Planet B612 Julie Laurin

Show Notes
Tania is a public servant who’s also a working artist. In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to be an artist with a job. We also deep dive into design strategy, including design thinking, user research, and service design.


(0:02:28) Artists in the office: The challenges and value.
(0:03:50) Receiving flak: The art world vs the corporate world.
(0:05:42) Finding time for art: Using your leave and dispelling the myths.
(0:07:58) Modifying work hours in the public sector.
(0:10:20) The demise of the 'Working class artist': The risks of a lack of diversity.
(0:14:21) Plays about public service and how working within affects the art. 
(0:18:14) Working inside a framework: How it benefits creativity.
(0:19:56) Being bilingual in Ottawa and the journey to public service. 
(0:22:14) What a contact center does and the concept of service.
(0:24:07) Design Thinking: Improving service and user experience.
(0:26:45) Change Management and Design Thinking's link to theater training.
(0:29:00) Transferable skills: How they can be beneficial on both sides.
(0:30:59) MIT lectures and marketing mishaps: Why the end user is essential.
(0:33:42) Convincing people that end users matter: User research and feedback.
(0:37:30) Evidence based decision making and empathy.
(0:38:08) A captive audience: Believing people want to do better.
(0:41:17) Agile methodologies and development in the public sector.
(0:42:43) Service design: What it is and why it is important.
(0:44:57) AI, Machine Learning and Omnichannel Service Delivery.
(0:47:31) Acronyms, buzzwords and the move to Plain Language use.
(0:50:01) Plain Language: The benefits of making sure everyone understands.
(0:52:41) Gaming: Faster thinking and strengthening focus.
(0:55:08) Fortnite, MMO games and griefers.
(0:56:40) Keeping up with the kids and esports.

Follow Tania on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tanialevy
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld

Show Notes
In this episode, Alix Sideris joins me to talk about art as a service, how spirituality plays a role in her life, and how she’s responded to change with a global approach to art-sharing.


(0:01:40) A massively hyphenated human: Acting, writing, directing, teaching, movement, intimacy direction and coordination.
(0:02:42) A person of service: A purpose to uplift and expand.
(0:04:10) What it is to be human: The ultimate exploration and investigation.
(0:05:58) The Magnetic North Theatre Festival.
(0:08:00) The newspaper interview.
(0:10:08) Growing up in a Greek household and a love of learning and research.
(0:12:10) Moving away from medical studies: The path towards becoming an artist. 
(0:14:35) Working with disenfranchised and special needs youth: Teaching and acting.
(0:17:01) The National Arts Centre and dealing with fear.
(0:18:26) Success and failure: Changing the script.
(0:20:37) Imposter Syndrome: Branding yourself.
(0:23:10) Being thrust into environments: Throwing darts.
(0:26:12) Spirituality, empathy and the pandemic.
(0:28:56) Remote meditations and connections.
(0:31:17) The transformation of the arts during the pandemic: Recognizing and responding to the changes.
(0:35:54) Opening up the world: A chance for a global artistic community.
(0:37:15) The exodus from the arts during the pandemic and thinking nationally.
(0:39:50) How a health crisis affects you: Finding joy.
(0:43:04) The youth of today and the arts.
(0:44:51) Teaching in Toronto: The conversations and learning the language.
(0:49:50) Co-existing when we remove the binary: The show in New York. 
(0:54:33) Putting the spotlight on harm: The importance of intersectionality.
(0:56:20) The intimacy workshop: The connection and beauty.
(1:01:23) To find out more: AlixSideris.com

Visit Alix’s website: https://www.alixsideris.com/
Alix’s meditation series: https://www.alixsideris.com/meditation
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld

Show Notes
In this episode, we talk all about predators of North America! What’s the best way to manage predators in a world where humans encroach more and more into their territory? What’s the best way to deter them? Petros Chrysafis joins me to talk about this fascinating topic!


(0:00:30) Central Valley and living in California. 
(0:01:38) Wildlife in California and North American animals.
(0:02:52) Marine Biology and Zoology: The journey to a career.
(0:05:50) Social vs solitary predators.
(0:07:02) Lynx and bears.
(0:08:22) Grizzlies and Elk: California's wetlands of the past.
(0:10:09) Wild pigs in California: Feral pigs and wild boar.
(0:12:35) Culling pigs in California: Pig tags and permits.
(0:13:47) The pig problem: No specialized predators in North America.
(0:15:03) Eating wild boar and pigs.
(0:17:02) Why work as an independent Predator Specialist?
(0:19:30) Working with ranches: Trust and science.
(0:21:41) Guardian dogs: Costly but effective.
(0:22:38) Emus, llamas and alpacas: A good canine deterrent.
(0:24:00) Livestock predation: Factors and methods.
(0:25:12) How the process works.
(0:28:40) Coyotes: Should homeowners be worried? And what to do.
(0:30:49) Electric deterrents: Almost foolproof.
(0:32:59) Our fear of predators and how to manage it. 
(0:35:47) Wanting our woods to be wild.
(0:38:15) Our selective memory.
(0:39:56) Brown and Black bears vs Grizzly and Polar bears.
(0:42:19) DnD and role playing games.
(0:43:49) The many avenues of DnD: School programs and prisons.
(0:45:43) DnD: A wide spectrum of gaming and imagination
(0:47:20) DnD: Dealing with death and expanding the creative process.

Visit Predator Deterrence: https://www.predatordeterrence.org/
Follow Petros on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pchrysafis
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm

Show Notes****
In this episode, we talk about the realities, and challenges faced by today's University students, and professors. Are professors paid enough? Are there too many students today? How can education improve? Dr. Elaine Beaulieu joins me to explore these topics, and share her experience, and opinions, on the topic!


(0:01:02) Beyond the Test Tube, research and the Faculty of Science.
(0:01:37) Switching to innovation in education: The why and the how.
(0:04:04) Working as a researcher: The PhD and PostDoc.
(0:06:55) Science lecturers vs Tenured professors in academia.
(0:08:30) Tenure: Why it is still the goal. 
(0:10:48) The hierarchy of academia and adjunct professors in science. 
(0:13:35) Being a professor: Is it a good choice for a career?
(0:15:45) Post-Secondary education funding in Ontario and PhDs in science.
(0:17:59) Canada: Not enough funding for science and education.
(0:19:34) Job stability and contracts.
(0:22:18) PhDs and PostDocs in other countries vs Canada.
(0:25:08) Professorship: A vocation.
(0:28:53) Studying science and the challenges for students today.
(0:31:10) We are all different: The need for flexibility and micro credentials.
(0:34:15) Preparing the students: A need for a new design.
(0:37:47) Finding the right balance: Applying what is learned.
(0:39:55) The peripheral needs: A necessity in the workplace. 
(0:42:15) Universities vs Colleges.
(0:43:55) Developing new programs for a new world: Turning the machine around.
(0:46:55) Teaching online: A mixed experience for students.
(0:49:11) Being tough and knowing when to back off.
(0:50:35) Coddling and its aftereffects.
(0:51:23) Designing policy to be flexible: The muffin comparison.
(0:53:13) Being partners in education.
(0:56:28) Readiness for work: Not all on the university.
(0:58:15) Universities: The need to move away from being the gatekeeper.
(1:00:03) Security issues and new ideas.
(1:02:30) The public perception of universities and the importance of outreach.
(1:05:19) Public lectures and gatherings: How do you market it?
(1:07:51) Science communication: The importance of presentation.
(1:10:01) Debunking pseudoscience, social media and animation.
(1:11:20) Elitism in science and science communication.
(1:13:33) Building trust with the community.
(1:15:15) When logic goes out the window: Researching falsities. 
(1:17:15) Analyzing what's real.
(1:18:20) Communicating to teach: Entertain me. 

Follow Dr. Beaulieu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/elainebeaulieu2
Beyond the Test Tube podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-the-test-tube-a-science-podcast/id1544148414
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm
Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld

In this episode, we talk about how we know the climate is changing, as well as how and why we study past climates.We also explore things like mass extinction events, isotopes, and science communication.


