New Periodic Bagel episode: O Canada! with Meagan Oakley and Anika Tarasewicz

Meagan and Anika subject CJ and Alex to a quiz this time. We talk about Canada and about Meagan and Anika's research. Finally, we talk about the upcoming "Leaders Overcoming Gender Inequality in Chemistry" (LOGIC) retreat, which happens immediately before the CCCE conference in Winnipeg, MB. At the CCCE conference, Meagan and Anika are also hosting a special session on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Key dates:

EDI Abstract Submission Deadline: February 10, 2020
LOGIC Abstract Submission Deadline: May 1, 2020.
LOGIC Retreat: May 23-24
CCCE: May 24-28

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Feel free to ask questions, add comments and suggestions for guests and topics in the comments.

Newest Periodic Bagel episode: Derek Lowe, medicinal chemist (not the former MLB pitcher)

Sixth episode of The Periodic Bagel, with guest Derek Lowe (@Dereklowe), chemistry jobs, the future of pharma and rock music.

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Feel free to ask questions, add comments and suggestions for guests and topics in the comments.

Newest Periodic Bagel episode: Nessa Carson, mistress of robots

Fifth episode of The Periodic Bagel, with guest Nessa Carson ((@SuperScienceGrl), robots, the UK and the "Dear Guido" letter. For the latter segment, it is NOT child-friendly language.

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Newest Periodic Bagel episode: Professor Feier Hou, Western Oregon University

Fourth episode of The Periodic Bagel, with guest Dr. Feier Hou (@happykitten62) of Western Oregon University, who talks with us about cats, crystals and Chinese academia.

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Newest Periodic Bagel episode: Dr. Sarah Cady, Iowa State University

Third episode of The Periodic Bagel, with guest Sarah Cady (@sarahdcady) of Iowa State University, who talks with us about magnets, civic engagement and cranberry sauce.

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The Periodic Bagel, Episode 2: Alex Goldberg and Chemjobber, guest: Stuart Cantrill

Second episode of The Periodic Bagel, with guest Stuart Cantrill of Nature Chemistry, who speaks to us about peer review, open access and his gin collection.

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Bagel Bite 2: sandwiches

The Periodic Bagel: Alex Goldberg and Chemjobber, guest: Lisa Jarvis

Launching today is the inaugural podcast of The Periodic Bagel, with guest Lisa Jarvis of Chemical and Engineering News. Lisa speaks to us about her recent KRas cover story in C&EN as well as her strong feelings about candy corn.

Alex has done an amazing amount of work in a very fast period of time, and I am really grateful that it has turned out as well as it has. Please take a listen.

You can't subscribe to us on iTunes yet, but here's our RSS feed.

Please feel free to add comments and suggestions for guests and topics in the comments. 

A teaser trailer for a new podcast

Enjoy a little snippet of a new podcast with Alex Goldberg and myself. 

Radio show: Saturday, June 3, noon Eastern with Carmen Drahl

Looking forward to talking with Dr. Carmen Drahl (formerly of C&EN, and a current science blogger for Forbes) on Saturday, June 3. We'll be talking about West Virginia and its chemistry industry among other things - looking forward to it! 

Late Night with Chemjobber, Friday, November 27, 11 PM Eastern

Final plug for Late Night with Chemjobber; it'll be two hours* of guests and call-in fun, starting at 11 PM Eastern on Friday night, November 27.

Booked guests: @pinkyprincess (11 PM slot), @seearroh and @drrubidium (11:30 PM slot), Alex Goldberg (11:45 PM), St. Andrews' Lynx (12:00 AM) and Chad Jones (12:15 AM). 

Click here to hear the show at 11 PM Eastern today, and if you'd like to call in, lines open at 11:10 pm or so. The number to call in is (267) 521-0195.

Be aware that technical difficulties may happen, so apologies in advance if they happen.

UPDATE: The show has been extended.

*If we have lots of callers, I'll try to figure out how to extend the show. New software, not quite sure how to proceed. 

Late Night with Chemjobber, Friday, November 27, 11 PM Eastern

Another plug for Late Night with Chemjobber; it'll be two hours* of guests and call-in fun, starting at 11 PM Eastern on Friday night, November 27.

Booked guests: @pinkyprincess (11 PM slot), @seearroh and @drrubidium (11:30 PM slot)

Final details will be posted by noon Eastern time on Friday.

*If I have a bunch of folks still interested in calling in at the end of the show, I'll start another show**, maybe.
**The Blog Talk Radio software only allows 2 hours at a time at my level of usage. 

"Rosie Revere, Engineer": a reading

For a couple of years now, I have been involved with the DIY Science Zone at Geek Girl Con. This is an annual science fiction convention; prominent online science communicator Raychelle Burks has been putting on the Zone, where children (and adults) are invited to interact with hands-on science demonstrations and the like. It's a lot of fun and I have enjoyed participating in it.

We do a lot of fundraising for the Zone for supplies, etc. One of the things we're supposed to do is Acts of Whimsy when we meet certain fundraising goals. Because we reached $1500, I did a dramatic reading a portion of the infamous arsenic life paper.

A commenter noted that the reading was not exactly in the spirit of Geek Girl Con; I agreed and so I convinced someone I know to read a book that is much more relevant to the ideas behind Geek Girl Con and the DIY Sci Zone. The book is "Rosie Revere, Engineer" by Andrea Beaty.



