Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by journalist and broadcaster Mary Ann Sieghart to talk about her new book, “The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It.” They discuss gender bias in work, school, media, politics, and larger society, with an emphasis on power, class, and privilege.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by NYU psychology professor Dr. Tessa West to talk about her new book, "Jerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them." They talk about the types of conflicts you're likely to encounter in the workplace and evidence-based approaches for dealing with toxic bosses, annoying coworkers, and all-around jerks at work.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by futurist Amy Webb to talk about her new book, "The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology." They discuss the promises of a future shaped by synthetic biology, as well as the risks and unintended consequences such a future may hold.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Sidarta Ribeiro, professor of neuroscience and founder of the Brain Institute at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Natal, Brazil. They talk about his new book, "The Oracle of Night: The History and Science of Dreams." Topics include what dreaming is (and isn't), why we dream, and what contemporary neuroscience, biochemistry, and genetics can tell us about this ancient evolutionary experience.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Florence Williams to talk about her new book, “Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey.” They discuss what happens to your brain and body when grieving the loss of love, with a special focus on healing after loneliness.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Brendan Borrell, author of “The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine.” They highlight the incredible global achievement of developing multiple mRNA vaccines effective against a deadly new virus. Also discussed: how America’s audacious goals were accomplished against a political backdrop of utter ineptitude and failed leadership.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Anthony Harris, owner of HFit Health and board-certified physician in occupational and environmental medicine. They talk about the American healthcare system with a special focus on COVID-19 and wellness disparities.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by journalist Jude Stewart to talk about her new book, "Revelations in Air: A Guidebook to Smell." They talk about the biology, physics, chemistry, psychology, and even the art of olfaction, a sense about which we have so much more to learn.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by physicist and science writer Laurie Winkless to talk about her new book, "Sticky: The Secret Science of Surfaces." They discuss the role of friction in stickiness, why different surfaces stick differently, and how scientists and engineers use this information to create innovative materials.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by University of Oregon Biophysicist Dr. Raghuveer Parthasarathy to talk about his new book, "So Simple a Beginning: How Four Physical Principles Shape Our Living World." They discuss how the principles of self-assembly, regulatory circuits, predictable randomness, and scaling underpin all of life on Earth.