Sing for Science
Talkhouse
Sing For Science is a science-and-music podcast where musicians sit down with scientists to explore the scientific ideas hidden in their most iconic songs. Listen to JD from Korn talk about “Dead Bodies Everywhere” with a mortuary-science expert, Sia explore one of her breakup ballads with an attachment-theory psychologist, and many, many more. Created and hosted by New York musician Matt Whyte, the show seeks to uncover connections wherever they may exist and build bridges between seemingly disparate voices, styles, and walks of life. Sing For Science is made possible in part by a grant from the Simons Foundation.
New episodes release every two weeks—subscribe now. Want to catch a live Sing For Science taping in your city? Sign up for our newsletter at SingForScience.org to be the first to know.
New episodes release every two weeks—subscribe now. Want to catch a live Sing For Science taping in your city? Sign up for our newsletter at SingForScience.org to be the first to know.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 12, 2022 • 56min
Arlo Guthrie: Alice’s Restaurant (Nutritional Anthropology with Ellen Messer)
Arlo Guthrie talks about the lyrics to the 1967 anti-war masterpiece, “Alice’s Restaurant” - we talk at length about the 1960s and being Woody Guthrie’s son. Tufts University Nutritional Anthropologist Dr. Ellen Messer talks about her awakening as a scholar-activist in the 1960s and the foundations of her term “food wars” which describes the relationship between food scarcity and armed conflict.
Oct 5, 2022 • 57min
Jeff Tweedy (Wilco): Less Than You Think (Consciousness/Psychology with Shimon Edelman)
Less Than You Think: Demystifying the Hard Problem of Consciousness with Computational Psychology.Jeff Tweedy talks about the lyrics to "Less Than You Think" from Wilco's 2004 Grammy Winning Album, A Ghost is Born. We discuss creativity vis a vis his book "How To Write One Song", spirituality with a capital S, atheism, 9/11 and everything in between. Cornell University computational psychologist, Dr. Shimon Edelman weighs in on the lyrics with his theory of consciousness: that human consciousness is entirely the product of a virtual reality simulation created by our brains.
Mar 23, 2022 • 26min
Kilo Kish: New Tricks (Neuroplasticity with Wendy Suzuki)
Recorded Live in Brooklyn, NY at the 2022 On Air Fest. Kish and NYU neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki discuss brain plasticity, memory formation and more!
Mar 16, 2022 • 51min
Pat Metheny: Bright Size Life (Neuroscience of Improvisation with Charles Limb)
Jazz Guitar Legend Pat Metheny and neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Limb discuss the neuroscience of improvisation, language and music connection, freestyle rap brain scans, early career experiences, the influence of Jim Hall, and deep musical communication.
Mar 9, 2022 • 54min
Davoné Tines: The Black Clown (Voter Suppression/Data Science with Todd Hendricks)
Join Opera phenom Davóne Tines and data scientist and civil rights activist Todd Hendricks for a discussion about fighting gerrymandering in the courts with math and data science.
Mar 2, 2022 • 43min
Ruth B: Spaceship (Rocket Science with Christina Hernandez)
Canadian pop star Ruth B and NASA engineer Christina Hernandez talk rocket science, space travel and life on Mars.
Feb 23, 2022 • 55min
Portugal. The Man: Feel It Still (Indigenous Data Science with Desi Small-Rodriguez)
PTM’s John Gourley and Zach Carothers and data scientist, Dr. Desi Small-Rodriguez discuss indigenous data sovereignty, the missing and murdered indigenous women project and our collective path forward.
Feb 16, 2022 • 1h 5min
Duran Duran: Save a Prayer (Particle Physics with Brian Cox)
Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and Particle Physicist Brian Cox discuss time travel, the intersection of politics and science and more!
Feb 9, 2022 • 41min
Majid Jordan: Waves of Blue (Marine Exploration with Fabian Cousteau)
Canadian R&B duo Majid Jordan speak with aquanaut Fabien Cousteau (grandson of Jacques Cousteau) about the construction of his monolithic underwater space station, Proteus and marine conservation.
Feb 2, 2022 • 46min
Blondie: Rapture (Climate Science with Michael Mann)
Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, co-founders of Blondie speak with climatologist Dr. Michael Mann about ancient climate history, the relationship between agriculture and climate, preventing climate catastrophe and much more.
