There's Nothing we Can do for you

Dr. Linda Peltier is a Clinical Research associate at the McGill University Health Centre, where she specializes in cord blood banking and stem cell research to treat people with cancer.
Interview by Hope (Age 16)

Dr. Peltier Extended Interview with Hope

Dr.Mullen is a Professor in the McGill Department of Medicine. At the McGill Vision Research Unit, she uses brain imaging (fMRI) to study how humans understand and process colours. 

Interview by: Psy (10) and Tristan (11)

Dr.Mullen Extended Interview with Psy and Tristan

Broad Science and Confabulation present a night of storytelling and science. People of ALL backgrounds were invited to share their personal stories about science. 
https://www.broadscience.org/
http://www.confabulation.ca/

Music by: Louis Stein and Christian Apollo
Photo by: Mickaël A. Bandassak

Discovery: Stories of creativity, innovation and breakthroughs of all kinds

Zahraa Chorghay: Trial and Error

Carolina Makowski: Understanding humanity in research

Join us as we wind our way through the complicated social life of DNA for the first part of the season. What can DNA tell us about our identity? How are direct to consumer DNA tests, like 23 and me, being used in different communities? From empowering African American communities to seek lost roots to white supremacist using it to perpetuate social constructs of race...we are about to get skin deep. 

Guests: Christine Carter, Dr. Alondra Nelson, Dr. Aaron Panofsky

Social Life of DNA

The Social Life of DNA

This episode will conclude our series on the social life of DNA. 
First, on BiteSize Science (6.02min), we chat about Atlantic staff writer Ed Yong’s two-year mission to fix the gender imbalance in his writing.  Our main story then follows Dr. Lynn Gehl(7.35min), an Algonquin-Anishinaabe woman from Eastern Ontario who just last April won her 30-year fight for status recognition under the complex rules of Canada’s Indian Act. Our guest, Dr. Kim TallBear(25.12min), helps us navigate the complicated intersection between DNA and Indigeneity. This episode ends with a preview of Broad Science’s communication workshop with Graduate STEM students at McGill University(uploaded in full as a bonus*).

Links and resources
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/i-spent-two-years-trying-to-fix-the-gender-imbalance-in-my-stories/552404/

https://theconversation.com/becoming-indigenous-the-rise-of-eastern-metis-in-canada-80794 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indian-status-why-lynn-gehl-s-court-challenge-matters-1.2806534 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indian-status-5-things-you-need-to-know-1.2744870

The Social Life of DNA Part 2: What does it mean to be Indigenous?

On Bite Size Science we’ll be discussing an editorial published last month in Science Magazine entitled “Instagram won't solve inequality” and the responses following this article, including that by science.sam (Samantha Yammine). 

Our main story will examine sexual harassment and assault in the academic science fields. We will hear about the lived experience of Ada, a survivor of sexual harassment (17.40min). We also spoke to Dr. Robin Nelson, a biological anthropologist at Santa Clara University who along with her colleagues, has spent years examining the prevalence and impact of sexual harassment in science academia(35.29min). Lastly, we spoke to Dr. Karen Kelsky, the creator of the "crowdsourced survey of sexual harassment in the academy,” which went viral and has accumulated thousand of entries from anonymous individuals all over the world (48.00min). 

Bite Size Science Notes:
http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/03/why-i-dont-use-instagram-science-outreach
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6385/162.2?utm_source=sciencemagazine&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=yammine-18864
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/16/17128808/scicomm-gender-diversity-women-stem-instagram

Main Story Notes:
http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/women-science
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confronting-sexual-harassment-in-science/
http://www.projectcallisto.org/
https://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/subcommittee-research-and-technology-hearing-review-sexual-harassment-and
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0102172
https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aman.12929

The #MeToo Movement in STEM

In April, we teamed up with the Mcgill University’s Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE) for their  My Day @ McGill events, which hosts and introduces hundreds of elementary school kids to what it’s like to be a university student for the day

Youth 7 to 12 years came into our CKUT Radio Station to learn about science and why science communication is important. They also learnt about scientific interviewing and gained basic radio production skills.

The young journalists then interviewed a #ActualLivingScientist, which were graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the Montreal  area, including many volunteers from BrainReach McGill.

This workshop is meant to empower youth to think critically about science, how it’s represented in the media and day to day life. It’s never to early to start having these discussions and hopefully it will inspire a next generation of youth to go into STEM. 

Thanks to EVERYONE for Participating!

SEDE:  https://www.mcgill.ca/equity_diversity/community-engagement/schools-outreach-programs/my-daymcgill

Brain Reach :https://www.mcgill.ca/ipn/brainreach

Broad Science: https://www.broadscience.org/

McGill Reporter article: https://reporter.mcgill.ca/science-for-everyone/

Broad Science Youth Back to School: My Day @McGill with SEDE

Our last episode of 2018 is about graduate student mental health and wellness. Rosalind, a PhD student shares her struggle with mental health and navigating barriers within her academic institution (13.48mins).  Dr.Teresa Evans explains her team's study published this year in Nature that found grad students 6 times more likely to experience depression and anxiety compared to the general population (25.48). Lastly, we have a roundtable discussion about the roles students play to form community in graduate student spaces, with Benny Niles (Just Tryna Grad) and Susanna Harris (The PhDepression)39.28mins.
On BiteSize Science, hosts Rackeb and Alyssa chat about Dr. Jess Wade's mission to improve the representation of women scientists on wikipedia (8.23mins). Lastly, we shout out Dr. Sunshine Menezes and her Metcalf Institute team for hosting the Inclusive #SciComm Symposium in Rhode Island. https://web.uri.edu/inclusivescicomm/

Links: 
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jul/24/academic-writes-270-wikipedia-pages-year-female-scientists-noticed
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05947-8 
Start an edit-a thon?: https://www.sciencerising.org/2018/07/23/hosting-an-edit-a-thon/?fbclid=IwAR11gzngH_hTTaRitkrzUAGKLtQsiy0MISvm8c7-qtgNINdVbYbxJu02QIM
https://www.thephdepression.com/
https://trynagrad.com/
https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4089

A: This episode was put together with the help of our wonderful team, including Mixing by Ryan Macfarlane 
R: Music by Louis Stein 
A: In partnership with CKUT 90.3fm
More Resources: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l4Uwq_bsoVNmtrzdUq0bd0ntDVdPJndlkXG42Z-_lfk/edit?usp=sharing

Breaking the Silence: Graduate Student Mental Health

Science Journalists Alyssia and Julianna ask Scott Bell some hard hitting questions regarding his research investigating rare genetic diseases in youth.  Scott is a PhD student at McGill University based at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.  Using advanced genetic techniques including making neurons from stem cells, Scott recently led a ground breaking discovery identifying a new neurodevelopmental disease cause by mutation in a brain gene called ACTL6B. 

You can read more about Scott's work here:
https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/quebec-siblings-rare-orphan-disease-lead-discovery-rare-genetic-diseases-296454

Discovering a rare genetic disorder: Extended interview with Scott Bell

Journalists Elsie and Giannouli discuss nanoparticles and creating sustainable chemistry with PhD student Alexandra Gellé. Based at McGill, Alex specializes in the field of  Green Chemistry, focusing on	developing more sustainable and safer alternatives to chemical reactions that already exist.
Alex is also the director of Pint of Science Canada and a contributing writer for many outlets, including the Science Network and The Conversation Canada. You can follow Alex on twitter: @AlexGelle

Nanoparticles and green chemistry: Extended interview with Alexandra Gellé

Broad Science and Confabulation return on stage for the theme of
It’s a Phase: Stories of stage, changes and transformations.

Storytellers: 
Dr. Kika Tuff, Founder of the Impact Media Lab https://www.impactmedialab.com/

Dr. Cristian Zaelzer, Founder & President of the Convergence Initiative
https://www.convergenceinitiative.org/

Broad Science and Confabulation: It's a Phase

On this episode, it’s all about ethics in AI!  We’ll be sharing different stories about how AI is being used, what the pitfalls are, and who in the field is trying to make changes.  

We chat to the next generation of AI experts to understand how their institutions are preparing them(or not) to use AI ethically.

Surya Mattu, a data scientist who was part of the Pulitzer nominated Propublica investigation “Machine Bias”, talks to us about the report that jumpstarted a global conversation.
https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing (Machine Bias)

To understand the current landscape of Ethics and AI we spoke to one of the most prominent advocates for inclusion and diversity in the field, Dr. Timnit Gebru. Dr. Gebru is a Research Scientist in the Ethical AI team at Google and founder of Black in AI (@black_in_ai). 

How has our world has come to associate the assistance of AI with women? Dr. Myriam Sweeney, assistant professor of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama helps us navigate this. 

Hear a reenactment of the 1920’s play Rossum’s Universal Robot by Czech playwright Karel Capek, who coined the term robot(acted by Morgan Sweeney and Matt Goldberg).  

Lastly, Dr. Kirk Bansak highlights the possibilities using of AI for good, including to help place refugees in the best possible host communities.



AI guides:
https://www.wired.com/story/guide-artificial-intelligence/ 
https://towardsdatascience.com/ai-machine-learning-deep-learning-explained-simply-7b553da5b960

What is socially responsible AI?

Confabulation and Broad Science Presents Bodies. This show explored the theme of Bodies. Storytellers spoke about bodies both as human and celestial shells, as well as exploring the forms that define our lives.

Storytellers:
Alice Fleerackers (00.35) Fleerackers is a freelance writer, a researcher at the ScholCommLab, the Communications Officer at Art the Science, and a Science in Society Editor at Science Borealis. She’s also a doctoral student at Simon Fraser University, where she is working under the supervision of Dr. Juan Pablo Alperin to explore how controversial science is communicated in the digital sphere.

Dr. Natalya Gomez (11:11).  Dr. Gomez is a professor in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at McGill University and a Canada Research Chair in the Geodynamics of Ice Sheet - Sea Level Interactions. Her research centers around the interactions between ice sheets, sea level and the solid Earth, and the response of these systems to past, present and future climate changes.

Stories of Bodies

The new Broad Science minisode about communicating inclusive science in the time of COVID-19"

Guest: Andre Picard acclaimed health columnist at The Globe and Mail discusses what it’s like to be a science journalist right now and how Canada is really doing in terms of communicating about COVID19, and what we need to be doing better. @picardonhealth

Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oxQodUjjf1g3teFPluHp0_80_pbX2gMq/view?usp=sharing

Every Monday at 11am on CKUT 90.3fm

Audio Distancing: Andre Picard

We spoke to Liz Neeley, Executive Director of the Story Collider who recently wrote a piece in The Atlantic called  How to Talk About the Coronavirus: Four ways to help those around you be better informed about the pandemic.

Liz shares shares her tips for how we can communicate more empathically and constructively with ourselves and others during this pandemic.

Twitter:  @lizneeley
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/how-talk-about-coronavirus/609118/
https://www.storycollider.org/

Audio Distancing: Liz Neeley

We chat with Neuroscientist, #Scicommer and Digital Media Producer Dr. Samantha Yammine, known to thousands of her followers as Science Sam @heysciencesam

How can we leverage social media to engage often forgotten audiences with vital information, while combatting misinformation that’s intrinsic to those platforms?

Audio Distancing: Dr. Samantha Yammine

We chat to Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, James R. Johnston Chair of Black Canadian Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Dr. Dryden discusses how the ongoing disproportionate impact of COVID-19 within Black communities is rooted in a larger Canadian conversation about racism and data that is often dismissed.

This interview is the first of a 2-part investigation on the lack of race-based data collection re:COVID19 here in Canada. We delve into why this lack of information is so dangerous and what barriers it presents to communicating vital information about the pandemic to vulnerable communities.

The Conversation Canada: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-discriminates-against-black-lives-through-surveillance-policing-and-the-absence-of-health-data-135906 

Recent estimates of COVID19 cases impacting Black individuals in the US and UK (*please read pre-prints with caution*):
https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race
https://ehe.amfar.org/inequity?_ga=2.51214761.1618924293.1588715818-1730120696.1588715818
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.06.20092999v1.full.pdf 
*The Faculty of Medicine at McGill University was created in 1829

Audio Distancing: Dr OmiSoore Dryden

We talked to Courtney Skye, a public policy analyst and activist. She is Mohawk, Turtle Clan, from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, and is a research fellow at the Yellowhead Institute and the co-host of the Red Road podcast. She discusses the report she spearheaded  highlighting major gaps of reported COVID-19 cases in Indigenous communities & barriers to getting this information.

Report: “Colonialism of the Curve: Indigenous Communities & Bad Covid Data.”https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2020/05/12/colonialism-of-the-curve-indigenous-communities-and-bad-covid-data/  

Follow Courtney @MOHAWKEMOTIONS and @RedRoadPodcast

Audio Distancing: Courtney Skye

The internationally successful #BlackBirdersWeek on social media celebrated the often hidden presence, contributions, and community of Black birders—challenging the stereotypes of who birds and enjoys nature. The week was started by @BlackAFinSTEM as a response to a racist incident in Central Park where a white women falsely reported to the police that Christian Cooper a Black birder was threatening her. 

We chat to co-organizer Corina Newsome, a science communicator who is well known to thousands of her social media followers as @hood_naturalist. She is a graduate student in biology and avian conservationist at Georgia Southern University. 

Notes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/nyregion/amy-cooper-christian-central-park-video.html

Donate
@BlackAFinSTEM
https://ca.gofundme.com/f/free-binoculars-for-black-birders

https://www.gofundme.com/f/east-clark-elementary-bird-nerds?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Twitter posts mentioned
https://twitter.com/fitguyoutdoors/status/1267205568139350017?s=21
https://twitter.com/JameelaJafri/status/1267661214731005954

Audio Distancing: #BlackBirdersWeek with Corina Newsome

Academic research is often distant to the public, but now it’s more crucial than ever for the public to trust in and be involved with research. We spoke to Dr. Bella Starling, a public engagement professional and Director of Public Programmes at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust., in the UK., about her role in fostering community engagement with research, and building relationships between healthcare professionals and the people that their work will ultimately impact.


Notes:
@bellastarling (Twitter)
BAME studies UK: 
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/892376/COVID_stakeholder_engagement_synthesis_beyond_the_data.pdf
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/coronavirusrelateddeathsbyethnicgroupenglandandwales/2march2020to10april2020
https://www.ifs.org.uk/inequality/chapter/are-some-ethnic-groups-more-vulnerable-to-covid-19-than-others/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52219070
Correction: By June (not *in*) 90% of English doctors who died of COVID related illness were from BAME communities

Audio Distancing: Dr. Bella Starling

To celebrate #BlackBotanistWeek, we are releasing a story told by botanist Itumeleng Moroenyane, told during our November 2019 storytelling event "Bodies" with partners Confabulation.

Itumeleng is a plant ecologist pursuing a PhD in biology focusing on how interactions between microbes and their plant host are acted upon by evolutionary processes. https://www.plantholobiont.com/ @Itumeleng_M


#BlackBotanistWeek is a movement started that was started on twitter to celebrate and highlight the contributions of Black Botanists.

#BlackBotanistWeek: Itumeleng Moroenyane

Beth Gardiner is a London-based journalist who focuses on climate, health, and sustainability. She is also the author of the book Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution, one of Guardian’s best books of 2019. We chatted with Beth to understand what it has been like to cover the environment during COVID-19 and what this pandemic is teaching us about the future of the climate crisis.
https://bethgardiner.com
@Gardiner_Beth

Audio Distancing: Beth Gardiner

On this episode we discuss the intersection between COVID-19,  the environment and Black communities, with Jared DeWese (@JaredDeWese). DeWese is a Senior Communications Advisor for the climate and energy program at Washington-based think tank Third Way. Their work is tackling the gap of Black inclusion in the climate change movement and sharing Black community voices and perceptions about the environment. 

We also discuss DeWese's  recent  op-ed for the Hill titled “Black people are dying from coronavirus, air pollution is one of the main culprits.”
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/499354-black-people-are-dying-from-coronavirus-air-pollution-is-one-of

Resources:
https://www.thirdway.org/

Black Americans Care About Climate Change. Why Is No One Talking to Them About It?: https://morningconsult.com/opinions/black-americans-care-about-climate-change-why-is-no-one-talking-to-them-about-it/

Why the Larger Climate Movement Is Finally Embracing the Fight Against Environmental Racism: https://time.com/5864704/environmental-racism-climate-change/

A Shock-Proof America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX_FCAaSzCY&feature=youtu.be

Responding to the Crisis: Ensuring Environmental Justice During the COVID-19 Recovery

Audio Distancing: Jared DeWese

Doreen Robinson (@dlrpretoria) is the chief for wildlife at the UN Environment programme, based in Nairobi, Kenya. She spoke to us about a landmark report, put together by many organizations including the United Nations Environment Programme (@UNEP), that highlighted zoonotic diseased were on the rise. The report lays out: “Pandemics such as the COVID-19 outbreak are a predictable and predicted outcome of how people source and grow food, trade and consume animals, and alter environments.”

Report: https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/preventing-future-zoonotic-disease-outbreaks-protecting-environment-animals-and

Audio Distancing: Doreen Robinson

On this episode we're getting an update on the $6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, a project that the hereditary chiefs of all five clans of Wet’suwet’en have opposed. We talk to Marlene Hale, who is a member of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. She is a culinary chef but also a vocal activist, advocate and community mobilizer who is now based here in Montreal. Marlene talks about the toll this Pipeline has had on the Wet’suwet’en Nation and the ongoing struggle facing the community.


Since our recording, the pipeline has been given the green light to start pipeline work near Unist’ot’en healing centre  https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/08/07/Coastal-GasLink-Green-Light/

Marlene’s weekly webinar: https://www.facebook.com/events/299287734417239/

Audio Distancing: Marlene Hale

Following the success of Black Birders Week(ep.7) many in the academic world are harnessing the power of virtual connections during the pandemic. 

BlackinNeuro created a space to increase visibility of Black neuroscientists and those in neuro related fields and to celebrate these individuals and their often overlooked contributions.

We chat to 8 organizers to hear about the success of Black in Neuro Week, the scientists' behind it, their journey's in academia and the future of Black in Neuro. 

Organizers Interviewed: Paige Greenwood, Ti’Air Riggins, Stephanie Renee, De-Shaine Murray, Angeline Dukes, Lietsel Richardson, Kaela S. Singleton, PhD, & Thiago Arzua

https://www.blackinneuro.com/home
Transcript available here: https://www.broadscience.org/new-audio-distancing

Audio Distancing: A conversation with Black in Neuro

Unfortunately not all of the Black in Neuro organizers could join our roundtable discussion. So we are releasing bonus material to hear more about everyone on the fantastic team. Don't miss all the love and laughter! 

Check them out here-> https://www.blackinneuro.com/organizers

Ep 13 Bonus: Who are the Black in Neuro organizers?

Graduate students are the backbone of academic research and innovation in our world. To capture graduate student experiences during COVID19 in Canada, The Toronto Science Policy Network(TSPN) , a student-run science policy group at the University of Toronto, decided to launch a national survey. What they found was really troubling and mirror survey's conducted in other countries. We spoke to Farah Qaiser (@this_is_farah), who helped lead this survey. She recently finished her Master’s degree in Genomics at the University of Toronto, is a co-founder and 2019-20 president of the TSPN,  a science communicator and advocate. 
 



Report: https://toscipolicynet.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/tspn_impact_of_covid-19_grad_students_in_canada.pdf

Toronto Science Policy Network: https://tspn.sa.utoronto.ca/

Broad Science Audio Doc(Breaking the Silence): https://soundcloud.com/broad-science/breaking-the-silence-graduate-student-mental-health

Audio Distancing: The grad students are not alright!

Making science engaging, inclusive and intersectional through storytelling. #STEMdiversity #SciComm #STEMFemme

Broad Science

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks