t exist at all. For starters, they have a temperature far below the freezing point of water. This implies that perhaps these lakes are unique […] The post Ep 44: Subglacial Lakes and Life on Frozen Moons – with guest Anja Rutishauser appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 43: Is there Bias in Machine Learning Algorithms? – with guest Dr. Joshua Kroll
May 01, 2018 16:32 - 34 minutes - 49.4 MBThe world today generates an immense amount of data. Companies gather data on our buying habits, our location, and how we spend our time. The enormity of this data is too much for human analysts to dig through alone. Instead, they use machine learning algorithms. These algorithms take big data to analyze your routines, infer […] The post Ep 43: Is there Bias in Machine Learning Algorithms? – with guest Dr. Joshua Kroll appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 42: Space Junk, Trash on the Moon, and the Earth’s Copper Ring – with guest Dr. Lisa Ruth Rand
April 17, 2018 17:14 - 38 minutes - 54.1 MBWhat happens to old satellites? Or to astronauts’ trash? It turns out that the Earth is surrounded by a sphere of garbage – often referred to as space junk. This consists of everything from bits of frozen coolant, paint flecks, astronauts’ tools, and even a toothbrush. There is no trash collection in space. What happens, […] The post Ep 42: Space Junk, Trash on the Moon, and the Earth’s Copper Ring – with guest Dr. Lisa Ruth Rand appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 41: The Pope’s Astronomer – with guest Brother Guy Consolmagno
April 03, 2018 17:39 - 37 minutes - 51.3 MBToday on the podcast we are joined by Brother Guy Consolmagno. Often referred to as the Pope’s Astronomer, Brother Guy is the director of the Vatican Observatory and head of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. He has a foot in two worlds. In one, he is a scientist. He specializes in meteorites and is a graduate […] The post Ep 41: The Pope’s Astronomer – with guest Brother Guy Consolmagno appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 40: There’s More to Color than Meets the Eye – with guest Dr. Mazviita Chirimuuta
March 20, 2018 18:08 - 30 minutes - 41.6 MBIs the red that I see the orange that you see? When we look at the blue sky, are we seeing the same color? How about the infamous dress, which some people see as black and blue and some see as white and gold? When we see color, the cones within our eyes interpret the […] The post Ep 40: There’s More to Color than Meets the Eye – with guest Dr. Mazviita Chirimuuta appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 39: Can AI be Creative? – with guest Dr. Maya Ackerman
March 06, 2018 19:20 - 29 minutes - 40.6 MBThere’s no denying that artificial intelligence can do a lot. It can solve problems we cannot solve. It can take us for a spin around town. It even is able to hold a conversation with us. But can it be creative? Some consider creativity solely a human endeavor. However, today we are looking at the […] The post Ep 39: Can AI be Creative? – with guest Dr. Maya Ackerman appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep 38: What Happens Next Will Blow Your Mind! Using Natural Language Processing to Find Fake News, Satire, and Clickbait – with guests Dr. Victoria Rubin and her Group
February 20, 2018 18:02 - 42 minutes - 61.2 MBWhere do you get your news from? Can you trust it? Gone are the days when most people read the newspaper. Instead, many people now get their news from their Facebook feed, Twitter, or a host of other online sources. Unfortunately, amid the cat videos and photos of friends, it may be hard to tell […] The post Ep 38: What Happens Next Will Blow Your Mind! Using Natural Language Processing to Find Fake News, Satire, and Clickbait – with guests Dr. Victoria Rubin and her Group appeared first...
Ep. 37: The Philosophy of the Self: From Spirituality to Neuroscience – with guest Dr. Evan Thompson
January 31, 2018 23:27 - 38 minutes - 54.9 MBWhat is the self? Does the collection of neurons in our brains define the entirety of who we are? Modern day neuroscience attempts to explain who we are through understanding how the brain works, sometimes even trying to find a single entity that can be labeled as the “self”. Yet, for thousands of years, […] The post Ep. 37: The Philosophy of the Self: From Spirituality to Neuroscience – with guest Dr. Evan Thompson appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 36: Getting a Second Chance: Space Ethics, Mining, and Colonization – with guest Dr. Tony Milligan
November 21, 2017 22:13 - 36 minutes - 48.8 MBLiving among the stars has long been a dream of humanity. But as we begin to step off this Earth and colonize other planets, many will argue: do we deserve a second chance? With climate change, over-exploitation of natural resources, and man-made ecological problems on this planet, we should stop and wonder – what can […] The post Ep. 36: Getting a Second Chance: Space Ethics, Mining, and Colonization – with guest Dr. Tony Milligan appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 35: Lending a Hand – a Prosthetic Hand – with guests Dr. David Grow and His Group
November 07, 2017 17:26 - 30 minutes - 41.9 MBImagine you’re having a bad day. In the blink of an eye, a household accident causes you to loose the fingers on one hand. You go from having a normal life to having nothing ever being the same again. Flipping a pancake, hammering a nail, or combing your hair become seemingly unsurmountable challenges. Not too […] The post Ep. 35: Lending a Hand – a Prosthetic Hand – with guests Dr. David Grow and His Group appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 34: Zombees! A Halloween Episode – with guest Dr. John Hafernik
October 24, 2017 17:07 - 32 minutes - 46.9 MBOne day a few years ago, zombees were discovered in San Francisco. No, not zombies. No brains were eaten, or undead reanimated. We’re talking about zombees. This is an affliction currently affecting honeybees in North America. These bees have their bodies hijacked by a parasite that slowly eats them from the inside out. As these […] The post Ep. 34: Zombees! A Halloween Episode – with guest Dr. John Hafernik appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 33: From Steak to Insects – The Future of Food – with guest Max Elder
October 10, 2017 16:41 - 36 minutes - 50.6 MBWith the population of the world growing, the future of food will be quite different than what we are used to. With the global population becoming more concentrated in urban centers, transportation of food will also need to change. Just like common food choices have evolved over the centuries, what we will be eating in […] The post Ep. 33: From Steak to Insects – The Future of Food – with guest Max Elder appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 32: Humanitarian and Privacy Concerns with AI – with guest Dr. Rumman Chowdhury
September 26, 2017 16:59 - 29 minutes - 39.2 MBYou may not realize it, but big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence affect your life on a daily basis. Companies can gain information about you through such things as your internet usage patterns, the location data from your cell phone, and the photos you upload to the internet. You may think you understand what […] The post Ep. 32: Humanitarian and Privacy Concerns with AI – with guest Dr. Rumman Chowdhury appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 31: Women in Science – Ruby Payne-Scott – with guest Dr. Miller Goss
September 12, 2017 15:30 - 35 minutes - 48.8 MBWithin the last century, things have changed significantly for women in science. At the beginning of the 20th century, women rarely were educated in science, and seldom became professional scientists. Yet there were a few brilliant women who rose to the top. Today we are discussing one of them - Ruby Payne-Scott. In today's podcast, […] The post Ep. 31: Women in Science – Ruby Payne-Scott – with guest Dr. Miller Goss appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 30: The Solar Eclipse – Awe, Wonder, and Science
August 29, 2017 17:48 - 31 minutes - 42.3 MBLast week, a total solar eclipse passed over the United States. And millions of people watched – making it perhaps one of the most viewed events in history. In today’s podcast, we talk about the awe, the wonder, and the science behind the eclipse. What was it like to stand in the moon’s shadow and […] The post Ep. 30: The Solar Eclipse – Awe, Wonder, and Science appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 29: Teaching Science with Animals and Travel – with guest Dr. Meenakshi Prabhune
August 15, 2017 09:00 - 18 minutes - 24.6 MBScience is all around us, but sometimes, it is easy to be intimidated by the formulas, math, and terminology. That’s why today’s guest, Dr. Meenakshi Prabhune (or Minu for short), goes about teaching science using things we see in everyday life and things we can relate to – namely, animals. Growing up in India, she had […] The post Ep. 29: Teaching Science with Animals and Travel – with guest Dr. Meenakshi Prabhune appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 28: Autism Therapy and Zen – with guest Anlor Davin
August 01, 2017 16:37 - 30 minutes - 33.1 MBAutism hasn't always been well understood in the community. In fact, no more than a few decades ago, people were frequently misdiagnosed or even institutionalized. Today in the podcast, we talk to Anlor Davin. Anlor has autism, and she discusses her own autism therapy. Anlor grew up in France. She was not diagnosed with autism […] The post Ep. 28: Autism Therapy and Zen – with guest Anlor Davin appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 27: A Slice of Life – with guests Sebastian Marcu and Neil Jaschinski
July 18, 2017 17:00 - 31 minutes - 38.2 MBBeing an astronaut is pretty glamorous – except when it comes to the food. Food in space isn’t very palatable. There are many hazards and dangers created by the space environment that put constraints on what astronauts can eat. Food needs to be preserved properly. It is hard to heat up, and sometimes the astronauts […] The post Ep. 27: A Slice of Life – with guests Sebastian Marcu and Neil Jaschinski appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 26: The Ethics of Augmented Reality and Our Future – with guest Liv Erickson
July 04, 2017 17:00 - 37 minutes - 40.7 MBAugmented Reality has many exciting applications. You can play games such as Pokémon Go, use AR to rearrange the furniture in your living room, or even get a glimpse of how you would look in a new hairstyle. But when considering these possibilities, it is also important to consider privacy issues and the ethics of Augmented Reality. How will companies […] The post Ep. 26: The Ethics of Augmented Reality and Our Future – with guest Liv Erickson appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 25: Sustainability – The Bigger Picture – with guest Dr. Oliver Putz
June 20, 2017 18:00 - 27 minutes - 30.7 MBWhen you think of protecting our planet, what comes to mind? Making a better world for your children? Cleaning up your neighborhood? Often, we think of that which we see around us – our communities, our lives, and our loved ones. There is nothing wrong with that response. But perhaps, when looking at sustainability, we […] The post Ep. 25: Sustainability – The Bigger Picture – with guest Dr. Oliver Putz appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 24: Robots That Eat Trash and the Entrepreneurs Who Build Them – with guest Jaidev Shah
June 06, 2017 21:09 - 12 minutes - 15.1 MBIn many places of the world, trash management is a challenge. And in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia, trash piling up is quickly becoming a major environmental and health concern. This inspired the young entrepreneur Jaidev Shah to come up with a solution. In his home country of India, there is little […] The post Ep. 24: Robots That Eat Trash and the Entrepreneurs Who Build Them – with guest Jaidev Shah appeared first on SparkDialog.
Ep. 23: CRISPR – With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility – with guest Dr. Leila Jamal
May 23, 2017 15:00 - 28 minutes - 35.8 MBThe power to edit genes is now within our hands. You may have heard of it. It’s a technology called CRISPR-Cas9. It’s taking the science world by storm, due to its ease of deployment and low cost. Now, scientists can edit the genes of plants, animals, and even humans. The idea behind CRISPR originated from […] The post Ep. 23: CRISPR – With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility – with guest Dr. Leila Jamal appeared first on SparkDialog.