Explore every episode of the podcast Sing for Science
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cain Culto: a plague, a pestilence (Psychiatry with Dr. Jack Drescher) | 15 oct. 2026 | 00:49:41 | |
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. Subscribe to our channel for new podcasts every other week or subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app: Listen Now: https://www.singforscience.org/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sing-for-science/id1535070210Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2xXs2PTc16TYY34FTgpbIY?si=ac55ac8510c54befYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC5IsH4kGa8B2UlAmaeuULYw X: https://x.com/singforscienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/singforscienceFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/singforscienceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sing-for-science Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Blu DeTiger: Shock! (Music, Labor and Gender with Clara Latham) | 01 oct. 2026 | 00:42:58 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Kota The Friend: For Colored Boys (Black Aliveness with Kevin Quashie) | 18 sept. 2026 | 01:05:57 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Jensen McRae: Massachusetts (Place Memory with Christine DeLucia) | 03 sept. 2026 | 00:38:38 | |
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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Sean Ono Lennon: The Golden Egg of Empathy (AI Ethics with Anat Perry and Jason D’Cruz) | 20 août 2026 | 00:44:38 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Brantley Gilbert: Sins of the Father (Faith & Science with Katharine Hayhoe) | 06 août 2026 | 00:44:24 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Debbii Dawson: Everybody’s Missing Their Medullas (Psychophysics with Daw-An Wu) | 23 juil. 2026 | 00:29:18 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Chaka Khan: Tell Me Something Good (Music as Medicine with Mei Rui) | 09 juil. 2026 | 00:46:19 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Special Highlight: Bryan Cranston and Alan Hart on "The Chemistry of Breaking Bad" | 25 juin 2026 | 01:15:09 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Jena Malone: Set Your Sorrows Down (Polyamory Science with Amy Moors) | 11 juin 2026 | 00:51:23 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Rita Wilson: Sound of a Woman (Gender Studies with Ann Pelligrini) | 28 mai 2026 | 00:43:09 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Encore: Hank Azaria/Moe The Bartender: Flaming Moe's (Simpsons Neuroscience with Dr. Kevin Ochsner) | 14 mai 2026 | 01:04:10 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit (Praying Mantis Science with Jessica Ware) | 30 avr. 2026 | 00:39:08 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Debi Nova: Everything Can Become a Song | 15 avr. 2026 | 00:50:43 | |
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: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Dropkick Murphys: Citizen I.C.E (Public Safety Science with Phillip Atiba Solomon) | 01 avr. 2026 | 00:47:28 | |
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: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| José González: Against the Dying of the Light (Enlightenment Values with Steven Pinker) | 18 mars 2026 | 00:53:10 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Encore: Cat Power: Cat Power Sings Dylan (Nostalgia Neuroscience with Hetvi Doshi) | 04 mars 2026 | 00:43:09 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Miguel: Slow It Down (Time Perception with Jimena Canales) | 18 févr. 2026 | 00:54:58 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| rum.gold: Is it Something I Said (Attachment Psychology with Nim Tottenham | 04 févr. 2026 | 00:50:28 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Lucius: Ice Cream (Multisensory Perception with Ladan Shams) | 21 janv. 2026 | 00:52:00 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Public Service Broadcasting: The Last Flight (Archeology with Richard Pettigrew) | 07 janv. 2026 | 01:01:25 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Encore: Sheila E: The Glamorous Life (Rhythm Neuroscience with Hugo Merchant) | 24 déc. 2025 | 00:42:52 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Taboo Science: Necrophilia (with Dr. Victoria Sullivan & Dr. Jens Foell) | 17 déc. 2025 | 00:31:21 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Bryan Cranston and Alan Hart on "The Chemistry of Breaking Bad" | 10 déc. 2025 | 01:15:41 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Renée Fleming: O Mio Babbino Caro (Singing Science with Sean Hutchins) | 26 nov. 2025 | 00:33:31 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Raffi: The More We Get Together (Altruism Science with Jennifer Stellar) | 12 nov. 2025 | 00:48:53 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Rosanne Cash: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Storytelling Psychology with Robyn Fivush) | 29 oct. 2025 | 01:00:48 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Preview: Fela Kuti: Fear No Man | 22 oct. 2025 | 00:37:00 | |
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. ©2025 Higher Ground, LLC (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Kacey Musgraves: Heart of the Woods (Mycology with Paul Stamets) | 15 oct. 2025 | 01:38:09 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| AJR’s Adam Met: Inertia (Climate Science with Alexis Abramson) | 01 oct. 2025 | 01:15:08 | |
“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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Laurie Anderson: O Superman (Nuclear Disarmament Science with Zia Mian) | 17 sept. 2025 | 01:39:25 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Noah Cyrus: I Want My Loved Ones To Go With Me (Afterlife Science with Kim Penberthy) | 03 sept. 2025 | 01:19:53 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| (UNCUT) Jonathan Davis (Korn): Dead Bodies Everywhere (Mortuary Science with Mary Roach) | 20 août 2025 | 00:59:32 | |
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| LABS: Neko Case and Rebecca McMackin on Ecological Horticulture | 06 août 2025 | 01:05:19 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Microscopes: Madison McFerrin on Baking Science | 23 juil. 2025 | 00:27:57 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Josh Ritter: Truth is a Dimension (Astrophysics with Avi Loeb) | 09 juil. 2025 | 00:52:54 | |
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)" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| (UNCUT) YUNGBLUD and Brad Schoenfeld on Fitness Science | LABS | 25 juin 2025 | 00:47:30 | |
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| LABS: YUNGBLUD and Brad Schoenfeld on Fitness Science | 18 juin 2025 | 00:45:36 | |
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Encore: LABS: David Byrne and Patrik Svensson on the Eel Question | 28 mai 2025 | 00:51:25 | |
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Tommy Chong: Up In Smoke (Cannabis Science with Staci Gruber) | 07 mai 2025 | 01:05:10 | |
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Jessie Reyez: Palo Santo (Smell Science with Pamela Dalton) | 16 avr. 2025 | 00:52:34 | |
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| RÜFÜS DU SOL: INHALE/EXHALE (Breathwork Science with Jack Feldman) | 26 mars 2025 | 00:52:50 | |
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| LABS: BLOND:ISH and Kara Wiggin on Plastic and Circularity | 05 mars 2025 | 00:47:16 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Encore: Duran Duran: Save a Prayer (Particle Physics with Brian Cox) | 12 févr. 2025 | 01:03:58 | |
Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and Particle Physicist Brian Cox discuss time travel, the intersection of politics and science and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Encore: Blondie: Rapture (Climate Science with Michael Mann) | 22 janv. 2025 | 00:44:56 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| LABS: Christine and the Queens and Matteo Cantiello on Plasma Physics | 01 janv. 2025 | 00:58:30 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Hank Azaria/Moe The Bartender: Flaming Moe's (Simpsons Neuroscience with Dr. Kevin Ochsner) | 11 déc. 2024 | 00:59:27 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| LABS: Patricia Cornwell and Dr. Avi Loeb on Extraterrestrial Intelligence | 20 nov. 2024 | 00:53:18 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| SOFI TUKKER: Bread (Bread Science with Dr. Maria Ortiz) | 30 oct. 2024 | 00:37:36 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| LABS: Questlove and Dr. Susan Engel on Nurturing Ideas in Children | 09 oct. 2024 | 00:46:41 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||