alpha: women shaping STEM+

Dr. Catharine Young
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Science
  • Updated Biweekly

Named for the beginning, the first, alpha elevates the voices of women in STEM: science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the fields shaping what comes next.From early-career scientists and engineers to founders, researchers, and policy leaders, alpha features women who are asking harder questions, sharing what they’ve learned, and clearing the path for those who follow.Each episode goes beyond the achievement and into the story behind it: the choices, risks, failures, breakthroughs, and moments of becoming that shape a career at the edge of discovery.This podcast is for the firsts. The onlys. The originals. And the women rising next.Welcome to alpha.

Episodes

  1. Sep 9

    Who Gets To Shape Quantum with Dr. Shohini Ghose

    Meet Dr. Shohini Ghose. She explores the quantum world already running your life, and recovers the women physics wrote out of its own story. Everyone agrees quantum will shape the century. Her question is who gets to shape it. This is a conversation about two kinds of invisibility: the invisible rules of the quantum world and the invisible woman who helped reveal them. Dr. Shohini Ghose shares what it was like to be one of the only women in the room, from feeling isolated and questioning her abilities to realizing that the problem wasn't women who needed fixing. Mentorship and another summer camp for girls can only go so far if the classrooms, hiring practices, resources, and recognition around them remain unequal. Shohini also takes us inside the strange and wonderful world of quantum physics, where reality isn't always what it appears to be. She shares when equations first became wonder for her and why understanding the history of physics means understanding not just what we know, but how we came to know it. Shohini reminds us that science needs everybody, and we need to fix the system, not the women. Women are not waiting to be invited into science; they’ve been there all along. What Shohini wants you to know: “ There's this huge lineage of women, and there will be in the future, too. I hope future generations will know about all the amazing women who are contributing today, and they will become the voices in the heads of these future scientists who will help drive them to do bigger and better things.” Rapid fire: A science fiction story everyone should read or watch: The Lilith’s Brood Trilogy by Octavia E. Butler A woman physicist or astronomer’s name who should be on every classroom wall: Every woman mentioned in Her Space, Her Time. One word for the quantum world right now: Possibility. Going beyond the episode: Shohini on LinkedInCheck out Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden UniverseFor all resources and links mentioned in this episode, read the full guide here: https://www.alphapodcast.studio/shohini-ghose With gratitude to the organizations whose archival materials and recordings helped bring alpha to life: New Mexico PBS, Critical Mass: Women in Science (audio)NASA Image & Video LibraryAmerican Archive of Public Broadcasting

    Who Gets To Shape Quantum with Dr. Shohini Ghose

  2. Aug 26

    What Ice Can Teach Us with Dr. M Jackson

    Meet Dr. M Jackson. She’s been a geographer, glaciologist, writer, National Geographic Society Explorer, and TED Fellow, and whether it’s Greenland, Iceland, Antarctica, or the Arctic, Dr. M Jackson can be placed right in the middle of it and know exactly where she is. With only her crampons and ears attuned to the sounds of glaciers, M is able to define her position, as well as the state of the ice below her feet. This is a conversation about glaciers - What are they? What do they tell us? It’s also a conversation about ego and facing grief. How can we hold two things to be true and still show up to do world changing work? M is a champion for the expansion of who gets to practice glacier science and who gets to produce glacier knowledge, and her calling to everyone is a shift in mindset: to look at what's next and to remember that global issues require global solutions. What M wants you to know: “ I want your listeners to come away with a full understanding that science is storytelling and storytelling is science. These things are the same, and then each person gets to have space in there to figure out how they're gonna tell the story, and I love that 'cause it's freeing.” Rapid fire:  What is your favorite glacier? “I want to see glaciers in Papua New Guinea. They’re my current favorite because I’m obsessed with them but I’ve never seen them.” One word you’d want to associate with ice besides ‘melting’: Strength, transformation, hope What is it that you do to reset yourself: Put my phone away and pour myself a cup of coffee.Going beyond the episode: Learn more about M and her workCheck out M's BooksFor all resources and links mentioned in this episode, read the full guide here: https://www.alphapodcast.studio/m-jackson With gratitude to the organizations whose archival materials and recordings helped bring alpha to life: New Mexico PBS, Critical Mass: Women in Science (audio)NASA Image & Video LibraryAmerican Archive of Public Broadcasting

