Buffs Talk Science: Recent Episodes
Science Buffs
From space missions to minuscule microbes, Science Buffs covers STEM research at the University of Colorado Boulder and beyond.
Graycen and Alison, in their last episode, talk about the Arecibo telescope, a fishy mystery, a pollinator mystery, and crabification.
Graycen and Alison talk about some Thanksgiving-themed stories, including stories about seed banks, rats, football, and a Thanksgiving NASA disaster.
Graycen and Alison talk about some science stories of the week, including stories about window-like wood, moth-like glass, composting human remains, and baby beetles.
Graycen and Alison talk about some science stories from the past few weeks! This week: mail-in voting, crabs (whoops, we mean crayfish), and wacky tube men.
Graycen and Alison are back to talk about some science stories from the past few weeks. This week they talk about wild bees, space toilets, and scarlet fever.
Graycen and Kelsie talk about some science stories from the past few weeks! They're on Zoom this week, so the audio will sound a little different than usual.
This week a new host while Alison takes some time off! Graycen and Kelsie talk about some recent science stories in the news.
This week Graycen and Alison talk about bricks, urban heat islands, stink chemistry, and parasite conservation.
Graycen and Alison talk about plagues of locusts, frogs, and flies (well, beetles). They also talk about how we describe bodies in literature, and biologists' problem with Microsoft Excel.
Graycen and Alison talk about meat twice, and also Stonehenge. They almost talked about pottery, but it got eaten by technical incompetence.
Graycen and Alison talk about the databases that can make AI racist, and about why it was a bad idea to have sex in London in the 18th century. Then they interview astrophysicist Jimmy Negus about the scale model of our solar system on CU Boulder's campus, and why it's due for an upgrade.
This episode Graycen and Alison talk about interesting space sounds, millennials, underground cities, and chestnut trees!
This week Graycen and Alison talk about the mysteries of eels and the perils of publishing. After the break they talk to author David Parrish about his book, The Gyroscope of Life.
This week, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, Graycen and Alison share some ways to donate money, recommend some podcasts by Black creators, recommend some books and poetry from Black writers, and finally share an older science story about whether active policing actually reduces crime. Stay safe & do good!
This week, Graycen and Alison talk about The Scream by Edvard Munch, spheres tied in knots, chins, and snakes.
This week, Graycen and Alison talk about corals, mosquitos, constipated lizards, and shy eels.
This week Graycen and Alison talk about some science stories from the last two weeks, including: a space salvation, a Portuguese plant, a sea surprise, and a religious riddle.
Graycen and Alison talk about migrating deep sea fish and a magical science toilet. Possibly needs a gross out warning?
Graycen and Alison avoid the topic of COVID-19 and instead talk about alcoholics anonymous, space lettuce, undertaker bees, and vaccine delivery.
Graycen and Alison talk about bee probiotics, Twitter personality tests, and where cats hang out. Basically, a super on-brand episode.
Graycen and Alison talk about the danger of daylight savings, the 2019 coronavirus, sustainable fashion, and youtube apologies.
This week Graycen and Alison talk about fungi, snails, spooky orchids, and a talking mummy. How do you feel about Nesayamun's voice? Tweet at us!
Graycen and Alison talk about some science stories they read this week, including stories about body temperature, tractors, 23AndMe, and frog cell robots.
This week, Graycen and Alison talk about new methods of data storage (using DNA), calculator monopolies, roadkill, and children's television. No interview this week!
No interview this week! Instead, Graycen and Alison talk about data storing glass, nail salon chemicals, self-feeding bacteria, and safe airplane seats.
Graycen and Alison talk about a fight in the field of sexual health and addiction, and about a story in which picky eaters and socioeconomics collide. Then they talk to Jess Smith, a PhD student in the department of Information Science, about her field and research questions.
Graycen and Alison talk about artificial intelligence playing Starcraft 2 (the trilogy), artificial intelligence learning handwriting, early career failure, and nonradioactive metals. No interview this week, but it's somehow just as long as usual.
Graycen and Alison talk about The Blob, bird song inception, and rats on wheels! After the break, they talk to CU Boulder chemist Kristina Vrouwenvelder about her work on quantum dots, nano rods, and more.
Graycen and Alison talk about two stories involving soil microbes and earthquakes, and one story involving face masks and pollution. After the break they speak to Giancarlo Bruni about his research on bacterial electrophysiology.
Graycen and Alison talk about information transfer, bacteria-cow hybrids, and the effects of mouthwash on our blood pressure. After the break, they talk to CU Boulder scientist and friend of the pod Kelsie Anson about how zinc helps us do our cellular biochemistry.
