Central Valley Cafe Scientifique – Science: A Candle In The Dark

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 16: The Urban Slender Loris Project Airdate: 28 June 2016 Host: Vic Bedoian Guest: Dr. Kaberi Kar Gupta, The Urban Slender Loris Project. Summary: This month, we had co-producer Vic Bedoian in the host seat. He interviewed Dr. Kaberi Kar Gupta about her remarkable effort to bring together ordinary citizens, naturalists, and […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 16: Planets, Moons, Magnets Airdate: 26 April 2016 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guest: Dr. Alain Plattner, Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences, CSU, Fresno. Summary: This month, we look at planets and moons from a different perspective – a magnetic view, if you will. Dr. Alain Plattner, a magnetic geographer of sorts, who […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 15: Evolution and Ecology of Bird Diversity Airdate: 22 March 2016 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guest: Dr. Christopher Trisos, Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) Transcript: Hello and welcome to “Science: A Candle In The Dark”- our monthly conversation about the wonders of science and how it illuminates our path in this […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 14: Postmodern Winemaking Airdate: 23 February 2016 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guest: Matt Brain, Fresno State’s Winemaker Topic: In this episode we celebrate the first anniversary of this podcast, with a look back at the wide range of topics covered since our first episode aired in February 2016. With […]

Graphic from the report in Science by Michael Balter. V. ALTOUNIAN Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 13: Sexual Harassment in Science – a roundable Airdate: 12 February 2016 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Dr. Kaberi Kar Gupta, Dr. Kathryn Forbes, Dr. Amanda Mortimer, Dr. Janet Stemwedel, Dr. Katie Hinde, and Dr. Karen […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 12: Why do we need Charles Darwin in 2016? Airdate: 26 January 2016 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Dr. Dawn M. Digrius Topic: With Darwin Day 2016 coming up, science historian Dr. Dawn Digrius talks to Dr. Madhusudan Katti to share stories about Charles Darwin, and how his work remains relevant to our […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 11: Birds in the City: social and ecological drivers of urban biodiversity Airdate: 22 December 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Pedro Garcia Topic:  Cities have become the primary habitat for most of humanity. They are also habitat for many other species even as we continue to fragment and destroy and disrupt natural ecosystems […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 9: Joshua Trees: the science of listing a threatened species. Airdate: 27 October 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Chris Clarke. Topic: You may recognize this iconic tree of California and Arizona deserts the Joshua Tree. Perhaps because you’ve seen images, perhaps because you’re familiar with that rock album, or perhaps you’ve even seen these […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 9: A Biologist and a Sociologist talk about CRISPR! Airdate: 27 October 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Dr. Tricia Van Laar and Dr. Andrew Rhys Jones Topic: The new DNA editing technique called CRISPR has been much in the science news feeds lately because of its exciting and perhaps frightening potential to enable the […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 8: Updates from the Autism Spectrum Airdate: 22 September 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Dr. Amanda Mortimer Topic: During last week’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate, medical science made a rare appearance in the nation’s political media discourse, when Jake Tapper raised the question about appropriate schedules for childhood vaccinations. This was triggered by candidate […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 7: Fear and Learning in Science & Mathematics Airdate: 25 August 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Dr. Amanda Mortimer and Dr. Beth Weinman. Topic: Are you afraid of science? Do you suffer from Maths Anxiety? And are you transferring some of these fears to your children, even as you are anxious […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 6: Humans and Nature in the City Airdate: 28 July 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guests: Dr. Charles Nilon and Dr. Paige Warren. Topic: This month, while the Café Scientifique is on its summer break, we bring you a wide-ranging conversation about how humans interact with nature in cities, and how scientists study […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 5: Urban Ecology Airdate: 23 June 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Special Correspondent: Stephanie Slonka Guests: Dr. Emily Minor, Dr. Kaberi Kar Gupta, Dr. John Marzluff, and Kim Eierman. Topic: This special summer episode explores our growing understanding of urban ecology, of all the non-human species that inhabit and adapt to urban spaces, […]

Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 4: Exoplanets Airdate: 26 May 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guest: Dr. Fred Ringwald Topic: Four hundred years ago, Galileo pointed a simple telescope up at Jupiter and discovered moons orbiting around that planet. That was the first time any human had seen such a moon orbiting another planet, and it upended our […]

A bladderwort. Image via Dr. Ulrike Müller. Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 3 Airdate: 28 April 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guest: Dr. Ulrike Müller Commentary: Dr. Andrew Rhys Jones Topic: Biomechanics applies principles from physics and engineering to understand how living organisms move and function as living machines. At the same time, an engineering perspective can be quite limiting […]

Have you ever wondered what all can happen in a blink of an eye? At Fresno State, Dr. Ulrike Müller and her research team study how small organisms move and feed. Small organisms are not only hard to see because they are small but also because they often move very fast. Using high-speed cameras that […]

[audio http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~mkatti/valleycafesci-podcast/ScienceCandle-02.mp3] Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 2 Airdate: 24 February 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guest: Dr. Mara Brady Commentary: Dr. Paul Crosbie Topic: Earth sciences and the insights we have gained into the history of our planet including the evolution of life leading up to our own species. In a wide ranging discussion, Dr. Brady talks about […]

[audio http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~mkatti/valleycafesci-podcast/CafeSci-01.mp3] Science: A Candle In The Dark Episode 1 Airdate: 24 February 2015 Host: Dr. Madhusudan Katti Guest: Dr. Doug Singleton Topic: Particle fever: its a particle zoo inside that atom! What do we know about the structure of matter at the most fundamental level? Theoretical physicist Doug Singleton explains our current understanding of subatomic […]