web01.fireside.fm Sun, 26 Apr 2026 12:52:36 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Tatter - Episodes Tagged with “Science” https://tatter.fireside.fm/tags/science Wed, 16 Dec 2020 07:00:00 -0500 This is a podcast exploring issues in politics and policy. Each episode features conversation with at least one subject matter expert, with a goal of helping listeners better understand the topic. en-us episodic Politics and Policy Michael Sargent This is a podcast exploring issues in politics and policy. Each episode features conversation with at least one subject matter expert, with a goal of helping listeners better understand the topic. no politics, policy, law Michael Sargent profsargent@gmail.com Episode 65: Gut Check (w/ Tim Spector, on food science) https://tatter.fireside.fm/65 1220f373-1f2f-4523-8a02-ee4b9ed1da24 Wed, 16 Dec 2020 07:00:00 -0500 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent A conversation on food, gut bacteria, and more, with genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector. 45:24 no We all eat, but we don't all eat well. How can we do so? In particular, what dietary choices are best for an individual's physical wellness? And how much do individuals' unique characteristics determine what choices are best for them? And what choices are best for the environment? Why are calories and "food miles" overrated as metrics? How can governments help consumers make good food choices, especially if they live in food deserts? I discuss such questions with genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector. LINKS --Tim Spector's King's College web profile (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/professor-tim-spector) --Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We've Been Told About Food is Wrong (2020), by Tim Spector (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WSSYZK2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) --The Guardian review of Spoon-Fed (by Bee Wilson) (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/05/spoon-fed-by-tim-spector-review-food-myths-busted) --Information on Zoe (program through which individuals learn more about how their bodies process food) (http://www.joinzoe.com/) --"The human microbiome: Our second genome," by Elizabeth Grice & Julia Sege (2012), Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-genom-090711-163814) --"Attempts to lose weight among adults in the United States, 2013-2016," report from the CDC: National Center for Health Statistics (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db313.htm) --"Chile battles obesity with stop signs on packaged foods," by Eileen Smith (2016) for National Public Radio (https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/12/486898630/chile-battles-obesity-with-stop-signs-on-packaged-foods) Special Guest: Tim Spector. food, gut bacteria, microbiome, twins, science We all eat, but we don't all eat well. How can we do so? In particular, what dietary choices are best for an individual's physical wellness? And how much do individuals' unique characteristics determine what choices are best for them? And what choices are best for the environment? Why are calories and "food miles" overrated as metrics? How can governments help consumers make good food choices, especially if they live in food deserts? I discuss such questions with genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector.

LINKS
--Tim Spector's King's College web profile
--Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We've Been Told About Food is Wrong (2020), by Tim Spector
--The Guardian review of Spoon-Fed (by Bee Wilson)
--Information on Zoe (program through which individuals learn more about how their bodies process food)
--"The human microbiome: Our second genome," by Elizabeth Grice & Julia Sege (2012), Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics
--"Attempts to lose weight among adults in the United States, 2013-2016," report from the CDC: National Center for Health Statistics
--"Chile battles obesity with stop signs on packaged foods," by Eileen Smith (2016) for National Public Radio

Special Guest: Tim Spector.

]]> We all eat, but we don't all eat well. How can we do so? In particular, what dietary choices are best for an individual's physical wellness? And how much do individuals' unique characteristics determine what choices are best for them? And what choices are best for the environment? Why are calories and "food miles" overrated as metrics? How can governments help consumers make good food choices, especially if they live in food deserts? I discuss such questions with genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector.

LINKS
--Tim Spector's King's College web profile
--Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We've Been Told About Food is Wrong (2020), by Tim Spector
--The Guardian review of Spoon-Fed (by Bee Wilson)
--Information on Zoe (program through which individuals learn more about how their bodies process food)
--"The human microbiome: Our second genome," by Elizabeth Grice & Julia Sege (2012), Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics
--"Attempts to lose weight among adults in the United States, 2013-2016," report from the CDC: National Center for Health Statistics
--"Chile battles obesity with stop signs on packaged foods," by Eileen Smith (2016) for National Public Radio

Special Guest: Tim Spector.

]]> Episode 12: Strait and Narrow https://tatter.fireside.fm/12 a84055b0-708a-48ea-acda-54841f0c4f84 Fri, 01 Jun 2018 05:00:00 -0400 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent My conversation with my friend Conor Quinn, my favorite linguist in the whole world, as we talk about the ways that scientists use language, as well as language communities indigenous to the U.S., and a bit about the overlap between those two topics. 51:15 yes Writing is important in many areas, and the sciences are no exception. Publications such as Nature (https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/effective-writing-13815989) offer guidance on such issues as when to use past tense and when to use present tense. In these contexts, grammar is more than something for the Grammar Police to enforce. It matters substantively, as it shapes how assertions are understood by readers and listeners. These effects matter for understanding policy, because research in the sciences can potentially inform sound policy judgment, at least in my happy fantasyland where leaders actually pay attention to relevant science. In this episode, my guest (linguist Conor Quinn (http://www.conormquinn.com/professional.html)) and I explore grammar and some of its impact on how people make claims, in English, and beyond. Highlights --Conor sounds smart (because he is) --I pay a compliment to some psychologist friends of mine, but then I take it all back --I tell two Mitch Hedberg jokes (poorly) --I paint another comedian in an unfavorable light, but only gently so --I paint yet another pair of comedians in a favorable light --I probably make too many references to standup comedy (but I do love it when it's good) Special Guest: Conor Quinn. Writing is important in many areas, and the sciences are no exception. Publications such as Nature offer guidance on such issues as when to use past tense and when to use present tense. In these contexts, grammar is more than something for the Grammar Police to enforce. It matters substantively, as it shapes how assertions are understood by readers and listeners. These effects matter for understanding policy, because research in the sciences can potentially inform sound policy judgment, at least in my happy fantasyland where leaders actually pay attention to relevant science.

In this episode, my guest (linguist Conor Quinn) and I explore grammar and some of its impact on how people make claims, in English, and beyond.

Highlights

--Conor sounds smart (because he is)
--I pay a compliment to some psychologist friends of mine, but then I take it all back
--I tell two Mitch Hedberg jokes (poorly)
--I paint another comedian in an unfavorable light, but only gently so
--I paint yet another pair of comedians in a favorable light
--I probably make too many references to standup comedy (but I do love it when it's good)

Special Guest: Conor Quinn.

]]> Writing is important in many areas, and the sciences are no exception. Publications such as Nature offer guidance on such issues as when to use past tense and when to use present tense. In these contexts, grammar is more than something for the Grammar Police to enforce. It matters substantively, as it shapes how assertions are understood by readers and listeners. These effects matter for understanding policy, because research in the sciences can potentially inform sound policy judgment, at least in my happy fantasyland where leaders actually pay attention to relevant science.

In this episode, my guest (linguist Conor Quinn) and I explore grammar and some of its impact on how people make claims, in English, and beyond.

Highlights

--Conor sounds smart (because he is)
--I pay a compliment to some psychologist friends of mine, but then I take it all back
--I tell two Mitch Hedberg jokes (poorly)
--I paint another comedian in an unfavorable light, but only gently so
--I paint yet another pair of comedians in a favorable light
--I probably make too many references to standup comedy (but I do love it when it's good)

Special Guest: Conor Quinn.

]]>