

Scientific Sense ®
Gill Eapen
Scientific Sense ® is an invigorating podcast that delves into the intricate tapestry of Science and Economics, serving as a nexus for intellectual exploration and fervor. This daily venture engages listeners by conversing with preeminent academics, unraveling their research, and unveiling emerging concepts across a diverse array of fields. Scientific Sense ® thoughtfully examines multifaceted themes such as the frameworks of worker rights and policy, the philosophical underpinnings of truth and its pursuit within academia, and constitutional discourse within divided societies.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 4, 2020 • 1h 1min
Prof. Scott Gaudi, Professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University
Exoplanets: the history, exploration techniques and demographics. Habitable and free floating planets, and is there anybody out there?
Prof. Scott Gaudi is a Professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University. His research focuses on developing and applying ways of searching for planets around other stars, and he has been involved with the discovery of nearly two dozen extrasolar planets to date.

Dec 2, 2020 • 46min
Prof. James McGaugh, Emeritus Professor of Neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine
Making lasting memories: Remembering the significant, Consolidating Memories, and Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory
Prof. James McGaugh is Emeritus Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at University of California, Irvine. He is also fellow of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory

Nov 30, 2020 • 1h 3min
Prof. Daniel Holz, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Chicago
Gravitational Waves, Black hole mergers, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and upcoming space based LISA project.
Prof Daniel Holz is a professor of Physics, Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics. His research focuses on general relativity in the context of astrophysics and cosmology. He is a member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration, and was part of the team that announced the first detection of gravitational waves in early 2016 and the first multi-messenger detection of a binary neutron star in 2017.

Nov 27, 2020 • 50min
Prof. Kent Berridge, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Michigan
Liking, Wanting, and the Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction, A Liking Versus Wanting Perspective on Emotion and the Brain, and The central amygdala recruits mesocorticolimbic circuitry for pursuit of reward or pain
Prof. Kent Berridge is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan. His research aims for answers to questions such as: What causes addiction? How are pleasure and desire generated in the brain? And how does fear relate to desire in the brain?

Nov 25, 2020 • 38min
Prof. Ira Rothstein, Professor of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University
Reducing black holes into a fundamental particle, An Effective Field Theory of Quantum Mechanical Black Hole Horizons, Virtual Hawking Radiation, Gravity waves, and LIGO
Prof. Ira Rothstein is a professor of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University. He is interested in diverse topics in elementary particle physics, gravity wave physics, astrophysics/cosmology, and QCD. In the realm of high energy physics, he uses the data from the LHC to explain the origin of mass and the nature of dark matter.

Nov 24, 2020 • 1h 10min
Prof. Doug Duncan is an emeritus faculty of Astrophysics at the University of Colorado
21st Century Literacy for Succeeding in College and Beyond, Teaching the Nature of Science using Pseudoscience, The accountability of and on the social media.
Prof. Doug Duncan is an emeritus faculty member in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences of the University of Colorado, and former Director of Fiske Planetarium, Before that he was a Carnegie Fellow; on the staff of the Hubble Space Telescope; and held a joint appointment between the Adler Planetarium and the University of Chicago.

Nov 23, 2020 • 54min
Prof. James Kasting, Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University
Habitable Zones, Remote life-detection criteria, habitable zone boundaries, and the frequency of Earth-like planets around M and late K stars, and Abiotic Oxygen Levels on Planets: Possible False Positive For Life?
Prof. James Kasting is a Professor at Penn State University, where he holds joint appointments in the Departments of Geosciences and in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science. His research focuses on the evolution of planetary atmospheres and climates and on the question of whether life might exist on planets around other stars. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. His book, How to Find a Habitable Planet (Princeton University Press), was published in 2010.

Nov 20, 2020 • 59min
Dr. Josh Winn, Physicist and astronomer at Princeton University.
The Occurrence and Architecture of Exoplanetary Systems, Doppler and Transit Surveys, Kepler-78, Ultra-Short-Period Planets, and hot Jupiters
Dr. Josh Winn is a physicist and astronomer at Princeton University. His research goals are to explore the properties of planets around other stars, understand how planets form and evolve, and make progress on the age-old question of whether there are other planets capable of supporting life. His group uses optical telescopes to study exoplanetary systems, especially those in which the star and planet eclipse one another.

Nov 19, 2020 • 51min
Prof. Gordon Fishell, Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School
The complex development of the human brain, Interneuron Types as Attractors and Controllers, Developmental diversification of cortical inhibitory interneurons, and A viral strategy for targeting and manipulating interneurons across vertebrate species
Prof. Gordon Fishell is a professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and the Stanley Center at the Broad Institute. He is a developmental neurobiologist interested in how the architecture of brain circuits are assembled, with a special focus on the diverse populations of inhibitory interneurons.

Nov 18, 2020 • 50min
Prof. Marc Pinsonneault, Theorist on the evolution of stars at Ohio State University
Red giant masses and ages derived from carbon and nitrogen abundances, Spectroscopic determination of masses for red giants, Young alpha-enriched giant stars in the solar neighborhood, and Dynamical heating across the Milky Way disc.
Prof. Marc Pinsonneault is a theorist on the structure and evolution of stars at Ohio State University. His research interests range from the microphysics of stellar models, including composition, energy, and angular momentum transport mechanisms, to the observed properties of stars. An element of his current research is the use of astroseismological data from the Kepler space mission, in combination with APOGEE and other spectroscopic surveys, to obtain novel constraints on stellar physics, stellar populations, and the chemical evolution of the Milky Way.