Name: xkcd by This Is Science with Jess Phoenix
Duration: 29 min
Description: As a post-election palate cleanser, Jess talks with webcomic artist, author, and cultural phenomenon creator Randall Munroe. They discus stick figure science cartoons and endless curiosity, delve into science mysteries, and even workshop lava moats.

After the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump, Jess talks with Dr. Garen Wintemute, Director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California - Davis, about the science of political violence and what we can do to stop it. This episode discusses difficult topics like gun violence and mentions suicide, so please take note.

The Science of Violence

Jess visits the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to unearth efforts by Dr. Aaron Celestian and his team to use a groundbreaking new mineral-based method to clean up lead contamination in L.A. backyards.

Getting (Lead) Down To Earth

A new report using voting precinct-level data uncovers key information about who is actually voting in our elections, and who our current democratic process is leaving behind. Jess talks with UCS scientist and report author Dr. Liza Gordon-Rogers about what this means for the 2024 elections.

A Democracy, If You Can Keep It

Jess talks with California State University, Los Angeles Biology Department Chair Dr. Kirsten Fisher about desert mosses, climate change, and the changing state of science in higher education.

Mosses and Matriculation

Hurricanes pounding the southeast, heatwaves and smoke from fires across the country, and temperature records falling left and right…Jess talks with UCLA climate scientist and Weather West blogger Dr. Daniel Swain about this summer of extremes.

Re-release: Wet, Hot American Summer

Everyone needs to get from point A to point B, and Jess talks with urban planner and UCS Director of Clean Transportation Steven Higashide about the latest and greenest in what moves us.

Move It, Move It

We all know dinosaurs are extinct, but their demise is definitely a scary story with implications for us all during this spooky season. Jess gives out treats as she talks with Dr. Ken Lacovara, renowned paleontologist and discoverer of the world’s largest dinosaur about the fate of the dinos, the fate of our planet, and a revolutionary new museum in New Jersey where the two collide.

Spooky, Scary Skeletons

As a post-election palate cleanser, Jess talks with webcomic artist, author, and cultural phenomenon creator Randall Munroe. They discus stick figure science cartoons and endless curiosity, delve into science mysteries, and even workshop lava moats.

xkcd

The 2024 election results are sending shockwaves through the scientific community, but we haven’t been caught flat-footed. Jess talks with Dr. Christopher Williams, political scientist with the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists about what we might see in the coming months, and more importantly: what we’re going to do to make sure science keeps saving lives.

Science Will Not Be Silent

This Is Science with Jess Phoenix is the official podcast of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Jess brings her experience as a volcanologist and science communicator to the mic through science storytelling and conversations with dynamic scientific explorers, change-makers, and innovators. Ignorance is the disease, and curiosity is the cure!

xkcd

This Is Science with Jess Phoenix

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