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Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria
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Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

Author: Cara Santa Maria

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Cara Santa Maria is a science communicator, television host, producer, and journalist. She is excited to present "Talk Nerdy," a place for conversations with interesting people about interesting topics.
580 Episodes
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In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by science writer and longtime independent journalist, Melanie D. G. Kaplan. They discuss Melanie’s newest book, Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research. Follow Melanie: @melaniedgkaplan
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by acclaimed climatologist,  geophysicist, and University of Pennsylvania distinguished Professor, Dr. Michael Mann. They discuss his latest co-authored book, Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World. Follow Dr. Mann: @MichaelEMann
Rivers w/ Ellen Wohl

Rivers w/ Ellen Wohl

2025-11-1751:19

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by prolific author and University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Colorado State University, Dr. Ellen Wohl. They discuss Ellen’s newest book, Following the Bend: How to Read a River and Understand Its Nature.
Play w/ Cas Holman

Play w/ Cas Holman

2025-11-1051:35

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by founder and chief designer of the toy company Heroes Will Rise and a former Professor of Industrial Design at RISD, Cas Holman. They discuss her new book, Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity. Follow Cas: @casholman
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by associate professor in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, Dr. Eram Alam. They discuss her highly relevant book, The Care of Foreigners: How Immigrant Physicians Changed US Healthcare.
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by award-winning earth scientist, TV presenter, writer, and advocate for diversity in the geosciences and nature, Dr. Anjana Khatwa. They discuss Anjana’s new book, The Whispers of Rock: The Stories That Stone Tells About Our World and Our Lives.  Follow Anjana: @anjanakhatwa
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined award-winning scientist and science communicator, Dr. Ainissa Ramirez. They discuss her newest book, Spark: Jim West's Electrifying Adventures in Creating the Microphone. Follow Ainissa: @ainissaramirez
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by New York Times Best Selling author, illustrator, and science communicator Rachel Ignotofsky. They discuss her forthcoming book, Dinosaurs: Exploring Prehistoric Life and Geological Time . Follow Rachel: @rachelignotofsky
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by University of Western Australia research fellow, and creative writer, Dr. Prema Arasu. They discuss Prema’s new book, The Book of Sea Monsters. Follow Prema: @prema_arasu
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by former CDC director, physician, and author, Dr. Tom Frieden. They discuss his newly released book, The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives—Including Your Own. Follow Tom: @drtomfrieden
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by evolutionary social psychologist and author who studies women and health, Dr. Sarah E. Hill. They discuss her newest book, The Period Brain: The New Science of Why We PMS and How to Fix It: A Manifesto for Women. Follow Sarah: @sarahehillphd
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by prolific science writer, and author of eight New York Times bestsellers, Mary Roach. They discuss her newest book, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy. Follow Mary: @authormaryroach
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by renowned anthropologist, and Director of the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project in Kenya, Dr. Shirley Strum. They talk about her new book, ECHOES OF OUR ORIGINS: Baboons, Humans and Nature.
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by Primatologist and Assistant Professor at NYU Dept of Environmental Studies, Dr. Christine E. Webb. They discuss her new book, The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters.
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the UC San Francisco, Dr. Virginia Sturm. They discuss her book: Mysteries of the Social Brain: Understanding Human Behavior Through Science. Follow Virginia: @brainsturming
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by scholar practitioner dedicated to truth-telling through research and education, Pauline W. Hoffmann Ph.D. We discuss Pauline’s book, Fake News, Witch Hunts, & Conspiracy Theories. Follow Pauline: @pwHoffmann
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by qualitative sociologist, Dr. Gretchen Sisson. Gretchen’s researches pregnancy, abortion and adoption at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) department at UC San Francisco. Her 2024 book is: “Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood “ Follow Gretchen: @GretchenSisson
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by biologist and Professor of science writing, Anne E. Greene. They discuss Anne’s book, “Writing Science in Plain English, Second Edition.”
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by author and Science & Environment Writer, Starre Vartan. They discuss Starre’s newest book, “The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us about the Power of the Female Body.” Follow: @StarreVartan
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by psycholinguist and Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Wisconsin−Madison, Dr. Maryellen MacDonald. They discuss her book, More Than Words: How Talking Sharpens the Mind and Shapes Our World. Follow Maryellen: @maryellenmacdonald
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Comments (11)

Aldo Ojeda

Great episode!, Julia Serrano's voice is a great addition to the so called discussion.

Jul 24th
Reply

ID19619055

Are we sure? Is it untouched though? The West in the US certainly wasn’t untouched or unmanaged. What is “wild” what is “natural”? Are we repeating our settler privilege by ignoring the Indigenous populations? Certainly the case in the US when people stay this stuff and ignore my ancestors.

Feb 6th
Reply

ID19619055

Whether someone lives on tribal land or not…does not change whether they are Indigenous. Indigenous Studies 101….

Jan 13th
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Les Hollenbeck

great episode Cara

Apr 13th
Reply

Chak Olate

Wait! What happened to the 'same two questions'? I was really looking forward to them.

Oct 18th
Reply

Maria Jouravleva

Really upsetting to hear Brian's take at the end, seems like very short-sighted analysis so I'm glad the host politely called him out. #talknerdypodcast

Jan 1st
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Amanda Aho

What a good episode! I learned so much about CF!

Oct 21st
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Amanda Aho

castbox got the wrong audio somehow. the title is Keith Cooper but the episode itself is from March 2019. I was able to find the correct episode on SoundCloud, though

Jul 8th
Reply

Keith Evans

great episode

Aug 28th
Reply

memonkey

Wow! I mean WOOOOOW! You guys in the States have some real issues. Keep fighting the good fight Cara. From NZ.

Jul 11th
Reply

TheRealJacob98

I went to this!! Had an amazing time.

Sep 28th
Reply