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Perpetual Notion Machine

Perpetual Notion Machine is a look at contemporary scientific issues and discoveries in a way that is accessible, understandable and entertaining to the non-scientists of the listening community. Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

COVID + Vaccines (Edited from “A Public Affair” Dec. 1, 20...

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Tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine has aired an edited version from a previous episode of the WORT daily afternoon program A Public Affair. PNM has done a fair number of its own episodes concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. But on Dec. 1, 2020, host Carousel Bayrd talked with Dave O’Connor about what we have learned about […]

Violence (Rebroadcast From Feb. 2, 2006)

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Tonight the Perpetual Notion Machine rebroadcasts a show that originally aired on Feb. 2, 2006. Distinguished professor of anthropology Neil Whitehead was our guest. Generally, Neil studied indigenous peoples in the isolated regions of the Amazon rainforest, and their often brutal tribal practices. Thus, he was interested in the human nature of violence, and wrote […]

No More Landfill! Complex Plastic Recycling in Post-Industrial Waste

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Tonight the Perpetual Notion Machine talks with Professor George Huber and Professor Reid van Lehn of the University of Wisconsin – Madison Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Department of Energy’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. They are the co-authors of the paper ‘Recycling of multilayer plastic packaging materials by solvent-targeted recovery and […]

The Wild Turkey Show!

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On this Thanksgiving special, new Perpetual Notion Machine host Robert W Monthey explores the restocking of wild turkeys in Wisconsin–with some special guests from the field. His guest is Patrick Kaiser, a retired biologist and former Wildlife Manager with the Wisconsin DNR. Robert says the idea for the interview was sparked by his family farm […]

Microbiology of Prions in CWD (Rebroadcast from Nov. 30, 2006)

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Tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine rebroadcasts a show which originally aired on Nov. 30, 2006. PNM has done a fair number of shows describing Chronic Wasting Disease or CWD, which infect deer and cause death due to brain degeneration after about 18 months. And since 2006, CWD in the Wisconsin deer population has spread virtually […]

Bird Songs, Social Behavior, and Feel-good Opioid Endorphins

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Tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine heads to nature. Bird songs come in all varieties. They’re melodic, harsh, intricate, diverse, and creative. Our guest, Lauren Riters, professor in integrative biology at UW-Madison, says most of the remarkable songs occur in the springtime during mating season. But some bird species like to congregate, or flock together, in […]

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