Tag: Podcast

Science for the People: Fact Checking Elections

sftp-square-fistonly-whitebgThis week we’re back at the intersection of science and politics, comparing economic data to partisan talking points and polling predictions to election results. We’ll talk to Jim Stanford, economist at Unifor, about his report “Rhetoric & Reality: Evaluating Canada’s Economic Record Under the Harper Government.” And we’ll speak to pollster and consultant Donna Dasko about the science and art of polling in Canadian federal elections.

Finally, don’t forget to support the Science for the People Patreon Campaign to keep the sciencey goodness flowing toward your ear holes.

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There are those groups where you keep wondering why they let you in. I’m not talking about impostor syndrome (I went to graduate school – I know that of which I speak), but the kind of group where you are pretty sure folks know exactly who/what you are and they let you stick around anyway. Maybe it was an older sibling letting you tag along when you were younger. Maybe it was a pick-up basketball team that doesn’t care about your lousy jump shot. Maybe it is your life partner.

If we exclude my partner (what was she thinking?), my “that group” is Science for the People*. Starting in 2010, I gradually migrated from fan, to brief guest, to occasional source of information, to official team member. I still maintain that I have the easiest job on the crew.

That is why I’m so pleased that we have launched the Science for the People Patreon Campaign. Science for the People has been a labor of love by the entire team for years. The Patreon Campaign is designed to make it possible for those that labor the hardest on producing Science for the People can keep producing the best science podcast** you can find.

*Here, I am in the position to make people put up with me, the poor bastards.
**Conflict of interest disclosure.

Science for the People: Eye of the Beholder

sftpThis week, we’re learning about the history of optics, and how our perception of the world and how we see it underwent a radical transformation in 17th-century Holland. We’ll spend the hour with historian, philosopher, and science writer Laura J. Snyder, talking about her book Eye of the Beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek and the Reinvention of Seeing.

Science for the People is now on Patreon, and is accepting your support and donations! Visit the Patreon page to get more information about how it works, and learn about the extra content you can access as a monthly supporter! You can also find out what other ways you can support the show, or visit our bookshelf.

*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.

Science for the People: Coffee Table Science

sftpThis week, Science for the People meets the authors of three big books that use stunning images to tell intriguing stories about the history of science. We’ll discuss evolution and the building of the fossil record with invertebrate palaeontologist Paul Taylor, author of A History of Life in 100 Fossils. Archivist Julie Halls shares stories of unheralded ingenuity from her book Inventions that Didn’t Change the World. We will also learn about attempts to map the world in three dimensions from independent conservator Sylvia Sumira, author of Globes: 400 Years of Exploration, Navigation, and Power.

*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.

Science for the People: Birth of the Pill [Rebroadcast]

sftpThis Science for the People is exploring the intersection of science, society, and sex with the origin story of the birth control pill. They speak to author Jonathan Eig about his book The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution. Writer Rose Eveleth also returns to talk about the history and design of the vaginal speculum.

*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.