Hope you enjoy. If you feel like donating, here's a link.

(And if you do donate $20 or more and tell me, I will send you a handwritten thank you note and write a post of your choosing.) 

A dramatic reading of (a portion of) the arsenic life paper

As part of the Acts of Whimsy for this year's Geek Girl Con, I decided to make a recording of the (in)famous "arsenic life" paper. I hope you enjoy.



If you can, feel free to donate to the cause. Just like last year, if you donate and tell me, I will offer you a handwritten thank you note and for any donation of $20 or more, I will write a post of your choosing.

I do not love soliciting funds, but teaching science and the scientific method to kids is worthy in my opinion. Thanks for listening.

Podcast: Brandon Findlay and Chemjobber

Brandon Findlay of Chemtips recently has accepted a position as an assistant professor; he and I talk a little about the process of finding and getting a job in Canadian scientific academia.



0:00 to 5:00: Introduction
5:00: Beginning the search
6:50: Which websites were useful for searching for academic jobs in Canada?
9:00: Skype interviewing
12:30: Useful online resources, including Doc Becca's academic job search posts (apologies for sound quality here)
13:15: The onsite interview, including Brandon's incredibly clever jet lag hack
22:30: Letters of reference
24:40: Getting The News
27:30: What will the Findlay Lab tackle?
33:00: Praise for Ken Hanson's "Get A Job, Ken" posts.

A dramatic reading of the Org Syn prep for Evans phenylalanine-derived oxazolidinone

As part of the Acts of Whimsy for this year's Geek Girl Con, I decided to make a recording of the synthesis of my favorite Evans chiral auxiliary. I hope you enjoy.



Please, if you can, feel free to donate to the cause. Just like last year, if you donate and tell me, I will offer you a handwritten thank you note and for any donation of $20 or more, I will write a post of your choosing.

Have a great Labor Day weekend! 

A dramatic reading of "A comprehensive overview of chemical-free consumer products"

As part of the Acts of Whimsy for this year's Geek Girl Con, I decided to make a recording of the paper that Alex Goldberg and I submitted to Nature Chemistry. I hope you enjoy. (One more dramatic reading on its way.)



Please, if you can, feel free to donate to the cause. Just like last year, if you donate and tell me, I will offer you a handwritten thank you note and for any donation of $20 or more, I will write a post of your choosing.

Podcast: See Arr Oh's startup adventures

See Arr Oh and I recorded a podcast talking about his adventures as a chemist at a startup. Give it a listen!



0:00: See Arr Oh begins his adventure as a founding employee at a startup
4:00: Starting the clock
7:45: In hindsight, what does SAO wish he knew beforehand?
8:50: Crazy startup stories
10:30: The tough times started
13:00: The company gets smaller
15:00: SAO's salary gets smaller, much, much, much smaller
17:30: What are interviews for mid-career chemists like now? 
20:40: Big company interviews
22:00: What's different about interviews now?
24:15: Role playing in interviews
27:30: Emergency funds needed
29:30: "You are more than just your job."

Enjoy! 

Podcast: Leigh Boerner and Chemjobber talk about sexism and sexual harassment in academia

Last Friday, Leigh Krietsch Boerner and I talked about problems of sexism in academia, using the revelations of sexual harassment surrounding Bora Zivkovic (a prominent figure in science communication) as a starting point. (For context, this Slate article by Laura Helmuth is a good place to start.)



Timepoints:

0:00 - 9:51: CJ and Leigh briefly recap the Bora mess
9:51: Do we want our children to go to graduate school in chemistry?
11:50: Leigh talks about her experience with the credibility gap between men and women.*
14:42: CJ: "Nobody wants to write that paper."
18:25: Why do women come forward with stories of sexual harassment?
19:00: Leigh's experience with inappropriate comments in graduate school
24:25: A hearsay story of sexual harassment by a professor against a student
26:00: The department's completely ineffective response
28:27: Leigh: "And that's reality for you."
30:00: The problem of appearance**
33:48: Leigh: "We need a voice."

Thanks to Leigh for talking about this difficult yet important issue.

*13:37: CJ misspoke by reversing the word order. 
**32:55 CJ's editing error: Leigh actually said "*Not* everyone who is a scientist is socially retarded."

Podcast: 1st Lieutenant Cramer, Ph.D.

Today is part two of my conversation with Chris Cramer, professor of theoretical chemistry and Army vet. He talks about his experiences in the U.S. Army and what scientists who work for the military do:



Timepoints:

0:30: How to pay for college? How about ROTC?
1:57: Prof. Cramer admits to being pre-med once upon a time
3:00: It is hard to get the Army to change its mind, but it can be done.
4:20: You're a Ph.D. in chemistry -- isn't it time to join the Army?
4:47: "Crossed retorts"
5:10: 1st Lieutenant Cramer goes to Korea
7:58: 1st Lieutenant Cramer finally gets to do some science (after some maneuvering)
11:00: "Real computing power"
12:59: What do scientists who work for the military do?
15:13: What about funding?
17:16: He who pays the piper...?
17:51: What's Prof. Cramer's favorite part of Twitter?

Once again, thanks to Professor Cramer for sharing his time.