Two Brad For You

Nov 05 2024 134 ep. 70 mins 1.2k
Two Brad For You Podcast artwork

A science show that doesn't sound like all the others. Join science journalist Brad van Paridon as he explores all manner of weird science topics with friends from all walks of life and through discussions with scientists and science journalists.

  Science  News  Society & Culture
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Episode 100 - How Pathogens Shaped History

Nov 05 2024 74 mins  
Disease has profoundly shaped human history, influencing major events such as wars, colonization, and migration, while simultaneously being impacted by human behaviors and societal decisions. This conversation dives into the intricate relationship between pathogens and people, exploring how ecological changes and human activities create environments conducive to the spread of disea

Episode 99 - Expectations Matter: Harnessing the Power of Placebo for Medicine

Aug 22 2024 68 mins  
Today we delve deep into the fascinating world of the placebo effect, exploring its implications in medical treatments and the ethics surrounding its use. Dr. Helena Hartman, a neuroscientist, joins the show to talk about how expectations can significantly influence treatment outcomes. Hartman shares her research insights into pain, empathy and placebo and the importance of expecta

Episode 98 - How does science go mainstream and how to respond when it does

Aug 22 2024 64 mins  
The great science broadcaster and author Jay Ingram joins me once again to talk about science that goes mainstream. Why does do some topics jump out of dedicated science news channels and how should critics respond? Is there any good way to present the process behind science and why is that crucial for critiques of misleading stories. These are some of the topics we explore and Jay

Episode 97 - An unexpected hurdle for MDMA assisted therapy. What now?

Jul 15 2024 57 mins  
In June an independent advisory committee recommended the FDA not approve MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD. This came as a surprise to many working in and following the field of psychedelic assisted therapy. It also raised questions as to where the field is at and what challenges still exist. To provide some context and perspective on this decision and some of the specific criticism

Episode 96 - H5N1 in dairy cows and how MDMA enhances empathy

May 06 2024 38 mins  
In this episode we have two interesting news stories from the unrelated worlds of infectious disease and psychedelic research. What's all the fuss with H5N1 moving into cows and is my milk safe? Plus a breakdown of a fascinating set of experiments aimed at answering whether MDMA increases empathy and why this could influence how doctors prescribe the drug in the future.This is the

Episode 95 - The path of science news from the lab to the headlines

Mar 30 2024 73 mins  
Have you ever thought about how knowledge, sometimes thought of as facts, get from the scientists, to journalists, to the articles and videos on your screen? Turns out there is a pipeline taking science discoveries from the lab to the news media. This pathway is a useful and well-used system but it is not without problems. Information can be distorted as it is translated and passed

Episode 94 - What do ants teach us about living in groups and with disease?

Feb 22 2024 69 mins  
Ants and other eusocial insects have taken group living to the extreme and while we may not think of these animals as representative of human societies studying the fundementals of the evolution of and consequences of social living using ants makes a lot of sense. My guest Yuko Ulrich is a behavioral ecologist and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jen

Episode 93 - Butt Seriously with Anthony Morgan

Jan 16 2024 62 mins  
When's the last time you checked your butt? It could save your life. This episode I chat with Anthony Morgan, host of CBC's The Nature of Things, about their upcoming film Butt Seriously and so much more. As Anthony explains the idea for the arose because people are literally dying from embarassment by not getting their butt's checked out by a doctor. This soon expanded to a deep d

Episode 92 - Gene Editing Cures Cholesterol and Sickle Cell Diseases But At What Cost?

Dec 22 2023 64 mins  
Two major breakthroughs in gene editing recently occurred and show how our ability to edit the human genome is rapidly increasing. This episode we dive into how these technologies work and how they were able to treat two diseases. One a rather mundane sounding cholesterol problem and the other an exteremely painful and potentially deadly condition known as sickle cell disease. Both

Episode 91 - An Honest Look Back At Pandemic Communication

Oct 27 2023 57 mins  
Some recent episodes have really got me thinking about science communication and our responsibility as citizens to be informed. Also, about the challenges of being informed and of informing people about issues, discoveries and topics that will not only change our lives but could end them too. Contemplating these things led me to look back at the pandemic as a lens through which man