Episodes

In the first ever episode of In Plain English, presenter Jamie Moffa and guests Brendan Ziebarth and Alex Marshall discuss the paper “Impact of co-administration of oxycodone and smoked cannabis on analgesia and abuse liability” by Ziva Cooper, et. al. They go over the promising possibility of using cannabis to lower the dose of oxycodone… Continue reading Episode 1: Opioids, Marijuana, and Pain Relief

In Episode 2 of In Plain English, presenter Gloria Marino and guests Teodora Stoica and Jacob Walker discuss the paper “Tumor Microenvironment Components: Allies of Cancer Progression” by Pablo Igor Ribeiro Franco et. al. They discuss the ways in which cancer cells can modify their environment to grow, multiply, and spread; the importance of individualized… Continue reading Episode 2: Everyone is Mistaken About Cancer

Join our expert Alexa Ruel and our guests Kelly-Anne Moffa and Mo Carr to discuss the paper “Interplay of Approximate Planning Strategies” by Quentin Huys, et. al. During our discussion, we touch on whether the human brain works like a computer, why people avoid large negative outcomes even when they could lead to even larger… Continue reading Episode 3: Are Humans Rational?

In the fourth episode of In Plain English, we discuss the potential cosmic origins of Earth’s oceans. Expert Will Saunders and guests India Bland and Nick Wolslegel delve into the paper “How much water was delivered from the asteroid belt to the Earth after its formation?” by Rebecca Martin and Mario Livio, exploring whether asteroids… Continue reading Episode 4: Where Did Earth’s Water Come From?

In the fifth episode of In Plain English, expert Ralph White III and guests Maura Lydon and Alexa Ruel explore the unexpected ways in which estrogen can affect the growth and spread of prostate cancer. If you liked this episode, check out Ralph’s podcast Scientifically Sound on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1549609843 and follow Scientifically Sound on… Continue reading Episode 5: How Estrogen Affects Prostate Cancer

In the 6th episode of In Plain English, expert Teodora Stoica and guests Emma Sward and Abby Kimball explore what we know about how the brain changes with age, how we study the aging brain, and how we can promote healthy cognitive aging. If you liked this episode, be sure to check out Teodora’s blog… Continue reading Episode 6: The Aging Brain: the Good, the Bad, and the Unknown

In the 7th episode of In Plain English, expert Grace Ward and guests Caitlin Murphy and Marc Blanc discuss why the history of domestication we think we know is wrong, and what that says about our world today. If you want to learn more about this topic, check out the book The Dawn of Everything by David… Continue reading Episode 7: Is the Standard History of Domestication Wrong?

In the 8th episode of In Plain English, expert Abby Kimball and guests Jakayla Folarin and Olayinka Idowu discuss the fascinating world of parasites and the surprising ways in which they connect all life, from ants to elephants. If you want to learn more about this topic, check out the book Parasite Rex by Carl… Continue reading Episode 8: Parasites: Master Puppeteers

In the 9th episode of In Plain English, expert Kelly-Anne Moffa and guests Leenah Abugisisa and Alexander Albury delve into the ups and downs of California’s cap-and-trade policy and its impact on climate change. Remember to follow In Plain English on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the latest announcements! And check out our Discord server to talk… Continue reading Episode 9: Climate Change, Corporations, and Cap-and-Trade

Join expert Jonathan Mitchell and guests Nicolas Scrutton Alvarado and Raymond Uymatiao to learn about the beneficial bacteria in your gut that can help protect against diseases like cholera. You can download the paper on our website at inplainenglishpod.org. Check out Jonathan’s podcast Microbe Moment! Check out Nicolas’s podcast In the Spotlight! Remember to follow… Continue reading Episode 10: Pathogen Wars: How Gut Bacteria Protect Against Cholera

Join expert Hilary Agro and guests Vera Thornton and Brigid Lydon as they discuss the far-reaching impacts of the drug war and the importance of harm reduction. Scroll to the bottom of this page for harm reduction resources! Remember to follow In Plain English on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are… Continue reading Episode 11: The Drug War: A Violent Situation

Join expert Vera Thornton and guests Doris Meinerding and Hannah Waterhouse for Part 1 of a thought-provoking look “behind the scenes” of scientific research, to answer the question “Why are research findings sometimes wrong?” Part 2 will air on the first Tuesday of September. Remember to follow In Plain English on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with… Continue reading Episode 12: When Research Gets it Wrong, Part 1

Join expert Vera Thornton and guests Doris Meinerding and Hannah Waterhouse for Part 2 of a thought-provoking look “behind the scenes” of scientific research, to answer the question “Why are research findings sometimes wrong?” Click here to listen to Part 1. Remember to follow In Plain English on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the latest announcements!… Continue reading Episode 13: When Research Gets it Wrong, Part 2

Join expert Alex Albury and guests SB Pye and Sasha Dmytrenko to find out what kinds of music make us want to tap our feet, and why! If you liked this episode, be sure to follow Alex Albury on Twitter @albury_alex and check out his recent article in the conversation on why you know more about music… Continue reading Season 2, Episode 1: Do You Wanna Dance? Why Music Makes Us Move

Join expert Christina Niavi and guests Alex Barrett and David Latchman to learn what happens to our immune cells during chronic infections and cancer, and how we can harness our understanding of the immune system to develop better treatments for these diseases. If you liked this episode, be sure to follow Christina Niavi on Twitter… Continue reading Season 2, Episode 2: Exhausted Immune Cells: the Weary Veterans of Chronic Infection

Join expert SB Pye and guests Tania Lintz and Hannah Trettenero for a deep dive on virus outbreaks, and why some new viruses spread like wildfire while others peter out. If you liked this episode and want to learn more about viruses, you can send questions to SB at e.pye@wustl.edu, or submit them via the… Continue reading Season 2, Episode 3: Virus Evolution: from Local Outbreak to Global Pandemic

On this special episode of In Plain English, Brendan Ziebarth, Nick Wolslegel, and I talk about the political side of space travel: billionaire joy rides, corporate asteroid mining, climate impact, and more. This episode was inspired by our conversation on Season 1, Episode 4: Where did Earth’s Water Come From? You can listen to that… Continue reading Bonus Episode: The Politics of Space

In this bonus episode of In Plain English, I talk with defense lawyer Alec Karakatsanis about the paper “The Injustice of Under-policing in America,” by Christopher Lewis and Adaner Usmani. We cover the undisclosed assumptions, missing statistics, and cynical worldview behind this piece of propaganda masked as a scientific paper. You can read Alec’s response… Continue reading Bad Science: the Bogus Case for More Cops