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Words The Podcast - Episode 2: Competition

Alejandro Zuniga and Greg Garno are sports journalists and were the 2014 managing editors of The Michigan Daily‘s sports section. They covered University of Michigan football, writing about on the most historically dismal seasons, the firing of Dave Brandon and Brady Hoke, and the hiring of Jim Harbaugh. On-air they tell stories about life in the press box.

Carlina Duan is a poet and Ann Arbor native. she is currently one of the editors of Michigan in Color. Carlina reads three poems on-air and discusses identity, race, perception, and the menstrual cycle.

George Gardner is a short story writer who wrote Treasurer, the story of a girl who will do whatever it takes to win her middle school student government election. George discusses winning, high school wrestling, and more on this week’s episode.

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Words The Podcast - Episode 1: Beginnings

Dave Askins, formerly of The Ann Arbor Chronicle, Dave discusses his new civic engagement project, CivCity. Dave also brings a copy of Ann Arbor’s most hyperlocal print publication, The Murray Avenue Times.

Jeff Garland wrote Shredded Duck Confit, a short story about a caterer at the Michigan Union who can’t seem to get anyone to try his hors d’ouevres. The story is based on T.S. Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Brendan McCaffery is a poet who writes about sex, drugs, and college. He both disparages and challenges Generation Y. Read the poems featured on this episode.

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Nerd Nite #21 - A Natural History of the Trumpet

A Natural History of the Trumpet
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 35 years, you’re familiar with the heroic trumpet fanfares that catapult the audience from the theater to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars. But how did the modern trumpet come to look and sound the way it does today? The answer traces back to its primordial beginnings as “found objects” that gradually evolved more and more sophisticated technology through the centuries, influencing composition along the way. Brace yourselves for a combination of music and physics as we chart the natural history of the trumpet.

About Carl Engelke:
Carl had many, varied interests throughout the years, and he still sometimes wonders what he wants to do when (if) he grows up. He studied trumpet performance in college at Indiana University and the Royal Academy of Music in London, and performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago upon graduation. Currently, as a completely logical next step, he is an MD/PhD student at the University of Michigan Medical School, where he studies how RNA influences the development and progression of prostate cancer.

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Michigan Author Jerry Dennis: A Daybreak Handbook

Author Jerry Dennis is best known as an award-winning nature writer with work primarily focused on Michigan and its waterways. His book The Living Great Lakes was the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads selection in 2010. He's now branched out in two new directions: poetry and publishing. Jerry's first book of poems, A Daybreak Handbook, was published in 2014. Also in 2014, Jerry, his wife Gail, and illustrator Glenn Wolff established Big Maple Press, a small press dedicated to producing special editions exclusively available for sale through independent booksellers.

In this talk, Jerry discusses these new avenues in his career, how he got started as a writer, and his ongoing work with the Great Lakes. He also reads selections from A Daybreak Handbook, The Windward Shore, and his recently back in print The Bird in the Waterfall.

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Nerd Nite #20 - What the $X#! is the anthropocene? An extraordinary moment in Earth and human history

James Arnott – What the $X#! is the anthropocene? An extraordinary moment in Earth and human history
This talk will introduce you to the extraordinary moment in Earth and human history that you (yes, you) are living through. We’ll look at why now is different than before and why the future is dependent on a unlikely species that grew out of a cave into a skyscraper and now shapes the future of earth, wind, and fire. The anthropocene is now—and here to stay—so come learn what we know, what you should know, and what we all must do!

About James Arnott:
James is a student, researcher, and enthusiast for thinking big. He is pursing a PhD at the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Meanwhile, he is Program Director of the Aspen Global Change Institute, an interdisciplinary think tank for global environmental issues.

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Nerd Nite #16 - Recalculating Route: Go to the Post Office Before the Grocery

The talk will address the issue that when trying to pick the right order in which to run errands sometimes things do not go as planned due to traffic congestion. I will talk about under which conditions it is better to start reconsidering those decisions and more generally highlight what happens if traffic jams start interfering with a previously well planned sequence in which to visit locations of interest.

About Moritz Niendorf
Moritz received a German diploma in aerospace engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany in 2010. After graduation he worked as a researcher at the department for unmanned aircraft at DLR (German Aerospace Center) in Braunschweig, Germany. In August 2012 he joined the University of Michigan as a graduate student. His research focuses on stability analysis for solutions to integer optimization problem and its application to mission planning for unmanned aircraft.

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Nerd Nite #18 - Bubbles and sound: Explosions in people for the greater good

Bubbles and Sound: Explosions in people for the greater good
Everyone knows that bubbles delight children, clean dishes, and add the fizz to champagne. But it may surprise you to find out that they can also wreak havoc on ships, deliver cancer drugs to the brain, and break apart anything from steel to human tissue. During this talk we’ll step into the wonderful world of bubbles and take a look at how scientists are trying to use ultrasound to trigger carefully controlled bubble collapses and explosions in the body to fight cancer, kidney stones, and other ailments.

About Brandon Patterson:
Brandon is a cheerful and curious fellow, haphazardly wandering through life as he tries to figure out how the world works. For now his wandering has brought him to the University of Michigan to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, studying how bubbles collapse and explode in tissue. When not playing with bubbles, Brandon enjoys biking, reading, tinkering, and arguing.

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Nerd Nite #16 - Fat and Diabetes: What it is, how it works, and how to get rid of it

Gabriel Martinez-Santibañez - Fat and Diabetes: What it is, how it works, and how to get rid of it
Gabriel addresses the many hats worn by the macrophage; the underappreciated sentinels that play key roles in regulating how our fat grows, shrinks, and functions. He will describe the ins and outs of Type II diabetes and how these macrophages are involved in its development. He also shares tips on how to lose weight and prevent the development of diabetes by comparing and contrasting some of the most popular and successful diet strategies (Atkins, Zone, glycemic index, Mediterranean, paleo, juicing). Finally, he discusses the most successful weight loss strategy that uses “THIS ONE SECRET!!!”

About Gabriel Martinez-Santibañez:
Gabriel is from Southern California and is currently a Ph.D student at the University of Michigan, where he studies obesity and the immune cell components involved in the development of Type II Diabetes. When not in lab, he likes to grow things in the garden, read about international cuisine, and discuss the merits of jam.

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Nerd Nite #19 - Fear + Brains ≠ Zombies

Have you ever been cornered by zombies and not had a shotgun on hand? Did your palms sweat and your breathing increase? If so, you’ve experienced fear! Fear is one of our most basic emotions, and it is necessary for living beings to avoid undeath. During this talk, we will discuss the brain regions that help individuals determine what and when to fear. There will also be a demonstration of how scientists study fear in the laboratory. If you are interested in feeling the back of your neck prickle on the week before Halloween, you’re probably not a zombie, so this talk is for you!

About Katherine Prater:
Katherine adores science (both with and without the fiction). When she is not sciencing with her labmates, Katherine can often be found playing computer games with her husband, playing board games, or reading a good book. She also may be found playing with her “love”bird, known to some as “the destroyer of worlds.” Recently, Katherine has had the great pleasure of being a co-founder of RELATE, an organization at the University of Michigan that endeavors to teach STEM graduate students to better explain their research to lay-audiences.

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Nerd Nite #19 - What is in your Brains: Why Zombies are Malnourished

Ever wondered what your brains are made up of, beyond the Beginning Biology textbook discussion? Ever wonder how Zombies could possibly get enough nutrition from one food source? Ever heard that ridiculous statement that we only use 10% of our brains? Hopefully you said yes to at least one of these, because that is what you will hear about in my talk. I will explore some real neuroscience, but mix in some Halloween fun.

About Susan Starr:
I am a born teacher. Maybe I just like to think I’m always right. Anyway … I have taught at the college level for almost 30 years. I have taught just about every Biology class you can think of (Medical Parasitology anyone? Economic Zoology? Neuroanatomy?), but spent the majority of my career teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology to future nurses, doctors, physical and occupational therapists, and now Physician’s Assistants in the new EMU program. I LOVE my new job … like the cherry on top of a great career. My favorite places in the world are the woods (especially if mountains and/or water are nearby), my home & garden, and my Anatomy (cadaver) Lab. I’ve been married over 35 years to the same (very patient) guy, and we have a wonderful, compassionate son and daughter-in-law on the East Coast and a beautiful, talented daughter on the West Coast.