Big Biology

A tribute to slow science: remembering Bob Ricklefs

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What was distinctive about Bob Ricklefs’ mentorship style, and how did he influence

Flower power (Ep 153)

How have flowers shaped the modern world? Why do we and many other species have such intimate and long-term relationships with them? On this special episode, we talk wit

A coevolutionary conundrum (Ep 152)

When a bee visits a flower, what decides the match? How can a neutral model explain community assemblages? Why are long-term ecological studies so important? In this epi

The cost of correctness (Ep 151)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What have so many influential scientists been at some time been ridiculed and disbe

Hormones gone wild (Ep 150)

How do hormones help animals cope with stress, seasons, and climate change? What is allostasis? In this episode, our guest is John Wingfield, Emeritus Professor of Physi

Invasion of the ecosystem snatchers (Ep 149)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How do you experimentally test theories of island biogeography? Who were the Tallah

The Voracious Ctenophore and the Silent Sea (Ep 148)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How is climate change affecting the movements of small predators in the sea? How do

The Genetics of Vice (Ep 147)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What role do genes play in complex human behaviors? If behavior is largely shaped b

Evolution at the speed of life (Ep 145)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What are eco‑evolutionary dynamics and how can we study them in the wild? Why do so

Heart of gold (Ep 144)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How are camera traps used in the conservation of cryptic species such as the Africa

The Vital Question: The Chemistry of Early Life

How did life originate on Earth? Why is it that eukaryotes but not bacteria or archaea evolved large size and complicated body forms? How likely is that life has arisen i

From Steppe to Stable (Ep 143)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How and when did humans domesticate the horse? How did horses shape our language, c

Doctors by Nature (Ep 142)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How do animals use medication and can humans learn from them? What are the evolutio

Vulnerability in science and in genomes (Ep 141)

What impact has the Trump administration had on biology and the scientific community? How do scientists study genomic adaptation and vulnerability? On this episode we ta

Biology outside the box (Ep 140)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What’s the value of risk-taking in research? How is studying the mechanisms of tran

Evolution across scales (Ep 139)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How do non-adaptive processes shape biological diversity and complexity? What is ef

The Origin of Us: Human Evolution

Where, when, and how did Homo sapiens appear? What do we know about the complex set of ancestral hominins that preceded us? How recently did other hominin lineages live a

Covid Conversations (Ep 138)

What can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how do we apply that knowledge moving forward? On this special episode of Big Biology, we’re bringing you the highlight

Student Spotlight: Finding passion in science communication and advocacy (Ep 137)

How can grad students advocate for science policy? How can science communication make research more accessible and inclusive? On this episode of Big Biology, we bring ba

The call of the wild (Ep 136)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What role does media play in conservation efforts and inspiring future generations