Big Picture Science for Sept. 26, 2022 - Skeptic Check: Data Bias

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Data Bias

(REPEAT) Sexist snow plowing? Data that guide everything from snow removal schedules to heart research often fail to consider gender. In these cases, “reference man” stands in for “average human.” Human bias also infects artificial intelligence, with speech recognition triggered only by male voices and facial recognition that can’t see black faces. We question the assumptions baked into these numbers and algorithms.

Guests:

• Caroline Criado-Perez - Journalist and author of “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men”
• Kade Crockford - Director of the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts
• Amy Webb - Futurist, founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute, and author of “The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and There Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity”

This repeat podcast originally aired on September 2, 2019

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/skeptic-check-data-bias

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Big Picture Science for Sept. 19, 2022 - De-Permafrosting

Big Picture Science - De-Permafrosting

(REPEAT) Above the Arctic Circle, much of the land is underlaid by permafrost. But climate change is causing it to thaw. This is not good news for the planet.

As the carbon rich ground warms, microbes start to feast… releasing greenhouse gases that will warm the Earth even more.

Another possible downside was envisioned by a science-fiction author. Could ancient pathogens–released from the permafrost’s icy grip–cause new pandemics? We investigate what happens when the far north defrosts.

Guests:

• Jacquelyn Gill – Associate professor of paleoecology at the University of Maine.
• Jim Shepard – Novelist and short story writer, and teacher of English at Williams College, and author of “Phase Six.”
• Scott Saleska – Global change ecologist, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, and co-founder of IsoGenie.

This repeat podcast originally aired on September 6, 2021

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/de-permafrosting

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Big Picture Science for Sept. 12, 2022 - Like Lightning

Big Picture Science - Like Lightning

Every second, lightning strikes 50 to 100 times somewhere. It can wreak havoc by starting wildfires and sometimes killing people. But lightning also produces a form of nitrogen that’s essential to vegetation. In this episode, we talk about the nature of these dramatic sparks. Ben Franklin established their electric origin, so what do we still not know? Also, why the frequency of lightning strikes is increasing in some parts of the world. And, what to do if you find someone hit by lightning.

Guests:

• Thomas Yeadaker – Resident of Oakland, California
• Chris Davis – Medical doctor and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Wake Forest University and Medical Director for the National Center for Outdoor Adventure Education
• Jonathan Martin – Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Steve Ackerman – Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Peter Bieniek – Professor of Atmospheric and Space Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/like-lightning

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Big Picture Science for Sept. 05, 2022 - Coming to Our Animal Senses

Big Picture Science - Coming to Our Animal Senses

Animals experience the world differently. There are insects that can see ultraviolet light, while some snakes can hunt in the dark thanks to their ability to sense infrared. Such differences are not restricted to vision: Elephants can hear subsonic sounds, birds navigate by magnetism, and your dog lives in a world marked by odors. In this episode, we speak to science journalist Ed Yong about how other creatures sense the world. Could we ever understand what it’s like to have the hearing of a bat or the sight of a hawk?

Guest:

• Ed Yong – Science writer for The Atlantic whose coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned him a Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism. He is the author of, “An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us.”

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/coming-to-our-animal-senses

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!