
About the Show
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.
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India, the world’s largest democracy, will begin a ban on single-use plastics next week on July 1, 2022. What drove this change? How will people change their behaviors and how will suppliers adjust to the needs of 1.4 billion Indians? And what can we Americans as the world’s second largest democracy learn from India’s journey? […] […]

Hello Wisconsin it is 7:01pm you are listening to the Perpetual Notion Machine on WORT 89.9 FM Madison. I’m your host Emily Morris. On tonight’s episode of PNM I’m taking a little science host liberty and declaring that we have a math show. This is because I was recently reading a novel set in Madison […] […]

“What is morality?” might be the biggest unanswered question facing humanity, other than what caused the Big Bang to form the universe. You might think the answer is simple: what is right versus what is wrong. But morality is more than that. It varies significantly across generations, societies, cultures, and individuals. Could a moral or […] […]

The bride walks down the aisle with the Canon in D, softly echoing her steps. The almost crescendo as Queen sings “Galileo” in Bohemian Rhapsody. The animated crescondos and vistas of Fantasia. What do Canon in D, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Fantasia have in common? Classical music – musicians and composers! Today, we explore classical music, […] […]

The coronavirus is a highly contagious and deadly disease that turned into a pandemic for us humans. Now, a highly contagious and deadly avian flu virus is devastating the chickens on poultry farms, and even infecting wild birds, such as Bald eagles. Tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine welcomes Adel Talaat to talk about this avian […] […]

This year’s UW-Madison Science Expeditions will held this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 8, 9, and 10. All around campus, there will be events of all kinds from tours, to presentations, to exhibits, to hands-on exploration stations, and almost everything will be in-person. So, tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine welcomes Tom Zinnen as our guest […] […]

Tonight on Perpetual Notion Machine host Emily Morris talks with Sanjay Limaye. Sanjay is a Distinguished Scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Space Science and Engineering Center who studies what is absorbing sunlight on our neighbor planet Venus. We discuss the possibility of life for extremophile bacteria in its clouds, what else we’re looking for […] […]

Coral reefs cover only 1% of the ocean, but they’re essential for healthy ocean ecosystems, and for protecting us on land from damage from the impact of waves. According to a review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reefs in the US provide an estimated 1.75 billion dollars in ecosystem services, including protection from […] […]

COVID-19 has required us to stay at home and not socialize with people in groups. This self-imposed isolation has lead to mental and emotional stress. But this has also lead to more eating and less exercise. So, tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine looks into metabolism, the system of processing food for energy. Dale Schoeller, Emeritus […] […]

On tonight’s episode of Perpetual Notion Machine host Emily Morris talks with Emily Spilman from the Environmental Working Group. We talk about the ingredients in personal care and cleaning products and get you ready to judge a cosmetic by its cover. Check out the EWG website here. And their Skin Deep database here. Their guide […] […]
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