Sing for Science

Cain Culto: a plague, a pestilence (Psychiatry with Dr. Jack Drescher)

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Musician ⁠ ⁨@cainculto⁩ ⁠ and Columbia University clinical professor of psychiatry Dr. Jack Drescher join Sing for Science to examine the evidence against conversion therapy.

Cain discusses his Latin American and Appalachian roots, his journey from Christian rock to queer self-expression, and his experience with conversion therapy. Dr. Drescher explores psychiatry’s history of pathologizing homosexuality, the activism that helped change it, and the evidence against efforts to change sexual orientation. A conversation about faith, identity, and what happens when the promise of healing becomes a source of harm.

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Blu DeTiger: Shock! (Music, Labor and Gender with Clara Latham)

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 03:00:00 GMT

Bass virtuoso, DJ, and producer Blu DeTiger joins Dr. Clara Latham, music scholar at The New School, for a conversation about groove, gender, and the work behind making music look effortless. Taking Blu’s “SHOCK!” as a starting point, we explore her fluency in disco and funk, the coordination involved in DJing while playing bass, and the blurry line between music as work and music as play. Along the way, we consider why labor-saving technologies sometimes create more work, what makes a turntable an instrument rather than an appliance, and how women musicians challenge expectations about skill, sexuality, and who gets taken seriously.

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Kota The Friend: For Colored Boys (Black Aliveness with Kevin Quashie)

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:23:00 GMT

Brooklyn rapper, producer, and singer-songwriter Kota the Friend joins Brown University professor and author Dr. Kevin Quashie for a conversation about Black life, language, world-building, and the possibilities of imagining a Black world beyond narratives defined by violence.

Using Kota’s “For Colored Boys” alongside ideas from Quashie’s Black Aliveness, or A Poetics of Being, the conversation explores Black aliveness, Black pessimism, audience, self-love, conformity, spirituality, and the extraordinary power of language to create new ways of seeing and being.

Recorded live at Poster House NYC on September 2, 2026, in conjunction with its Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen exhibition.

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Jensen McRae: Massachusetts (Place Memory with Christine DeLucia)

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 03:30:00 GMT

How do the specific objects and places of our past shape our understanding of personal and collective history?

In this episode of Sing for Science, singer-songwriter ⁨Jensen McRae sits down with Williams College historian Dr. Christine DeLucia to explore the intersections of songwriting, material culture, and historical memory.

Starting with a deep dive into the specific imagery of Jensen’s song "Massachusetts"—specifically the lyric referencing a souvenir pilgrim ashtray—they examine how ordinary objects serve as powerful conduits for memory.

#SingForScience #JensenMcRae #ChristineDeLucia #massachusetts #songwriting #MaterialCulture #HistoricalMemory #WilliamsCollege #SciencePodcast #MusicAndHistory #PublicHistory #PodcastsOnYouTube

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Sean Ono Lennon: The Golden Egg of Empathy (AI Ethics with Anat Perry and Jason D’Cruz)

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 03:30:00 GMT

What happens when artificial intelligence is given a directive without a human conscience to constrain it?

Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter Sean Ono Lennon joins AI ethics researchers Dr. Jason D'Cruz and Dr. Anat Perry for a conversation inspired by The Great Parrot Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy, Sean's concept album and companion comic book co-created with Les Claypool.

Using Nick Bostrom’s famous "paperclip maximizer" thought experiment as a jumping-off point, the panel explores the alignment problem, the nature of theory of mind, and the fundamental tension between cold, mathematical optimization and human empathy. Together, they unpack whether true empathy requires a conscious, mortal experience of existing—and examine the risks of integrating persuasive, simulated empathy into courtrooms, therapy, and everyday human relationships.

This episode was produced in partnership with the Harvard Radcliffe Institute and recorded live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Brantley Gilbert: Sins of the Father (Faith & Science with Katharine Hayhoe)

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:24:00 GMT

Country star Brantley Gilbert joins us for a conversation about his song “Sins of the Father” with Texas Tech University Climate Scientist and Evangelical Christian, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe. We talk about the relationship between faith and science, how to have conversations with people you disagree with, the truth about what’s causing our planet to warm and so much more.

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Debbii Dawson: Everybody’s Missing Their Medullas (Psychophysics with Daw-An Wu)

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:22:00 GMT

How does the brain transform the physical world into the rich inner experience we call reality?

Singer-songwriter Debbii Dawson joins Caltech neuroscientist Dr. Daw-An Wu for a conversation inspired by her songs "Where Have All the Good Men Gone" and "Chemical Attraction."

Together they explore psychophysics, the science of perception, asking how illusion, consciousness, free will, love, and even spirituality emerge from the brain's interpretation of the world around us.

From medullas to panpsychism, this wide-ranging discussion examines the mysterious space where objective reality becomes subjective experience.

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Chaka Khan: Tell Me Something Good (Music as Medicine with Mei Rui)

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:30:00 GMT

Can music transform the brain and body?Recorded live at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, with 11-time Grammy Award winner Chaka Khan and MD Anderson neurosurgery assistant professor, concert pianist, and music medicine researcher Dr. Mei Rui for a conversation inspired by Rufus’s classic “Tell Me Something Good.” Together they explore the neuroscience of rhythm, music as medicine, Chaka’s early years in Chicago, the profound role music has played in connecting with her nonverbal nephew Tallon, and how emerging research may benefit neurodivergent communities.This episode was produced in partnership with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Chaka Khan Foundation, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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Special Highlight: Bryan Cranston and Alan Hart on "The Chemistry of Breaking Bad"

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:30:00 GMT

Recorded live at London’s Natural History Museum on November 24, 2025. Breaking Bad fanatics, have a fresh pair of trousers at the ready—Bryan Cranston delivers an unforgettable conversation packed with behind-the-scenes stories from his years playing Walter White. He shares how DEA agents taught him the fundamentals of meth production, what he learned shadowing a USC chemistry professor to prepare for the role, and the surprising science details the show actually got right. A Hollywood legend through and through, Cranston does not disappoint.Joining him is the eminent Alan Hart—mineralogist, science historian, and keeper of extraordinary knowledge about the material world. Hart breaks down the real science behind Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, the intricate chemistry of organic and inorganic crystal structures, and the remarkable history of how the Periodic Table came to be. Together, Cranston and Hart illuminate the scientific heart of Breaking Bad in a way fans have never heard before.

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Jena Malone: Set Your Sorrows Down (Polyamory Science with Amy Moors)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Actor and musician Jena Malone joins Sing For Science to discuss “Set Your Sorrows Down” from her album Flowers for Men, a deeply personal record exploring identity, desire, transformation, and non-monogamy. The song’s central question — “Who am I to become now?” — opens a conversation about inherited relationship scripts and what it means to “take the society out of you.”Joining Jena is Chapman University psychologist and Kinsey Institute Research Fellow Dr. Amy Moors, whose work examines consensual non-monogamy, polyamory, stigma, jealousy, compersion, and the relationship structures that exist outside conventional monogamy. Together they explore why non-monogamy remains so stigmatized despite being far more common than many people assume, how art can make hidden experiences visible, and why studying love scientifically can help dismantle shame.

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Rita Wilson: Sound of a Woman (Gender Studies with Ann Pelligrini)

Thu, 28 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Singer, songwriter, actress, and producer Rita Wilson joins Sing For Science to discuss her song “Sound of a Woman” alongside NYU performance studies scholar and psychoanalyst Ann Pellegrini. Together they explore what it means to “find one’s voice” later in life, how gender is performed and culturally shaped, and the tension between identity as something deeply felt yet socially constructed. Drawing from Rita’s reflections on feeling “muted” by propriety and expectation, the conversation moves through topics including femininity, performance, language, vulnerability, self-expression, and what it means to be heard — including a discussion of what Ann calls the “Carole King paradox:" the idea that something can feel profoundly natural while also being shaped by culture, performance, and expectation.

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Encore: Hank Azaria/Moe The Bartender: Flaming Moe's (Simpsons Neuroscience with Dr. Kevin Ochsner)

Thu, 14 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Join Simpsons favorite, Moe The Bartender and his human counterpart Hank Azaria for a lively conversation with Social Neuroscientist, Dr. Kevin Ochsner. We talk about the legendary “Flaming Moe’s” Simpsons episode from both Moe’s and Hank’s perspectives, how and why our brains are wired to thrive in social contexts like Moe’s Tavern, Hank’s experience recovering from alcoholism, the neural underpinnings of practicing acceptance and more! Recorded live at the Forum Theater/Columbia University on October 8, 2024.

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Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit (Praying Mantis Science with Jessica Ware)

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Australian songwriter Courtney Barnett joins entomologist Jessica Ware to explore the science and symbolism of the praying mantis. From ancient folklore to evolutionary behavior—including its infamous mating habits—they unpack what this strange, still creature is really doing… and why we can’t stop projecting meaning onto it.

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Debi Nova: Everything Can Become a Song

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Costa Rican star Debi Nova joins field biologist and Re:wild’s Mesoamerica Director Esteban Brenes-Mora for our first-ever Central American taping. Recorded in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, the conversation centers on Debi’s album Todo Puede Convertirse en Canción (“Everything Can Become a Song”), exploring the challenges and gifts of rewilding, what drives Costa Rica’s remarkable biodiversity, Debi’s impression of the Judas bird—the Cristofué (“it was Christ”)—the bathroom habits of tapirs, and what it means to find balance and coexistence between humans, animals, and the ecosystems we share.

Read the transcript of this episode:https://www.singforscience.org/transcripts/debi-nova-todo-puede-convertirse-en-cancinFor further reading and listening:
Improving Health and Well-Being Through Nature - W.H.O.https://www.who.int/europe/activities/improving-health-and-well-being-through-nature
Costa Rica’s Tapir Resurgence Sparks Hope for ‘Gardeners of the Forest’ - thegef.org
https://www.thegef.org/newsroom/feature-stories/costa-ricas-tapir-resurgence-sparks-hope-gardeners-forest
Debi Nova: Todo Puede Convertirse en Canción
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OUSPO2MSCouIXwisPnaMjCs_4Gl7Lhh
About the Guests:
Debi Nova
Singer, songwriter, dancer, and multi-instrumentalist from San Jose, Costa Rica. She's considered the most successful Costa Rican artist in history, and the most streamed Costa Rican artist on Spotify.
debinova.com
Esteban Brenes-Mora
Conservation biologist specializing in wildlife management, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable development across Mesoamerica.
https://www.rewild.org/team/esteban-brenes-mora

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Dropkick Murphys: Citizen I.C.E (Public Safety Science with Phillip Atiba Solomon)

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT

What turns neighbors into enemies? What makes cruelty feel permissible? And how does music push back? In this episode, Dropkick Murphys founder Ken Casey and Yale psychologist Phillip Atiba Solomon use the band’s new song “Citizen I.C.E.” to explore identity, policing, propaganda, and the psychology of dehumanization. It’s a sharp, urgent conversation about punk, power, and the systems that teach people who belong—and who don’t.

Read the full transcript of this episode: http://singforscience.org/transcripts/dropkick-murphys-citizen-ice-phillip-atiba-solomon-public-safety-scienceFor further reading and listening:
Dropkick Murphys - Citizen I.C.E. (feat. Haywire) (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSrDkRm7_78
Why Minnesota Was a Wake-Up Call by Phillip Atiba Solomon for Time Magazine https://time.com/7380603/minnesota-ice-wake-up-call/
To Protect the Next George Floyd, We Must Remove the Threat of Police Violence from Everyday Life by Phillip Atiba Solomon for Time Magazine
https://time.com/5956701/george-floyd-justice-police-reform/
The Root Cause of Violent Crime Is Not What We Think It Is by Phillip Atiba Solomon for New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/opinion/crime-policies-cities.html
Ken Casey: ‘I’m Not Going to Shut Up’ by Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/07/ken-casey-dropkick-murphys-donald-trump/682984/
Dropkick Murphys: 30 Years of Fighting Nazis, Now Taking on Trump | On Offense with Kris Goldsmith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVcWLObekRU
About the Guests:
Ken Casey
Founder and vocalist of Dropkick Murphys, known for blending punk rock with themes of working-class identity and social justice.
https://dropkickmurphys.com/
Phillip Atiba Solomon
Professor at Yale University and co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, focusing on data-driven approaches to public safety and equity.
https://policingequity.org/

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José González: Against the Dying of the Light (Enlightenment Values with Steven Pinker)

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Humanist Heavyweight Steven Pinker joins José González to unpack “Against the Dying of the Light,” a song inspired in part by Pinker’s book, Enlightenment Now. Together they explore Enlightenment values, human nature, progress, algorithms, anger, AI, and whether reason, science, and empathy can still help us push back against darkness.

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Encore: Cat Power: Cat Power Sings Dylan (Nostalgia Neuroscience with Hetvi Doshi)

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Chanteuse Chan Marshall, best known as the artist Cat Power talks about her recreation of the historic 1966 Bob Dylan concert album at the Royal Albert Hall with Cornell University neuroscientist and nostalgia expert, Hetvi Doshi. We cover the origins of nostalgia study, the growing body of scientific evidence that suggests nostalgia has health benefits and improves social cohesion with one another. We also talk about the dynamics of food nostalgia and Hetvi’s community nostalgia initiative. For more information on Cat Power’s tour and Hetvi’s work please visit catpowermusic.com, hetvidoshi.com and thecommunitynostalgiaproject.com.

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Miguel: Slow It Down (Time Perception with Jimena Canales)

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Grammy-winning artist Miguel joins science historian Jimena Canales for a live taping centered on his song “Nearsight [SID]” from CAOS. What begins as a conversation about a lyric — “slow it down for me” — opens into a wide-ranging exploration of time itself: how it feels to speed up as we age, how music can stretch or compress our experience of the present, and why certain moments seem impossible to hold onto. Drawing on her work on Einstein and Bergson's philosophy of time, Canales helps unpack the tension between measurable, physical time and lived, emotional time — while Miguel reflects on fatherhood, memory, and the urgency behind wanting to slow a fleeting moment. Taped live at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 14, 2026.

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rum.gold: Is it Something I Said (Attachment Psychology with Nim Tottenham

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Alt-R&B artist rum.gold joins host Matt Whyte with Dr. Nim Tottenham, Chair of Psychology at Columbia University, for a live taping centered on his song and video “Is It Something I Said.” What begins as a conversation about a music video portraying a mother and son living with anxiety, grief, and hoarding becomes a striking window into Dr. Tottenham’s research on how early caregiving and stress shape the developing brain — and how those early emotional environments can echo into adulthood as anxiety, attachment struggles, and dysregulation. Taped live at Ludlow House in NYC on January 27, 2026 as part of the On Air presents series.

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Lucius: Ice Cream (Multisensory Perception with Ladan Shams)

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Taped live at Japan House LA on January 10, 2026. Matt chats with Lucius front women Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig—and Dr. Ladan Shams, UCLA professor of psychology, bioengineering, and neuroscience, to explore the science behind the band’s song “Ice Cream.” Starting from the lyric “time melts away like ice cream in the sun,” the conversation moves between metaphor, memory, and the fleeting nature of love, and into the brain’s remarkable ability to blend sound, sight, taste, and touch into a single experience. From rubber hands to ventriloquists, pop art to perceptual pleasure, the episode reveals how our senses collaborate, compete, and sometimes fool us—while Lucius reflects on their own multisensory artistry, coordinated visuals, and the emotional power of metaphor in their music.

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Public Service Broadcasting: The Last Flight (Archeology with Richard Pettigrew)

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:00:00 GMT

A century-old vanishing act meets modern investigation in a conversation where art and archaeology follow the same pursuit. J. Willgoose, Esq.—founder of the British band Public Service Broadcasting—and archaeologist Dr. Rick Pettigrew, Executive Director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, go for a deep dive into one of the most enduring mysteries of the 20th century: Amelia Earhart’s final flight. Willgoose unpacks the research and craft behind The Last Flight, PSB’s album built from primary sources, historical texts, and period-accurate voice performances engineered to sound convincingly 1930s. Pettigrew brings the scientific side of the story, explaining why the Nikumaroro hypothesis has persisted for decades—and why a newly analyzed “Taraia object” in the island’s lagoon could represent the long-missing Lockheed Electra. Together they explore the tangled intersection of history, sound, celebrity, navigation, and evidence, from radio failures and line-of-position logic to artifacts found on the island and the ethics of doing archaeology with care and diplomacy.The conversation also looks ahead to Pettigrew’s planned 2026 expedition—what it will take to test the hypothesis on the ground (and underwater), and what it would mean to finally move from theory to proof.

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Encore: Sheila E: The Glamorous Life (Rhythm Neuroscience with Hugo Merchant)

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Queen of Percussion and Prince collaborator Sheila E talks about her 1984 hit, working with Prince, salsa music and learning from her legendary father with University of Mexico Neuroscientist, Dr. Hugo Merchant. Hugo shares fascinating findings about how the mechanisms in the brain process rhythm and help us keep a beat.

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Taboo Science: Necrophilia (with Dr. Victoria Sullivan & Dr. Jens Foell)

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Where does necrophilia come from? What makes people desecrate corpses? And do you have to be a serial killer to have a death fetish?Today’s guests are Dr. Victoria Hartmann, a clinical psychology researcher and executive director of the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, and neuroscientist and science communicator Dr. Jens Foell.

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Bryan Cranston and Alan Hart on "The Chemistry of Breaking Bad"

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:00:00 GMT

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Renée Fleming: O Mio Babbino Caro (Singing Science with Sean Hutchins)

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Recorded live at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, this episode features world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming and vocal-science researcher Dr. Sean Hutchins in a conversation that plays like part masterclass, part science session. Together they explore how the anatomy and neuroscience of singing shape everything from breath and resonance to pitch and vocal control. Fleming reflects on the physical and artistic realities of life as a singer, while Hutchins breaks down what’s happening in the brain and body when a voice truly connects.

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Raffi: The More We Get Together (Altruism Science with Jennifer Stellar)

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Recorded live at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto on October 31, 2025, this episode brings together beloved children’s musician and advocate Raffi and University of Toronto psychologist Dr. Jennifer Stellar for a conversation about how music helps shape our earliest experiences of empathy, gratitude, and wonder.

Raffi reflects on three songs spanning nearly three decades of his career—“The More We Get Together,” “Thanks a Lot,”and “Bananaphone”—and how they came to embody his philosophy of Child Honouring, a vision that places the well-being of children at the center of community and culture. Dr. Stellar, director of University of Toronto's HEAL Lab (Health, Emotions, and Altruism Laboratory), explains how these songs map onto what psychologists call self-transcendent emotions: feelings that expand our sense of self and deepen our connections with others.

Together, they explore why compassion tends to emerge in children around the ages of five to eight, how gratitude can encourage cooperation and trust, and how awe invites us to reimagine what is possible. They discuss the science of co-regulation, the role of music in developing social awareness, and why playful imagination—like pretending a banana is a phone—can support a child’s ability to see the world in new ways.

The episode ends with a joyful reflection on the enduring power of communal singing—reminding us that “the more we get together, the happier we’ll be,” not just as a lyric, but as a lifelong practice in belonging.

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Rosanne Cash: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Storytelling Psychology with Robyn Fivush)

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded live at Emory IDEAS Fest in Covington, GA on October 18, 2025, this episode brings together Rosanne Cash—four-time Grammy winner, songwriter, and Americana icon—and psychologist Dr. Robyn Fivush for a conversation about how the stories we tell across generations shape who we become. Rosanne shares the story of “The List”—the 100 essential country songs her father, Johnny Cash, gave her when she turned 18—and how a vivid dream involving Linda Ronstadt sparked her decision to leave Nashville and reinvent herself in midlife. Dr. Fivush unpacks these moments through the lens of psychology, explaining how researchers classify such turning points, or “crises,” and how Erik Erikson’s theories of identity and midlife development help make sense of them. Together, they explore the overlap between Joseph Campbell’s power of myth and Rosanne’s work as a storyteller, and Dr. Fivush discusses her landmark dinnertime study, which found that children who grow up hearing family stories at the table tend to become more resilient and grounded adults. The episode ends on a high note as Matt and Rosanne lead the audience in a joyful sing-along—reminding us that sometimes the best way to pass down a story is through song.

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Preview: Fela Kuti: Fear No Man

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Subscribe to Fela Kuti: Fear No Man.

In a world that’s on fire, what is the role of art? What can music actually…do?

Can a song save a life? Change a law? Topple a president? Get you killed?

In Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, Jad Abumrad—creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton’s America—tells the story of one of the great political awakenings in music: how a classically trained 'colonial boy’ traveled to America, in search of Africa, only to return to Nigeria and transform his sound into a battering ram against the state—creating a new musical language of resistance called Afrobeat.

For years, the world’s biggest stars made pilgrimages to Nigeria to experience Fela’s Shrine, the epicenter of his musical revolution. But when the mix of art and activism got too hot, the state pulled out its guns, and literally opened fire.

Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is an uncategorizable mix of oral history, musicology, deep dive journalism, and cutting edge sound design that takes listeners deep inside Fela’s life, music, and legacy.

Drawing from over 200 interviews with Fela Kuti’s family, friends, as well as scholars, activists, and luminaries like Burna Boy, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Santigold, and former President Barack Obama (just to name a few), Fela Kuti: Fear No Man journeys deep into the soul of Afrobeat to explore the transformative power of art and the role artists can play in this current moment of global unrest.

An Audible Original presented by Audible and Higher Ground. Produced by Western Sound and Talkhouse.

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Kacey Musgraves: Heart of the Woods (Mycology with Paul Stamets)

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded live in front of a sold out crowd at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on September 18, 2025, Kacey Musgraves and pioneering mycologist Paul Stamets dive deep into the biology, evolution, and mental health potential of psilocybin. From its ancient ritual roots to its emerging role in modern therapy, their conversation reveals how this once-taboo organism is transforming our understanding of consciousness, creativity, and healing. Along the way, they wander through unexpected terrain—spirituality, pandemics, AI, bees, dogs on mushrooms, and more—in a mind-expanding exploration of the heart of the woods.

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AJR’s Adam Met: Inertia (Climate Science with Alexis Abramson)

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:00:00 GMT

“Amplify” author and AJR member Adam Met talks about the playbook he wrote applying fan-building strategies to the climate movement. Adam drops silver linings aplenty in our chat with Alexis Abramson, Dean of the Columbia Climate School, the world’s first truly comprehensive university climate program. Among the silver linings: it only takes 3.9% of a population to demand and create change, tremendous strides are being made in local government toward climate change mitigation, and more. This episode was recorded live at Columbia University’s Forum Theater during NYC Climate Week on September 26, 2025. Full video of this episode is available on our website, singforscience.org.

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Laurie Anderson: O Superman (Nuclear Disarmament Science with Zia Mian)

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Laurie Anderson joins us live from NYC’s Poster House Museum in conversation with Dr. Zia Mian (Princeton physicist & nuclear policy expert). We explore her iconic 1982 hit “O Superman” and its album Big Science—how it anticipated many of the tensions of the nuclear age and still resonates powerfully in today’s disarmament debates. Together, they challenge the logic of deterrence, unpack how nuclear weapons work, and consider how networks—rather than traditional institutions—might better enact change. Also: the rifts within scientific communities, the role of “Big Science,” and more. Bonus content features producer and radio host Elia Einhorn joining to premiere Kronos Quartet’s Nobel Prize Committee commissioned rendition of “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” featuring Laurie, Willie Nelson and a host of others.

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Noah Cyrus: I Want My Loved Ones To Go With Me (Afterlife Science with Kim Penberthy)

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Singer-songwriter Noah Cyrus talks about her haunting new album inspired by a hymn written by her great-grandfather, and her deepest fear—not death itself, but being separated from her loved ones. She also opens up about her near-death experience and the profound losses that shaped her experience with love and grief. Joining her is Dr. Kim Penberthy of UVA’s Division of Perceptual Studies, whose research into near-death experiences and after-death communication offers a fascinating look at what may await us beyond life.

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(UNCUT) Jonathan Davis (Korn): Dead Bodies Everywhere (Mortuary Science with Mary Roach)

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 09:00:00 GMT

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!

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LABS: Neko Case and Rebecca McMackin on Ecological Horticulture

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded live at Boston’s Museum of Science on July 31, 2025.

Visionary singer-songwriter Neko Case joins ecological horticulturist and Brooklyn Bridge Park garden designer Rebecca McMackin for a wide-ranging conversation about land stewardship, biodiversity, and the joys of gardening. From Neko’s epic Vermont garden to Rebecca’s work creating pollinator-friendly urban habitats, the two share practical advice for beginning and urban gardeners alike, discuss the symbiosis between plants and wildlife, and explore how cultivating green spaces can nurture both ecosystems and the human spirit.

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Microscopes: Madison McFerrin on Baking Science

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Join acclaimed singer-songwriter and Tiny Desk phenom Madison McFerrin as she bakes chocolate chip cookies live and chats with host Matt Whyte in the first Microscopes episode of Sing For Science. Madison shares how baking and music serve as parallel creative outlets—both shaped by improvisation, intuition, and love. They dig into the science of baking, from emulsification and leavening to the Maillard reaction, while Madison reflects on the influence of her family, how ADHD plays a role in her process, and why adding flaky salt is always a must.

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Josh Ritter: Truth is a Dimension (Astrophysics with Avi Loeb)

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Taped Live in Boston as part of the 2025 WBUR Festival at City Space. Join celebrated American songwriter, Josh Ritter for a chat about the night sky, the dimensionality of truth, UAP, creativity and more with Harvard Astrophysicist, Dr. Avi Loeb. This episode also includes a live performance of Josh’s song "Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding)"

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(UNCUT) YUNGBLUD and Brad Schoenfeld on Fitness Science | LABS

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Join UK superstar and boxing enthusiast, YUNGBLUD for his chat with renowned fitness performance scientist, Dr. Brad Schoenfeld. We chat about the mechanics of boxing, how YUNGBLUD’s boxing practice has improved not just his strength and stamina as a performer but aided in treating his ADHD, how to sculpt your body systematically with resistance training, myths about weight lifting and more!

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LABS: YUNGBLUD and Brad Schoenfeld on Fitness Science

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:00:00 GMT

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Encore: LABS: David Byrne and Patrik Svensson on the Eel Question

Wed, 28 May 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live at the Museum of Science in Boston on May 8, 2024, musician polymath and Talking Heads co-founder David Byrne talks with The Book of Eels author, Patrik Svensson. Even in today’s age of advanced science, no one has ever seen eels mating or giving birth, and we still don’t understand what drives them — after living for decades in freshwater — to swim great distances back to the ocean at the end of their lives. Join us for an incredibly fascinating talk on biology, philosophy and more!

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Tommy Chong: Up In Smoke (Cannabis Science with Staci Gruber)

Wed, 07 May 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Taped Live in Los Angeles at Dynasty Typewriter with cultural icon and comedy legend, Tommy Chong alongside world-renowned cannabis researcher, Dr. Staci Gruber (McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School).Together, they do a deep dive on what science can tell us about cannabis use both recreational and clinical. Discover how cannabis is revolutionizing healthcare, its extraordinary biology, and its profound potential to treat disease. Don’t miss this enlightening and unforgettable episode!

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Jessie Reyez: Palo Santo (Smell Science with Pamela Dalton)

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Join Grammy-nominated Colombian-Canadian singer, Jessie Reyez for a chat about her hypnotic ode to “Palo Santo”. We talk about smudging, incense rituals in Colombia vs North America, crowd surfing accidents, how we smell, why smells produce such strong emotional responses, the DOD’s “Stink Bomb” and more!

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RÜFÜS DU SOL: INHALE/EXHALE (Breathwork Science with Jack Feldman)

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Join RÜFÜS DU SOL lead singer Tyrone Lindqvist for a deep dive on the breathing tools he and his band use to sustain their demanding live performances and on the experience that inspired their latest album. Also joining us is perhaps the best known expert on the subject from the science world, UCLA neurologist Dr. Jack Feldman. We cover the psychedelic experience that Wim Hoff breathing technique can produce, how oxygen gets from the air we breathe to the bloodstream, cold plunges, the virtues of ginger shots over whiskey shots and much, much more!

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LABS: BLOND:ISH and Kara Wiggin on Plastic and Circularity

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Join massive Canadian DJ BLOND:ISH for a conversation about seeking a life of balance, her philosophy on the exchange of energy and her non-profit “Bye Bye Plastic” which she started to help eradicate single use plastics from all aspects of the music industry. Also joining us is Dr. Kara Wiggin, a plastics researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. Kara is an ecotoxicologist and as such researches the impacts micro plastic ocean pollution can have on human health. Listen to the end for when arithmetic and numerology go head to head.

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Encore: Duran Duran: Save a Prayer (Particle Physics with Brian Cox)

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and Particle Physicist Brian Cox discuss time travel, the intersection of politics and science and more!

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Encore: Blondie: Rapture (Climate Science with Michael Mann)

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT

This episode originally aired on Feb 2, 2022.

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.

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LABS: Christine and the Queens and Matteo Cantiello on Plasma Physics

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Star stuff! And lots of it. In this episode we chat with Rahim Redcar from Christine and the Queens and physicist, Matteo Cantiello about plasma - the most abundant form of matter in our universe: what is it, what’s it do and where is it found. We also cover extraterrestrial intelligence, the origins of life on earth, panspermia, Spirituality with a capital “S” and more.

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Hank Azaria/Moe The Bartender: Flaming Moe's (Simpsons Neuroscience with Dr. Kevin Ochsner)

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 13:18:00 GMT

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LABS: Patricia Cornwell and Dr. Avi Loeb on Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 10:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live at the Museum of Science in Boston on October 8, 2024 as part of the Reno Family Foundation Symposium Series. #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Patricia Cornwell and Harvard astrophysicist Dr. Avi Loeb discuss the uncanny resemblance between Dr. Loeb and the primary murder victim in Patricia’s latest book “Identity Unknown”, the likelihood of alien life beyond our solar system, the connections between science research and detective work, playing nice with AI and more.

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SOFI TUKKER: Bread (Bread Science with Dr. Maria Ortiz)

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live at the Emory Ideas Fest at Emory University’s Oxford Campus on September 22, 2024. Global dance music stars SOFI TUKKER celebrate the release of their bread themed album Bread with a conversation about the science that makes bread so delicious and universal. Joining us is food scientist Dr. Maria Ortiz who runs the popular Instagram page “All You Knead Is Bread”. We talk bread chemistry, bread culture, pandemic sourdough, carb free bread, the redeeming qualities of white flour and then some! Dr. Maria Ortiz is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Functional Food Lab of North Carolina A&T State University, specializing in the development of healthy, high-fiber bakery products.

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LABS: Questlove and Dr. Susan Engel on Nurturing Ideas in Children

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Live at WSA in New York City on September 24, 2024. Academy Award‒winning filmmaker, drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson talks with Williams College pioneering developmental psychologist, Dr. Susan Engel about his debut children’s picture book The Idea in You. The book was written to inspire kids to find and follow their own creative voice. We talk about Questlove’s childhood, his creative roadblocks, his current relationship to supporting his inner child, Susan’s pioneering work researching curiosity in children and what we know about how children come up with ideas. This podcast was produced in collaboration with Water Street Projects, NEW INC and the New Museum.

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Jermaine Dupri: Welcome To Atlanta (Cultural Anthropology with Joycelyn Wilson)

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live at the Emory Ideas Fest at Emory University’s Oxford Campus on September 20, 2024. Join Atlanta Music Icon Jermaine Dupri and Georgia Tech ethnographer Dr. Joycelyn Wilson for a conversation about how Atlanta grew to become a cultural phenomenon. We go into detail about Jermaine’s start in the music business through school talent shows, Joycelyn’s theory about how one superintendent during the 1970s-80s helped elevate Atlanta’s post-civil rights creative class, cultural appropriation, Drake and more.

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LABS: Peggy Seeger and Prof. Tim Coulson on Eco-Feminism

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford, England on August 8th, 2024. Folk icon Peggy Seeger talks with Oxford University Biology Professor Tim Coulson about her experience as feminist, ecologist, activist, mother, musician, Seeger and more. Eco Feminism can be defined as a branch of feminism and political ecology that explores the connections between women and nature. The theory argues that the oppression of women and the degradation of our natural environment are linked and caused by patriarchal, capitalist systems. Further, ecofeminist theory calls for an egalitarian, collaborative society in which there is no one dominant group. Professor Coulson provides compelling context from scholarship to further amplify these ideas including description of pre-patriarchal societies, the importance of educating women in developing countries and more.

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Encore: Living Colour: Cult of Personality (Psychology of Fascism with Ruth Ben-Ghiat)

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 09:00:00 GMT

This episode originally aired on 11/18/2020.

In this encore episode, Vernon Reid and Corey Glover from the band Living Colour join us for a discussion with NYU fascism and propaganda professor, Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, about the fascism playbook, how authoritarian regimes end, fascism and the illusion of authenticity, modern examples like Trump, and Billy Joel’s smashed piano.

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LABS: Denzel Curry and Dr. Mimi Ito on Anime culture

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live at the Anime Station store in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles on July 13, 2024, rapper Denzel Curry talks with UC Irvine cultural anthropologist Dr. Mimi Ito about his relationship to anime and anime culture in Japan and abroad. We discuss Mimi’s research that tracked how manga and anime grew from just a Japanese export to a global phenomenon. Fascinatingly, anime spread through the promotion of fan groups of American ex-pats that would trade anime and create subtitles for the American audience. After decades of promo provided by this “fan subbing” and AMV (anime music video) conventions, the media industry caught on and now distributes anime across multiple platforms. Denzel does a deep dive into his favorite anime programs and traces how he was first introduced as a child in Florida and was later inspired to incorporate it into his music and fashion. Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel!

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Jack Antonoff: The Waiter (Theoretical Physics and Time Perception with David Kaiser)

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live inside the Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston on June 10, 2024. Join Bleachers frontman and 11-time Grammy Winning super-producer Jack Antonoff for a discussion about his track “The Waiter” on which he muses about the notion that time could stop hinting at the subjectivity of time perception. On hand to talk about the implications of time from a theoretical physicist’s perspective is MIT professor Dr. David Kaiser. We talk relativity, quantum mechanics, string theory, mortality, Donald Rumsfeld and more!

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Encore: Sia: Elastic Heart (Psychology/Attachment Theory with Alexandra Katehakis)

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Pop icon SIA and psychotherapist, Dr. Alexandra Katehakis discuss attachment theory, infant brain development and sex addiction.

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LABS: David Byrne and Patrik Svensson on the Eel Question

Wed, 15 May 2024 09:00:00 GMT

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Laraaji: Sun Piano/Moon Piano (Eclipse Science with Nikole Lewis)

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded Live at the Totality 2024 Festival in Hannibal, NY following the Total Solar Eclipse and Laraaji’s performance of his Sun Piano/Moon Piano albums. Ambient/New Age music legend Laraaji talks about how he represents the moon’s energy in 12 musical notes, his time at Howard University in the 1960s, his experience observing the Total Solar Eclipse. Cornell University Astronomer Dr. Nikole Lewis talks about the necessary conditions to allow for a Total Solar Eclipse, extraterrestrial life, Carl Sagan and more. This event was supported by the Simons Foundation and was part of its In The Path of Totality Initiative.

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LABS: José González and Dr. Brian Cox on Secular Humanism

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Swedish Argentine folk singer José Gonzalez returns to the show along with our only other repeat guest, physicist Dr. Brian Cox of BBC and CERN fame. The two talk about secular humanism, atheism, finding meaning, black holes, Carl Sagan and more!

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Sid Sriram: Blue Spaces (Color Neuroscience with Bevil Conway)

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Recorded live at 2024 On Air Fest in Brooklyn, NY: Indian Carnatic superstar Sid Sriram talks about his song “Blue Spaces” with visual neuroscientist/color expert, Dr. Bevil Conway. We talk about Sid’s personal and cultural associations with color, cultural appropriation, the brain’s visual system, “the dress” from 2015 which some saw as blue and black and others as white and gold, the subjectivity and illusory nature of color perception and more!

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LABS: Bethany Cosentino and Lisa Marchiano on Jungian Analysis

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 10:00:00 GMT

Best Coast lead singer and Jungian analysand, Bethany Cosentino and “This Jungian Life Podcast" host Lisa Marchiano do a deep dive on you guessed it…Jungian Analysis! We cover dream analysis, the unconscious, creativity, archetypes, personae and then some!

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Spyro Gyra: Catching The Sun (Harmful Algal Blooms with Holly Waterfield)

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT

Spyro Gyra co-founder Jeremy Wall talks about the height of the jazz fusion era, composing and about about the ins and outs of lake formation, spirogyra algae, harmful algal blooms or HABS and more with lake ecologist, Holly Waterfield. This episode was co-produced with the AJ Reid Science Discovery Center at SUNY Oneonta where it was taped in front of a live audience on December 6, 2023.

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Sheila E: The Glamorous Life (Rhythm Neuroscience with Hugo Merchant)

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT

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Encore: MGMT: A Family of Trees (Forest Ecology with Suzanne Simard)

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:00:00 GMT

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:

- how trees communicate with one another

- the folly of industrialized logging

- how trees help other trees

- Native American ancestral DNA in cedar

- where to buy mushrooms in Connecticut

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Cat Power: Cat Power Sings Dylan (Nostalgia Neuroscience with Hetvi Doshi)

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:00:00 GMT

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Encore: Mac DeMarco: Chamber of Reflection (Acoustics with Russ Berger)

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:00:00 GMT

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

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Ice Nine Kills: Hip To Be Scared (Horror Movie Science with Sarah Rose Cavanagh)

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 09:01:00 GMT

Recorded live at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, MA on 9/18/23: Heavy Metal frontman and horror movie expert Spencer Charnas chats with psychologist Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh about his favorite horror movies, why we like to be scared, the difference between fictional and real violence, monster theory, recreational fear lab research and more.

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Ice Nine Kills (Audience Q&A MIT Museum Taping)

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Spencer and Sarah field questions aplenty from the sold out crowd at the MIT Museum on 9/18/23. Lots of territory covered including favorite on-screen monsters, what we fear most, scary music, and how to take a class with Sarah in Boston.

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Eartheater: Mitosis (Cell Biology with Elizabeth Hénaff)

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Multidisciplinary artist Eartheater talks with NYU computational biologist and artist, Dr. Elizabeth Hénaff about cell division, snails, horseshit, gut biome health, artist residencies and more at this very special live event!

This episode was recorded at DEMO2023, presented by NEW INC and the New Museum, June 2023

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311: All Mixed Up (Building Utopia with Rutger Bregman)

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 09:00:00 GMT

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.

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Ted Hearne: Farming (Agriculture Science with Dr. Sarah Taber)

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

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!

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Ringo Starr: Send Love, Spread Peace (Meditation Science with Bob Roth)

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

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.

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Joan As Police Woman: The Magic (The Science of Transcendence with Maria Popova)

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:00:00 GMT

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.

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Dermot Kennedy: See Yourself in My Eyes (Science of Street Performance with Psychologist Dr. Robbie Ho)

Wed, 24 May 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Irish balladeer and arena headliner, Dermot Kennedy talks about his experience coming up as a busker in Dublin with Hong Kong psychologist, Dr. Robbie Ho whose research seeks to quantify the effect “busking” has on the audience’s perception of a public space.

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Onuka (Ukraine): Vidlik (Radiobiology with Chernobyl researcher Olena Pareniuk)

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Special Chernobyl anniversary episode with Nata Zhyzhchenko of the Ukrainian band, Onuka and Chernobyl radiobiologist, Olena Pareniuk. Both of today's guests joined us from Kyiv and have been in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. We talk about what life is like during wartime for a professional musician and a scientist, the horsehair construction of a Ukrainian folk instrument that stinks of beer and cheese, studying radioactivity in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukrainian resilience and so much more! This episode was co-produced by Inscience, a nonprofit organization that promotes science and evidence-based medicine in Ukraine.

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Best of Season 2 (Part 1)

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Join SFS host, Matt Whyte and SFS social media manager, Bailey Constas for a curated peak at some of Season Two's Best Moments! Featuring SIA with psychotherapist, Dr. Alexandra Katehakis, Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe with social psychologist, Dr. Tony Lemieux, Jose González with epidemiologist, Dr. Mike Osterholm, Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein with climatologist, Dr. Michael Mann, and Majid Jordan with aquanaut, Fabien Cousteau.

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Best of Season 1 (Part 2)

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:00:00 GMT

Join SFS host, Matt Whyte and SFS social media manager, Bailey Constas for another trip down memory lane with some of Season One’s Best Moments! Featuring Living Colour and fascism expert, Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Aly & AJ and neuroscientist, Dr. Joseph LeDoux, Aluna and conflict resolution expert, Priya Parker and DMC with folklore expert, Dr. Jennifer Schacker.

