This week, Science for The People looks at the science of the ultimate criminal punishment. Pharmacologist and science writer David Kroll discusses the chemistry of the drugs used in lethal injections. They talk to law professor Samuel Gross, editor of the National Registry of Exonerations, about the rates of false convictions in death penalty cases. And they speak to Johns Hopkins University psychiatrist Dr. James Harris about the complex issues at the intersection of capital punishment and intellectual disability.
Tag: Podcast
Science for The People: Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You
This week, Science for The People is learning how deadly and delightful our planet and its ecosystem can be. They’re joined by biologist Dan Riskin, co-host of Discovery Canada’s Daily Planet, to talk about his book “Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You: a Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World.” And they’ll talk to astronomer and author Phil Plait about Science Getaways, his company that offers educational vacation experiences for science lovers.
Science for The People: Environmental Debt
This week, Science for The People is looking at how worldwide environmental challenges interact with our increasingly global economy. They speak to Amy Larkin, founder of Nature Means Business, about her book “Environmental Debt: The Hidden Costs of a Changing Global Economy.” Journalist Ken Silverstein joins them to explain the way climate change is dividing the insurance and energy industries. And they’ll talk to Arjen Hoekstra, professor of Water Management at the University of Twente, about the effects of water scarcity on business.
Science for The People: Extreme Medicine
This week, Science for The People is on the frontiers of medicine, from the fabulous to the foolhardy. They talk to Dr. Kevin Fong, co-director of the Centre for Aviation Space and Extreme Environment Medicine at University College London, about his book “Extreme Medicine: How Exploration Transformed Medicine in the Twentieth Century.” And they’re joined by Dr. Sydnee and Justin McElroy, hosts of the podcast “Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine.”
Food Sustainability – Science for The People
Food sustainability is a hot topic. Food everything is a hot topic. The most recent episode (#235) of Science for The People (née Skeptically Speaking) is exceptionally good* on this topic. Host Desiree Schell and guests Valentine Cadieux and Emily Cassidy cover standard topics of food sustainability, but address controversial areas like GMOs and “eating local” with nuance that gets beyond simplistic arguments over whether GMOs are safe or if “eating local” is environmentally friendly.
They also raise the issue of honoring food cultures as an important element of pragmatic discussions about feeding the ever growing human population. A potential result of our desire to provide adequate calories and nutrition to impoverished areas of the globe is the destruction of traditional food cultures in poor societies, while promoting those of rich societies – a kind of benign, cultural imperialism. Continue reading “Food Sustainability – Science for The People”
The Finch and Pea 