In this episode, we must discuss drugs. Many people experiment with recreational drugs like Cannabis and MDMA every now and then. But do we know how they affect our brain? Although some research has been done on their negative effects, it is only recently that scientists started to do research on the medicinal effects of Cannabis, MDMA, ketamine and psychedelics. We talk about this and much more with our two guests: Olivier Otten and Sebastiaan van Bruchem. Olivier is an art student and tells us about his experience with Cannabis and how he felt it helped him with his attention disorder. Sebastiaan, who finished a Masters in Brain and Cognitive Science, explains what science can tell us about the effect of drugs on the brains.

—Tracklist —
00:40 Summer Winds - Vincent
02:06 Aquarius - Prins Emanuel
07:02 Never Heated - Suzanne Kraft
10:46 Bye Bye Macadam - Rone
12:25 Wait - Nuages
14:30 The Edge Of Space - Sombrero Galaxy
20:04 XTC - DJ Koze
22:50 World - Sunshower
28:01 Summer Madness - Khruangbin
31:38 Oblique - Gillespie
36:05 The Most - Weval

Talk That Science is powered by the Student Impact Centre FNWI and Radio Tempo Não Pára.

Must Discuss: Drugs

In this episode, we talk about crystals with Noushine Shadidzadeh, professor of crystallization at the UvA. We can all agree: crystals are beautiful to look at. And this is exactly what Noushine loves about her research field. Interestingly enough, crystals play a huge role in our everyday lives, for example in food - think of salt - and in drugs such as paracetamol. During this episode, we will come across various applications of Noushine’s research: from reducing the amount of salt in food to fortifying salt with rare minerals and even preserving cultural heritage. Well, you get it: crystals are everywhere around you! Listen to this episode and let the science behind crystals be unraveled for you.

— Tracklist —
1. Steve Hiett - Love That Bird
2. Natural Positions - Goloka
3. Pete Beardsworth - Purify
4. Ashra - Oasis
5. Hype Williams - Gelato
6. The Durutti Column - Conduct
7. Mildlife - Phase
8. Jasper Van 't Hof - Associations
9. Verminkte Toekan - Betonkunst & Palmbomen II

Track selection by Waldemar Theodor.

Talk That Science is powered by the Student Impact Centre FNWI and Radio Tempo Não Pára.

The World Of Crystals Around You!

In this episode, we talk about material culture with Maikel Kuijpers. Material culture concerns that aspect of society that is grounded in material objects. As an archeologist, Maikel is specialized in material use over time. Although archeology focuses on the past, Maikel interestingly enough uses his knowledge to create a more sustainable future. In this episode, we will therefore talk about sustainable material use, craftsmanship and the role of a scientist when bringing a message to the public. Maikel shares many interesting thoughts on this, as he isn't only a scientist, but also author at De Correspondent and director of the documentary “The Future is Handmade”. 

— Find out more — 
Maikel's work for De Correspondent - https://bit.ly/3ymauPN
Maikel's documentary - https://bit.ly/3ymGdjw

— Tracklist —
1. Ti-de - KOKOROKO
2. Ode to Ancient Rome - Michael Levy
3. Closer - Satoshi & Makoto
4. After Midnight - Skinshape
5. Peri Banu vid sjön - Dungen
6. Abusey Junction - KOKOROKO
7. Mumma Don't Tell - Leifur James
8. Progress - Public Service Broadcasting

Talk That Science is powered by the Student Impact Centre FNWI and Radio Tempo Não Pára.

How do materials shape our mindset?

In this episode, Nicolien and Nikki host the first live show of Talk That Science on Echobox Radio. We introduce you to the people behind Talk That Science, explain what we love about science and why we think that making science more accessible is important. With the live chat on Echobox Radio, we hope to interact more with you, the listener, so you can let us know your opinions and what you want us to discuss in the future. Last but not least, Nico and Nikki talk about their own scientific interests. 

From now on, every month we will be going live at Echobox Radio on Thursday at 2pm. The upcoming show will be on the 2nd of September and then every four weeks we will have another one. Go to echobox.radio to listen live and say hi in the chat! Or listen back to the shows on your usual streaming platform.

