Science Genius Girls: The Podcast

SGG Episode 14: The ew ew ew ew ew episode

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 22:15:00 -0700

Episode 14: Fossilized worm dung, creepy crawly cyborg insects, and the bubonic plague

Episode 14: it's extra-disgusting, for your listening pleasure.

Susanne will post the links tomorrow.

This is the last episode from the SC. Susanne's moving to Montana next week. But never fear: we've got a plan, so stick with us. They don't call us the Science GENIUS Girls for nothing, you know!

Send us mail at sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com!

SGG Episode 13: An Easter Basket of Science Goodies

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 22:10:00 -0700

SGG Episode 13: Angry bluebirds, alien telescopes, fake pregnant women, and hot worms

Happy Easter from the Science Genius Girls! Listen up for some big news from Susanne.

Here's what the Easter bunny has brought you today:
1. Aggressive bluebirds and evolution!
2. Where oh where are the aliens?
3. Worms: feelin' hot hot hot!
4. Meet the pregnant robot!

Disclaimer: Susanne and Aditi are not responsible for certain nonsensical statements made after 7 p.m. on Sunday night.

Episode 12: It was lost, but now it's found

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Thu, 6 Apr 2006 15:48:00 -0700

SGG Episode 12: Tipsy tulips, rediscovering Uranus, drill bits, and Biblical miracles

Okay, we didn't find the episode we lost. But we did make a new one, and it's even better. Take a listen and get the answers to these titillating questions:

1. Did Fred Flintstone's friends ever go to the dentist?
2. What ancient fish could swim and walk?
3. What's that blue ring around Uranus?
4. Did Jesus really take a stroll on the Sea of Galilee?
5. What happens when you whiskey a tulip?

Thanks for listening! E-mail us at sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com.

Episode 12: It's so gone

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Mon, 3 Apr 2006 22:05:00 -0700

Dear listeners,
We recorded episode 12 tonight...and then the computer freaked out and shut down. We pressed "save," but apparently it didn't listen. So we are very sorry to say that you'll have to wait until Thursday for our next one. Three more days. You can do it.

Susanne and Aditi

SGG Episode 11: Susanne Flies Solo (Will She Crash and Burn?)

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 17:24:00 -0800

SGG Episode 11: Susanne's all by her lonesome with letters from Aditi, tortoise obits, and cool science Web sites

Susanne's recording SGG on her own this week. But never fear. Aditi's sent her beloved listeners a very special letter from her ultra-secret spring break location. Don't miss it.

Be sure to tune in next week, too, when we feature our first SCIENCE GENIUS LISTENER. Australian scientist Daniel - aka "Lord of the Lizards" - will be on the show to talk about his research on Jacky Dragons!

Bits n' pieces of news:
1. Tortoise obituary :(
2. Solar eclipse on Wednesday
3. Rocket flop
4. Engine success
5. Misguided mice?

Cool science Web sites! Get involved!
1. LiveScience: Awesome site for brief but interesting science stories.
2. Globe at Night: Help scientists conduct research on light pollution until March 29.
3. Go on, find an alien.
4. Geological time machine!
5. Find out how many ants live in YOUR area.

Also check out Lip Gloss and Laptops: See the site, listen to the podcast!

Finally, tell us about YOUR research, teaching, etc. We want to know what our Science Genius Listeners are doing. Address: sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com. And join the SGG's Frappr community!

SGG Episode 10: Techies of the World Unite

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 22:10:00 -0800

SGG Episode 10: Nerd museums, light pollution, young geniuses, and (how many???) endangered species

It's Sunday afternoon, and Susanne and Aditi have just returned from the nerd paradise known as the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation. They can't help but rave about silicon microchips, clean lab bunny suits, head scans, real aerogel, and all the other cool stuff they saw.

Then stick around to find out 1. why the world's millions of plant and animal species have U.N.ers so befuddled; 2. why not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; and 3. why the San Francisco Chronicle is so impressed by one brilliant young grad student.

Finally, the SG Girls want your help/stories. Listen to the show to learn more!

E-mail us at sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com! We'd love to hear from you.

Extra, extra! New, improved SGG...

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 14:26:00 -0800

The SGGs have finally figured out how to reduce their download times! Episode 9 is now 13 MB, not 40 MB (or whatever it was previously).

Special thanks to our computer guru friend David who e-mailed us with some excellent tips/advice on how to change the bitrate using Garageband.

SGG Episode 9: Join us on a Monday night ramble

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 21:44:00 -0800

Episode 9: In which the SGGs discuss moon geysers, brain matters, and manufactured weather

Question: If Aditi and Susanne were trapped in a space shuttle on the way to Saturn's icy satellite Enceladus with nothing but a container of Tang, some freeze-dried ice cream, a teacup chihuahua, a snake, and a hampster, what would happen? Take a listen and find out.

More importantly, get edumacated about "science" movies, rain making, how to un-blind a mouse, and the hunt for extraterrestrial life.

The file's a bit large. We recommend downloading with Quicktime.

Thanks for listening! E-mail us at sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com!

SGG Episode 8: Pre-Oscar Science Extravaganza!

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 5 Mar 2006 21:40:00 -0800

SGG Episode 8: Surprise organs, sunken ships, space agency woes, and stinky gasoline

Half an hour before the 2006 Academy Awards get underway, Aditi and Susanne express their undying love for Oscar host John Stewart. Then it's business as usual. Don't miss an exciting expose on the two fascinating scientists they interviewed last week. Stay tuned as Aditi reveals an anatomical surprise found in laboratory mice, and ponders the secrets hidden in a sunken Swedish ship. Listen with interest as Susanne analyzes NASA's budget situation and considers opening her own cow poo refinery.

Articles covered this week:

1) Surprise organ discovered in mice
2) Scientists blast NASA budget cuts
3) Medieval ship found in Stockholm
4) Scientists extract gasoline from cattle dung

And check out our beloved LAW SCHOOL PODCAST GUYS! It's the law, folks. Confused about torts and barristers? The LSPGs can sort you out.

By the way, we do realize our sound files are quite large. So here's a shoutout to all you computer gurus: could you tell us how to fix that? We use Garageband. Help a Girl out.

Thanks for listening! Send fan mail to sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com.

Listener of the Week and News Stories

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 23:55:00 -0800

Chuck the Cartoonist sent us the following picture for Valentine's Day:

Thanks, Chuck! You're awesome. As a prize, you get to read THIS.

Also: we're going to start posting the news stories we talk about in our podcast. Here goes:

1) Scores of Fish Beach Themselves in N.C.
2) Rocket Science May Hold Key to Surfing's Future
3) Science Fair Goes Under Microscope
4) Study: Dolphins Not So Intelligent on Land

Episode 7: Sleep-Deprived Science

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 23:08:00 -0800

SGG Episode 7: Nuclear surfboards, science fair insanity, beach-bound fish, and clueless dolphins

Hello, Roxy the Cat here. Susanne and Aditi would write this themselves, but they've overextended their brains and have forgotten how to write cohesive sentences. That's what happens when you're burnt out on school, I suppose. So I'm taking over.

Ummm...let's see...Susanne gave me a list before she passed out amidst a pile of papers. Something about whether science fairs are worthwhile...something else about a nuclear weapons guy making surfboards...okay...Oh. Now here's a worthwhile nugget. Fish piled up on the beach, just waiting for a frisky feline like me to move in and snap 'em up. Nice. Ooooh. And dolphins, too. They're bigger, but I'm a smart gal. I could catch one if I tried hard enough.

What's that grating, foghorn-like noise?...What the...oh. It's Susanne. She's snoring. Stupid graduate student human.

Someone get me out of here. Or at least send some catnip.

Love, Roxy the Cat

Episode 6: SG Girls Take Over St. Louis

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 16:09:00 -0800

Episode 6: Live (well, not exactly) from the Midwest!

Aditi and Susanne give a brief, sleepy overview of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) meeting in St. Louis, MO. Get the scoop on why Las Vegas might have been a better destination, the latest on nanoparticle toxicity, how to extract blood cells from a 62-million-year old dino fossil, and which cute prime time TV stars showed up at the convention.

Also...if anyone out there knows how we can reduce our bit rate using Garageband, PLEASE let us know. Our download time is just too slow. We are science geniuses, but we are not computer geniuses!

E-mail us at sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com!

Episode 5: Like, totally awesome!

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 10:43:00 -0800

SGG episode 5: Self-cleaning toilets, mythbuster madness, and discoveries galore!

Highlights from this wonderful excellent brilliant superb episode:
-A call for Valentine's greetings!
-Mythbusters! Check out our discussion on contagious yawning and planes taking off from treadmills!
-How sunlight + nanotechnology = a gleaming powder room!
-Mummies! Dinosaurs! Ancient manuscripts hidden in quaint British cupboards!

It's fantabulous, folks. Download it now!

Feel free to e-mail us with comments and suggestions at sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com. We love hearing from you. Just keep it clean, mmm-kay?

*The conveyor belt story came from kottke.org.

*Check out the Law School Podcast guys!

Episode 4: Live from the SC!!!

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:37:00 -0800

Episode 4: Monster guns, Alaskan manifestos, and teched-out pigeons

Inquiring minds apparently want to know: "What is this science writing thing you speak of?" Susanne and Aditi tell all (well, some). Then they examine how one suburban nuclear facility is protecting itself from unidentified enemies, what some Alaskans do when invasive plant species start to get to them, and why pigeons are taking backpack-chic to a whole new level.

Next, it's on to the Q&A game. Get the scoop on the SGG's pet science peeves, and researchers they admire.

We love e-mails! Send comments, suggestions, and praise to sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com.

Wow...making the papers already! ;)

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 13:30:00 -0800

Science Genius Girls made the O.C. Register!

Do you agree with Gary's assessment? Are we the science world's token "valley girls?"

Here it is!

SGG Episode 3! It's CRAAAAZY!

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:14:00 -0800

Episode 3: Panda issues, lab shenanigans, and cannibalistic critters

Overworked/underpaid (oh wait, that's UNpaid) Aditi and Susanne fumble their way through the third podcast. On the agenda: why panda and bat sex sell, why pulling a lab phone off the wall is SUCH a faux pax, and why it's a good idea to consider your critter threshold before you set up camp in the Utah desert during a cricket plague.

Keep an ear out for references to the eye-savvy Pamela Anderson, eternal hottie Richard Simmons, and the nice people over at West Point.

Thanks for listening!

Comments? Suggestions? We're listening. E-mail us at sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com.

SGG Episode 2!

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 14:39:00 -0800

Episode 2: X-Files 2006, Solar System Hit-and-Runs, and a Shocking Revelation About Men (mp3)

Aditi and Susanne open their second show with a discussion about NASA's Stardust Mission. What's aerogel? Why was Aditi snooping around a windowless plane at NASA's Moffett Field? And do aliens wear blue jumpsuits? Aditi's got the answers here. Then Susanne talks about her interview with three cutting-edge planetary scientists who think hit-and-run collisions in the early Solar System might explain the weird stuff we see in space today. They end with some shocking revelations about the way men think. Listen for lively tangents about dirty Starbucks coffee cups, why Susanne should sell her thesis on eBay, and Brangelina's future child.

Then e-mail us with your thoughts/comments: sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com.

PLUS: If you've got iTunes, you can now subscribe to SGG Girls!

Science Genius Girls is born! EPISODE 1

sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com (Susanne McDowell and Aditi Risbud) — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 21:12:00 -0800

It's here! Download the first installment of Science Genius Girls:

Episode 1: Cacti, Mozart, and Fluorescent Pigs (mp3)

Aditi and Susanne talk about their crazy adventures as scientists in the field and in the lab. Then they launch into news stories about green oinkers, why you might not want to drive right after you wake up, Mozart's (?) skull, and A/C mummification. Look out for a few brief forays into celebrity life, "Lord of the Rings," and why a trip to New Zealand would make the perfect "Congratulations on your new podcast!" gift.

Note: This podcast was created with the bare minimum in technology...the sound and download times will improve in future episodes! Right now it seems to work best with Quicktime.

Trouble downloading? Go here.

Comments? Please send them to sciencegeniusgirls@gmail.com.