In this episode, we chat with PZ Myers - lead author of the blog Pharyngula (Pharyngula is hosted at Science Blogs - a project from Seed Magazine). Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.



Contact
Information at UM Morris
Curriculum
Vitae
Personal Page
Profile
on Nature Network
Pharyngula Galleries
Articles
written by PZ Myers at Seed Magazine
2006
Weblog Award Winner: Best Science Blog



Preview from the Show:
Myers: What you want to do with a blog - it's
such an informal medium - if you get all stuffy and treat it as something where
you are going to write a formal treatise everyday, I don't think you'll
get as much interest. So by keeping it personal, keeping it human, what I think
I've done is open up a little window into a science professor's life,
which is sometimes scary, but fun.

Basler: Do you think that this type of casual
communication [blogging] is something really important that the students are going
to need in the future, or was it just an experiment to try out because you were
blogging?
Myers: Oh it's both. I mean,
this is a brave new medium. I'm trying new things; I wanna
explore this and see what we can do with our students. But I also
think it's important for the future of science and science education -
that what we want is active, involved learners at every stage of the
game. And if this is a way that we can get people talking about
science, then that's a huge step - that's important.


Myers: My schedule's turning into a
frightening thing; it's getting so packed full of requests to talk, but
I try to indulge in as much as possible.
Bartel: So you're working on Darwin Day instead of enjoying it, is what you're saying?
Myers: Well, getting up in front of
an audience and talking about evolution and talking about science,
talking about philosophy in these ideas - that's not working is it?

Links:

Wikipedia Entry
The Mad Scientist (from Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages)
Monkey's Uncle (from Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages)
PZ Myers on Richard Dawkins (from Seed Magazine)
Interview with DailyKos
Interview by John Horgan
DarwinDay.org
Darwin Day Celebration at Lawrence University - February 9, 2008





Books Discussed on the Show:



Your
Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
The
Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen