Rad Scientist

Rad Scientist

A KPBS Explore series taking listeners on a journey through the lives and discoveries of San Diego's raddest scientists — researchers pushing the frontiers of human knowledge. Hosted and produced by Margot Wohl.

Episodes

The Leaky Pipeline

December 21, 2020 • 32 mins
Academia has a problem. Underrepresented minorities fall off at every step along the path to becoming a STEM professor. What we are left with is a professoriate that does not reflect the diversity of the general population. In this episode, we dive into what is known about this issue and how we can make the environment of STEM education more equitable. Episode Music: Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher And So Then - Blue Do...
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Pathways: The Professor And The Proteins

November 25, 2020 • 27 mins
Gentry Patrick was born in South Central Los Angeles to a 16-year-old single mother. Through grit, serendipity, mentorship, and wits, he went on to study science at some of the most reputable institutions and ultimately earned his doctoral degree and landed a job as a professor of biology at UC San Diego. There he studies how proteins in the brain get recycled while also paving the way for underserved students to follow in his foo...
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Sounds Of The Sea

November 16, 2020 • 15 mins
When you listen to the ocean, you realize that there is a whole world of sound that our ears aren't made to hear. Goldie Phillips tells us what we can hear off the waters of San Diego, and what is threatening the rich soundscape of the Pacific Ocean. This episode first aired in January 2019.
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Listen to "Port of Entry"

November 12, 2020 • 3 mins
From KPBS and PRX, "Port of Entry" tells cross-border stories that connect us. Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, or here: www.portofentrypod.org.
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Brain Waves And Rough Waves

October 28, 2020 • 18 mins
Austin Coley was told he was not “PhD worthy” while getting his masters. That didn’t stop him from getting his doctorate and continuing to research a mental illness that affected his uncle. Follow "Rad Scientist" on Facebook: www.facebook.com/radscientistpod Episode Music: Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher Golden Bunny - Daniel Birch crystal life - Ketsa Dontletthemin - Ketsa Kitty In The Window - Podington Bear Splash In ...
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The Grass Is Always Greener

October 14, 2020 • 27 mins
When you ask Chandler Puritty who she is, she’ll give you many answers: Ecologist, social justice advocate, plant lover, cat mother, artist, psychic medium. She cares deeply about the environment and climate change. Her thesis charted the resilience of exotic versus native plants of Southern California after drought. But she also cares about the environment, or culture, within STEM that makes Black scientists feel uncomfortable. C...
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Kissing Bugs

September 30, 2020 • 18 mins
Kaylee Arnold grew up in Oceanside, but moved to Georgia to pursue a PhD in ecology. Despite her fear of heights, Kaylee climbs high up in the palm trees of Panama to collect her research subjects, kissing bugs. She studies the gut bacteria of these parasite-carrying insects to broaden our understanding of how microbiome diversity is affected by environmental factors like deforestation. After the video was released of a white woma...
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Vocal Chops

September 16, 2020 • 20 mins
Daril Brown wants to build vocal neuroprostheses, or devices that use brain signals to recreate speech. He tests his methods using zebra finches, who learn their songs through childhood. As a Black researcher in a field lacking diversity, he describes adjusting his own speech patterns to avoid being perceived as a threat in white academic spaces, an irony that does not escape him. Twitter handle: @darilbrown Episode Music: Rad S...
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The Fever Effect

September 2, 2020 • 26 mins
Melonie Vaughn’s desire to study neurodevelopmental disorders stemmed from watching her autistic brother struggle with navigating school and social relationships. Now she is a rising second year neuroscience Ph.D. student at UC San Diego. Melonie, an Afro-Panamanian, is the only black woman in her program. Twitter handle: @melonievaughn_ Episode Music: Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher At Our Best Alone - Blue Dot Sessions...
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Rad Scientist Is Back!

August 26, 2020 • 2 mins
Recent events involving the killing of unarmed Black people have brought discussions about racism to the forefront, including at scientific institutions. This season is centered on Black scientists, from graduate students to faculty to those who have left the ivory towers. They study bug microbiomes, autism, neural prosthetics and more. But they will also discuss how racism has impacted their scientific journey. To cap off the seas...
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Putting The Geek In Greek

June 5, 2019 • 20 mins
Sophia Hirakis is always on the move, just like the proteins she studies. She’s always doing something, whether it's traveling between Greece and the States, watching Yankees' games, doing science, working at her family's hotel, or writing and performing poems and music. And now that she has her doctoral degree, she's starting a nonprofit to help refugees get into graduate schools.
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Science & Basketball

May 22, 2019 • 15 mins
When Elischa Sanders was young, he thought he would grow up to be in the NBA. But he realized he was better in the classroom than on the court. Now he studies how the brain controls movement. Maybe he can figure out why Stephen Curry's jump shot is so consistent.
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Brave New World

May 8, 2019 • 20 mins
Who gets access and benefits from our genomes? Keolu Fox, an indigenous geneticist, advocates for more fair and transparent rules on how companies and scientists use the DNA of others.
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A Nobel Pursuit: Part 2

April 24, 2019 • 26 mins
UC San Diego professor Brian Keating wanted to understand how our solar system, our galaxy, our universe came to be. The big bang theory didn’t fully explain the properties of our universe. So he built a telescope at the South Pole to detect signals from the earliest time possible, billions of light years away. This journey led him down a path of ambition, rivalry, discovery and failure. Ultimately, Keating has to grapple with hi...
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A Nobel Pursuit: Part I

April 10, 2019 • 21 mins
How our universe came to be is still unknown. A discovery about this origin story will surely be Nobel Prize worthy. Brian Keating has an idea for how to make such a discovery. This is part one of a two-part story.
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When The Virtual Becomes Reality

March 27, 2019 • 17 mins
Gwendolyn Barriac wants you to embrace the future. She's pretty sure that will involve virtual reality. Her goal is to make it so that VR can be accessible to anyone carrying a smartphone with a Qualcomm chip.
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The Scientist Becomes The Subject

March 13, 2019 • 19 mins
Aaron Christensen-Quick studies infectious diseases. It came to a surprise to him, then, when he contracted the very disease he studies.
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A Green Thumb Growing Cannabis

February 27, 2019 • 16 mins
The cannabis industry needs scientists too. Allison Justice applies her green thumb to a very green enterprise.
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Body Odor, It’s Not The Pits

February 13, 2019 • 17 mins
Why do armpits smell? And how can be make them smell better? Chris Callewaert, also known as "Dr. Armpit," thinks he's solved this vapor caper.
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Sounds of the Sea

January 30, 2019 • 16 mins
When you listen to the ocean, you realize that there is a whole world of sound that our ears aren't made to hear. Goldie Phillips tells us what we can hear off the waters of San Diego, and what is threatening the rich soundscape of the Pacific Ocean.
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