The STEM Read Podcast

The STEM Read Podcast

The STEM Read podcast explores the connections between STEM and storytelling. Host Gillian King-Cargile dives into hot topics in K-12 education with an educator or STEM expert and then talks with an author whose books can ignite enthusiasm for reading and learning.We are no longer producing new episodes of the STEM Read Podcast, but our previously recorded episodes are still available. We hope you'll take a listen!

Episodes

July 31, 2021 37 mins
Host Gillian King-Cargile talks to Dr. Andy Norman, author of Mental Immunity, about how bad ideas spread like viruses and how we can inoculate our minds against them.
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Aerospace Engineer Mishaal Ashemimry, the first Saudi woman to work for NASA, and children's author Suzanne Slade discuss their love of STEM and all things space.
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Author John Green has chronicled love, loss, and mental illness in his award-winning young adult novels like The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Turtles All the Way Down. He weaves wonderful stories in his novels and his YouTube series’ like Mental Floss, Crash Course, and the Vlogbrothers videos he exchanges with his brother Hank Green.
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In this episode of the STEM Read Podcast, host Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) gives you an encore excerpt from one of NIU’s Future Telling Webinars. These free events bring together great minds from the worlds of writing and STEM to explore bleeding-edge research and its impact on our society and our sci-fi. Our guests are author S.L. Huang and physicist Rebecca C. Thompson.
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On this episode, host Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) explores the gene editing tool CRISPR, used to create the breakthrough mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. First, she talks with biographer Walter Isaacson (@WalterIsaacson), author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs, about his new book The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race. The book chronicles the discoveries surrounding CRISPR and the ...
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February 12, 2021 53 mins
From clever costumed superheroes to persistent little girls, makers come in all shapes and sizes. Host Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) will highlight new stories that focus on thinking, tinkering, and making. First, she’ll interview Ruth Spiro (@RuthSpiro), author of Made By Maxine and the Baby Loves Science series, about her latest book Maxine and the Greatest Garden Ever. The book explores the friendship between two very dif...
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It’s a Halloween Bonus! On this episode of the STEM Read Podcast, we’ll explore America’s deep-seated literary tradition of rationalism as it has played out in more than 150 years of pop culture, from the Dime Novels of the 1870s to Scooby-Doo to the horror novels of today. STEM Read Director Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) talks with authors and experts who explore, update, and upend our traditions of fake ghosts and meddling...
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In this episode of The STEM Read Podcast, we’re bringing you an excerpt from the Future Telling Webinar series, STEM Read’s collaboration with NIU’s University Libraries.
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Some people are complaining that COVID-19 is not the pandemic they signed up for. It was supposed to be Zombies!
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On May 30, 2020, The United States launched a manned spacecraft into low-earth orbit for the first time in nine years. SpaceX is now the first private company to launch NASA astronauts into space from US soil. The astronauts are heading to the International Space Station. And how did this happen? With a whole lot of math. As we celebrate this historic flight that could be the next step in human exploration of the Moon and even Mars...
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On this episode of the STEM Read Podcast, we’ve got three perspectives on technology, empathy and e-sports. Host Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) and Kristin Brynteson (@kbrynteson) interview George Couros, author of The Innovator’s Mindset about creating a positive atmosphere for students by using technology to bring people together. Next, Gillian talks to NFL-kicker-turned-sci-fi-author Chris Kluwe about sports, e-sports, emp...
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In this episode of the STEM Read Podcast, host Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) interviews author and filmmaker Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) about his latest project, a mind-bending, tech-centric television series, Devs, and how he creates stories to satisfy his own curiosity about science and technology.
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In this episode of the STEM Read Podcast Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile), Kristin Brynteson (@kbrynteson), and Melanie Koss (@melaniekoss) sit down with author Kate Hannigan (@katechicago) and game-based-learning expert Andrew Peterson.
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September 30, 2019 59 mins
Going Wild with Peter Brown and Dr. Holly Jones
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Episode 16: The Women of Frankenstein with Kiersten White and Christine Brovelli-O’Brien
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February 15, 2019 40 mins
Episode 15: Pangolin Party with Brendan Wenzel and Brookfield Zoo
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Episode 14: Revisions in Writing, Engineering, and Life with Craig DeAmbrose and Mike Mullin
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Episode 13: Chainsaws and Wedding Cake with Lex Thomas
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Episode 12: Games, Goldfish, and Greatness with Filament Games and Jennifer L. Holm
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Episode 11: Science Fiction to Fuel Science Fact with Andy Weir and Joe Magliano
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