STEM Read
Summary: The STEM Read podcast explores the connections between STEM and storytelling. Join hosts Gillian King-Cargile and Dr. Kristin Brynteson as they dive into a hot topic in K-12 education with an educator or STEM expert. After that, they talk with an author whose books can ignite enthusiasm for reading and learning. Get great reading recommendations, spark stemtastic ideas for your classroom or library, and geek out with Gillian and Kristin about science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.
Podcasts:
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 . His latest book is The Anthropocene Reviewed , an essay collection rating life itself. STEM Read director Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile)
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 . S. L. Huang (@sl_huang) is a Hugo-award winning author who justifies her MIT degree by using it to write eccentric
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 brilliant scientists racing toward publications, patents, and
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 different makers who want to build, grow, and make the world a
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 kids. Our guests are archivist and Dime Novel Expert Sata
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. STEM Read Director Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile) talks to experts in history and speculative fiction to hear how pandemics have shaped art and how this turbulent moment in world history is transforming the future of publishing and the genre. Speakers include Valerie Garver (Professor of History, Northern Illinois
Some people are complaining that COVID-19 is not the pandemic they signed up for. It was supposed to be Zombies! E ven though we don’t have zombies, many of us have a roadmap for survival because of horror. In this episode, Gillian King-Cargile (@ gkingcargile ) talks with Carolyn C iesla (@ papersquared ) , dean of the Library and Learning Resources and Assessment at Prairie State College and part of Summer Scares, a committee that creates book lists and resources to help libraries connect
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, we’re highlighting two women whose love of math took them on
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, empathy in gaming, and how all of that informed his first novel
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. Then Gillian is joined by physicist Rebecca C. Thompson (@mathlete79) to unpack Devs’ topics of quantum mechanics and determinism. Rebecca is head of the Office of Education
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. We explore live-action-role-playing (LARPing) and game-based learning and then discuss how historical fiction can be a gateway to learning about the history of STEM and the forgotten history of female innovators. Are you ready to get your game on? Grab a fez
Going Wild with Peter Brown and Dr. Holly Jones In this episode of the STEM Read Podcast Gillian King-Cargile (@gkingcargile), Kristin Brynteson (@kbrynteson), and Melanie Koss (@melaniekoss) sit down with NIU Biology professor Holly Jones, Ph.D., and author of The Wild Robot Peter Brown (@itspeterbrown) to talk island ecosystems, endangered species, writing, and robotics. Northern Illinois University’s STEM Read is part of the NIU STEAM family of programs that explore science, technology,
Episode 16: The Women of Frankenstein with Kiersten White and Christine Brovelli-O’Brien In this episode of the STEM Read Podcast hosts Gillian King-Cargile (@ gkingcargile ) and Kristin Brynteson (@ kbry nteson ) sit down with literature expert Christine Brovelli-O’Brien PhD., and New York Times best-selling author Kiersten White (@ kierstenwhite ) to explore the legacy of Frankenstein . With 2018 marking 200 years since Frankenstein ’s initial release we look back on the real-life science that
Episode 15: Pangolin Party with Brendan Wenzel and Brookfield Zoo In honor of World Pangolin Day we’re talking to a special group of people who are passionate about pangolins: mammals with scales. Pangolins look like armored anteaters. They evolved to be lion proof. They’re scaly, solitary, and adorable, but they’re also the most heavily trafficked animals in the world. We’ll talk to author and illustrator Brendan Wenzel about his books Hello, Hello and They All Saw a Cat and hear how he uses
Episode 14: Revisions in Writing, Engineering, and Life with Craig DeAmbrose and Mike Mullin On this episode, Gillian and Kristin explore the similarities between creative and technical processes with bicycle engineer Craig DeAmbrose and author Mike Mullin. Mullin’s newest book Surface Tension tells the story of a teen cyclist who suffers a traumatic brain injury after witnessing a terrorist attack. No one believes his memories of the events except the terrorists who are trying to silence him