Why we like to Talk That Science @Echobox Radio

The media have covered many of the recent achievements of artificial intelligence: there are chess-computers that can beat humans, there is Sofia the robot who has been granted actual citizenship and with the help of deep fakes, fake videos are easily created. It is often assumed that artificial intelligence has achieved this success by virtue of its brain-like computation and, therefore, its ability to imitate human cognition. In this episode, we examine what it means for a machine to think like a person, and whether that is ultimately possible. We do this with our two guests: Nynke Boiten and David Knigge. Nynke is currently doing the master Brain and Cognitive Science at the University of Amsterdam, where she focuses on computer models of the brain. David Knigge is studying Artificial Intelligence, also in Amsterdam. He is writing his thesis, in which he tries to build an artificial intelligence system that can recognize pictures.

Tracklist:

What is the Human Machine - Helium
Mindwalk - Robert Schroeder
Robot Motion - Frank Fischer-Goeppingen
ICE - Lorn
The Man Maschine - Kraftwerk
Crawl Up - Satoshi & Makoto
Voices of the Mind - Herbert Bodzin
Cyborg - Egyptian Lover

Must Discuss: Mind and Machines

Every day, we deal with causation. We assume that when we shoot a billiard ball against another it will start rolling, we assume that when we smoke we will have a bigger chance of getting lung cancer, and we think about how human activities can impact climate change. In all these cases, we assume that one event A can cause another event B. Dean McHugh, a phd student of philosophy and linguistics, studies how people use words like “because” and “cause” in order to determine how we understand the concept of causation. Different understandings of causation can have practical implications for society, especially in the law. In this episode, we will talk about how the outcome of a lawsuit can depend on how we understand causation. Thijmen Nuninga is finishing his phd in law and gives us many examples of how causation is crucial to determine responsibility. We talk about the Urgenda case and whether the Netherlands is responsible for climate change, about if we can understand discrimination because of sexual orientation as discrimination because of sex, and about how to determine whether a heavy smoker got lung cancer because there was asbestos in his work environment. 

Tracklist:
‘Cause I’m a man - Tame Impala
Goed te doen - Meetsysteem 
Discoscience - Ventolin

Causation & Moral Responsibility @Echobox Radio

In STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), but also in areas like philosophy and law, women and racial minorities are underrepresented. In the Netherlands only 35% of the people who pursue a career in academics in STEM are women. At the University of Amsterdam, only 4% of the Dutch staff has a non-Western background. In this episode, we invite Rosie Zheng and Merel Dap to talk about their experiences as young women of color in science. They explain how micro-aggressions can lead to the feeling of not being welcome in science. We talk about how as soon as we start school,  we start believing that girls cannot be as smart as boys. When women want to go into academia they need to work way harder then men to be taken seriously, get funds and positions and have their articles get published. We also discuss how the underrepresentation of minorities in science can lead to racist and sexist scientific developments. For example, in Artificial Intelligence and medical science, techniques will be developed that disadvantage women and people of color. At the end, we brainstorm about how we can tackle these problems.

Tracklist:
Wildfires - SAULT 
More women - Saâda Bonaire  
VV Violence - Jessy Lanza 
Emancipense - Yelle

Gender and Race Bias in Science @Echobox Radio

How often do you use Google Translate? I do quite often. It is so easy to go from one language to the other. But suppose you want to communicate with a deaf person, or you are deaf yourself. Then Google Translate is of no use, because deaf peope speak sign langue. There are 70 million deaf and hearing impaired people in the world, but there is so far no tool to translate a written language to a sign language. But this is about to change. Our guest this episode, Floris Roelofsen, is currently working on a project to develop an avatar that can speak sign language. We will talk about the importance of sign language, about how it differs from written languages and about how we can develop such an avatar.

— Tracklist —
1. Charles Writh & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Express Yourself
2. BROCKBEATS - More Silence  
3. SparkySynth - The Robots Are Talking
4. Rival Consoles - Vibrations On A String

Floris Roelofsen is associate professor at the University of Amsterdam. You can find out more about his research on his webpage: www.florisroelofsen.com.

Avatars For Sign Language  @Echobox Radio

In this episode we talk about 3D printing on Earth and in Space. We have a range of guests from the physics' soft matter group: Mazi Jalaal, Jackson Wilt and Olfa D'Angelo. Soft matter is a type of soft material, examples include tooth pasta and chocolate spread. As you can imagine, it is harder to print these materials than solid materials. We talk about what soft matter is, what the challenges of printing it are and finally how printing it in space is different than on earth.

3D Printing In Space @Echobox Radio

Nature itself is circular. Trees produce fruits that birds can eat, and their feces in return replenish the soil so that new trees can grow. If a bird builds a nest it simply uses branches from the tree that will decompose into the soil again. For us humans it now seems almost impossible to go back to such a circular ecosystem. While the bird’s nest will deteriorate into the soil again, we have started to design and build products in such a way that the materials cannot be recycled. The Dutch government has aimed to make our economy circular in 2050. This means that we need to start designing products in a circular way. In this episode, we will talk with Deborah Sumter and Christiaan Maats about what can help designers make their products more circular.  Christiaan Maats coaches sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship at a company called Circo and similar work at Noorderwind.  Deborah Sumter recently finished her PhD thesis about what competencies designers should acquire in order to design circular products and services. 

Tracklist

1. Masahiro Sugaya - Future Green
2. Daisuke Miyatani - Memories of Furniture
3. Shiho Yabuki - Ki No Nagare
4. Catching Flies - Ghosts
5. Max Cooper - Circular
6. HNNY - Montara
7. Seb Wildblood - Sketches
8. L’Indécis - Soulful
9. Acid Pauli & Nu - 12
10. Tycho - Circular Reeducation

Must Discuss: Circular Society @Echobox Radio

Last year, Daniela Loustalot Knapp and Nicolien worked on a project to study matching algorithms for the school choice problem. Matching is the abstraction of a problem that arises in many real-world situations and consists of making pairs of individuals from two groups that have preferences over the other group. Examples include organ donation programs, house allocations and the school choice problem. In the school choice problem, the question is how to fairly assign kids to schools. Every year, kids going to secondary school have to submit a ranking of their preferred schools. As it happens, some schools turn out to be more popular than others. Consequently, not all kids can go to their favorite schools.  To decide who gets their first choice and who doesn’t, the school boards in Amsterdam use a matching algorithm (sometimes also called ‘matching mechanisms’). In this episode, we discuss how different algorithms have varying normative properties. This means that choosing and designing matching algorithms is not just a mathematical problem. The choice for what algorithms to choose may have far-reaching effects. On whether everyone gets equal opportunities, for example. Talking about matching means talking about how to divide limited goods or places as fairly as possible. 

Finally, Daniela recently wrote a thesis on justifying matching algorithms. The idea is to provide non-experts with a step-by-step explanation of why the computed assignment is a good compromise between all the agents’ preferences, grounded in a set of principles that are appealing to them. We will touch upon this in the last part of the episode.

Matching Mechanisms @Echobox Radio

(English below)
We weten dat de maan ervoor zorgt dat er getijden in de zeeën bestaan, maar er zijn nog een boel meer fenomenen waarvan sommigen zeggen dat ze worden veroorzaakt door de maan. Er zijn mensen die denken dat er een link bestaat tussen de positie van de maan en hun humeur of slaapkwaliteit. Er zijn ook speculaties over het synchroniseren van de menstruatie- met de maancyclus.
Samen met astroloog en geschiedenisstudent Nora Gosselink praten we over wat de astrologie, wetenschap, en maatschappij te zeggen hebben over de invloed van de maan op het leven op aarde.

We know that the moon causes the tides in the oceans, but there is a whole range of phenomena that people say are affected by the moon as well. Some people, for example, argue that there is a connection between the position of the moon and people’s moods, and their quality of sleep. It is also speculated that period cycles synchronize with the lunar cycle.
Together with astrologist and history student Nora Gosselink, we discover what astrology, science, and societies have to say about the effect of the moon on life on earth.

