Shows / UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined
Each week, UnDisciplined takes a fun, fascinating and accessible dive into the lives of researchers and explorers working across a wide variety of scientific fields.
Episodes
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: The History Of Working From Home
During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans who had been used to working from an office found themselves working from home. But…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Very Decent Docents
The word “docent” comes from the same Latin root as the word “doctor.” “Doctor,” of course, has come to be most associated with people who are practitioners of…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: August Science News Roundup
This week on Undisciplined, we’re talking about the long-lost woolly rhinoceros, Vikings, smallpox, and innovations in playground equipment. With a list of…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Social Disorder
If you are a frequent participant in a social media community, you know what it’s like when someone new comes along and just doesn’t seem to understand or care…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Monkeying With History
For decades, researchers assumed the monkeys depicted on a 3,500-year-old painting in Greece were from Africa, just across the Mediterranean. But recently a…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Black Health Matters
A lot of the Black Lives Matter movement has been framed in terms of policing. But even if we could fix the racial disparities that exist in use-of-force…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Prehistory Repeats Itself
How long has coal burning been responsible for climate change? If right now you are trying to remember when the industrial revolution began, that’s a…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Gravity Falls
Today on the program we’re talking about black holes — places in space where the pull of gravity is so strong that light can’t escape. But gravity is just one…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: It's Snot What You Think
All across the world’s oceans, you can find creatures known as larvaceans – free-swimming invertebrates with a superpower, of sorts.
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Stretching Our Lives
We all know that exercise is good for us — that’s sort of a given. But have you ever thought about whether one sort of exercise is better than others? Is…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Climate Goes Viral
As it was becoming clear that the United States was going to be one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was asked to talk to a group of climate…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Unlocking Nature
We’re talking to three researchers who came together, across very different disciplines, to try to do something to address a problem that affects millions of…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Would You Like A Saber-Toothed Killer On That?
We’re talking about an ancient ancestor of modern anchovies, a fearsome fish that swam the seas about 55 million years ago — and, like so many other ancient…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Fire And Rice
Since the unification of the northern and southern dynasties in China 1,500 years ago, Chinese chefs have been making fried rice. And if you have never stopped…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Dishing It Out
We all know that meals bring people together. But when it comes to building trust and cooperation, it turns out that not all meals are created equal. And this…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Using Math To Avoid Mis-steaks
We're talking to two mathematicians who have harnessed the power of numbers to solve one of the biggest challenges of the kitchen: how to cook a perfect steak…
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Undisciplined: The Parent Rap
Today on the program, we are talking to Jill Suitor, one of the founders of a nearly 20 year old study focused on the relationships parents have with their…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: Aghast Confession
This week on Undisciplined, we’re talking about the ways in which being innocent of a crime could make someone more likely to confess. And if that sounds like…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: The Toxic Avenger
This week on Undisciplined, we’re talking about one of the world’s most poisonous creatures. Now, maybe right now you’re thinking of a snake. Or a jellyfish…
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Undisciplined: The Devil's Jargon
This week on Undisciplined, we’re talking about jargon — specialized words or expressions that are used by people in a particular profession and which are…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: The Environmental Engineer
This week on Undisciplined, in the wake of the devastating wildfires in Australia, we’re talking about setting fires to avoid fires. And if that sounds…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: The Climate Reporter
This week on Undisciplined, we’re going to talk about climate solutions. And here’s the curveball: while you might think that politically conservative states…
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Undisciplined: The Science Storyteller
This week on the program, we’re going to solve a puzzle. Or, we’re going to try, at least. And here’s the challenge: how do you communicate the depth and…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: The Forest Biotechnologist And The Evolutionary Psychologist
When we told psychologist Joshua Jackson that we were going to ask him to have a discussion with an expert in tree genetics, he wasn’t sure how it would go…
- UnDisciplined
Undisciplined: The GeoScientist
This week on Undisciplined, we’re talking about “Project Iceworm,” a secret U.S. government project to build nuclear launch sites in northern Greenland back in…
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Undisciplined: The Sports Media Analyst And The Research Ecologist
This week on Undisciplined, we’re talking about the impact of sports on human behavior and impact of chaos on plants, with guests whose fields couldn’t be more…
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Undisciplined: The Social Health Researcher And The Biological Anthropologist
This week on Undisciplined, we’re talking about the black market exchange of diabetes medications in the United States and the evolution of vocal traits of a…
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UnDisciplined: Science News Roundup - November 2019
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about the discovery of an essential element for life on a meteorite, using A.I. for archaeology, and vampire bat…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: Science News Roundup - October 2019
It's the October science news roundup! This month, we're talking about the little tiny monsters of the present, the really big monsters of the past, the really…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Ecologist And The Biomedical Engineer
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about bee biodiversity, blood platelets, genetic engineering, environmental journalism, the fast-changing world of…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Aquatic Ecologist And The Biological Engineer
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about risk and, as we like to do, we're coming to that idea from two very different directions. One of our guests…
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UnDisciplined: The Population Science Psychologist And The Pediatric Allergist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about risk reduction.
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Microbial Pathologist And The Computational Social Scientist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about two ideas that fly in the face of conventional thought. One of our guests will tell us about the creatures in…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: Science News Roundup - September 2019
This week on the show, we're talking about the science behind Hurricane Dorian, a "rat-pocalypse," a new human ancestor, and poison dart frogs. Everybody on…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Community Ecologist And The Mathematical Physicist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking to a researcher who's demonstrated that some insects may actually benefit from pesticides. Then, we'll chat with a…
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UnDisciplined: The Journalist And The Geneticist
What if aging wasn't inevtiable? What if being 90 felt pretty much the same as being 40, just with a few extra decades of life experience? And what if the…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Morphological Physiologist And The Migration Ecologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about movement. Our first guest is a scientist whose research is helping us understand the ways the world's largest…
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UnDisciplined: Science News Roundup - August 2019
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about the shape of the Milky Way Galaxy, life on the Moon, a poorly-timed tweet, and the potential impact of…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Evolutionary Biologist And The Theoretical Biologist
Today on UnDisciplined, we'll be joined by a scientist who is searching the world for the blackest of black. Next, we'll talk to a researcher who is trying to…
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UnDisciplined: The Microbiologist And The Marine Fisheries Ecologist
This week on UnDisiplined, we're joined for the second time by Karen Lloyd, whose work is helping us understand the relationship between microbes, carbon, and…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Paleontologist And The Atmospheric Scientist
For more than a year now, we've been bringing together researchers from different disciplines in our never-ending search to build interdisciplinary…
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UnDisciplined: Science News Roundup - July 2019
There's no way we could let this month pass us by without talking about the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest scientific achievements of all time: the…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Climatologist, The Political Scientist, And The Cultural Historian
Usually on UnDisciplined, we bring together two scientists to build interdisciplinary connections — but one of the research efforts we're talking about is…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Evolutionary Biologist And The Epidemiological Obstetrician
Do you know what kills more women during and after pregnancy than anything else? The answer is probably going to surprise you. And do you have a pretty good…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Marine Mammal Biologist And The Experimental Psychologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about the way dolphins survive in captivity, and the way humans make decisions based on the chemicals in their bodies.
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Theoretical Chemist And The Epidemiologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about how things start.
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: Science News Roundup - June 2019
This week on UnDisciplined, we've gathered two of our favorite fellow science geeks to talk about the headlines that caught our eyes in June — and a few we…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Political Scientist And The Experimental Psychologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're going to talk about the factors that influence our moods. How do the institutions around us inspire us to take action? And…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Sociologist And The Bioengineer
This week on UnDisciplined, we're going to chat with a scientist who is trying to solve a big challenge: engineering blood vessels for transplantation into…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Climate Scientist And The Cancer Biologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking to researchers on two sides of a huge scientific challenge. Our first guest researches climate — that means she only…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: Science News Roundup - May 2019
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about artificial intelligence, great white sharks, illegal pollution, snail genes, and new rules for leaders at the…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Tropical Ecologist And The Microbiologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about scientific puzzles. For instance, why is it that hundreds of tree species can exist within a single acre of…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Archaeologist And The Chemical Engineer
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about biofuels ... and tattoos.
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Computational Pedagogist And The Undead Philosopher
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about math education and ... zombies?
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UnDisciplined: The Cognitive Anthropologist And The Research Surgeon
Our world often seems to be really divided, particularly across cultures in which everyone seems to play by different rules. But today we're going to hear from…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: April Science News Roundup
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about black holes, pig brains, and water on the moon as we round up the most intersting, important, and awe-inspiring…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: Superlatives And Survival
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about big things and small things, loud things and fast things, things that kill and things that survive being killed…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Integrated Physiologist And The Socio-Techno Endocrinologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about life hacks, including some that work — like do-it-yourself glucose balancing devices used by increasing numbers…
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: The Tropical Biologist And The Quantitative Ecologist
This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about some pretty scary things.
- UnDisciplined
UnDisciplined: March Science News Round-up
This week on UnDisciplined, we're gathering the gang for another science news round-up.