Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by award-winning investigative journalist Brian Deer to talk about his new book, "The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines." They discuss the incredible story of how Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent research sparked an anti-vax movement that swept the globe.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by award-winning science journalist Angela Saini to talk about her book "Superior: The Return of Race Science." They discuss the deep roots of scientific racism from taxonomy to eugenics and beyond, including its present-day incarnations. They also talk about emergent themes of her previous book, "Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong- and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story."

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Roy A. Meals to talk about his new book, "Bones: Inside and Out." They discuss the structure and function of bone, its iconographic role in art, music, and culture, and our own relationship with this dynamic, yet persistent substance.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by science reporter, producer, and Radiolab co-host Lulu Miller to talk about her new book, "Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life." Lulu shares the incredible story of taxonomist David Starr Jordan, and in doing so, opens up the conversation to the power and consequences of imposing order on the world around us in the form of labels, categories, and impossible constraints.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by her old high school pal, psychologist and science communication expert Dr. Asheley Landrum. They discuss why a large portion of the public doesn't believe the scientific consensus on topics like climate change, evolution, vaccines, and COVID-19. From pseudoscience to conspiracy theories to extreme denial of reality, Asheley dives deep into the distrust of authority, political propaganda, and psychosocial pressures that lead to belief in "alternative facts."

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by science reporter Zach St. George to talk about his book "The Journeys of Trees: A Story About Forests, People, and the Future." They discuss the phenomenon of forest migration as well as the sometimes misguided yet passionate and heartfelt efforts of environmental activists to secure a lusher, greener future for us all.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by science writer Dr. Emily Willingham to talk about her newest book, "Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis." Emily guides Cara through a demystification of the so-called male member, including its imposed relationship to dominance, masculinity, and the vagina (or other counterparts in nature).

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined once again by UCLA librarian and Death Salon director Megan Rosenbloom to talk about her new book, "Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin." They discuss the rare practice known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, in which published works are covered with the tanned flesh of deceased people. They bust myths, address medical ethics, and get downright spooky just in time for Halloween!

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by science journalist and editor at The Conversation, Bijal Trivedi, to talk about her newest book, "Breath from Salt: A Deadly Genetic Disease, a New Era in Science, and the Patients and Families Who Changed Medicine Forever." They discuss the history of cystic fibrosis as well as the incredible advancements in its treatment that may one day provide a path to curing a host of rare genetic diseases.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Reuters senior reporter David K. Randall to discuss his newest book, "Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague." In telling of the similarities between the 1900 plague and today's coronavirus pandemic, he shares stories about racism, science, and the individual personalities who shaped public policy for better or worse.