Graycen and Alison talk about bananas, the genetics of sexual orientation, and bee brains! After the break they talk to Tom Rivas, a biochemist studying how herpes viruses hijack cellular machinery during infection.
Graycen and Alison talk about ancient bread, lorge telescopes, and a paper on endometriosis that made them both quite angry. After the break, they talked to Science Buff Max Levy about his research on drug-resistant bacteria and nanoparticles.
Sorry the episode is a little late this week, folks! Graycen and Alison talk about cat allergies, chem trails, and polluted lakes. After the break they talk to Jeff Cameron about the biochemistry of bacteria and the life of plants and animals.
Graycen and Alison talk about toxoplasma in mice, ticks in the United States, and energy drinks in teens. After the break, they interview CU scientists Daniel Palken and Joep van Dijk about finding political solutions to climate change.
Graycen and Alison talk space mold, big algae, devilish millennials, and bugs! Then they talk to Lindsay Diamond, vaccine advocate superstar, about vaccine hesitancy and her non-profit, among other things. Note: the sound is a little worse than usual in the first half of this episode, but we fixed it for next time-- bear with us this week!
This week, Alison takes a break, so Graycen is joined by Max Levy! They talk about vampire birds, the persistence of Dr. Sarah Stewart, comedic computers, and raccoon dogs. After the break, they talk to some of the co-authors of Yes She Can: 10 Stories of Hope and Change from Young Female Staffers of the Obama White House about coroners, trauma-informed care, and the need for scientists in government.
This week, Graycen and Alison talk about plastic, aliens, and stressed out dogs! After the break, they interview Atma Ivancevic about viruses that got stuck in our DNA a long time ago and are still wreaking havoc.
Graycen and Alison start off with some science stories from the last few weeks, including stories about birds, fake!Bacteria, bones, and snakes. Sorry about the fun new background hum! It won't be there next episode, we promise. After the break, we talk to Charli Fant about her experience advocating for science in Washington, D.C. and how she helped stop a fracking company from fracking up her dog park.
Graycen and Alison talk about some recent science stories, including stories about pokémon, Beowolf, regular wolves, and bees. After the break they speak with Ed Yong, staff writer at the Atlantic and author of I Contain Multitudes.
This week, Graycen and Alison talk about twins, billboards, trash, and quakes -- but TWIST: they're all in space! For this space-themed episode we also interview Abhi Boppana about his work on space suits.
It's our one year anniversary! To celebrate, Graycen and Alison talk about cats who know their names, mosquitos who don't like Skrillex, and fungi that don't respond to drugs. Then we interview Beth Gardiner about her new book, Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution.
Graycen and Alison talk about some science stories they enjoyed this week, including stories about refrigeration, natural painkillers, and the frog-pocalypse. Next they interview Kaitlin McCreery, a Science Buff and mechanical engineer.
Graycen hosts a science game show for Alison, Max, and newcomer Erin! For each round, she lists two true facts and one false statement. Can you figure out which is the fake fact? In the process you'll learn about boobs, bees, and buffalo!
Graycen and Alison talk about some recent science stories, including stories about tampons, Alzheimer's, and parchment! After the break, they interview CU professor Justin Brumbaugh about his new lab and his work with stem cells.
Graycen and Alison talk about mosquitos on diets, blood on shrouds, and germs on tissues. Next they interview Dr. Paula Cushing, an evolutionary biologist who studies arachnids (spiders and similar creatures) at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
This week, Graycen and Alison talk about poaching, the pill, and particle physics. It's P soup! After the break, we air an interview that was conducted over Skype with Dr. Arjun Raj. Arjun talks about why he thinks cells might have free will, about the importance of effective communication, and much more. The sound quality isn't quite up to our usual snuff, but we think you'll find it interesting regardless!
Graycen and Alison talk about cricket terrorists, magnets (how do they work?), blue teeth, and weird injections. After the break they interview Dr. Jorge Nicolas Hernandez Charpak, creator of Latino Labs, and his fellow host Andrea Marton Menendez.
No interview this week! Graycen and Alison just talk about some science stories they found interesting, including stories about space babies, fire ants, cheating robots, and James Watson, sigh.
Here's a blast from the past: the original, previously unaired pilot for Buffs Talk Science. This episode is about how science communicators could take a few leaves out of Donald Trump's book on communication, regardless of how you feel about his politics. We'll be back on schedule in two weeks-- until then, happy holidays!
