Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

Cara is joined by NASA Astrophysicist Dr. Amber Straughn, the Deputy Project Scientist for James Webb Space Telescope Science Communications. They dive into Amber's interests in deep sky objects like galaxies, as well as what the Hubble Space Telescope has taught us about the vast size of the universe. They focus on Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, detailing just how it will aim to answer the biggest questions in astronomy, going beyond what Hubble can currently see.

California Director of the National Wildlife Federation, Beth Pratt-Bergstrom, tells Cara the story of P-22, Hollywood's famous mountain lion. They also talk about ways we can all aid in conservation efforts, like inviting native wildlife into your home garden and supporting the Santa Monica Mountains wildlife corridor. To learn more, check out Beth's new book, "When Mountain Lions are Neighbors." 100% of the proceed go directly toward wildlife conservation.

Dr. Michael Habib (USC, NHMLA) joins Cara to talk about the flight biomechanics of pterosaurs, the relationship between human gross anatomy and paleontology, and why some people enjoy keeping reptiles as pets.

Cara is joined by author Luke Dittrich to discuss his new book "Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets." They dive deeply into the story of famed neurological patient Henry Molaison, who, at the age of 27, received an invasive brain surgery that left him with profound memory loss. Luke's telling of the story is especially poignant since his very own grandfather was the lobotomist who performed the surgery back in 1953.

In a very special episode of #TalkNerdy, Cara's mom has come to town! They sit down to discuss what it was like to grow up during the Civil Rights movement, protesting the Vietnam War, and her life's work in Spanish education.

Cara sits down with artist Landon Ross to talk about his new gallery show, ARTIfACT. They discuss aesthetics, politics, atheism, and the power of metaphor both in art and science.

Cara finally chats with Bob Novella of the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe! They talk physics, health, and of course, skepticism as she rounds out her final interview with each of the skeptical rogues.

This week, Cara and Dr. Michelle Thaller (Deputy Director of Science for Communication, NASA) #TalkNerdy about the Juno spacecraft's recent entry into Jupiter's orbit and why it's so damn important that all of humanity take a moment to stop and just look up.

Science Communicator & Nerd Brigade cofounder Teagan Wall joins Cara to discuss the economics of decision making, including the different ways to calculate the value of a human life. (Mostly, though, they end up talking about dropping their phones in toilets. We've all been there.)

Astrophysicist and author of "Black Hole Blues" Janna Levin joins Cara to talk about why theoretical physics is so fascinating, how Einstein really got it right, and what the incredible detections at LIGO mean for our understanding of the universe.