Where, when, and how did Homo sapiens appear? What do we know about the complex set of ancestral hominins that preceded us? How recently did other hominin lineages live and what happened to them?On this episode, we talk with Kate Wong, a senior editor at Scientific American, about her article, The Origin of Us. Our understanding of hominin evolution over the past several million years has been transformed by exciting new fossil finds and new DNA sequence data. We talk with Kate about the biggest news, the luxuriant evolutionary bush from which our ancestors emerged in Africa, and her favorite fossil species.Find more articles from Kate here: Stories by Kate WongCover Art by Brianna Longo 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
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Covid Conversations (Ep 138)
What can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how do we apply that knowledge moving forward?On this special episode of Big Biology, we’re bringing you the highlights from a conference called “Covid Conversations,” which was hosted at the University of South Florida last December. The event brought together scientists, public health experts, medical doctors, historians, students, philosophers, and community leaders—for one big, open conversation about COVID-19. The episode shares the different perspectives these speakers had on the virus, the pandemic response, and our future preparedness to disease.This episode is hosted by Caroline Merriman, a Big Biology intern and a research fellow with the Association of Public Health Laboratories program, and Kailey McCain, a PhD student in Marty’s lab at USF and a former Big Biology intern.Cover art by Keating Shahmehri 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
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Student Spotlight: Finding passion in science communication and advocacy (Ep 137)
How can grad students advocate for science policy? How can science communication make research more accessible and inclusive?On this episode of Big Biology, we bring back our “Student Spotlight” segment. We talk with JP Flores, a PhD student studying bioinformatics and computational biology at UNC Chapel Hill. JP does more than just research, he is also deeply engaged in science communication and hosts the award-winning podcast From where does it STEM? He has also worked in science policy as an intern at the NIH and is part of the Science Policy and Advocacy Group at UNC. Earlier this year, JP helped to organize the Stand Up for Science 2025 protest and as a result of the movement, co-founded the non-profit Science for Good. 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
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The call of the wild (Ep 136)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comWhat role does media play in conservation efforts and inspiring future generations of scientists? How can science communication make scientific knowledge accessible to the public, especially for communities underrepresented in science?On this episode, we talk with Dr Rae Wynn-Grant a researcher at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management …
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Not all heroes have spines (Ep 135)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.comWhat biological "superpowers" do marine invertebrates possess? What challenges do they face and will their resilience protect them from anthropogenic change?On this episode, we talk with Drew Harvell, Professor Emerita of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, Affiliate Faculty at the University of Washington, former Science Envoy for O…
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
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