Episode 9 - Blogging with PZ Myers

In this episode, we chat with PZ Myers - lead author of the blog Pharyngula (Pharyngula is hosted at Science Blogs - a project from Seed Magazine). Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Contact Information at UM Morris Curriculum Vitae Personal Page Profile on Nature Network Pharyngula Galleries Articles written by PZ Myers at Seed Magazine 2006 Weblog Award Winner: Best Science Blog Preview from the Show: Myers: What you want to do with a blog - it's such an informal medium - if you get all stuffy and treat it as something where you are going to write a formal treatise everyday, I don't think you'll get as much interest. So by keeping it personal, keeping it human, what I think I've done is open up a little window into a science professor's life, which is sometimes scary, but fun. Basler: Do you think that this type of casual communication [blogging] is something really important that the students are going to need in the future, or was it just an experiment to try out because you were blogging? Myers: Oh it's both. I mean, this is a brave new medium. I'm trying new things; I wanna explore this and see what we can do with our students. But I also think it's important for the future of science and science education - that what we want is active, involved learners at every stage of the game. And if this is a way that we can get people talking about science, then that's a huge step - that's important. Myers: My schedule's turning into a frightening thing; it's getting so packed full of requests to talk, but I try to indulge in as much as possible. Bartel: So you're working on Darwin Day instead of enjoying it, is what you're saying? Myers: Well, getting up in front of an audience and talking about evolution and talking about science, talking about philosophy in these ideas - that's not working is it? Links: Wikipedia Entry The Mad Scientist (from Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages) Monkey's Uncle (from Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages) PZ Myers on Richard Dawkins (from Seed Magazine) Interview with DailyKos Interview by John Horgan DarwinDay.org Darwin Day Celebration at Lawrence University - February 9, 2008 Books Discussed on the Show: Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen