Nerd Nite Podcast

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 21

podcast — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 23:18:51 +0000

In which I talk to Chris Magyar about Exocentric Compounds, also known as scarecrow nouns. Things get pretty nerdy!

Chris plugged the `andor` conjunction… sadly there aren’t any links to this, although Wikipedia does have a page about “and/or“, which appears to lack neutrality, so it’s clearly a contraversial issue.

If you want to follow Chris on twitter, his handle is @chrisjmagyar

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 20

podcast — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:41:39 +0000

In which James Morganelli talks about ninjas: their history, their present and his experiences learning from a Ninja Master in Japan.

In the podcast, he mentions his blog: Kosshi. Check it out!

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 19

podcast — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:17:06 +0000

In which Tom Malinowski and Rachel Wilson discuss Young Adult Literature, what it is and what it means for young adults and literature as a whole.

Unsurprisingly, Tom and Rachel mention and recommend a lot of books and they are listed below.

Tom’s Masters Program is in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois. Rachel’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults was at Vermont College.

You can follow Rachel at her blog The Storybook Girl or on Twitter.

Finally, just a couple of corrections from Rachel. Forever by Judy Blume came out in 1975, not 1980.
Also, the Madeleine L’Engle quote is:

You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 18

podcast — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:29:52 +0000

A new beginning! Thanks for your patience. This is just a short episode to say that we’ll be back soon and to announce some changes to the format

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 17

podcast — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:38:33 +0000

In which Danny Wells talks about tipping points in mathematical models and how they can be applied to cancer cells.

The term Tipping points may be familiar to readers of ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell.

Danny also recommends these books:

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 16

podcast — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:58:17 +0000

In which Emily Fekete talks about depictions of Africa in contemporary media (such as the news and video games) and how they affect Western perceptions of the continent.

Emily also plugs the entire field of Geography and recommends:

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 15

podcast — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:30:37 +0000

In which John Van Arsdall talks about navigation in space and under the sea and how you figure out where you are and where you’re pointing without GPS or windows.

John mentions the following sites:

Check them out!

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 14

podcast — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:50:08 +0000

In which Roland Kays talks about wild dog, coyote, wolf hybridization in the North East of America; what it is; what it means; and what it tells us about evolution.

You can download his Mammals of North America App on

You can also read his papers on the topic at:

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 13

podcast — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:08:32 +0000

In which Alison Heryer talks about Costume Design, its history, its relationship with fashion and examples of good and bad design.

Nerd Nite Podcast – Episode 12

podcast — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:23:09 +0000

In which Chris Trew talks about professional wrestling, how it’s related to improv and how he went from a fan to a participant.

Links: