"The lone scientist idea is a wonderful story, but it's a myth, right?" An Interview with Matt Mountain

Matt Mountain thought he wanted to work alone as a scientist, but on his journey to becoming the president of an Association for Universities in Research in Astronomy and the telescope scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA,...

"We Have to Understand People Better to Make the Science Work Better for Everybody." An Interview with Prosanta Chakrabarty

As much as Prosanta Chakrabarty loves his job as an ichthyology professor at LSU, his favorite part of the job is making human connections while doing fieldwork around the world. And whether it's trying every single cocktail in a bar...

"Just be really excited about what you're going to learn." An Interview with Peter Michelson

Peter Michelson was inspired by the Apollo moon program to study physics; now, he's a professor of physics at Stanford University and works at the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. We talked to Peter about pivoting into a new field after...

“It's never been easier to make your own space.” An interview with David Shiffman

David Shiffman is a shark guy first, marine conservation biologist second. Sharks are in his Twitter handle, he’s writing a book about them, and he was wearing a shark shirt the day we interviewed him. We talked with David about...

"You never stop learning, you're forever learning new things, and I love that." An Interview with Sharmila Bhattacharya

If Sharmila Bhattacharya wasn't Program Scientist for Space Biology at NASA Headquarters, perhaps she would've been a theater actress. And while her contributions on stage would likely be legendary, we're happy to have her at NASA learning about how space...

"Science is very rarely an individual effort. It takes multiple people to get anything done." An Interview with Noah Petro

Noah Petro is a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center- which doesn’t seem like much, but it includes being the lab chief of the Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Lab at Goddard and being the project scientist...

“We’re really privileged to get to be doing science for a living. That’s a really cool thing.” An Interview with Kelly Fast

Kelly Fast basically works in a sci-fi movie- she works in the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA, which means she finds asteroids before they hit Earth. And while she hasn’t had to deflect any asteroids yet, she’s been involved...

"There's something in science for everyone." An Interview with Judy Pu

Judy Pu is currently a grad student at the University of California, Santa Barbara studying Earth Science. We talked to her about moving forward from failure and criticism, the importance of education, and dealing with the loss of a mentor.

“Persistence is absolutely critical for both science and NASA.” An Interview with Curt Niebur

Curt Niebur is the Lead Program Scientist for Planetary Flight Programs at NASA Headquarters, which means that he works on all the NASA robotic missions that don’t go to Mars- you know, a very small mom-and-pop operation. We talked to...

“There’s everything out there and it’s so fun to do all of this stuff.” An Interview with Gabriel Filippelli

Gabriel Filippelli is a professor of earth sciences at Indiana University- Purdue University Indianapolis, and the executive director of the Environmental Resilience Institute. We talked to him about how the first moon landing and the environment he grew up in...

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Claire McCoy and George Black

Claire McCoy (58) sits down with her father, George Black (86), to ask him about his experiences as an actor and his career as a professor in the theater departments of various universities.

“Pursue your passions, absolutely. But simultaneously be open to different experiences.” An Interview with Renee Weber

Renee Weber is the Chief Scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which basically means she represents all science at the center- pretty cool if you ask us! We talked to Renee about the importance of seismology, building personal relationships...

"Every day there's a wonderful discovery and I am so thrilled that we're doing these things." An Interview with John Mather

John Mather has an exciting year ahead of him- he's the senior scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, the planned successor of the Hubble Space Telescope, which is scheduled to be launched this October. We talk to John about...

Steve Desroches and Hannah Clager

Steve Desroches (48) talks to Hannah Clager (32) about her experiences traveling and studying abroad, in particular the intersection of art and human rights, and how it led her to her current work with Crisis Action, an organization that works...

“Be curious, have passion, and never close the door.” An Interview with Stephen Rinehart

Dr. Stephen Rinehart is the Director of Planetary Research Programs at NASA. We talked to him about how his love for destroying things as a kid led him to a career in science, walking away from failure, and working with...

"Anything that really lets me feel like I have a tangible impact on my community…is very…meaningful." An interview with Gina Zwicky

Gina Zwicky love lizards. And frogs. And turtles. Basically, all sorts of amphibians and reptiles. The love has turned into a career looking at how lizards fight off parasites and how those parasites evolve to be, well, better parasites. And...

growing up and learning with the natural world

Kerissa Battle (42) an ecologist in the Catskills talks with a close family friend Leana Tishim (13) a student on Long Island about her childhood and the experiences and lessons learned. She also shares a few lessons about finding oneself...

Recording – 10-26-2023 15:47:34

In this interview Lara talks about her time as a teacher in both public and private schools. She shares her experiences with teaching through her 25 years of teaching as well as advice for upcoming teachers.

"It’s about how we translate the science and make it relevant to the people's life." An Interview with Saleh Ahmed

Saleh Ahmed is probably the only researcher who’s working in both Bangladesh and the Intermountain West. And as a professor in Environmental Studies, Global Studies, and Public Policy at Boise State University, his research in climate change is particularly urgent....

"Don't let other people tell you what you're capable of." An Interview with Francis McCubbin

Some of the materials Francis McCubbin works with as the astromaterials curator at NASA’s Johnson Space Center include meteorites that were collected in Antarctica, solar wind samples, pieces of asteroids and comets, and the Apollo rocks brought back from the...

"Even today I'm still amazed at the power of the simple mathematics and it has benefited my whole career." An interview with Xubin Zeng.

Meet Xubin Zeng, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Arizona. Dr. Zeng was amazed by the power of mathematics at a young age and found his calling in physics. Listen to Dr. Zeng discuss what inspires him,...