Periodic Round Table
Periodic Round Table
Brittany Bonnett and Joel Serrano
A podcast by two STEM graduate students that brings sometimes incomprehensible science into an easy-to-digest package and combats misconceptions plaguing our current economic, political, and social landscape.
S3E6: Glitch in the Matrix
Have you ever experienced something so strange that you were convinced you were dreaming, crazy, or even living in a simulation? Did you think Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s? Do you think that we all died in a cataclysm and our consciousness transferred to an alternate dimension? This is the episode for you! We discuss the science behind the weird "glitches in the matrix" that can cause us to question our reality, as well as discuss some real experiments that show us how weird reality really is.
Oct 28, 2020
28 min
S3E5: Who Is the True Monster?
Monsters are a part of every culture in the world, but how can we link them to discoveries in science, and how do they evolve based on these discoveries? We talk about this, as well as play a monster game, in today's episode.
Oct 20, 2020
24 min
S3E4: Give Up the Ghost
Ghosts are a supernatural phenomenon that has captured the imagination -- and fear -- of people for millennia. But are there scientific explanations for the creepy, shadowy figures that plague our peripheral vision? Continuing our series of spooky episodes, we talk about the science behind what we can interpret as ghosts!
Oct 10, 2020
19 min
S3E3: All We Want To Do Is Eat Your Brains
We kick off our spooky science series starting with everyone's favorite flesh-eating ghouls, zombies! Did you know that there are lots of real examples in science that relate to these festering fiends? We talk about zombie-like cases including disease, mental illness, and parasites.
Sep 25, 2020
28 min
S3E2: Tick Tock, On The Clock
We are currently 100 seconds from midnight in 2020, but what exactly does that mean? In this episode, we talk about the Doomsday Clock, invented by scientists during the height of the nuclear arms race. How close is humanity to wiping itself out? How much time do we have left? Have we become death, destroyer of worlds? So much doom!
Sep 20, 2020
15 min
S3E1: Boom Goes the Dino-mite
Dinosaurs fascinated all of us as children, but did you know how many connections are found between these giant ancient lizards and creatures of lore and mythology? Join us as we discuss our fine, ferocious feathered friends and their links to thunderbirds, griffins, and dragons!
Sep 12, 2020
28 min
S2E12: Don't Fear the Reaper
We sit down with Trevor Motley to discuss organ and tissue recovery (or is it harvesting? Farming? Mining?), how tissues are recovered, and the organ donation process. We also discuss some common myths about being an organ donor. Neither of us woke up in a bathtub full of ice with no kidneys following recording, so we'll call it a win!
Jul 24, 2020
25 min
S2E11: I Hate You, Don't Leave Me
We finish up our two-parter on personality disorders by discussing Cluster B, such as narcissistic and borderline personality disorders, and Cluster C, such as dependent personality disorder. Joel also discovers a new type, known as puppy personality disorder. It's a real thing, and we're real scientists.
Jul 17, 2020
43 min
S2E10: The Cult of Personality
In the first of our two-part series on personality disorders, we discuss the differences between mood, psychotic, and personality disorders, the clusters of personality disorders, and also go over Cluster A types.
Jul 10, 2020
24 min
S2E9: Do It Like They Do On The Discovery Channel
Reproduction: a favorite pastime for many creatures. We talk about the various forms of reproduction, including self-love (aka asexual reproduction), the crazy world of animal sexual behaviors, and some interesting mating rituals.
Jul 3, 2020
41 min
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