(0:01:06) So many specialities.
(0:01:51) Turonian Global sea levels: Was there ice? 
(0:03:45) Geochemical proxies: Helping reconstruct climate.
(0:04:49) Milankovitch cycles and our wobbly Earth.
(0:05:56) Our dependence on the other planets: A synergy that keeps us alive.
(0:07:26) Mars: A butterfly effect.
(0:08:23) Predictions and the climate archives.
(0:09:05) Global warming today: Undoubtedly caused by humans.
(0:10:50) The climate archives: Ice cores, gas bubbles and pollen records.
(0:12:45) Energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence: How it helps us learn.
(0:13:43) Radioactive isotopes vs stable isotopes.
(0:14:30) Isotopes: What are they and what are we looking for?
(0:16:41) How isotopes show climate changes in the past: The ice record and corals.
(0:18:04) Field trips and the Niagara Escarpment fossils.
(0:21:11) Focusing on global warming: Studying the rock record.
(0:22:15) Carbon isotopes and what they tell us.
(0:26:03) The effects of depleted carbon: A unique signature.
(0:27:11) What does this mean for the atmosphere and the Earth itself?
(0:31:19) The wobbly Moon and tidal sea level rise.
(0:32:43) Science communication: Should it be a requirement?
(0:34:41) Communicating in science: The importance of understanding the Why.
(0:37:38) Moving to alternate fuel sources: Will it make a difference?
(0:41:11) Climate cycles and C02: How the Arctic cooled.
(0:42:38) Plankton, trapped carbon and bacteria: Cycles of oxygen levels.
(0:44:31) Mass extinction events: Why we need to care because the Earth doesn't. 
(0:46:36) Educating the public about climate change: One of many passions.
(0:48:04) Working in forensics: A possible branching out.
(0:49:31) Film criticism, stories and other interests.
(0:50:46) Indiana Jones and Archeology in film: An untapped potential.
(0:51:44) The artistic mindset: How art can make you think differently.
(0:53:45) Classical art and appreciating the detail. 

Follow Nic on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nic_Randazzo
Visit Nic’s website: https://www.nicolasrandazzo.com/
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm

What role might the environment play on autoimmune diseases, like asthma? What could we learn about antibiotic use in pregnant women? Reproductive immunologist, and researcher, Dr. Melanie Conrad joins me to talk about these topics, and about the work she, and her team, are doing to uncover new information about how the immune system works!


(0:00:45) Moving to Germany and accents.
(0:02:42) Research and the study of asthma.
(0:04:07) The journey to studying asthma.
(0:06:22) Environmental causes of asthma and the role of traditional farms.
(0:08:00) Generational studies and the Dutch Hunger Winter.
(0:09:35) Why growing up on a farm can help your respiratory health.
(0:11:35) The mouse model.
(0:12:38) Mechanisms, contributing factors and the immune response.
(0:14:08) The chronological study of the fetus, newborns and breast milk.
(0:16:06) Moving from mouse to human: The ethics and physiology involved.
(0:17:47) Fruit flies studies and why they are important.
(0:19:02) Farm analysis and the chosen bacteria.
(0:20:34) Urban environments and pollution: Getting back to nature.
(0:22:36) The Protection Model and the Antibiotic Model.
(0:24:30) Antibiotics: Not always the best solution.
(0:25:31) Microbiome Analysis and the Antibiotic Model.
(0:26:30) The importance of fetal development of microbiomes: Where they come from.
(0:29:05) Pre and postnatal development of microbiomes and antibiotics.
(0:30:55) Targeted antibiotics: Is it a possibility in the future?
(0:32:00) Bonnie Bassler and Quorum sensing.
(0:33:39) Antibiotics, Hives and Mites: A need for new research and advances.
(0:35:09) Five more questions.
(0:37:03) When does science become medicine? Research and medicine.
(0:39:05) Open access and publishing.
(0:40:17) Science and policy: The need for a middle person.
(0:41:43) Science communication and Twitter.
(0:43:31) What's next? Models, models models and metabolism. 
(0:45:35) PhD students.
(0:46:15) Partner Acrobatics: A great hobby.
(0:47:58) The cultural differences between Canada and Germany.
(0:50:02) Being a scientist in Germany.
(0:51:39) Berlin: Still loving it after over 10 years.

Visit the Conrad Lab: https://www.conradlab.net/
Follow Melanie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLConradLab
Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/
Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm