The future is scary, but it doesn’t have to be. On Seeking A Scientist from KCUR Studios, Kate The Chemist is guiding us into the great unknown, from fungus zombies to feeling young forever.
Together, we'll puzzle out what our world could look like — and how we can get ready.
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Our latest episodes
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A new “Jurassic Park” movie is coming out next year, the latest installment of the blockbuster series all about the dangerous hubris in trying to bring dinosaurs back from extinction. Paleogeneticist Beth Shapiro says the science may be flawed, but cloning extinct species is more realistic than you may think. In fact, that work is already underway — but with the slightly friendlier woolly mammoth. -
To save Oklahoma from treacherous tornados, scientists in the 2024 blockbuster “Twisters” try to use a real-life technique called cloud seeding. But would this really work? Researchers have actually been using cloud seeding to modify the weather since the 1940s. For professor Katja Friedrich, it’s a promising way to address some of the issues caused by climate change. -
Dogs don’t talk to us the way our human best friends do, but they are biologically prepared to communicate with us in a range of ways. What if we could understand our furry companions better? Dr. Emily Bray, a canine cognition specialist, says that dogs are better at understanding us than we are them, but there are ways we can bridge the gap. -
Fireworks have been used to dazzle and entertain for centuries. These spectacles can seem out of this world, and they’re directly related to Kate the Chemist’s favorite subject: chemistry. Kate answers your questions about fireworks, including what causes their sound, colors and even smell. -
We haven’t been giving the Plant Kingdom enough credit. Plants can move, attack, communicate, and adapt — even though they don’t have what's normally defined as a brain. But do plants meet the criteria for intelligent life? That’s the question Paco Calvo and Natalie Lawrence explore in their book “Planta Sapiens: Unmasking Plant Intelligence.” -
Asteroids heading straight for planet Earth aren’t just a scenario out of a Hollywood thriller. Luckily, scientists around the world have long been preparing for such an “Armageddon” scenario.Kate The Chemist speaks with Nancy Chabot, one of the leaders behind NASA’s planetary defense missions, about destroying asteroids in space before they reach our atmosphere. -
Ever since the 2023 Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of quantum dots, Kate’s phone has been ringing off the hook. Everyone wants her to explain what these tiny clusters of atoms are — and how they relate to the budding field of nanotechnology. In essence, she says, quantum dots are helping chemists make our world brighter, healthier and more energy efficient.
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Over the last few years, the box office has been dominated by films like "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" that explore ideas of parallel universes, quantum worlds and alternate lives. There's some real theoretical physics behind those ideas, but they may not look exactly how we imagine. -
From molds and yeasts to the mushrooms we fear and love, fungi are connected to life and death on our planet — but they're often misunderstood. We only know about 10% of the estimated 3.8 million species that exist. Mycologist Giuliana Furci wants us to separate “fungal fact” from “fungal fiction," and give this kingdom the legal recognition it deserves. -
In April 2023 alone, floods hit numerous regions of the United States, including land-locked states like Kansas, Tennessee and Colorado. With warmer temperatures and human activity causing the oceans to rise and the ground to sink, flooding is now a question of when, not if. But there are still things we can do to prepare for this "floodier future." -
America saw the consequences of a failing electrical grid. What does a sustainable future look like?In February 2021, Texas and wide swaths of North America were shut down by Winter Storm Uri, which caused massive blackouts and left millions of people without power for days. The winter storms exposed vulnerabilities in our country’s electrical grid, and underlined the pressing need for a more reliable energy system. Is a recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion a possible path forward? -
In 1997, Captain Charles Moore first discovered the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” the largest accumulation of plastic waste in the ocean. Since then, scientists have documented how plastic has permanently damaged marine ecosystems and even altered evolution — and the problem has only grown larger. But Moore and other researchers aren’t giving up hope that we can still save the oceans. -
We tend to think of getting older as inevitable, but what if it’s actually something we can control? Researchers like David Sinclair and Nir Barzilai have discovered some of the secrets to reversing aging, found animals who defy our understandings of life, and turned old mice young again. But even if humans could live forever, should we?
About Dr. Kate Biberdorf
Dr. Kate Biberdorf is a chemist, science entertainer, and professor at The University of Texas. Through her theatrical and hands-on approach to teaching, Dr. Biberdorf is breaking down the image of the stereotypical scientist, while reaching students who might otherwise be intimidated by science.
She is the author of the bestseller “The Big Book of Experiments,” “The Awesome Book of Edible Experiments,” the fiction series “Kate the Chemist,” and the nonfiction book “It’s Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything.” She's been profiled in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and appeared on “The Today Show,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “NBC Nightly News,” “The Rachael Ray Show,” "Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson," and “Late Night with Stephen Colbert.”
Dr. Biberdorf lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, two dogs, and one very grumpy cat. Learn more about her on her website, and follow her on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Seeking A Scientist is a production of KCUR Studios and a member of the NPR Podcast Network. Brought to you by the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, where scientists work to accelerate our understanding of human health and disease.
