Here We Are

Here We Are turns 8 years old! To celebrate, I decided to do record a solo episode talking about how I got into science and comedy, feeling out of place throughout my childhood/early adulthood, and why I started the Here We Are Podcast. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I am speaking with Associate Professor of Economics at The University of Tennessee Knoxville, Charles Sims. We discuss the economics of covid-19, climate change, carbon taxes, and the uncertainties that come along with major decision making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I speak with evolutionary biologist and author, Henry Gee. We discuss the writing process, the replication crisis, the origin of the Universe and life on Earth, and what human extinction might look like. You can purchase Henry's new book, "A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth" and learn more about his work at https://averyshorthistoryoflifeonearth.blogspot.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Here We Are, I am talking with Gregory Zuckerman. Greg is a Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal. He's an investigative reporter who writes about business and investing topics. He's also the author of A Shot to Save the World: The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine. We talk about the history of vaccine research, pharmaceutical companies, and conveying information to the public, as well as the next big scientific advances. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I'm speaking with authors of The Knowledge Illusion, Steve Sloman and Phil Fernbach. Steven Sloman is a cognitive scientist at Brown University who studies how people think. Phil Fernbach is a cognitive scientist and professor of marketing at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The book explores why we think we know so much more than we do, and the profound implications for individuals and society. Humans have built hugely complex societies and technologies, but most of us don’t even know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In celebration of Halloween I'm speaking with Mathias Clasen, a scholar of horror fiction and associate professor in literature and media at Aarhus University in Denmark. Clasen’s research integrates horror study with the natural and social sciences, in particular human behavioral biology and evolutionary and cognitive psychology. In this episode we talk about classic horror tales, why we love feeling scared, and the evolution of classic horror icons. This is the great conversation for those who love horror and those who are nervous to face their fears. If you're the latter, check out Mathias' newest book 'A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I talk with Nicholas Coles, A research scientist at Stanford University. Nicholas is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in affective science and the emerging field of meta-science. In affective science, Nicholas seeks to understand the social, cognitive, and physiological processes that underlie the conscious experience of emotion. In this episode we talk about what emotions are, cultural differences in emotional experience and why faking a smile is so exhausting. Plus we discuss multiple studies on embodied cognition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I am speaking with Coltan Scrivner, who is a researcher at The University of Chicago in the Department of Comparative Human Development and a Fellow at the Institute for Mind and Biology. We talk about horror, anxiety, why some people enjoy scaring themselves for fun, and I take Coltan's Morbid Curiosity Test! Find out how morbidly curious you are! https://www.coltanscrivner.com/morbid-curiosity-test Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm speaking with Adam Willcox from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His lab focuses on the human dimensions of biodiversity conservation, endangered species management, and protected areas management. Adam also serves with the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture. We discuss changing social and environmental norms, the cost of meat consumption, conserving biodiversity, and how traveling can change your worldview. Explore Adam's research here! https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=0DlfX14AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm speaking with Sean Doody, who studies reptiles and conservation biology theory! We talk about the evolution of reptiles, the difficulty with studying reptiles' bizarre, yet surprisingly active social lives, and what we could learn from lizards' unique limb regeneration abilities. Sean co-wrote the book "The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles" with Gordon M. Burghardt who was also recently on the show. You can check their book out here: https://amzn.to/3od8ZA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much of our personality is bound to our genetic makeup, and how much can we actually change about ourselves? Is there any hope for the notoriously unconscientious personalities in the world? What can we learn about the evolutionary motivators built-in to our goal-directive behaviors? Dr. Colin DeYoung, associate professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, joins the show to discuss all of that and more. https://deyoung.psych.umn.edu/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Willingham joins me today to talk all about the evolutionary pressures that lead to the variety of penis designs we find in nature. Her new book, "Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis" is available to purchase along with her other fascinating books on her website at http://www.emilywillinghamphd.com/ Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm speaking with returning guest, Rob Brooks! Rob is a Scientia Professor of Evolution at the University of New South Wales. He studies human mating preferences how cutting edge technologies are manipulating our evolved human nature and impacting culture. We also talk about political polarization, status and inequality, the conflict between societal and biological influences, creativity, and his new book "Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, Digital Lovers, and Algorithmic Matchmakers". Pre-order Rob's new book: Artificial Intimacy | Columbia University Press Follow Rob on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marcy Souza is an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Veterinary Medicine. We talk about the rapidly changing world of agriculture, zoonotic diseases of exotic animals, how to get people interested in epidemiology, the mislabeling and overuse of phrases such as "free range" and "organic", disease spillover, and tons more! Marcy J. Souza: https://publichealth.utk.edu/people/msouza/ One Health Initiative: https://onehealth.tennessee.edu/ H.A.B.I.T. : https://habit.utk.edu/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gordon Burghardt studies comparative behavior and psychology in animals. We talk about the evolution of 'play', anthropomorphism and anthrodenialism, thrill-seeking behavior, embodied cognition, and what he learned from raising bears! "The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles" https://amzn.to/3xlCrFH https://eeb.utk.edu/people/gordon-burghardt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Astrobiofuturist and designer, Billy Almon is joining me today! Billy is an inventor who aims to reach the next generation of inventors, designers, scientists and engineers and showing them how to design the future they wish to see. In addition to speaking and hosting workshops, Billy also co-hosts the “Little Giants” show on Animal Planet. We talk about biomimicry, circular economies, space farming, and how to get people more interested in science. Check out Billy's site to learn more: https://www.billyalmon.com/ https://www.instagram.com/billy_almon/ https://twitter.com/billy_almon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm speaking with one of my favorite Standup Science guests, Clive Wynne, Director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University. We talk about the complex minds of dogs, the history of the human-to-dog relationship, and the unique hypersocial skills of domesticated dogs. Is the popular training style we often see on TV really the best way to have a mutually beneficial relationship with our best friends? What can we learn from dogs? Clive Wynne: https://twitter.com/caninecognition https://www.clivewynne.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I speak with returning guest, Athena Aktipis, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University and co-Director of The Human Generosity Project. We talk about how viruses can hijack behavior, the diversity of cancers, and what a real apocalypse could look like. http://www.athenaaktipis.org/ Listen to Athena's podcast :https://www.zombified.org/ Read Athena's new book: https://amzn.to/3yXv8F4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this first ever 4-person episode of Here We Are, I get to geek out all about cicadas with Barrett Klein (who is a good friend of mine and very popular Here We Are guest), Joseph Yoon (Executive Director of Brooklyn Bugs), and Gene Kritsky (Entomologist and cicada expert). We discuss the origin of cicadas, the cultural aversion to eating insects in West, the interesting relationship cicadas have with prime numbers, and more! Barrett Klein: https://www.pupating.org/ https://www.uwlax.edu/profile/bklein/ Gene Kritsky's new book "Periodical Cicadas: The Brood X Edition": https://amzn.to/3yygAMg Cicada Safari app: https://cicadasafari.org/ Joseph Yoon: https://www.brooklynbugs.com/ https://linktr.ee/brooklynbugs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Here We Are, Shane gets the latest on vaccine information and reopening after the pandemic from returning guest, Jessica Brinkworth. Jessica Brinkworth is an assistant professor in the department of anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research addresses the physiological consequences of the human experience and evolutionary past, particularly those that affect innate immune system function. Jessica’s current projects focus on the functional divergence and diversification of primate immune systems, how past epidemics affect present day immune function diversity and how life experience affects the innate immune response. Jessica’s first appearance on Here We Are: https://www.herewearepodcast.com/episodes/the-human-immune-system Jessica’s second appearance on Here We Are: https://www.herewearepodcast.com/episodes/episode-332-covid-19-one-year-later-jessica-brinkworth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm speaking with returning guest, Denita Hadziabdic Guerry. Denita's research focuses on population genetics of fungal plant pathogens, population biology, forest health, forest pathology, and diversity and conservation efforts of native plants. We discuss the importance of accurate science communication, what's going on with wood prices around the world, and Thousand Cankers Disease complex, which primarily affects black walnut. https://epp.tennessee.edu/people/directory/dr-denita-hadziabdic-guerry/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I speak with returning guest, Kari Nixon, who is the author of the brand new book "Quarantine Life from Cholera to COVID-19: What Pandemics Teach Us About Parenting, Work, Life, and Communities from the 1700s to Today". Dr. Kari Nixon is an assistant professor of English at Whitworth University. She teaches medical humanities, Victorian literature, and is forever interested in death, disease, risk, and why we fear them. Dr. Nixon’s work has been shared on Huffington Post, March for Science, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jordan Ellenberg is a mathematician and author of the new book "Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else". He shares how mathematical thinking can help make elections more fair and how we can use math to better plan for pandemics. Mentioned formula: Infected tomorrow = Infected today + (0.2) x infected (today) x Susceptible(today)/Total population – (0.1) x Infected (today) https://people.math.wisc.edu/~ellenber/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I learn all about what happens to your body after you die! Environmental microbiologist, Jennifer DeBruyn, researches microbiomes at the "body farm" of the University of Tennessee. Should you get cremated, turned into a tree, or fall over and let maggots eat your eyes? https://utianews.tennessee.edu/jennifer-debruyn-presented-with-agresearch-mid-career-faculty-research-excellence-award/ https://onehealthinitiative.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I talked with the authors of the book "Blindsight: The (Mostly) Hidden Ways Marketing Reshapes Our Brains". Prince Ghuman has taught consumer science, behavioral economics, and experiential marketing as a professor of neuromarketing. Matt Johnson is a consumer neuroscience professor at Hult International Business School. Their website https://www.popneuro.com/ makes learning and implementing ethical neuromarketing accessible for all. Patreon shout out to Mad Scientist Saahil Shenoy and his mom Seema Shenoy new product Omnipan! indiegogo.com/projects/omnipan-high-performance-modern-cookware# Best of luck revolutionizing cookware Seema! You raised a great son. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Am I buying into mainstream science? Is anti-conformity a form of conformity? How does the evolutionary mismatch between our parasympathetic responses and our modern environment affect our beliefs about the world? Joanne Miller, PhD explains how humans fall into fringe explanations of reality and why people trust different sources of information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is one of the goofiest Here We Are episodes to date. Anytime a scientist wants to goof around and keep things loose, I'm way up for it. One of my biggest goals with this show is to humanize scientists and on this one we had a lot of very silly laughs. Like myself, Scott Barry Kaufman wasn't considered the best student in his youth. But his love of science had him flying over every roadblock in his path. He's a real inspiration. Read his books at https://scottbarrykaufman.com/books/ Listen to his conversations with some of the greatest minds out there on his podcast https://scottbarrykaufman.com/podcast/ We chat about overcoming perceived shortcomings and updating Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode, Shane is joined by Ramin Nazer in a reverse role interview where C Shawn Green asks both of them about their experiences as standup comedians. Shawn Green is an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focuses on perceptual, motor, and cognitive domains in human learning. Learn more about Shawn's work here: https://psych.wisc.edu/staff/green-c-shawn/ Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever thought about specific stressors that farmers face? Me EITHER! And it is damn fascinating. Did you know that you aren’t a real baller until you have a combine tractor? Heather Sedges Wallace is an Assistant Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences at UTK https://cfs.utk.edu/heather-sedges-wallace/ . Heather has received one of only two national Early Career Achievement awards from the Institute of Youth, Family and Community Heather is also working with the https://onehealthinitiative.com which is a new small interdisciplinary science organization working toward making the world a better place. Shane’s been trying to find ways to collaborate with them so you can expect to see about one guest a month helping build the bigger picture of the many ways they are trying to create a bigger network to work on endlessly complex intertwined issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane talks with long-time friend and host of the Podcast: Solo - A Single Person's Guide to a Remarkable Life, Peter McGraw. They talk about everything from lasting friendships and jealousy in relationships to being incredibly honest and motivating yourself. Peter is a marketing and psychology professor at the Leeds School of Business and the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at University of Colorado Boulder. He teaches a PhD seminar in behavioral economics and courses in marketing management, consumer behavior, and advertising for the University of Colorado Boulder. McGraw has spent more than a decade examining the antecedents and consequences of humor—work that has moved the study of humor from the niche to the mainstream. One advantage that he has over his predecessors is his ability to conduct state-of-the-art experiments with the help of the team he directs at the Humor Research Lab (aka HuRL), a laboratory dedicated to the experimental study of humor. To hear Peter's previous appearances check out: Episode 273: Shtick to Business Part 2 https://www.herewearepodcast.com/episodes/shtick-business-part-2 Episode 272: Shtick to Business Part 1 https://www.herewearepodcast.com/episodes/shtick-business-part-2-ly723 Episode 121: Live From Boulder https://www.herewearepodcast.com/episodes/1uir2rip5c2gtojhvq0b40ss3yvjll Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Here We Are, Shane talks with return guest Jessica Brinkworth about covid-19 and what we’ve learned over the past year. They discuss the history of vaccine technologies, the current covid-19 vaccines and how they work, as well as the things we’ve learned since the start of the virus in 2020. Jessica Brinkworth is an assistant professor in the department of anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research addresses the physiological consequences of the human experience and evolutionary past, particularly those that affect innate immune system function. Jessica’s current projects focus on the functional divergence and diversification of primate immune systems, how past epidemics affect present day immune function diversity and how life experience affects the innate immune response. To hear Jessica’s first appearance on Here We Are check out episode 295: The Human Immune System. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane talks with Multiple Sclerosis Specialist, May Han, about the new research being done on MS, the diagnosis process, and things patients can do to help treat their symptoms. They are joined by special guest and personal friend of Shane's, Megan, who shares her personal journey through being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Dr. Han is a Board-certified neurologist and a clinician-scientist who specializes in multiple sclerosis and central nervous system demyelinating diseases as well as the Associate Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. Her research focuses on utilizing Systems Biology approach (genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics) to identify targets for therapy in MS and NMO. Dr. Han is also an attending physician at the Neuroimmunology clinic and at the Stanford Hospital. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane talks with evolutionary anthropologist, Herman Pontzer, about his new book "Burn" which breaks down the new understanding of human health. We discuss getting back to the basics of caring for our bodies while debunking fad diets and pseudoscience. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/603894/burn-by-herman-pontzer-phd/ https://scholars.duke.edu/person/Herman.Pontzer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane talks with clinical psychologist, Dr. Mark Swogger, about his new research which focuses on the potential individual and public health benefits of kratom use. He also studies interventions for individuals whose use of more dangerous substances is causing them harm, taking into account psychopathy and other moderators of successful treatment. Dr. Swogger's research background includes numerous studies of violence, suicidal behavior, and recidivism among justice-involved people. Consider supporting me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shanemauss Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane talks with science and technology writer, David Pogue, about his new book "How to Prepare for Climate Change: A Practical Guide to Surviving the Chaos" which offers practical advice for how we should ready ourselves for the future of the planet. David talks about what to grow, what to eat, how to build, how to insure, where to invest, how to prepare your children and pets, and even where to consider relocating when the time comes. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/How-to-Prepare-for-Climate-Change/David-Pogue/9781982134518 Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane talks with anthropologist, Gina Bria, and wellness doctor, Dana Cohen about their book "Quench" which explores the new science on hydration. Is water really the only source of hydration? How do humans in desert climates stay hydrated exclusively from the foods they eat? For over two decades, Dr. Dana Cohen has been on the leading edge of integrative and functional medicine, guiding thousands of patients through protocols that initiate cellular repair and restore balance to the body. Gina Bria spreads the science of how plants transform liquid water into gel water. She shares how we can adapt and use these ideas now in our water-challenged world for better hydration and better water protection world-wide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane talks with behavioral economist, Alain Cohn, about his fascinating study that examines the trade off between honesty and self-interest. They purposefully lost 17,000 wallets in 40 countries all around the world. Surprisingly, people were more likely to return wallets with more money in them! Alain shares some interesting and unexpected implications of his research. Alain Cohn is an Assistant Professor of Information at the University of Michigan School of Information. His research lies at the intersection of economics, finance and psychology. Much of his work uses lab and field experiments, often in collaboration with firms and government agencies, to explore topics like honesty, employee motivation and financial decision making. His studies have been published in top general interest and economics outlets such as Nature, Science, American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies and Review of Financial Studies. Learn more at https://sites.google.com/site/alaincohn/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

B. N. Horowitz, M.D., turns to the natural world for insights into health and development. She has faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School, Harvard University’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and is Professor of Medicine in the UCLA Division of Cardiology. She co-directs the UCLA Evolutionary Medicine Program. In her work she studies a diverse range of animals in their natural settings to uncover evolved adaptations with potential relevance to human health challenges. She has used this approach to better understand heart failure and sudden cardiac death, neurological conditions including seizures, dementia and movement disorders, infertility and psychiatric conditions including anxiety, compulsive and eating disorders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Return guest Joel Suss is so interesting and does really unique work. His research interests focus on understanding and improving perceptual-cognitive performance (e.g., anticipation, decision making) in complex and challenging operational settings (e.g., law enforcement, security, military command and control, aviation, and emergency medicine). For example, he investigates ways to train police officers to make better decision in stressful situations. Another project, in conjunction with colleagues at Université Laval (Quebec City, Canada), examines perceptual and cognitive aspects of CCTV monitoring and how automated, intelligent videos surveillance systems are changing the human operator’s role in security surveillance. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I had this conversation with Dr. Beth A. Livingston last September and I'm finally releasing it today. We talk about gender norms and biases and how they impact career growth and perpetuate limiting beliefs for both men and women. This was a very enlightening discussion and it was a pleasure to learn from someone with such a vast understanding of these topics. Dr. Beth A. Livingston is an Assistant Professor in Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Florida, she spent 8 years at Cornell University in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations before moving to the Midwest. She is passionate about studying gender, stereotyping, discrimination, and the management of work and family. Her research has been highlighted in the New York Times, NPR, and the Harvard Business Review, and has been published in top academic journals. She has also done executive education, speaking engagements, and consulting for companies such as Accenture, John Deere, Yves Saint Laurent Beauty and Allsteel. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wearables can do so much more than count your steps. They can also be used for detecting abnormalities caused by Covid up to 10 days before symptoms arise. In this episode, Dr. Michael Snyder explores the many uses of wearable health monitoring technology Michael Snyder is a genomicist, systems biologist, and entrepreneur. He is the Stanford B. Ascherman Professor and Chair of Genetics and Director of Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Years ago he started using himself as a guinea pig to test the limits of how modern science can improve health. He used genetic testing, multiple wearables, sensors of every kind to collect all possible data. In the course of that, he detected and prevented his own diabetes and turned his health around. He even discovered he had lyme disease before any symptoms appeared. Now he's developing ways of using AI to sort through the metrics collected by wearables to prevent disease rather than treat symptoms. His new study is essentially a way that anyone with wearable tech can get an alarm when they have a virus before they show symptoms. Immediately after this conversation I bought a Fitbit Versa and joined his study. You can play a part and join the study through this link! https://innovations.stanford.edu/wearables Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Authors of ‘The Courage to Suffer: A New Clinical Framework for Life's Greatest Crises’ join me to talk about mental health, spirituality, what happens when a crisis makes you rethink the coherence of the very narratives that used to keep you going. Rather than trying to dismiss and escape suffering we can find ways to accept and thrive within it. Sara A. Showalter Van Tongeren has more than twelve years of clinical social work experience in settings such as private practice, foster care, inpatient hospitals and outpatient medical clinics, inter-partner violence shelters, and behavioral health. She has a deep passion to help people cultivate a sense of meaning and develop narratives of resilience following trauma and unexpected life events. Sara specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness, existential psychotherapy, narrative therapy, brainspotting, and acceptance commitment therapy. https://saravantongeren.com/ Daryl R. Van Tongeren is an associate professor of psychology at Hope College. His research focuses on the social motivation for meaning and its relation to virtues and morality. Specifically, he and his students adopt a social-cognitive approach to study meaning in life, religion and virtues, such as forgiveness and humility. https://hope.edu/directory/people/van-tongeren-daryl/index.html Here are the resources for suicide prevention: 1-800-273-8255 (24hrs/7days a week crisis support hotline) suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat (free online chat staffed by professionals) text 741741 for crisis text support crisistextline.org to message them through facebook or chat online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I talk with my good friend and multi-talented Pete Holmes! I wanted to have a spiritual conversation with someone outside of academia for a change. Pete and I always have really great philosophical discussions and I really appreciate his take on a lot of things. Check out Pete's philosophical/spiritual autobiography "Comedy Sex God" on Amazon or wherever you get your books! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Covid update with my favorite guest on the subject! Nina Fefferman has spent her career modeling future pandemics. Because of Covid, she’s gone from a theoretical to an applied mathematician. Her interdisciplinary makes her one of the most knowledgeable people at the intersection of mathematics and evolutionary biology. She consistently takes us on a path through the either/or fallacies of health VS economy which have become so politicized and guides us through an exploration of nuance and complexity that we should all be so lucky to journey through. More impressively, she does so in an exceedingly accessible way. If only these kinds of conversations were a bigger part of our global conversation. We are exceptionally fortunate to have humans like Nina working on behalf of all humanity and I am grateful that she took 2.5 hours out of her life to try and save the world. Dr. Fefferman is a professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department in the University of Tennessee. Her research focuses on the mathematics of epidemiology, evolutionary and behavioral ecology, and self-organizing behaviors, especially of systems described by networks. While the research in the Fefferman Lab frequently focuses on disease in human and/or animal populations, and how disease and disease-related behavioral ecology can affect the short-term survival and long-term evolutionary success of a population, people in the lab have worked on problems as diverse as computer network security to social behaviors in grass-roots organizations that make the movement susceptible to radicalization. Any fun integration of applied mathematics and human or animal processes is fair game!Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take a peek inside the life of the people who get to peek inside the lives of others. This week I talk with two anthropologists about what it's like to go and live in an extremely different culture. We talk about shamanism, leadership, witchcraft and what past health care and court systems might have looked like. Zach Garfield is an evolutionary anthropologist who investigates how behaviors such as leadership and followership, decision-making, and economic strategies are related to group-level pressures such as network dynamics and alliance patterns, sociopolitical structures, group context, and cultural norms. https://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/people/zgarfield/ Manvir Singh Cognitive & evolutionary anthropologist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse his research program aims to explain why societies develop complex, recurrent traditions such as shamanism, witchcraft, origin myths, property rights, sharing norms, lullabies, dance music, and gods have appeared in human societies everywhere, from nomadic hunter-gatherer bands to complex, industrial, mega-urbanized states. https://www.manvir.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, we chat about biodiversity loss as a key issue in our modern world. We emphasize the impact it has on increasing of disease in our modern environment which isn’t something normally addressed in public discourse. This doesn’t just impact humans, but the majority of wildlife has lost habitat and the space needed to avoid pathogen spread. Additionally, globalization has introduced invasive viruses to novel environments which lack defense to them. Dr. Debra Miller is Professor and Director of the Center for Wildlife Health in the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. She has a split appointment between the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries https://vetmed.tennessee.edu/FacultyStaff/SitePages/CVMProfile.aspx?NetID=dmille42 She is also the interim director of the new One Health Initiative which started at UT this year and has over 50 faculty and scientists from numerous departments and colleges in an effort to enhance research collaborations across the state and region to address rapidly emerging health challenges. https://onehealth.tennessee.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this rare solo episode, I explore what it's like as a comedian, show producer, and science communicator trying to navigate Covid, the economy, public perception, regulations, and marketing while considering the many additional variables and challenges that come along with planning a tour. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Sarah Hill of the Hill Evolutionary Social Psychology Lab at Texas Christian University returns to the show to talk about her new book ‘This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences’ Sarah is such a dream guest. In addition to being very funny and not afraid to talk about social taboos, her work is also not just really unique and mind-blowing but is also incredibly important information for anyone and an absolute must for women taking birth control If interested, you can hear her first appearance on the show on March, 1 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Hanscom is author of the book ‘Do You Really Need Spine Surgery?’. He is a renowned complex deformity spinal surgeon of 30 years and his experiences both in the medical industry and with his own health gave him a new perspective on chronic pain, the medical industry, and mental health that is a fresh perspective in a world where questionable surgeries and treatments can often be overprescribed. His pioneering book, ‘Back in Control: A Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain’ showed suffers how to quiet a turbocharged central nervous system as well as perhaps relieve some of the depression and anxiety that comes along with pain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Volcanic activity, submarine adventures, and scallop porn are on today’s menu. If that is somehow not enticing enough, you’re also going to find out what percentage of a scallop’s body weight is gametes. Guess high as it may be nature’s most impressive money shot. Skylar Bayer is a marine ecologist who studies population dynamics and marine conservation. She’s also does a ton of science communication including producing the science storytelling show The Story Collider. She even shares a fun story of one of her mishaps being featured on The Colbert Report. Check out her website https://skylarbayer.wordpress.com https://twitter.com/drsrbayer Her Uncharted newsletter signup is here: https://uncharted.substack.com/p/coming-soon Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞: Stand-up comedian, adventurer and science enthusiast Shane Mauss has been interviewing scientists each week since 2014. Originally from La Crosse, Wisconsin this former factory worker skipped college to become a comedian. His stand up has been on Comedy Central, Conan, Kimmel, Showtime, and Epix https://bit.ly/shaneTV . In the age of podcasting, more people might be familiar with him as a guest on Trussell, Holmes, Kreischer, Vaughn, Maron, or Rogan https://bit.ly/shaneguest. Compelled to talk about bigger ideas, he now travels to universities around the world (when there isn't a pandemic) to interview researchers on a journey to learn what makes us who we are...as well as a bunch of other random stuff you never imagined you would care about. Favorite topics include: psychology, biology, evolution, cognitive biases, behavioral economics, mating, animal behavior, neuroscience, entheogens and consciousness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices