Category: Podcasts

Breyton Hill attends Brain Night at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. As she explores, she talks to researchers, volunteers, and community members all attending or tabling for Brain Night. Chris Smith, the museum’s Coordinator of Current Science Programs explains more about what Brain Night is. The 2026 keynote speaker was Dr. Christa Baker and her postdoc, Dr. Alexandra Venuto, talks about their research in fruit flies. Attendee Zachary Henderson visited their table and shares what he learned. NC State University researcher Dr. Kurt Marsden shares about his work studying zebrafish and how they are surprisingly genetically similar to humans. Dr. John Meitzen’s table always has real human brain specimens for visitors to hold. Julia Janosko shares how humbling it is to hold what was someone’s consciousness in the palm of your hand. Emily Philips and Ranganath Gopalraj talk about the Neuroscience Club at NC State and how Brain Night is “their Super Bowl.” Once again, Chris Smith leaves us with his favorite part of Brain Night: holding a real human brain and nerding out with experts.

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In today’s episode, Sophs sits down with Emily Foster, the Co-Director of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival taking place in Durham April 16th–19th. We talk about the great new films and filmmakers that will be showcased, what makes this year’s lineup especially exciting, and how the festival continues to be a vital platform for documentary storytelling.

Emily also shares insights into the curation process, highlights a few must-see premieres, and offers tips for first-time attendees looking to make the most of their festival experience. We wrap things up with a look at how documentary film is evolving and why events like Full Frame remain so important for both creators and audiences alike.

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In this episode of “That’s What They Said”, Julia and Kieran dive into the nooks and crannies of ethical AI use, managing exam-heavy weeks, and their summer plans. They brainstorm combo nicknames and discuss the importance of Sonic slushies in the social life of rural North Carolinians aka Kieran.

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In this episode of “More Than You Think!” we discuss why ignoring the drastic weight loss of our favorite female celebrities is even more harmful and less feminist than staying silent about women’s bodies.

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Works Cited:

for, Hospital. “Women’s Health Is Chronically Understudied and Underfunded. It’s Time for a Change.” Women’s Health Is Chronically Understudied and Underfunded. It’s Time for a Change , Hospital for Special Surgery, 5 Dec. 2025, news.hss.edu/womens-health-is-chronically-understudied-and-underfunded-its-time-for-a-change/.

Holmes, Su, et al. “Feminist Approaches to Anorexia Nervosa: A Qualitative Study of a Treatment Group.” Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 5, no. 1, 13 Nov. 2017, jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-017-0166-y, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-017-0166-y.

Munshi, Atul, et al. “Gender Bias in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Detection, and Management, with Specific Reference to Coronary Artery Disease.” Journal of Mid-Life Health, vol. 12, no. 1, 17 Apr. 2021, p. 8, https://doi.org/10.4103/jmh.jmh_31_21.

National Cancer Institute. “Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk.” National Cancer Institute, Cancer.gov, 22 Feb. 2018, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/hormones/oral-contraceptives-fact-sheet.

Power:, Redefining. “Shelov Psychology Group.” Shelov Psychology Group , 9 Sept. 2024, www.shelovpsychologygroup.com/blog/eating-disorders-and-the-patriarchy. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.

Vitarbo, August. “More than We Can Chew.” Stance, vol. 17, no. 1, 6 Apr. 2024, pp. 86–97, https://doi.org/10.33043/s.17.1.86-97.

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Breyton Hill interviews Dr. Kasey Wagoner, a physics professor at NC State, about his career journey, science communication and outreach, as well as why everyone should care about physics.

Originally a business major, Dr. Wagoner fell in love with physics after taking an astronomy course in undergrad. He describes how cool it was to ask questions about the origin of the universe and eventually test for the idea of other universes in his PhD.

The pair then discusses how to make physics not only accessible but fun. Dr. Wagoner shares about Science on Tap, a place to combine learning with good beer at Lynnwood Brewing Concern.

Dr. Wagoner also describes how physics can explain different phenomena of sports. For more about his Sport Science work, you can read his articles on Substack.

Lastly, Breyton asks about Dr. Wagoner’s most recent achievement: a digital science communication fellowship. Dr. Wagoner explains some of his ideas he hopes to come out of that fellowship and shares some advice he would give his 20-year-old self.

Breyton ends the interview with the Breyton Interrogation: a series of questions to get to know you rather than what you do.

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Warmer days, longer evenings, and Easter right around the corner, it honestly feels like everything is starting again… and so is this podcast. I’ve missed this space so much, and I’m so happy to be back.

In Chapter 28, I’m sitting down with Griffin, and we’re talking about something I feel like everyone has said at least once: “I really want to learn a language.” And somehow… we never start. Or we download the app, do one lesson, and call it a day. Even if you only speak one language, it’s never too late to start a new one or pick up where you left off in school.

This episode felt like the perfect reminder that you actually can start, maybe even now, before summer hits and life gets busy again. We talk about Griffin’s journey through Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Russian, and how it was never about being perfect, but about showing up, staying curious, and letting language become part of your everyday life

I also share some of my own experiences, how much learning a language is tied to the people around you, the environments you put yourself in, and honestly just being okay with sounding a little lost at first.

Think of this episode as your little push to finally begin. Not in a “new year, new me” kind of way, but in a soft, spring kind of way. You don’t need a perfect plan, just a starting point.

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Julia welcomes her older sibling, Mil (also known as Cleo), to discuss their shared history and memories of growing up together. The siblings touch on a wide range of topics, including their childhood experiences showing award-winning chickens and their surreal, “fear-mongering” experiences working at a summer camp in rural North Carolina.

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Sruti and Nithya discuss how being part of the South Asian diaspora can cause a lot of friction between the world of their parents at home and the outside American society. They talk about navigating between both cultures and how they balance family and their own individuality.

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Breyton Hill discusses the history of March being recognized as Women’s History Month. She also discusses the careers and achievements of outstanding women in STEM who have changed the world for the better, including Ada Lovelace, Henrietta Lacks, Rosalind Franklin, Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. All these women and many, many more should be celebrated, especially as the 2026 theme of Women’s History Month is “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future”.

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In this episode of Oak City Move, Sophs sits down with Dave Klemp, executive director of the environmental non-profit, Trees for the Triangle. Trees for the Triangle is a “pay what you can” non-profit that helps restore trees in the Triangle area, planting new trees as well as replanting old trees. During this episode Dave and Sophs discuss the importance of Urban Forestry (especially amongst climate change), how Trees for the Triangle is actively helping communities, as well as where he thinks urban forestry will be in the next 10-20 years. Listen to here about everything they are doing for the Triangle as well as to find out Dave’s favorite tree species!

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