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Best of Season 1 (Part 1)

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 10:00:00 GMT

Join SFS host, Matt Whyte and SFS social media manager, Bailey Constas for a trip down memory lane with some of Season One’s Best Moments! Featuring MGMT & forest ecologist, Dr Suzanne Simard, Norah Jones and science journalist, Shawn Otto, Connie Britton and rivers expert, Paul Gallay, Renée Fleming and Parkinson’s expert Dr. Bin Hu, Mac Demarco and acoustician Russ Berger.

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Ani DiFranco: The Atom (Quantum Physics with Melissa Franklin)

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Today’s episode was hosted by the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts and recorded in front of a live audience as part of an ongoing collaboration with Sing For Science. We discuss the Manhattan Project, the ethical implications of nuclear energy, climate change, quantum entanglement, quantum computing and more!

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Richard Reed Parry & Susie Ibarra: Overtone Heartbeats (Cardiology with Sandeep Jauhar)

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 10:00:00 GMT

This episode was recorded live at Public Records in Brooklyn, NY as part of the Offair event series. Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry and percussionist/composer Susie Ibarra talk about their album “Heart and Breath” with cardiologist and bestselling author, Dr. Sandeep Jauhar. Their album is set entirely to the rhythm of their own heartbeats and breath cycles so we dive deep on what’s at work with Dr. Jauhar. We cover the relationship between heart and lungs, the development of open heart surgery and more!

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Rhiannon Giddens: At the Purchaser's Option (Ethnomusicology with Portia Maultsby)

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Grammy Award and Macarthur Fellowship winning artist Rhiannon Giddens talks about her collection of slave narratives, “Freedom Highways,” the origins of the banjo in Africa and the connection between African and African American music with trailblazing ethnomusicologist, Dr. Portia Maultsby.

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Jonathan Davis (Korn): Dead Bodies Everywhere (Mortuary Science with Mary Roach)

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 10:00:00 GMT

WARNING: This episode contains content related to mortuary science that some listeners may find disturbing.

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Rivers Cuomo (Weezer): Come Undone (Computer Programming with Guido Van Rossum)

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 10:00:00 GMT

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!

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Alec Benjamin: Dopamine Addict (Addiction Science with Anne Lembke)

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 10:00:00 GMT

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!

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Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse): The Best Room (Mycology with Paul Stamets)

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 10:00:00 GMT

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.

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Margo Price: Fight to Make It (Abortion Science with Monica Mclemore)

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 09:00:00 GMT

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.

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Nick Kroll: Changes (Puberty Science with Emily Breidbart)

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 09:00:00 GMT

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!

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mxmtoon: Florida (Ethnobotany/Plant Medicine with Cassandra Quave)

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 09:00:00 GMT

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.

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Arlo Guthrie: Alice’s Restaurant (Nutritional Anthropology with Ellen Messer)

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 09:00:00 GMT

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.

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Jeff Tweedy (Wilco): Less Than You Think (Consciousness/Psychology with Shimon Edelman)

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 09:00:00 GMT

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.

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Kilo Kish: New Tricks (Neuroplasticity with Wendy Suzuki)

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 10:00:00 GMT

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!

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Pat Metheny: Bright Size Life (Neuroscience of Improvisation with Charles Limb)

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 09:00:00 GMT

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!

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Davoné Tines: The Black Clown (Voter Suppression/Data Science with Todd Hendricks)

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 10:00:00 GMT

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.

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Ruth B: Spaceship (Rocket Science with Christina Hernandez)

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Canadian pop star Ruth B and NASA engineer Christina Hernandez talk rocket science, space travel and life on Mars.

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Portugal. The Man: Feel It Still (Indigenous Data Science with Desi Small-Rodriguez)

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 10:00:00 GMT

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.

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Duran Duran: Save a Prayer (Particle Physics with Brian Cox)

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 12:00:00 GMT

Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and Particle Physicist Brian Cox discuss time travel, the intersection of politics and science and more!

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Majid Jordan: Waves of Blue (Marine Exploration with Fabian Cousteau)

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 12:00:00 GMT

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.

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Blondie: Rapture (Climate Science with Michael Mann)

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 12:00:00 GMT

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José González: El Invento (Epidemiology/Covid 19 with Michael Osterholm)

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 12:00:00 GMT

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.

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Lamb of God: Checkmate (Social Psychology/Intergroup Conflict with Tony Lemieux)

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 13:00:00 GMT

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!

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Sia: Elastic Heart (Psychology/Attachment Theory with Alexandra Katehakis)

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:00:00 GMT

Pop icon SIA and psychotherapist, Dr. Alexandra Katehakis discuss attachment theory, infant brain development and sex addiction.

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Run DMC: Peter Piper (Folklore of Nursery Rhymes with Jennifer Schacker)

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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

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Aly & AJ: Attack of Panic (Neuroscience/Anxiety with Joseph LeDoux)

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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

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AlunaGeorge: Together (Conflict Resolution with Priya Parker)

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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

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Living Colour: Cult of Personality (Psychology of Fascism with Ruth Ben-Ghiat)

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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

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Mac DeMarco: Chamber of Reflection (Acoustics with Russ Berger)

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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

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Renée Fleming: Ave Maria (Neuroscience/Parkinson’s Research with Bin Hu)

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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

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Connie Britton: Rivers Between Us (River Conservation with Paul Gallay)

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

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

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Norah Jones: Don’t Know Why (Scientific Inquiry with Shawn Otto)

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

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

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MGMT: A Family of Trees (Forest Ecology with Suzanne Simard)

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

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:

- how trees communicate with one another

- the folly of industrialized logging

- how trees help other trees

- Native American ancestral DNA in cedar

- where to buy mushrooms in Connecticut

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Coming Soon: Sing for Science

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 15:11:00 GMT

"Sing for Science" trailer. Episodes released weekly starting October 14th.

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