Sing for Science: Recent Episodes
Talkhouse
“Sing For Science” is a science and music podcast produced with Talkhouse where musicians talk to scientists about science as it connects to their most famous songs. Created and hosted by New York musician, Matt Whyte, the podcast’s goal is to increase science literacy for as many people as possible by reaching a variety of different musicians’ fan bases. Listeners come to the show through their love of music and leave with a new piece of knowledge. Science literacy and respect for expertise are perhaps more vital now than ever before. The show’s chief tenet is that a more science and scientific process literate society can only contribute towards greater support for more fair, evidence-based policy in government. Sing For Science is listener supported; please contribute today at singforscience.org.
311 lead singer and eternal optimist Nick Hexum talks about their breakout hit “All Mixed Up” with best-selling author and Dutch Historian, Rutger Bregman. Rutger’s books “Utopia For Realists” and Humankind” draw on scientific evidence that demonstrate our inherent capacity for good and the viability of ideas like Universal Basic Income, a 15 Hour Work Week, Open Borders and more.
Pulitzer Nominated composer, Ted Hearne talks about his epic work “Farming”, a hybridized piece written for a 24 piece choir with text taken from William Penn correspondence, a Jeff Bezos speech, the Uber Eats Twitter feed and more. Dr. Sarah Taber joins us for a conversation about the impacts of settler colonialism on modern day agriculture, the romantic myth of the American family farm and more!
Fab Four drummer and peace activist, Ringo Starr talks about going to see the Maharishi with John and George, his upbringing in violent Liverpool of the 1950s and being saved by music and then the gift of meditation. Bob Roth, renowned meditation teacher of 60 years and CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, talks to Matt and Ringo about the scientifically documented capacity of meditation to cultivate peace for the individual and the collective. This episode is being released on July 7th in celebration of Ringo’s 83rd birthday on which he invites anyone to say or think peace and love at noon, their local time.
NYC Legend Joan As Police Woman (Joan Wasser) talks about her 2011 song “The Magic” with influential writer and science historian, Maria Popova (The Marginalian / Brain Pickings). We talk about measuring how music can transport us, the “magic” of making connections, pattern recognition, wonderment as a discipline, double dutch and so much more in this incredibly awe inspiring episode.
WARNING: This episode contains content related to mortuary science that some listeners may find disturbing. Korn frontman Jonathan Davis delves into his past as a mortician with popular science bestselling author, Mary Roach. Mary wrote the hit book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and the two have no shortage of gory details to discuss. We talk about the biology of human corpse decomposition and preservation, embalming techniques (including but not limited to anal suturing), Elvis’s autopsy, and more!
Rock icon Rivers Cuomo goes deep on coding talk with Python computer language creator and programming icon, Guido Van Rossum. We talk about the history of The Sweater Song, coding vs songwriting, the history of Python and much, much more!
Singer/Songwriter Alec Benjamin talks about his song about social media addiction with Stanford Professor and MD, Dr. Anna Lembke, author of The NY Times bestseller, Dopamine Nation. Tune in to hear about the surprising and fascinating research about the relationship between pain and pleasure in our brains, the prescription to combat addiction and more!
Join host Sing For Science host Matt Whyte in this fungi fantastic episode about psilocybin research! We learn about mushroom properties that can stave off dementia, decrease social ills and hear about Isaac’s experience with UFOs.
Country singer Margo Price talks about "Fight To Make It" a song on which she teamed up with Mavis Staples and Noise For Now to raise awareness and support for reproductive justice. We talk about Margo's correspondence with Ronnie Spector, her experience advocating for reproductive healthcare in Tennessee and the tragic loss of one of her children in infancy. Dr. Monica Mclemore, nurse-scientist and reproductive healthcare advocate joins us to tell us about the often surprising statistics uncovered by reproductive healthcare research. She was an expert witness in the Supreme Courts Dobbs case and brings an unparalleled level of expertise to the conversation on abortion. This episode was co-produced by Noise For Now.
Actor/Comedian Nick Kroll talks about his hit show on Netflix Big Mouth and about his personal experience with delayed puberty with NYU Langone Pediatric Endocrinologist Dr. Emily Breidbart. We talk about puberty disorders, how to treat them, transgender medicine, endocrinology, comedy, and more!
Singer/songwriter and apartment plant enthusiast mxmtoon talks about the loss and sense of place that inspired her song "Florida" with ethnobotanist, Dr Cassandra Quave. Dr. Quave is the author of "The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest For Nature's Next Best Medicines". We cover plant identification, traditional medicine and how to talk to your plants.
Arlo Guthrie talks about the lyrics to the 1967 anti-war masterpiece, “Alice’s Restaurant” - we talk at length about the 1960s and being Woody Guthrie’s son. Tufts University Nutritional Anthropologist Dr. Ellen Messer talks about her awakening as a scholar-activist in the 1960s and the foundations of her term “food wars” which describes the relationship between food scarcity and armed conflict.
Less Than You Think: Demystifying the Hard Problem of Consciousness with Computational Psychology. Jeff Tweedy talks about the lyrics to "Less Than You Think" from Wilco's 2004 Grammy Winning Album, A Ghost is Born. We discuss creativity vis a vis his book "How To Write One Song", spirituality with a capital S, atheism, 9/11 and everything in between. Cornell University computational psychologist, Dr. Shimon Edelman weighs in on the lyrics with his theory of consciousness: that human consciousness is entirely the product of a virtual reality simulation created by our brains.
Recorded Live in Brooklyn, NY at the 2022 On Air Fest. Kish and NYU neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki discuss brain plasticity, memory formation and more!
What Neuroimaging Can Tell us About Improvisation in Music. Jazz Guitar Legend Pat Metheny and neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Limb talk language and music connection, freestyle rap brain scans and more!
Join Opera phenom Davóne Tines and data scientist and civil rights activist Todd Hendricks for a discussion about fighting gerrymandering in the courts with math and data science.
Canadian pop star Ruth B and NASA engineer Christina Hernandez talk rocket science, space travel and life on Mars.
PTM’s John Gourley and Zach Carothers and data scientist, Dr. Desi Small-Rodriguez discuss indigenous data sovereignty, the missing and murdered indigenous women project and our collective path forward.
Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and Particle Physicist Brian Cox discuss time travel, the intersection of politics and science and more!
Canadian R&B duo Majid Jordan speak with aquanaut Fabien Cousteau (grandson of Jacques Cousteau) about the construction of his monolithic underwater space station, Proteus and marine conservation.
Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, co-founders of Blondie speak with climatologist Dr. Michael Mann about ancient climate history, the relationship between agriculture and climate, preventing climate catastrophe and much more.
Acclaimed Swedish Argentine singer-songwriter, José González speaks with leading US epidemiologist, Dr. Mike Osterholm about future pandemics, virus mutations and more! Fun fact: Jose has a background in biochemistry and was pursuing a PhD in the study of viruses before he began making records.
Lead singer of the multi-platinum selling heavy metal band, Lamb of God, Randy Blythe joins Georgia State Social Psychologist, Dr. Tony Lemieux for a conversation about identity politics, intergroup conflict in America, pathways to radicalization, mob psychology and more!
Pop icon SIA and psychotherapist, Dr. Alexandra Katehakis discuss attachment theory, infant brain development and sex addiction.
PETER PIPER: THE FOLKLORE OF NURSERY RHYMES with Hip hop legend Darryl McDaniels and University of Guelph English professor Dr. Jennifer Schacker discuss the folklore of nursery rhymes. In this episode we discuss:
the element of play using language
backstories to some of our most famous nursery rhymes
how DMC used Peter Piper to explain what Jam Master Jay did as the group’s DJ
ALY AND AJ: ATTACK OF PANIC: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF ANXIETY DISORDERS with Pop duo and former Disney stars Aly and Aj and NYU neuroscientist, Dr. Joseph LeDoux. In this episode we talk about: - William James’ theory of anxiety’s origins - Medicating panic disorders - Meditation - Brain anatomy - Micro dosing AIRS 12/02/20
Aluna Francis of AlunaGeorge and trained facilitator, Priya Parker. In this episode we discuss: - the science of how we gather - “healthy heat” in conflicts - the importance of having a disputable purpose when we gather - the pitfalls of vulnerability focused culture - how to sell tickets AIRS 11/25/20
LIVING COLOUR: CULT OF PERSONALITY: THE PSYCHOLOGY AND DYNAMICS OF TYRANNY with Vernon Reid and Corey Glover from the band Living Colour and Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Fascism and propaganda professor at NYU In this episode we discuss: - The fascism playbook - How authoritarian regimes end - Fascism and the illusion of authenticity - Cause for hope - Billy Joel's smashed piano AIRS 11/18/20
MAC DEMARCO: CHAMBER OF REFLECTION: UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENCE OF SOUND with Mac DeMarco and Russ Berger, acoustician. In this episode we discuss: - what sound is - how speakers work - how sound affects the human body - how the brain interprets sound in a space - Astronautical elimination
Renée Fleming: AVE MARIA: HEALING THE BRAIN THROUGH THE POWER OF MUSIC with Renée Fleming and Dr. Bin Hu, neuroscientist and Parkinson's expert at the University of Calgary In this episode we talk about: - How neuroscientists measure brain activity - Oliver Sachs and Dr. Hu's research - Bypassing Parkinson's with music therapy - Dr. Hu's iphone app that helps Parkinson's patients - Supreme Court sing along
CONNIE BRITTON: THE RIVERS BETWEEN US: HOW WE PROTECT AMERICA'S WATERWAYS with Actress Connie Britton and Paul Gallay, rivers expert and president of Riverkeeper. In this episode we talk about: - Where drinking water comes from - How toxic spills in rivers are cleaned up - How to protect your local waterway - Covid and rivers - A romantic way to spend valentine's day in NYC **"Restore Mother Nature Bond Act" referred to at the very end was pulled from the ballot
NORAH JONES: DON’T KNOW WHY: EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY IN ART AND SCIENCE with Norah Jones and "War On Science" author Shawn Otto In this episode we discuss: - how the war on science began - the story of how Exxon PR created climate change denial - the scientific method - how to talk to people with whom you disagree - Keith Richards' giant tape recorder
A FAMILY OF TREES: UNCOVERING NETWORKS IN OUR FORESTS' UNDERSTORY with Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT and Dr. Suzanne Simard, forest ecology professor.
In this episode we discuss:
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how trees communicate with one another
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the folly of industrialized logging
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how trees help other trees
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Native American ancestral DNA in cedar
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where to buy mushrooms in Connecticut