    What Ice Can Teach Us with Dr. M Jackson

  3. Aug 12

    The Universe Belongs to Everyone with Dr. Renée Hložek

    Meet Dr. Renée Hložek. She's an astrophysicist, cosmologist, professor, and bridge-builder. From studying the universe’s earliest light to its possible ending, to applying astronomy techniques to brain imaging, Renée spends her days asking some of the biggest questions imaginable, and making sure more people get the chance to ask them too. As a young girl growing up in South Africa, Renée's mother wasn’t concerned with perfect grades. Instead, she supported Renée with whatever she set her mind to. Only limited by her imagination. That encouragement gave Renée permission to be curious before she knew exactly where that curiosity would lead. Today, it shapes how she mentors the next generation of scientists. This is a conversation about dark matter, the fate of the universe, why uncertainty is one of science's greatest strengths, and how curiosity, not accolades, is what makes someone a scientist. What Renée wants you to know: “A lot of the time we have doubt about am I good enough, brave enough, strong enough, smart enough to be a scientist. And a lot of people will tell you a lot of things about being a scientist: ‘you’re a girl’ or ‘you’re not confident enough’ or ‘loud enough’. And to me, I would say, the thing to remember is, being curious about how the world works makes you a scientist.” Rapid fire: A cosmic fact that sounds fake but is actually true: “I can tell you the fate of the universe after about 10⁻³⁷ seconds in its lifetime.” The most underrated object in the universe: Photons One person that has made her braver: A high school teacher who didn’t let her wiggle out of doing something, but pushed her to see her own capacity. Going beyond the episode: Renée on LinkedIn For all resources and links mentioned in this episode, read the full guide here: https://www.alphapodcast.studio/renee-hlozek With gratitude to the organizations whose archival materials and recordings helped bring alpha to life: New Mexico PBS, Critical Mass: Women in Science (audio)NASA Image & Video LibraryAmerican Archive of Public Broadcasting

    The Universe Belongs to Everyone with Dr. Renée Hložek

  4. Jul 29

    The World Needs Scientists with Dr. Gretchen Goldman

    Meet Dr. Gretchen Goldman. She’s been the student, the scientist, the watchdog, the White House advisor, and now she’s the President of the Union of Concerned Scientists. 30 years ago, Gretchen was presented with a question by her 11th grade chemistry teacher: Where would science be if we changed data? This is a conversation about what happens when the facts become inconvenient, who pays when science is under attack, and Catharine presents Gretchen that very same question again. What Gretchen wants you to know: “We need you. The world needs scientists. We need truth tellers. We need people that see hard problems and run toward them.” Rapid fire: One book all non-scientists should read: Doubt is Their Product by David Michaels Scientist everyone should know by name: Veronica O. Davis / LinkedIn Gretchen’s small ritual that keeps her steady: Going hard on the Peloton! Going beyond the episode: Gretchen on LinkedInUnion of Concerned ScientistsScience Rising For all resources and links mentioned in this episode, read the full guide here: https://www.alphapodcast.studio/gretchen-goldman With gratitude to the organizations whose archival materials and recordings helped bring alpha to life: New Mexico PBS, Critical Mass: Women in Science (audio)NASA Image & Video LibraryAmerican Archive of Public Broadcasting

    The World Needs Scientists with Dr. Gretchen Goldman

  5. Trailer

    Trailer: Welcome to alpha

    You're about to hear from the women building what comes next. In cancer research and climate engineering. In AI, space exploration, public health, biotech, policy, and every room where the future is being shaped. This is alpha. A podcast about women in science, technology, engineering, and math - the fields defining our future, and the women redefining what leadership inside them looks like. I'm Dr. Catharine Young: a scientist, an immigrant, a mother, and a builder. For years, I've sat across from extraordinary women changing their fields from the inside:  leading labs, building companies, shaping policy, asking hard questions, and carrying more than most people will ever see. These are the conversations behind the breakthroughs. The choices that shaped a career. The rooms that tested a voice. The moments that changed how someone understood her own power. The failures, risks, reinventions, ambitions, and turning points that rarely make it into the official story,  but shape everything that comes after. Because this isn't about giving women a voice. They already have one. This is the platform their voices were always meant for. The one we're building together. Welcome to alpha. Listen, meet the women of alpha, and learn more at alphapodcast.studio. Coming up on season one: Ep 1: Dr. Gretchen Goldman, Science Advocacy Ep 2: Dr. Renée Hložek, Astrophysics Ep 3: Dr. M Jackson, Glaciology  Ep 4: Dr. Shohini Ghose, Quantum Physics Ep 5: Dr. Paule Valery Joseph, Sensory Neuroscience Ep 6: Dr. Asha de Vos, Marine Biology Ep 7: Dr. Michelle Monje, Cancer Neuroscience Ep 8: Dr. Beth Cameron, Pandemic Preparedness Ep 9: Dr. Sara K. Yeo, Science Communication  Ep 10: Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Science & Technology Policy  With gratitude to the organizations whose archival materials and recordings helped bring alpha to life: New Mexico PBS, Critical Mass: Women in Science (audio)NASA Image & Video LibraryAmerican Archive of Public Broadcasting

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Named for the beginning, the first, alpha elevates the voices of women in STEM: science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the fields shaping what comes next.From early-career scientists and engineers to founders, researchers, and policy leaders, alpha features women who are asking harder questions, sharing what they’ve learned, and clearing the path for those who follow.Each episode goes beyond the achievement and into the story behind it: the choices, risks, failures, breakthroughs, and moments of becoming that shape a career at the edge of discovery.This podcast is for the firsts. The onlys. The originals. And the women rising next.Welcome to alpha.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Catharine Young
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dr. Catharine Young
  • Show Website
    alpha: women shaping STEM+