Big Biology

Mar 06 2025 157 ep. 29 mins 1k

Big Biology Podcast artwork

The biggest biology podcast for the biggest science and biology fans. Featuring in-depth discussions with scientists tackling the biggest questions in evolution, genetics, ecology, climate, neuroscience, diseases, the origins of life, psychology and more. If it's biological, groundbreaking, philosophical or mysterious you'll find it

bigbiology.substack.com

Education Science

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Secrets in the structure (Ep 131)

Mar 06 2025 24 mins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comHow are new technologies allowing biologists to look beyond simple genetic variation to whole genome structure? What is a pangenome?In this episode, we talk with Scott Edwards, the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology and Curator of Ornithology at Harvard University. On this episode, we talk to S

Post-match chat: A direct hit

Feb 26 2025 6 mins

In this post-match chat, Marty and Cam discuss our most recent episode “A direct hit”, with guest Holden Thorp. This is a quickly evolving situation, and on Friday last week, a federal judge continued to block the cut to the NIH indirect cost rate. And just a few days ago, Holden wrote another editorial Come together, right now. He writes about the continued onslaught of cuts,

A Direct Hit (Ep 130)

Feb 21 2025 59 mins

Will a change in policy at the National Institutes of Health derail science in the US? How does the “indirect cost rate” for federal research grants fuel research?In this episode, we talk with Holden Thorp, a chemist and editor-in-chief of Science, about his recent editorial A Direct Hit. In it, he writes about the NIH announcing a significant cut to their indirect cost rate an

Behind the scenes audio

Feb 20 2025 1 mins

Here’s a little sneak peek into what goes on behind the scenes when we choose a title for an episode. In this snippet, Cam and Marty discuss the title of our most recent episode: “Beaks on (fitness) peaks.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bigbiology.substack.com/subscribe

Beaks on (fitness) peaks (Ep 129)

Feb 13 2025 29 mins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comWhich factors lead to the evolution of reproductive isolation? What role does hybridization play in speciation? Why are there so many bird species in the tropics?In this episode, we host Trevor Price, a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and a Fellow o

Homo pathogenesis (Ep 128)

Jan 23 2025 22 mins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comHow does human behavior contribute to disease transmission? What can our history with infectious disease teach us about modern epidemics?On this episode, we talk with Sabrina Sholts, Curator of Biological Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natur

Devo-lutionary theory (Ep 127)

Jan 02 2025 31 mins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comWhat role does development play in evolution? How can biology incorporate a broader, more complex definition of what it means to be an organism?In this episode, we talk with Scott Gilbert and Tobias Uller, two of the authors who wrote Evolution Evolving: The Developmental Origins of Adaptation and

What does it take to change the world? (Ep 126)

Dec 05 2024 39 mins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comHow have organisms changed the Earth and what can humans learn from its deep past?On this episode, we talk with Stephen Porder, a Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and the Associate Provost for Sustainability at Brown University. Stephen is also the author of Elemental: How Fi

A quiet place (Ep 125)

Nov 14 2024 86 mins

How do natural selection and sexual selection interact? What can observing adaptive radiation in the wild teach us about evolution?On this episode, we talk with Dale Broder, an Assistant Professor at American University, and Robin Tinghitella, an Associate Professor at the University of Denver. They study the Pacific field cricket, a fascinating organism that exemplifies both adapt

Spiny, but social (Ep 124)

Oct 24 2024 34 mins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comWhat are spiny mice and why are they so social? What about their brains makes them gregarious? Might network neuroscience be a useful framework for understanding spiny mice behavior?On this episode, we talk with Aubrey Kelly, an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Emory University. Aubrey is a beh