
Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria
Cara Santa Maria is a science communicator, television host, producer, and journalist. She is excited to present "Talk Nerdy," a place for conversations with interesting people about interesting topics.
Latest episodes

Apr 8, 2024 • 1h 6min
Coral Reefs w/ Juli Berwald
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by ocean scientist and science writer, Juli Berwald. They discuss her book; “LIFE ON THE ROCKS: Building a Future for Coral Reefs.” Follow Juli: @juliberwald

Apr 1, 2024 • 1h 21min
Transgender Activism w/ Julia Serano
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by California-based writer, performer, and trans-activist Julia Serano. Julia is the author of four books, including a new edition of “Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity.” Follow Julia: @JuliaSerano

Mar 25, 2024 • 60min
Our Future with Robots w/ Daniela Rus
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by roboticist and the first female director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Daniela Rus. We talk about her new book, “THE HEART AND THE CHIP: Our Bright Future with Robots.” Follow Daniela’s work: @MIT_CSAIL

Mar 18, 2024 • 1h 9min
Unclaimed w/ Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by sociologists Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans to talk about their book, “THE UNCLAIMED: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angel.” The book sheds light on the 150,000 Americans that go unclaimed each year with a special focus on the lost citizens of Los Angeles County. Follow their work: @pamelajprickett @StefanTimmerma6

Mar 11, 2024 • 52min
Our Moon w/ Rebecca Boyle
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by science journalist and author Rebecca Boyle to talk about her debut book, "OUR MOON: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are”. Follow Rebecca: @rboyle31

Mar 4, 2024 • 1h 5min
Merze Tate w/ Barbara Savage
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by historian and the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania, Barbara D. Savage. We talk about her new book, “Merze Tate: The Global Odyssey of a Black Woman Scholar.” Follow Barbara: @bdsavage1

Feb 26, 2024 • 55min
How We Age w/ Coleen Murphy
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Princeton University Professor and leading scholar in aging, Dr. Coleen T. Murphy. Coleen is the Director of the Lewis Sigler Institute of Genomics and professor of genomics and molecular biology at Princeton University. She is also director of Princeton’s Glenn Foundation for Research on Aging and the director of the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity in the Aging Brain. They discuss her new book, “How We Age: The Science of Longevity.” Follow Coleen: @ctmurphy1

Feb 19, 2024 • 55min
Why We Remember w/ Charan Ranganath
Dr. Charan Ranganath, Director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at UC Davis, discusses memory mechanisms and his book 'Why We Remember'. Topics include memory's connection to consciousness, memory encoding, retrieval, and anxiety disorders.

Feb 12, 2024 • 57min
Motivation Science w/ Ayelet Fishbach
Dr. Ayelet Fishbach, author of 'GET IT DONE: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation,' joins Cara Santa Maria to discuss motivation science, mindset, personal experiences, navigating challenges, and finding joy in the present.

Feb 5, 2024 • 1h 10min
Learning to Think w/ Tracy King
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by England based writer, producer, and science communicator, Tracy King. We talk about her upcoming memoir, “Learning to Think: A Memoir of Faith, Superstition, and the Courage to Ask Questions.” Publishing April 2024 by @PenguinUKBooks