*disclaimer: episode in Dutch

The Lunar Effect @Echobox Radio

Dit is de tweede aflevering die is opgenomen tijdens de open dag op het Science Park in Amsterdam. Misschien heb je wel eens gehoord over vogels die in de winter Nederland verlaten voor een vakantieland in het Zuiden waar het warmer en beter is. Maar hoe weten vogels waar ze heen moeten vliegen? En wat is de impact van klimaatverandering op deze vliegreizen? Met Chiel Boom praten we specifiek over de Brandgans die afkomstig is uit het Poolgebied en die Nederland als warm vakantielandje beschouwt!

We spelen het nummer "Italy" van Soap&Skin.

Open Dag Deel II - Trekvogels

*disclaimer: episode in Dutch*
De laatste tijd wordt het steeds duidelijker dat hormonale anticonceptie bijwerkingen heeft waar we niet altijd goed over worden ingelicht. Een inmiddels wel bekende, maar vreselijke bijwerking is dat de kans dat vrouwen depressieve klachten ontwikkelen wordt vergroot.  Er zijn daarnaast nog veel meer mogelijke bijeffecten zijn van de pil: onze partnerkeuze zou kunnen veranderen, onze stressrespons wordt aangetast, en het lijkt alsof het er voor kan zorgen dat we de wereld minder intens kunnen meemaken en dus ook minder ervan kunnen genieten. In deze aflevering praten we met Margot Morssinkhof over deze mogelijke bijwerkingen en haar eigen onderzoek hiernaar.

Tracklist:
1. Circle - Phil France
2. Sexy Boy - Air
3. Mystery - Fabiana Palladino
4. Heel Even Niets - Meetsysteem

Hormonen & Anticonceptie @Echobox Radio

Do trees talk to each other? In this episode we are exploring the underground world of Fungal Networks with Vincent Merckx, assistant professor at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics and research fellow at Naturalis. His research focuses on a specific type of fungi that exchanges nutrients with plants, and its mechanisms have a remarkable resemblance to the economic model of a fair trade market. We also ask Vincent what he thinks of the idea that plants can really "communicate" with each other by using the underground network of fungi that they are connected to.

Fungal Networks @Echobox Radio

Met Amsterdamse stadsecoloog Geert Timmermans bespreken we twee diersoorten en één plantensoort die van nature niet in de stad voorkomen, maar er toch terecht zijn gekomen en al flink zijn ingeburgerd. Hoe? En waarom zit niet iedereen op de komst van deze zogenoemde exoten te wachten? Dat en meer komt uitgebreid aan de orde in deze aflevering.

Tracklist:
1. Parakeets - Max Woiski Jr.
2. The Wasp - J-Walk
3. Invasion - Desired State
4. The Squirrel - Tadd Dameron Sextet

---EPISODE IN DUTCH---
This podcast was broadcast by Echobox Radio on January 19th, 2023.

Exoten in Amsterdam @Echobox Radio

Our guest, engineer and storyteller Vikas Bagde, moved from India to Amsterdam for his PhD. He immediately noticed differences in mobility, and especially in the way that people travel the 'last mile'. In this episode, he tells us about how the popularity of the bicycle rose in the Netherlands decades ago, and in which ways that is similar to the rise of the electric rickshaw that is happening right now in India. What role is, or should be, played by the people when tackling mobility challenges? And why is it that the technologically most efficient solution does not always work best? Find out in episode 25 of Talk That Science!

Tracklist:
1. Cymande - Rickshaw
2. Malarians - Rickshaw
3. Mungo's Hi Fi - Bike Rider
4. Slow Nomaden - Rickshaw

This podcast was broadcast by Echobox Radio on February 16th, 2023.

