In Plain English: Science Made Simple

In Plain English
In Plain English: Science Made Simple

Welcome to In Plain English, where we're making science approachable, open source, and jargon free! I'm your host, Jamie Moffa, and every episode I bring on an expert in a field of research, and two guests who know nothing about the subject. Together, we'll learn about exciting topics, like what dinosaurs sounded like, or whether psychedelic drugs can treat depression. And in between full length episodes, I feature bonus interviews with scientists on their own, cutting-edge research! Subscribe to learn about all this and more, "In Plain English!"

  1. DEC 10

    The UMAP Algorithm: Look Pretty and Do As Little As Possible

    In this episode, In Plain English joins the discourse on the All of Us Genomics project and their use of UMAP, an algorithm that reduces complex data to 2 dimensions. Join guests Konrad Kording, William Lima, and Jake Walker to learn why this mathematical model made such a splash on Twitter, and how scientists can analyze and communicate large data sets more rigorously. See how UMAP works on randomly generated data: https://koerding.github.io/umap-web-app/ See the papers and other resources discussed in this article: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/12/10/season-4-episode-3-the-umap-algorithm-look-pretty-and-do-as-little-as-possible/ In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, Bluesky, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠) Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

    1h 24m

  2. NOV 12

    Lifesaving Treatment for Premature Infants: An Interview with Dr. Sharon Abada

    In this special episode, my friend Dr. Sharon Abada shares the story of her grandfather, Dr. Marshall Klaus, and how he helped discover a lifesaving treatment for premature infants called surfactant. This story weaves together family, scientific curiosity, failure, and collaboration to tell the story of a treatment that has saved countless lives. You can read Dr. Klaus's paper on the website: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/11/12/season-4-episode-2-lifesaving-treatment-for-premature-infants-an-interview-with-dr-sharon-abada/ More information about the other characters in this story: Dr. Mary Ellen Avery: You can read her paper here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/499174#google_vignette, and find more information about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellen_Avery. Dr. John Clements: You can learn more about him here: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/09/428391/john-clements-whose-science-transformed-newborn-care-dies-101. All comments made by Sharon are made in her individual capacity and not on behalf of UCSF, and are not reviewed or approved by UCSF. Erratum: Dr. John Clements's industry partner was Burroughs Wellcome, not Burroughs Williams as stated in the podcast. In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠) Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

    48 min

  3. OCT 8

    Do Police Target Black Drivers for Traffic Stops?

    Do police disproportionately target Black drivers for traffic stops? This is an important question to ask, but actually answering it poses a surprisingly difficult problem. Join expert Luke Brinkman and guests Sofia Angulo Lopera and Grace Moore to discuss a paper that proposes one way to answer this tricky question. Read the paper here: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/10/08/season-4-episode-1-do-police-target-black-drivers-for-traffic-stops/ In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠) Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

    1 hr

  4. SEP 14 · BONUS

    “Running Towards the Fire”: A Conversation with Jessica Merlin

    Earlier this summer, I participated in a science communication program in combination with the ⁠Pain Research Forum⁠ and the ⁠North American Pain School⁠. As part of this program, I had the honor of interviewing ⁠Jessica Merlin⁠ – a clinical pain researcher focusing on the intersection of chronic pain and opioid misuse/use disorder across populations and settings. During their wide-ranging conversation, Merlin detailed her nonlinear career path, her beginnings in research in chronic pain of HIV patients, and her current passion of providing palliative care in addiction treatment settings. Jessica Merlin, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA. Merlin is a prolific pain researcher who has authored more than 110 original, peer-reviewed articles addressing pain management in populations with substance misuse/use disorder. She is an active clinician, including as co-director of a palliative care program for individuals with serious illness who also have a substance use disorder. For more from the Pain Research Forum, including other interviews from my fellow PRF-NAPS Correspondents, visit their website: https://www.iasp-pain.org/publications/pain-research-forum/

    30 min

  5. SEP 10

    Science, Meet SciFi

    Science can be found everywhere, even in your favorite board games, books, and video games! In this fun-filled episode of In Plain English, I sat down with James Reed of Science Night, Maura Lydon of Her Dark Ministrations, and Max Wolslegel to discuss the science concepts embedded in our favorite nerdy hobbies! Want to be on the podcast? We are looking for both expert and layperson guests for our upcoming episodes! Click here or email inplainenglishpod@gmail.com to get in touch! In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠) Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado) Image Credit: NimoStar on DeviantArt

    39 min

  6. JUL 16

    Interviews in Pain Research, Part 6

    In April 2024, I attended the conference for the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) in Seattle, Washington. This episode is the sixth in a series of interviews I conducted there, and features research on endogenous opioids - opioids that your brain makes - and the connection between pain and alcohol use disorder. View the posters here: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/07/16/season-3-episode-23-interviews-in-pain-research-part-6/ Interview 1: Kathryn Braden, a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University, on how brainstem opioids affect pain sensation. Interview 2: Yolanda Campos Jurado, a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University, on the connection between chronic pain and alcohol use disorder. In Plain English has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) Logo Credit: BioGraphics (biographicsco@gmail.com)

    18 min

  7. JUL 2

    Rigor "In Plain English" - LIVE at UPenn

    Scientific rigor is an incredibly important topic...but what does rigor actually mean? And how can we create communities where rigor is the norm? Join Konrad Kording, Kaela Singleton, Arjun Raj, and me for the first ever In Plain English live show, where we discuss these issues and more! Kaela Singleton is a Black, Samoan, Queer neuroscientist who founded the nonprofit Black in Neuro and directs the organization's Grants Management department. She completed her PhD in neuroscience at Georgetown and did a postdoc at Emory University. Arjun Raj is a professor of Bioengineering and Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to developing new imaging techniques, his lab has a strong focus on science communication and open source resources. He also runs a blog discussing issues in scientific rigor and reproducibility. Konrad Kording is a Professor of Psychology at UPenn and the team lead for Community for Rigor. His lab uses computational approaches to study the brain. View on the website: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/07/02/season-3-episode-22-rigor-in-plain-english-live/ In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠) Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

    1h 1m

  8. JUN 18

    Interviews in Pain Research, Part 5

    In April 2024, I attended the conference for the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) in Seattle, Washington. This episode is the fifth in a series of interviews I conducted there, and features novel animal models for studying back pain, innovative research into diabetic nerve pain using human tissue, and early studies into the link between facial pain and nervous system dysregulation. View the posters: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/06/18/season-3-episode-21-interviews-in-pain-research-part-5/ Interview 1: Aleyah Goins, a PhD student at the University of New Mexico, on a new mouse model for studying the role of the immune system in low back pain. Interview 2: Ishwarya Sankaranarayanan, a postdoctoral fellow at UT Dallas, on how human tissue from organ donors can help us understand the underlying causes of diabetic nerve pain. Interview 3: Hong Chen, an assistant professor at Ohio State University, on the connection between facial pain and nervous system dysfunction. In Plain English has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) Logo Credit: BioGraphics (biographicsco@gmail.com)

    26 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to In Plain English, where we're making science approachable, open source, and jargon free! I'm your host, Jamie Moffa, and every episode I bring on an expert in a field of research, and two guests who know nothing about the subject. Together, we'll learn about exciting topics, like what dinosaurs sounded like, or whether psychedelic drugs can treat depression. And in between full length episodes, I feature bonus interviews with scientists on their own, cutting-edge research! Subscribe to learn about all this and more, "In Plain English!"

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