Science Up Your Holidays #243

December 13, 2013

This week, we're helping add some science to your holiday season. We'll hear from some of our favorite past guests, and members of the Science for the People team, as they share their most-treasured science books from 2013, as well as classics to help fill out anyone’s science library. Physicist and author Aaron Santos joins us to run some fascinating Christmas-themed Fermi Equations. We'll speak to Rose Eveleth and Ben Lillie, creators of Science Studio, who'll help us stay entertained over the holidays with some of the best multimedia science on the web. And we'll share a list of science-based charities to help you spread evidence-based holiday cheer.

To see a list of books we've covered on this show and previous ones, you can visit our account on Goodreads.

Science Books Recommended in this Episode

Charities & Organizations Mentioned In This Episode

Guests:

  • Aaron Santos
  • Rose Eveleth
  • Ben Lillie

Guest Bios

Aaron Santos

Aaron Santos is a physicist, author, teacher, and former actor/director. He attended Boston University where he received a PhD in physics while studying the kinetics of the DNA melting transition in the Klein group. More recently, his research has focused on studying emergent statistical properties in biological and other complex systems. He's currently an assistant physics professor at Simpson College. He is the author of "How Many Licks? Or How to Estimate Damn Near Anything" and "Ballparking: Practical Math for Impractical Sports Questions".

Rose Eveleth

Rose Eveleth is a producer, designer, and writer based in Brooklyn. She switched from studying krill as a scientist to studying scientists who study krill as a journalist. These days she tries to explain sciencey stuff for places like The Atlantic, BBC Future, Nautilus Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, and The Story Collider among others. She’s currently the host and producer of the podcast Meanwhile in the Future and a columnist for BBC Future.

Ben Lillie

Ben Lillie is a high-energy particle physicist who left the ivory tower for the wilds of New York's theater district. He now writes and performs stories about science and being a scientist, and is a Moth StorySLAM champion. He is also a former writer for TED.com, and likes to say that life is different now, largely because it is.