Mobility in Motion @Echobox Radio

When women have breast cancer, they sometimes have to undergo chemotherapy to lower the risk that the cancer will spread out from the breast. This is however not always necessary if the cancer is not so aggressive. Computer scientist Ajey Pai Karakala does research on how we can use deep learning to detect if the cancer is likely to spread through the body or not. We spoke to him about the strange beauty of cell tissue, supervised and unsupervised learning, and about how he thinks AI will augment the doctors’ capability to treat patients.

Tracklist:
1. Benjamin Zephaniah - Genetics
2. Bona Dish - Mutation
3. Maati Baani - Hiye Kaya Mein

Computation Cancer Research @Echobox Radio

Particle physicist Flavia de Almeida Dias helps us understand the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Working from CERN in Switzerland and Nikhef in Amsterdam, she knows all about elementary particles and how to make them visible to humanity, that has been interested in this since the ancient Greek's four elements: water, fire, earth and air. What are the elements of today? And how can we find more of them? These questions and a lot more are discussed in this month's episode.

Tracklist
1. The Pointer Sisters - Neutron Dance
2. Kraftwerk - Radioactivity
3. Blood Orange - Hadron Collider
4. Hammer - Collision

How to Detect a Particle @Echobox Radio

Marcel Vélez Vásquez is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in explainable artificial intelligence for playability from musical audio. In this episode, he explains all about what AI for music is, and how it is different from textual AIs like ChatGPT. Artificial intelligence can be of help at many facets in the world of music: write and master songs, mix instruments together, but also predict whether an audio fragment could potentially grow out to be a smash hit, or help a beginner choose the next song to learn on their instrument. We also talk about the more challenging sides of his field, like using someone else's voice and the Western bias in available data.

Tracklist, can you guess which are easy or hard to play on the guitar?:
1. Stevie Wonder - Do I Do
2. Jimmy and David Ruffin - Stand By Me
3. X Ambassadors, Elle King, Wiz Khalifa - Not Easy
4. Can AI Kick It? - Abbus (with AI generated music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbsWkhcJjg4)

Artificial Intelligence for Music @Echobox Radio

The human vaginal microbiome is quite unique for its high level of acidity. This environment is maintained by a variety of bacteria, but a healthy vaginal microbiome is dominated by Lactobacillus Crispatus. Once other more harmful bacteria increase in number in the vaginal microbiome, the chances of bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections (UTIs) increase. In order to understand the favourable conditions for a microbiome populated mainly by Lactobacillus Crispatus, Rosanne investigates the behaviour of different vaginal bacteria in the lab. Besides, she is also one of the founders of the Crispatus foundation which uses citizen science to investigate the vaginal microbiome. 

After writing columns for NRC for an extended period of time, Rosanne recently made the decision to go into politics as a candidate for the party NSC of Omtzigt. In the podcast we talk about being both a scientist and a public figure, how do they overlap and collide? And what is the meaning of scientific objectivity when combining the scientific and the political?

Tracklist:
1. Gonna get along without you now - Skeeter Davis
2. Disco Science - Ventolin
3. Straight Outta Vagina (feat. Desi Mo & Leikeli47) - Pussy Riot, Desi Mo, Leikeli47

Vaginal Microbiome @Echobox Radio

Cooperation is everywhere around us, at the heart of nature's most triumphant endeavors. It shows up in the cells that make up complex organisms, in ant colonies, and, of course, in the societies we live in. But it is also a bit of a mystery, because it involves being helpful at a personal cost. So how can individuals be motivated to look beyond their immediate self-interest and embrace the enduring advantages of collaboration? It turns out that game theory, a tool loved by economists, has much to say on this. Joining us for a discussion on the mechanisms underpinning cooperation is Fernando P. Santos, Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam. He guides us through the core concepts of game theory, shows why reputation is important, and gives insights into what to anticipate when engaging with artificial agents.

The tracks played during the episode:

1. Games, by Graham Nash, and David Crosby
2. Tomobiki, by John Zorn
3. All That We've Become, by Society
4. Verdes Anos, by Carlos Paredes

Big thanks to the Echobox Radio team for hosting us and helping out with everything!

Games And Cooperation @Echobox Radio

Coral reefs are the only structures made by a single living organism (apart from humans) that you can see from space, and they are the most diverse and productive ecosystems out there. In this episode of Talk That Science, dr. René van der Zande and Sarah Solomon MSc explain how coral reefs are formed, how corals function and how they are affected by climate change.

The tracks played during the episode:

1. Andrean Sand Dunes, by Drexciya
2. Sea Swallow Me, by Cocteau Twins, Harold Budd
3. Seaweed, by Tindersticks
4. Diving, by Bombay Bicycling Club, Holly Humberstone

Coral Reefs @Echobox Radio

Join us for an enlightening episode featuring Marion Dugue, a geophysics master student and analogue astronaut. In this episode, Marion opens up about the unique challenges women face during scientific expeditions in survivalist conditions, particularly the pressing issue of the lack of menstrual products suitable for extreme environments, including space. Marion has confronted this issue head-on, pioneering a prototype for a menstrual product designed to function in zero gravity. This innovation isn't just about aiding women in their participation in scientific expeditions; it might also unlock valuable medical applications through the collection of menstrual blood during prolonged space missions.
In this episode, we'll explore Marion's research on menstrual blood in zero gravity and her role as an analogue astronaut. We'll also delve into the broader issue of gender imbalances in expeditions. 

The tracks played during the episode:

1. Fly Me to the Moon, by Astrud Gilberto
2. Walking on the Moon, by Roseaux and Aloe Blacc
3. Space Girl, by Frances Forever

Big thanks to the Echobox Radio team for hosting us and helping out with everything!

Menstruation In Space @Echobox Radio

An ollie is a fundamental trick in skateboarding. But have you ever wondered about the physics of an ollie, and what the ideal skateboard for performing one looks like? Delve into the world of sports engineering and the complexities of using science to enhance performance with Jan T. Heinen, a recent alumnus of the TU Delft, who has recently co-authored a paper on how to maximize the height of an ollie.

The tracks played during the episode:

1. Avril Lavigne, Sk8er Boi
2. Kato Kato, L'Evasion
3. Kraftwerk, The Man Machine

Big thanks to the Echobox Radio team for hosting us and helping out with everything!

Skateboard Science @Echobox Radio

Logic has a rich philosophical history for understanding the limits of our reasoning. But can it also be used for computational tasks? Nick Bezhanishvili is the President of the Dutch Association for Logic and Philosophy. His main field of research is the relationship between algebra and geometry. He recently researched the application of polyhedral semantics for 3D modeling. 

The tracks played during the episode:

1. Some Kind of Game, by Against all Logic
2. The Logic Song, by Supertramp
3. Logic, by Logic System

Big thanks to the Echobox Radio team for hosting us and helping out with everything!

A Logical Brain @Echobox Radio

Wat is muzikaliteit? In hoeverre zijn dieren muzikaal? En in hoeverre kunnen we hier eigenlijk onderzoek naar doen? Deze vragen beantwoordt Henkjan Honing, professor muziekcognitie aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam, in de eerste aflevering van Talk That Science.

Meer over onderzoek van Henkjan's onderzoeksgroep: www.mcg.uva.nl

— Tracklist —
1. Antônio Carlos Jobim - Brazil (Alternate Take)
2. Cymande - Changes
3. Badbadnotgood - Cashmere
4. Chassol - Birds, Pt. I
5. Floating Points - Argonaut
6. Gal Gracen - Winds of Solace, Pillars of Sand
7. The Tony Benson Sextet - Ugali
8. Arrangement - Coconut Mango
9. Mr. Fingers - Mystery Of Love
10. Azymuth - Villa Mariana (Pela Madrugada)
11. Glenn Gould - Sinfonia No. 9 in F minor

Houden Koikarpers Van Bluesmuziek?

We are in touch with democracy every day. For example, when the population of a country needs to make a decision as for who should rule their country. However, democratic decision making takes place on much smaller scales as well. Think of a committee that together has to decide who to hire for a job, or if you have to choose a restaurant with a group of people. But did you know that there are in fact many different ways in which you could run a democracy? And that computer science can actually help to design ways to run a democracy? In this episode, Ulle Endriss, professor of Computational Social Choice, talks about politics, participatory budgeting and of course their relation to: computers! Because computers can help us when it comes down to making collective decisions, whether big or small. Listen to find out why!

To find out more about Ulle’s research, see: https://staff.science.uva.nl/u.endriss/

One of the things we discuss in this episode, is that every voting rule in which it is impossible to vote strategically, will result in a dictatorship. Watch this video to find out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJcqNEyTUwg

— Tracklist —
1. C. Tappin - High Moon
2. Toshio Matsuura Group - Change
3. Banda Black Rio - Cravo e Canela
4. Joe Thomas - Polarizer
5. Fallen Roses - Lies
6. Jex Opolis - Sharing
7. Morgan Geist - Fuzzy Detail
8. Amnesty - Mister President
9. Nu Guinea - Howls
10. D. K. - Stick To The Rules
11. Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
12. Hareton Salvanini - Amazonia
13. Grandmaster Flash - Jesse

What Does The Democracy Of The Future Look Like?

It is almost impossible to imagine the world without plastic. Plastic is everywhere around us! However, nowadays there is so much plastic pollution in the world that it has become one of the biggest problem for nature and humanity. This has led to the development of alternatives in recent years. One of which you may have heard is bioplastic. But how much of the current bioplastics are actually "bio"? How much better are they for the environment? We talk with Maria Murcia Valderrama, PhD student in polymer chemistry and specialized in bio(degradable) plastics, to seek answers to these important questions.

— Tracklist —
1. Wilson Tanner - Pilot
2. Bobby Hutcherson - The Ice Cream Man
3. Sampha - Plastic 100°C
4. Papa M - Plastic Energy Man
5. E Ruscha V - Who Are You
6. Plastic Mode - Mi Amor (Maxi Version)
7. Theo Parrish - Reaction To Plastic
8. Four Tet - Plastic People
9. Smile Street People - Smile Street 103
10. Roland Louis Orchestra - Play Up Play Up
11. Madaleine Uzho - Satisfied (Ext. Version)
12. Jason Mraz - Back To The Eart

Talk That Science is powered by the Student Impact Centre FNWI and Radio Tempo Não Pára.

How "Bio" Is Bioplastic?

In this episode we talk about evolutionary robotics. Evolutionary robotics is a new approach to artificial intelligence. Standard artificial intelligence designs solutions for small problems, such as playing chess games. The problem with robots designed in this way is that they will not be able to live a human-like life, solving many problems simultaneously. This is where evolutionary robotics comes in: it lets evolution design robots that are perfectly adapted to a certain environment. For this reason, evolutionary robotics can produce robots for applications where standard robotics is not able to find solutions. Think of robots for seabed mining, robots keeping an eye out in rainforests and robots cleaning old nuclear power plants. Follow us on our journey this episode to discover how evolution can be implemented in robots. Explore the implications of evolutionary robots, because if evolution created life, do we create artificial life with artificial evolution? On the way, enjoy songs such as Seu Jorge’s “Life on Mars” (yes, a cover of David Bowie!) while we explore the options of a robot evolution on Mars.

— Tracklist —
1. Caribou - Dundas, Ontario
2. I Robot - The Alan Parsons Project
3. Shinichiro Yokota - Right Here! Right Now!
4. Die Roboter - Kraftwerk
5. Daniel Grau - Robot Mágico (Daniel Wang Remix)
6. Whodamanny - Dancing Ritual
7. Seu Jorge - Life On Mars?
8. Sign Libra - Intro / Tropical Plantarum
9. Larry Heard - Evolution Of Mind
10. Harvey Sutherand - New Paradise
11. Louie Vega - Elements Of Life
12. Sono - Keep Control (ARTBAT Remix)

Talk That Science is powered by the Student Impact Centre FNWI and Radio Tempo Não Pára.

Can Robots Stop Deforestation?

Talk That Science is an Amsterdam-based science show by a group of science and music enthusiasts.  We play the nicest tunes while talking about the coolest research!

Live on echobox.radio every month

Talk That Science

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