Rad Scientist
KPBS Explore / Margot Wohl
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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.
Available episodes
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Oldest first
Dec 21, 2020
The Leaky Pipeline
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 Dot Sessions
Bivly - Blue Dot Sessions
Bauxite - Blue Dot Sessions
Hedgeliner - Blue Dot Sessions
Illway - Blue Dot Sessions
Setting Pace - Blue Dot Sessions
Building the Sled - Blue Dot Sessions
The Yards - Blue Dot Sessions
Rambling - Blue Dot Sessions
Lamprey - Blue Dot Sessions
Lean - Blue Dot Sessions
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Nov 25, 2020
Pathways: The Professor And The Proteins
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 footsteps.
Gentry’s Convocation Speech [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeboCHowDFM]
PATHways to STEM homepage [https://paths.ucsd.edu/]
Message from Gentry as Director of Mentorship and Diversity for Biological Sciences [https://biology.ucsd.edu/diversity/directors-message.html]
Episode Music:
Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher
Jazz Chords Piano Loop 120 bpm - Orange Free Sounds
Buzzy Minuet - Chad Crouch
Hip Hop Bass Instrumental - Titibles
Greylock - Blue Dot Sessions
Near and Within - Zifhang
Air Hockey Saloon - Chris Zabriskie
Lamprey - Blue Dot Sessions
Platformer - Chad Crouch
Parallel Universe - Andrew KN
Mr Mole and Son - Blue Dot Sessions
Sunday Morning Sun - Ryan Andersen
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Nov 16, 2020
Sounds Of The Sea
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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Nov 12, 2020
Listen to "Port of Entry"
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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Oct 28, 2020
Brain Waves And Rough Waves
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 The Ocean - Daniel Birch
Bossa Nova - Podington Bear
Gentle Sea Swell - Daniel Birch
On A Wing - Podington Bear
Keith in 1987 - Ketsa
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Oct 14, 2020
The Grass Is Always Greener
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. Chandler takes many steps as a writer, professor, and healer to make the experiences of early career Black scientists better.
Chandler sells artwork and Tarot sessions at https://www.housepuritty.com/
Episode Music:
Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher
Nocturnal - Podington Bear
Entwined Oddity - Blue Dot Sessions
Sad Marimba Planet - Podington Bear
Shines Through Trees - Podington Bear
Tollhouse - Podington Bear
Gruyere - Podington Bear
The Secret to Growing Up
Dimmy - Podington Bear
Purple Butter - Breakmaster Cylinder
Sunset - Podington Bear
Flowing Bells - Daniel Birch
Closet Interlude- Blue Dot Sessions
De Facto - Chad Crouch
Coming Round - Modus
The Speed of Life - Podington Bear
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Sep 30, 2020
Kissing Bugs
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 woman threatening to call the police on birder Chris Cooper, Kaylee and other Black scientists, part of the online group “BlackAFinSTEM”, started a social media campaign called Black Birders Week to celebrate Black excellence and reclaim the outdoors for Black scientists and outdoorsmen.
Twitter handle: @Black_Ecologist
To view the work that Kaylee does with EcoReach, the organization she paired with to fundraise for binoculars, visit https://ecoreach.ecology.uga.edu/
Episode Music:
Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher
Out of the Skies, Under the Earth - Chris Zabriskie
Sometimes - Frequency Decree
Harmonium and Saz Beat Jam - Podington Bear
Drama Queen - Podington Bear
Movement Libre - Trypheme
Rambling - Ketsa
Dirty Wallpaper - Blue Dot Sessions
Hip Hop Instrumental 2 - Ketsa
Tu connais Barbar - Mocke
Grasping - Ketsa
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Sep 16, 2020
Vocal Chops
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 Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher
Tender and Curious - Podington Bear
Old Dancehouse - Lobo Loco
Hedgeliner -Blue Dot Sessions
The Secret to Growing Up - Lee Rosevere
Oriel - Blue Dot Sessions
Um Pepino - Blue Dot Sessions
Moonrise -Chad Crouch
I’m Going For a Coffee - Lee Rosevere
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Sep 2, 2020
The Fever Effect
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
Not Alone - Lee Rosevere
The Yards - Blue Dot Sessions
How I Used To See The Stars - Lee Rosevere
Blammo - Podington Bear
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Aug 26, 2020
Rad Scientist Is Back!
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 season, we will examine the root of inequity in STEM academia and what we can do moving forward to ensure a more diverse and inclusive ecosystem where science can serve everyone.
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Jun 5, 2019
Putting The Geek In Greek
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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May 22, 2019
Science & Basketball
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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May 8, 2019
Brave New World
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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Apr 24, 2019
A Nobel Pursuit: Part 2
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 his ego and what it means to be successful as a scientist This is part two of Keating's story. If you haven't listened to part one, go back and listen to that one first.
Brian Keating's book about his journey searching for Inflation: https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Nobel-Prize-Cosmology-Ambition/dp/1324000910
A link to the music video that accompanies "The Surface of Light" song that played during the end credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2INJiNpZFBI
Correction: Margot mentions that her friend was first author on the the paper that suggested BICEP2's…
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Apr 10, 2019
A Nobel Pursuit: Part I
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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Mar 27, 2019
When The Virtual Becomes Reality
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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Mar 13, 2019
The Scientist Becomes The Subject
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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Feb 27, 2019
A Green Thumb Growing Cannabis
The cannabis industry needs scientists too. Allison Justice applies her green thumb to a very green enterprise.
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Feb 13, 2019
Body Odor, It’s Not The Pits
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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Jan 30, 2019
Sounds of the Sea
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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Apr 19, 2018
The March For Science
A shorty episode on the March for Science.
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Jan 3, 2018
The Fungus Among Us | Sinem Beyhan
Sinem Beyhan studies an infectious fungus that lives in soil. With no vaccine and very few available treatments, the disease can be deadly to humans. So Sinem is on a mission to hit the fungus where it hurts.
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Dec 20, 2017
We Are All Made Of Stars | Robert Quimby
Robert Quimby decides between becoming a rock star — or studying them.
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Dec 6, 2017
Hotter Than The Sun | Cami Collins
Cami Collins was a small town girl with a dream to be a physicist. Now, she handles particles ten times hotter than the sun! Her goal is to create a new energy source for future generations.
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Nov 22, 2017
The Eiffel Tower Of Synthesis | Phil Baran
Can molecules from San Diego's coast be tomorrow's cancer medicine? That's what Philip Baran is trying to figure out. He hopes to synthesize life-saving molecules mother nature has been producing for eons.
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Nov 8, 2017
In The Shoes Of A Plant | Liang Song
Liang Song is working hard to save her best friends: plants. She's trying to make them stronger. Like, strong enough to withstand a statewide drought.
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Oct 25, 2017
The Killing Zone For Sperm | Pascal Gagneux
The female reproductive system and jungles of Africa face foreign invaders. In this episode, we follow San Diego scientist Pascal Gagneux through these environments, and find out more about their intruders.
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