Graycen and Alison talk about cute aggression, eavesdropping viruses, and plants on wheels! (Sorry, there are some strange transitions this week.) After the break they interview Ryan Harp about how the weather affects violent crime.
Graycen and Alison finally get to talk about the CRISPR babies! They also talk about the evolution of birth canals, so it's a baby-heavy episode. Then they interview Dr. Orit Peleg, a research at CU Boulder who studies how small animals make big decisions.
No interview this week - instead Graycen, Alison, and Amanda all share some Thanksgiving-themed stories that they enjoyed this year! They talk about turkey snoods, child-eating birds, sweet potatoes, and more. Happy Thanksgiving!
Graycen and Alison talk about a couple of stories from the week: Alison talks about how llamas could help us fight the flu, and Graycen talks about a stem cell scandal! Then they sit down with James Utterback to talk about nanocrystals, solar power, James 2, and Harry Potter.
Graycen and Alison share some stories they read this week, including stories about space, skeletons, unconventional reproduction, and falling in love. Then they interview cosmobiologist Graham Lau about life, the universe, and science communication.
Last week we promised a story about tits, and here it is. We had to cut it out of last week's episode for time, but we thought it would be a perfect bonus episode. Tune in for some news about bold birds falling fast.
Graycen and Alison discuss stories they read this week, including stories about dark personalities, jellyfish, boring people, and tits. Then they sit down with CU Boulder ecologist Pacifica Sommers to talk about her work in extreme environments, including her recent work in Antartica.
Graycen and Alison talk about cannibalism, bones, mosquitos, and more bones. Then they experiment a little with the Buffs Talk Science format and play a game with Max Levy and Michael Pilosov.
Graycen and Alison talk about some science stories they read this week, including stories about corners, FitBit data, and sperm. After the break, they interview CU Boulder chemist Jenny Berry about her work in Alaska studying ice.
Graycen and Alison talk about glamorous spiders, 'shroom microdosing, concrete batteries, and blooooood. Then they sit down for a very special interview with Joe Palca and Maddie Sofia from NPR.
We couldn't get all our stories into the last episode, so here's a very giggly story about bug vomit and an infuriating story about gender, doctors, and heart attack patients.
This week Graycen and Alison talk about roman roads and fancy foxes. They're joined after the break by Zac Holmes and Jeff Stehlin to talk about bees! They discuss bee democracy, choosing a queen, how you can help the bees survive, and more.
Graycen and Alison talk about leeches, sharks, imposter marijuana, and a geological controversy. Then they're joined by CU Boulder Professor Dr. Zoe Donaldson to talk about prairie voles and loooooooove.
Graycen and Alison accidentally chose three stories about creepy crawlies! We talk about spiders, butterflies, and kissing bugs! Then we break our bug streak and talk about the powerhouse of the cell. After the break, we welcome Tom Aunins and Dilara Batan on to talk about Dilara's paper on watching bacteria break into human cells.
This week, Graycen talks about the mysterious Tasmanian tigers and Alison talks about sewer robots. Then Grace Guryan comes on to talk about her work as a hydrologist: a water expert! She also talks about rocks, wells, and conservation.
Graycen and Alison talk about the marshmallow test, fairy circles, music, and bees. Then Max Levy comes on to talk about dengue virus and a recent paper from CU Boulder.
Graycen and Alison talk about cow farts and free will. Later, they're joined by Dr. Sam Boyd to discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Sam also talks about the science of preserving historic documents and how to prove that a document or artifact is forged!
Here's an outtake from Episode 3 just for you! There's some bumping and thumping in this bonus from the recording session, but it's a very interesting story about, um, nouns.
Graycen and Alison share some stories they read and enjoyed this week, including: deadly hippo poop! A soap-operatic biotechnology start-up! And a Wikipedia citation analysis! Next they talk to Izzy Aguiar about her work making math more human.
In this bonus episode, Graycen and Alison talk about how the alleged Golden State Killer was caught and some of the thorny issues around personal genomics.
Graycen and Alison talk about science stories that blew us away this week, including: a freshly discovered blue dye! The Gaia space probe's data dump! Weird moles! Next, Kelsie Anson comes on as a special guest to talk about the science in the movie Rampage.
Buffs Talk Science Episode 1: The First Pancake. Graycen and Alison talk about plastic eating bacteria, ocean currents, Ryan Zinke, and ostracod penises. Did you need a reminder that graduate students are mentally still in middle school? Well, here it is. They also talk to Zach Decker and Max Levy about a publication from CU Boulder about pollutants in personal care products. Join us in two weeks for episode two!