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 […]
What’s the Word: Virus
The Wuhan coronavirus continues to rage across mainland China, with health officials wondering if and when the illness will tip into a pandemic. This week on “What’s the Word,” Adam Schuster takes a look at “viruses,” their peculiar processes and how they’ve become so deeply entangled in our lives.
Split Show: Wuhan Coronavirus and Australian Aboriginal Land Rights
On today’s episode, we cover issues of international importance. First, UW–Madison virologist Kristen Bernard offers information on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in China and what it means for global public health. Then, we turn our sights to Australia to learn about Aboriginal history, local response to this year’s bushfire crisis, and the fight for land […]
Nerds Having Fun! (#5)
Some of us Perpetual Notion Machine nerds like to have fun reporting and commenting on recent science stories in the news. But tonight’s episode, discussing the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, isn’t much fun. PNM’ers Josh Mitchell, Ary Clarke, and Kelly Schwartz, along with PNM engineer Kevin Lauterjung, describe the […]
The Virus Hunter
You’ve likely heard doctor’s warnings about flu season before, but what about cross-species infection? As humans continue to encroach on biodiverse regions around the world, the likelihood of human interactions with new deadly pathogens increases. And to make matters worse, scientists have already confirmed a human cold virus infecting a population of wild chimpanzees in […]