The So What? Project

T. Keith Edmunds
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Every day, researchers produce knowledge in a bewildering array of subject areas, much of which never reaches the gneral public. The So What? Project exists to answer a simple question: So what? Why does this research matter? Why should anyone care? What did we learn, and what difference does it make? Each episode features a researcher explaining a recent publication, project, or scholarly contribution in clear, accessible language for a broad audience. Episodes are short, engaging, and designed for listeners with no specialized background.

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    Killing Eve (C. Sears)

    Sears' book Killing Eve explores the cultural significance of the television show of the same name, focusing on its appropriation of thriller conventions to center the complexity and queerness of women's deisres. About Our Guest: Clare Sears is professor of Sociology and Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University and author of Arresting Dress (Duke AP) and Killing Eve (Wayne State University Press). Clare's research on LGBTQ+ popular culture and history also appears in Transformative Works and Cultures, GLQ, The Transgender Studies Reader, and more. Resources & Mentions: Sears, C. (2026). Killing Eve. Wayne State University Press. https://wsupress.wayne.edu/9780814351397 Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  2. Nov 4

    Wolves Increase Germination Speed and Success of Blueberries (A. Gross)

    Wolves are known carnivores; however, they have been documented eating fruits when available in ecosystems in North America and Eurasia. This project is a result of exploring the potential implications of wolves consuming large quantities of blueberries while they are abundant. About Our Guest: Alex Gross is currently a biology master's student at Northern Michigan University, where he is working with the Voyageurs Wolf Project to study wolf/deer predator/prey dynamics. Prior to starting grad school, Alex worked as a field technician with the Voyageurs Wolf Project. He also worked as an assistant animal caretaker at Wolf Mountain Nature Center, a wolf preserve in central New York State. His hometown is on Long Island, New York. Resources & Mentions: Gross, A. D., Gable, T. D., Homkes, A. T., Winnett-Murray, K., Woodside, R., Bump, J. K., & Murray K. G. (2026). Wolves increase the germination speed and success of blueberries. Biology Letters, 22(8), 20260279. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0279 Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  3. Oct 28

    Exploring Public Perceptions of Social Media: A Preregistered Mixed-Methods Study (E. Murray)

    Social media has become one of the most widely used forms of communication, entertainment, and informationsharing. At the same time, social media bans and regulations, particularly for children and young people, are being introduced around the world. Understanding what we mean when we say "social media" is essential if we want research, policy, and public discussions to be clear and effective. About Our Guest: Evelyn Murray is a PhD candidate at Aston University researching social media use styles and the effects on wellbeing. Resources & Mentions: Murray, E. A. H., Larkin, M., Shaw, D. J., & Pennington, C. R. (2026). Exploring public perceptions of social media: A preregistered mixed-methods study. Psychologyof Popular Media. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000680 Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow on Spotify to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  4. Oct 21

    Postcards from the Future: Polluted Sport in a Changing Climate (H. Thorpe)

    Focusing on youth in community sport, this research prompts new questions about how climate change is impacting the next generation. It also raises new questions about the role of sport in the lives of young people in the context of a changing climate. About Our Guest: Holly Thorpe (PhD) is Associate Dean Research in the Division of Health and Professor in the School of Sport and Human Movement at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. She isan award-winning sociologist of sport, physical culture, and gender. She has received Fulbright and Leverhulme Fellowships and, in 2018, was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences and became a Fellow of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport. She works closely with national and international sport organisations, including the International Olympic Committee, High Performance Sport New Zealand, and Sport New Zealand. Her research interests include gender, action sports and youth cultures, women athletes’ health and wellbeing, social media and new media technologies, and sport in development and recovery contexts. She has published over 150 articles and chapters on these topics, and many books. Most recently her research is focused on the health and wellbeing impacts of extreme weather events, and community sport in a changing climate. Resources & Mentions: Thorpe, H., McClutchie, J., Williams, H., Nemani, M., & Hikuroa, D. (2026). Postcards From the Future: Polluted Sport in a Changing Climate. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/019372352614501 Find more about Dr. Thorpe at her institution's website: https://profiles.waikato.ac.nz/holly.thorpe Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow on Spotify to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  5. Oct 14

    From Highlands to Henge: Refining the Provenance and Transport Pathways of Stonehenge's Alter Stone (A. Clarke)

    Earlier work traced the Altar Stone to northeast Scotland, which immediately raised an obvious question: how did a six-tonne stone travel around 700 kilometres to Stonehenge? This project grew from wanting to test whether glaciers could have done some of that work, rather than simply assuming the stone was transported entirely by people. About Our Guest: Dr Anthony Clarke is a Research Fellow at Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Curtin FrontierInstitute for Geoscience Solutions in Perth, Australia. His research uses the chemical and isotopic fingerprints preserved in minerals to determine where rocks and archaeological materials came from. His work has included research into the provenance of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone and other prehistoric monuments, using geology to investigate long-distance movement, human connectivity and the landscapes of the past. Resources & Mentions: Clarke, A. J. I., Veness, R. L. J., Kirkland, C. L., Clark, C. D., Gandy, N., Emery, A., Bradley, S. L., Ely, J. C. & Ignéczi, Á. (2026). From Highlands to Henge: Refining the Provenance and Transport Pathways of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone. Journal of Quaternary Science, 41(6), 888–895. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70080 Find more about Dr. Clarke at his institution's website: https://research.curtin.edu.au/scieng/research/timescales-of-mineral-systems/ Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow on Spotify to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  6. Oct 7

    Getting Learning Right: The Promise of Higher Education (K. Girdharry)

    As a book, Getting Learning Right: The Promise of Higher Education asks what higher education could become if colleges and universities organized themselves around how students actually learn. The central thesis is based on a simple idea: if colleges and universities want to fulfill their promise, they need to listen carefully to students and design institutions around how they actually learn. About Our Guest: Dr. Kristi Girdharry is an Associate Teaching Professor of English in the Arts & Humanities division at Babson College. Resources & Mentions: Dr. Girdharry and colleagues’ book, Getting Learning Right: The Promise of Higher Education, is published by The MIT Press. Gallagher, Chris W., Kristi Girdharry, and Kevin G. Smith. Getting Learning Right: The Promise of Higher Education. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2026. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262054201/getting-learning-right/ Find more about Dr. Girdharry at her institution's website: https://www.babson.edu/about/our-leaders-and-scholars/faculty-and-academic-divisions/faculty-profiles/kristi-girdharry.php Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow on Spotify to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  7. Sep 30

    Discovery of an Active Wind from the Milky'Way's Central Black Hole (M. Gorski)

    Black holes are commonly thought of as cosmic vacuum cleaners from which nothing can escape. In reality, before matter crosses the event horizon, it becomes extremely hot. This hot dense matter forms an accretion disk which can blow material at very high spees before it falls into the black hole. Dr. Gorski examines the impact of supermassive black holes, including these winds, have on their host galaxies. About Our Guest: Dr. Mark Gorski is a Research Assistant Professor in the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Astronomy at Northwestern University. Resources & Mentions: Dr. Gorski and colleagues’ paper “The Discovery of an Active Wind from the Milky Way's Central Black Hole” can be found in the journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Gorski, M. D., & Murchikova, L. (2026). The Discovery of an Active Wind from the Milky Way’s Central Black Hole. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 1004(1), L7.https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae63cf/pdf Find out more about Dr. Gorski at his website: ⁠https://sites.google.com/view/astrogorski/home Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow on Spotify to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  8. Sep 23

    Paying Off: How Feminist Financial Plans Can Transform Higher Education (S. Lauricella)

    More women than men are enrolled in and graduate from institutes of higher education, yet most financial literacy is geared toward men.  An undergraduate education is arguably the largest financial decision that a young women will have made – and probably the most significant for a long time – so addressing financial wellness is important for women’s long-term success.In this episode, Dr. Sharon Lauricella discusses her book chapter, which addresses the importance of the need for women's financial literacy as they embark on their undergraduate education. About Our Guest: Dr. Sharon Lauricella is a Professor in the Faculty of Social Scienceand Humanities, Fraser Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University.   Resources & Mentions: Dr. Lauricella and colleagues’ chapter is “Paying Off: How Feminist Financial Plans Can Transform Higher Education” can be found in the book Women Transforming the Future of Higher Education Full citation: Lauricella, S., Bourne, J., Gary, B., Gruehl, K., Banfield, D., & Rosenberg, R. (2025). Paying off: How feminist financial plans can transform higher education. In S. Lauricella, T. Moeke-Pickering, & S. Sandill (Eds.), Women Transforming the Future of Higher Education. IGI Global. Find out more about Dr. Lauricella at her website: https://www.sharonlauricella.com Enjoyed this episode? Hit follow on Spotify to stay updated with future episodes of The So What? Project. Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

  9. Trailer

    COMING SOON! The So What? Project Podcast

    The So What? Project is a short-form podcast where researchers from around the world and across disciplines talk about their recent research, books, articles, and ideas in plain language. Each episode explores what researchers discovered, what surprised them, and why their work matters beyond the university. No lectures. No academic jargon. Just interesting research, explained by the people who did it. Launching September 23, 2026.

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About

Every day, researchers produce knowledge in a bewildering array of subject areas, much of which never reaches the gneral public. The So What? Project exists to answer a simple question: So what? Why does this research matter? Why should anyone care? What did we learn, and what difference does it make? Each episode features a researcher explaining a recent publication, project, or scholarly contribution in clear, accessible language for a broad audience. Episodes are short, engaging, and designed for listeners with no specialized background.

Information

  • Creator
    T. Keith Edmunds
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © T. Keith Edmunds
  • Show Website
    The So What? Project