Show Notes
In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman interviews NASA astrophysicist Erini Lambrides about her unconventional journey from pursuing the performing arts to studying supermassive black holes. Lambrides reflects on how curiosity, persistence through early struggles in physics and a background in acting shaped her scientific approach and mentoring philosophy.
Recommended Reading:
Young American Scientists
Profile: Erini Lambrides
Join our Summer Reading Challenge
E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.
Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
This episode is part of “The Young American Scientists,” an editorially independent project that was produced with financial support from Regeneron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Science Quickly
Our brains are constantly trying to predict what comes next, but in an increasingly unpredictable world, that mental workload can fuel stress, anxiety and even depression. In this episode of Science Quickly, author Maia Szalavitz explains how the brain processes uncertainty, why some people are better equipped to handle it than others and how we can build resilience by learning to embrace the unknown.
In this episode of Science Quickly, science journalist and science-fiction author Annalee Newitz discusses their novel A Wall Is Also a Road, a story about a graduate student who also happens to be a conscious slime mold alien. The slime mold, named Gardenpath, has decided to study an alien civilization, and her fieldwork has taken her to Pompeii, where she befriends a local sex worker named Murtis. Newitz and Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman talk about the compelling nature of slime molds, the value of looking at human civilization from the outside and the ordinary people of Pompeii.
How much screen time is too much? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American associate editor Allison Parshall reads her November cover story, “Escaping the Infinite Scroll.” In the story, she explores the growing debate over screen addiction and problematic social media use. From landmark lawsuits against tech companies to the psychology behind endless scrolling, she explains what researchers know about digital dependence, why social platforms are designed to keep us engaged and how some people are turning to addiction-style recovery programs for help.
In this episode of Science Quickly: a surprising discovery about postmenopausal ovaries, new evidence that microplastics may harm cells through their physical structure, the secret mechanics of honeybee stingers and a cyberattack that spoiled food in hundreds of supermarkets. Catch up on the latest science and tech news.
How much screen time is too much? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American associate editor Allison Parshall explores the growing debate over screen addiction and problematic social media use. From landmark lawsuits against tech companies to the psychology behind endless scrolling, she explains what researchers know about digital dependence, why social platforms are designed to keep us engaged and how some people are turning to addiction-style recovery programs for help.