Episodes

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

    Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit (Praying Mantis Science with Jessica Ware)
    Apr 30 2026
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
  • Debi Nova: Everything Can Become a Song

    Debi Nova: Everything Can Become a Song
    Apr 15 2026
    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-natureCosta Rica’s Tapir Resurgence Sparks Hope for ‘Gardeners of the Forest’ - thegef.orghttps://www.thegef.org/newsroom/feature-stories/costa-ricas-tapir-resurgence-sparks-hope-gardeners-forestDebi Nova: Todo Puede Convertirse en Canciónhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OUSPO2MSCouIXwisPnaMjCs_4Gl7LhhAbout the Guests:Debi NovaSinger, 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.comEsteban Brenes-MoraConservation biologist specializing in wildlife management, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable development across Mesoamerica.https://www.rewild.org/team/esteban-brenes-mora
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • Dropkick Murphys: Citizen I.C.E (Public Safety Science with Phillip Atiba Solomon)

    Dropkick Murphys: Citizen I.C.E (Public Safety Science with Phillip Atiba Solomon)
    Apr 1 2026
    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_78Why 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 Magazinehttps://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 Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/opinion/crime-policies-cities.htmlKen Casey: ‘I’m Not Going to Shut Up’ by Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantichttps://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 Goldsmithhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVcWLObekRUAbout the Guests:Ken CaseyFounder and vocalist of Dropkick Murphys, known for blending punk rock with themes of working-class identity and social justice.https://dropkickmurphys.com/Phillip Atiba SolomonProfessor 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/
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • José González: Against the Dying of the Light (Enlightenment Values with Steven Pinker)

    José González: Against the Dying of the Light (Enlightenment Values with Steven Pinker)
    Mar 18 2026
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    56 mins
  • Encore: Cat Power: Cat Power Sings Dylan (Nostalgia Neuroscience with Hetvi Doshi)

    Encore: Cat Power: Cat Power Sings Dylan (Nostalgia Neuroscience with Hetvi Doshi)
    Mar 4 2026
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • Miguel: Slow It Down (Time Perception with Jimena Canales)

    Miguel: Slow It Down (Time Perception with Jimena Canales)
    Feb 18 2026
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • rum.gold: Is it Something I Said (Attachment Psychology with Nim Tottenham

    rum.gold: Is it Something I Said (Attachment Psychology with Nim Tottenham
    Feb 4 2026
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
  • Lucius: Ice Cream (Multisensory Perception with Ladan Shams)

    Lucius: Ice Cream (Multisensory Perception with Ladan Shams)
    Jan 21 2026
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins