STEM Squadcast STEM Squadcast

We are officially in 2020, but still getting our latest episode -- recorded December 26, y'all -- much faster than any other of our previous two episodes.



Progress, not perfection, kids.



In keeping with the fluid nature of this podcast, we spent some time on recent STEM superheroes in the news -- Miss Virginia, who made a science experiment her talent and won the title Miss America as a result.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu-PSaIomn4
Camille Schrier wants to inspire young girls in STEM during her reign as Miss America. Her experiment begins around the 20-second mark.



Because I am obsessed with our rescue dog, Casey, we also covered Stella the talking dog and Christina Hunger of Hungerforwords.com. If you haven't seen the footage of what happened when Christina left Catahoula Blue Heeler mix Stella out of her crate with a camera rolling, it is both heartbreaking and also completely amazing.



Casey Blake poses with the blanket that bears her image. BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER!



But the star of Episode 3 was definitely black holes and our fascination with them. Jamee also shared her black hole STEM superhero -- the very much alive Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- and her discoveries of neutron stars and pulsars. Burnell also had a great way of sending the ladder back down for success. More on that momentarily.



We did, of course, also touch on science fiction's fascination with black holes.



Now that the episode is wrapped, of course, I am surprised we failed to mention that 2019 was the year we all saw the first-ever image of a black hole (and the unfortunate misogyny that resulted over Dr. Katie Bouman's visibility as a member of the team that developed the algorithm that made that image possible).



Please note, I was suffering from a terrible gunky head cold, which definitely affected my sniffly, congested delivery as well as my ease in getting distracted by Baby Yoda discussions.



I mean, really... Who isn't in love with Baby Yoda?



We closed with a quick discussion of the recent Tech Crunch editorial on making 2020 the year of a tipping point for women in STEM, with brief segues into my DISC assessment (Correction! The I in DISC is for Influential, not Inspiration. I blame the head cold.) and our own struggles with softening or not softening or language.



So, we may have juuuust missed our self-imposed deadline to get an episode out at the end of 2019, but 2020 lies ahead with oodles of great STEM stories in front of us and 12 months to tell as many of them as we can.



How do you plan to help make 2020 that tipping point? What are the great STEM superheroes you are talking about and interested in? Is 2020 the beginning of a new decade or does that start in 2021?



We want to hear from you.



Until next time, progress, not perfection.

We're back! Months later and with a new face/voice, but hey! We're back! And discussing meeting people where they are with STEM interest, STEM superhero Nalini Nadkarni, the science behind hauntings and the Captain Obvious reason the Houston Astros are called the Astros.



Jamee is the latest co-host of what we now assume will be a rotating cast of characters, because logistics of coordinating guests and hosts can be a lot, you guys.



This episode was recorded the week of Halloween, so we discussed the all-female space walk, Jamee's fondness for the "M" in STEM and Newton (who gave us way more than an apple falling on his head), and what may actually be going on if you think you're haunted.



The infamous run-of-show on the dungeon whiteboard.



If you haven't seen Nalini Nadkarni's TED talk, you should get on that, because she is an amazing pioneer and badass, and I was super-stoked to hear her on Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN7VcY1f-1Q
She uses a cross-bow. Like an actual superhero. Because she is.



When we come to understand nature, we are touching the most deep, most important part of ourselves.- Nalini Nadkarni



While we are on the topic of entomologists (nice segue, eh?), make sure you check out the unrelated entomologist who rated all the ant emojis last summer.







Jamee explains how Isaac Newton helped us get out of the Dark Ages by inventing Calculus but maybe could have gotten us even further if he had used a little teamwork.



Because I'm obsessed with scary things and it was Halloween, we also talked about last year's Netflix hit The Haunting of Hill House and the role black mold may have played in the Crain family ghosts.



My phrase of the episode, by the way, was clearly "rabbit hole."



In the spirit of what was then the season, we also discussed Roy the friendly ghost and whether Sarah Winchester was haunted or simply clever. (I"ll go with clever.)



If you're looking for more modern-day examples of inventive thinkers, make sure to check out Miranda Cosgrove's Mission Unstoppable, which I wasn't aware of until I read this Forbes piece on the If/Then Summit. Gold stars for you, Summer Hathaway! And fun fact: Did you know both Jack Black's parents were rocket scientists? True story.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwpOtax1aJo




Jamee and I will be back in

Dr. Cyndy Carlson of Merrimack College discusses flying squirrels; life as a water resources engineer; and Citizen Science and her STEM Superhero, Caren Cooper, in our inaugural episode. Because this is our first (!) episode, Katie and Jen talk about their career paths and how their mutual status as Murderinos at an early 2019 Future Tech Women meeting led to this project kicking off. Also covered: Nora Keegan's study on the decibel ratings of hand dryers, the moon landing anniversary, fear of failure, last summer's squirrel roadkill extravaganza and the Great Sunflower Project.



Evidence of the optimistic run of show on the podcast dungeon whiteboard.



In case you need the painful laugh, here's the SNL episode Katie was talking about:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUJUlcXXt2k




And if you feel like shopping for a spaceship dress (with pockets!) like Cyndy was wearing, check out Princess Awesome.



Until next time, progress not perfection!