Science, Actually Presents : The Nerd and the Scientist | Podcast on RSS.com

Science, Actually Presents : The Nerd and the Scientist

Science, Actually Presents : The Nerd and the Scientist

by Science, Actually

Season 9

In the beginning... : Guest : Dr. Jaiden Cook

In the beginning... ...the was this huge bang from which all this ionized stuff came into the universe. Then a Recombination came along and cooled everything down and changed matter from ionized to neutral. Then the first stars and galaxies came to be, and produced enough UV light to re-ionize everything. So... Kovi and Benjamin ask the REALLY big question... How could there be an ionization before a REionization, but no combination a REcombination? Huh? Answer THAT, Dr. Jaiden Cook. Find Jaiden at : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaiden-cook-250929115/ & https://www.atnf.csiro.au/daily-picture/2025/07/22/welcome-jaiden-cooke/ Follow Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Follow Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience

Is That A Laser In Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? : Guest : Dr. Dimos Katsis

Our very first guest and our very first return guest - Dr. Dimos Katsis - becomes our second 'third timer'. He's the principal engineer at Overview Energy - a company that's building the infrastructure to gather solar energy in space with satellites each as big as two football fields, and then beam it down to us here on Earth. To sum it up real quick... Kovi and Benjamin asked, "so, the microwave power plant from the video game Sim City 2000 is for real!?" Dimos, "yep." Find Dimos at : https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimoskatsis/ & https://www.overviewenergy.com/ Follow Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Follow Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience

Moondial!

Moondial! Get it? Like 'Mundial' but we made it say 'Moon' because we're space nerds? FIFA World Cup 2026 is over (congrats, Spain!), so get your vuvuzelas ready as Kovi and Benjamin get into some of the science behind soccer. Over time the ball was reengineered to be smoother until it actually ruined its aerodynamics, one venue is almost 1 1/2 miles above sea level where the air is 23% less dense, players lose up to 2% body mass due to sweat each game, and penalty kicks happen faster than the goalie's brain can process what's happening - so it's all chance. Follow Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Follow Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience

Things That Go Bump In The Night Sky

Kovi and Benjamin talk about things that explode in space. Well Kovi talks about things that explode in space, and then Benjamin says something along the lines of, "you mean like in Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country!?" Tune in and clearly see where the line's drawn between nerd and scientist. The boys talk micronovae, novae, supernovae, and 'movie physics'. (spoiler - those 'launch a nuke at it' solutions in the movies? yeah, they won't work) Follow Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Follow Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience

The Universe Is Bigger Than It Is Old : Guest : Bryan Scott

Dr. Bryan Scott's interested in principled inference and astrostatistics. His research focuses on the use of large galaxy surveys and intensity mapping experiments to constrain cosmology and astrophysics over cosmic time. His graduate work at U.C. Riverside focused on measurements of the Ultraviolet Extragalactic Background Light and on the sensitivity of future spectroscopic intensity mapping experiments to modifications of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. And he's won many certificates for his excellence in teaching all that stuff. And he loves LEGOs... And Star Trek... In this episode our nerd, Benjamin, and our scientist, Kovi, are faced with someone who's both. And did we mention he launched things into space? He's launched things into space. Émilie du Châtelet : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89milie_du_Ch%C3%A2telet Bryan Scott : https://github.com/bscot Kovi Rose : https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience/ Benjamin Salles : https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience

Kovi Bustin' Askap In Yo' Radio Bursts

While Benjamin might be a working nerd, Kovi's a working scientist. In this episode Kovi walks us through this new thing he found, lurking out there in the universe. A rare binary star system in the Ara constellation. A 'Rosetta stone' for explaining mysterious, repeating cosmic radio pulses. You probably saw it online - it made all the news - we're talking about ASKAP J1745. Also, how does Kovi eat a sandwich? Follow Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Follow Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderdoctor : Guest : Anastasia Shavrova

As this episode's guest, Anastasia Shavrova, explains - the road to studying and falling in love with spiders begins with hating spiders and loving ants. As Anastasia explains why some spiders' third pair of legs are very strong, Kovi and Benjamin can't help but fawn over Zilly - their guest's guest lizard.Follow us everywhere! Follow Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Follow Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience ...and follow Anastasia right here https://ashavrova.com/

Around The World In 90 Minutes : Guest : Rex Walheim

What goes up, must come down - even if you send it up to space three times aboard a space shuttle. Just ask our latest guest, Rex Walheim, who flew on shuttle Atlantis three times - including the last shuttle flight... ...ever. Kovi and Benjamin did their very best to keep their composure as they spoke with Rex about how he became an astronaut, what it's like up there, does space really have a burnt smell!?, and just how powerful an experience being in space can be. Follow us everywhere! Follow Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Follow Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience ...and watch Rex go to space here, here, and here.

Season 8

I've Got 55 Problems and Books Are All of Them : Guest : Jennifer Swanson

Jennifer Swanson woke up one day and thought, "what have I done with my life?" So at the ripe old age of 5 (yes, FIVE), she wrote and illustrated her first book about science. Since then she didn't do much - other than graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in Chemistry, taught chemistry, got a master’s degree in K–8 Science Education, gave a Ted Talk and wrote 55 more books. Kovi and Benjamin, however, have an assortment of rubber ducks. Follow us everywhere! Find Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Find Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience Find Jennifer here https://jenniferswansonbooks.com/

Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!

Welcome to The Nerd and The Scientist's Book Club. Today Kovi and Benjamin will be talking about Project Hail Mary. Specifically - THE BOOK - as Kovi hasn't seen the movie yet. The book does raise some interesting questions, however, like how would we go about communicating with aliens? Extreme environments where liquid water could still exist. How life might evolve on other worlds. And was it funny? (It was) Follow us everywhere! Find Benjamin at Science, Actually : https://www.scienceactually.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/actuallyscience Find Kovi at Fun Fact Science : https://www.funfactscience.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/funfactscience

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