324 - Suit up for Science

Science... sort of

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Lisa Lundgren and Gabriel Santos, two of the heads of Cosplay for Science, an organization that uses elaborating costuming (called cosplay) to advocate for science! But first, we talk about the science. Lisa is a social scientist who studies informal science learning and Gabe is a paleontologist and outreach coordinator who has studied marine mammals including the excellent group Desmostylians.

Some papers by Lisa:

• Social Media Interaction as Informal Science Learning: a Comparison of Message Design in Two Niches

• Scientific Twitter: The flow of paleontological communication across a topic network

• Profiles in Practice: Stories of Paleontology Within an Online, Scientific Community

Some papers by Gabe:

• A new tuskless walrus from the Miocene of Orange County, California, with comments on the diversity and taxonomy of odobenids

• New data on the ontogeny and senescence of Desmostylus (Desmostylia, Mammalia)

00:31:34 - Drinks: they keep us social, so let’s have some. Ryan demonstrates proper drink segment technique with the scientifically themed MC^2 by Equilibrium Brewery sent by our very own Abe! Gabe is chilling with an IBC Root Beer, which is the kind of beer that doesn’t affect sobriety. And Lisa mysteriously enjoys a Cold Smoke Scotch Ale from KettleHouse Brewing Co in MT.

00:39:22 - In part two of our interview, we get down to costumes. How did Cosplay for Science get started? How does dressing up as fictional characters help communicate science? Will Ryan be dressing up the next time we’re able to actually go to a convention? Tune in and find out!

01:24:03 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like costuming, they hide their true nature to get in your heart. Ryan reads an e-mail from Tom C. asking us about getting on Spotify. Well thanks to his gentle nudging, we now are! Listen to (some of) our episodes on Spotify! Thanks for the nudge, Tom!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!

Audio Production by Rob Heath

Music credit: Dance of Felt - Blue Dot Sessions