Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Lucinda Jackson, author of "Just a Girl: Growing Up Female and Ambitious." They discuss her personal experiences navigating the pernicious institutional sexism of academia and corporate America, as well as its implications for broader society.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by clinical psychologist, journalist, and author of the new book, "All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers, and the Myth of Equal Partnership," Dr. Darcy Lockman. They discuss the inequities of gendered labor that persist to this day, as well as the physical and psychological burden wives and mothers are all too often forced to carry.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Robert P. Crease, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Stony Brook University. They dive into the important topics covered in his newest book, "The Workshop and the World: What Ten Thinkers Can Teach Us About Science and Authority," including history's lessons for restoring society's trust in the scientific community.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Nick Haddad, Senior Terrestrial Ecologist in the Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University and Kellogg Biological Station. They discuss his newest book, "The Last Butterflies: A Scientist's Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature."

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by vice president and senior technical advisor of Underwriter Laboratories Inc. and founder of Air Quality Science Inc. as well as The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, Dr. Marilyn Black. They talk about the science of assessing indoor and outdoor air quality, including the toxic chemicals often released by products like 3-D printers and furniture treated with flame retardants.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by writer and historian Dr. Lydia Pyne to talk about her new book, “Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff.” Lydia describes the fuzzy line between what’s real and what’s fake, sharing stories about nature documentaries, art forgeries, fossil hoaxes, lab-grown diamonds, and everything in between.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by molecular cell biologist at the University of California Merced, Dr. Miriam Barlow. They talk about her research on antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including how they evolve, the impact on public health, and what we can do to prevent or mitigate the spread of infection.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Sora Kim, Life and Environmental Sciences professor at UC Merced. They talk about the importance of diversity, mentorship, and collaboration in STEM fields. They also discuss her fascinating research examining stable isotopes in fossilized shark teeth in an effort to better understand global climate change.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Dr. Joanna Andrecka, product marketing manager at Refeyn. They discuss an exciting new technology called mass photometry. This process uses light to analyze the mass of biomolecules in their native state, with no markers or labels.

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by evolutionary psychologist Dr. Sarah E. Hill to talk about her new book, "This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences." They discuss the long history of scientific inquiry that ignores women's bodies and minds, as well as what new research is telling us about birth control's sweeping effects.