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Unfold, a UC Davis podcast about science, innovation and discovery, unfolded through storytelling. We make complex topics relatable and reveal answers to questions you’ve always been curious about. Each episode takes you into the field with leading researchers who are working to tackle big picture problems – like how we’re going to feed a growing population, adapt to climate change and improve the health of people, animals and the planet. Hosted by public radio veteran Amy Quinton. Co-hosted by Kat Kerlin and Marianne Russ Sharp. Sponsor free. Learn more at ucdavis.edu/unfold.
Episodes
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Close Encounters of the Whale Kind
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Can communication with a humpback whale teach us how to talk to extraterrestrials? Researchers from UC Davis and the SETI Institute want to find out. In the waters of Southeast Alaska, scientists believe they’ve had what might be the very first human-whale communication. The interaction was designed to eventually help us detect and interpret signals coming from outer space. In this episode of Unfold, you’ll hear about the scientists’ remarkable 20-minute “conversation” with a humpback named Twain and what we can learn by studying nonhuman communication on Earth.
In this episode:
Brenda McCowan, professor, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Josephine Hubbard, postdoctoral researcher, UC Davis
Laurance Doyle, astrophysicist, SETI Institute
Fred Sharpe, president, Olympic Peninsula Prairies
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Hormonal Birth Control – It’s a Guy Thing, Too
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Imagine this: A man rubs a hormonal gel on his shoulders once daily, and after a few months his sperm count is zero, giving him and his partner peace of mind that they won’t conceive. That’s been the reality for one couple taking part in a clinical trial for male hormonal birth control at UC Davis Health – and around the world. In this episode of Unfold, we’ll learn more about how the gel works from the physician running the trial, and we’ll chat with the couple about how using the gel has changed their lives.
In this episode:
Mitchell Creinin, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a family planning specialist at UC Davis Health
Matthew Treviño and Emily Fletcher, couple taking part in the clinical trial
Edward Elizarraras, clinical research coordinator at UC Davis Health
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
Hey Siri, Why Do I Speak Differently to You?
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
If you’ve ever asked Siri or Alexa something, you may have noticed you speak MORE LOUDLY, slowly or make your words “clear-er.” UC Davis researchers say most of us speak differently when talking to our devices. Voice artificial intelligence may even be changing our social behavior. In this episode of Unfold, we’ll talk to two UC Davis linguists to find out why voice AI is changing the way we operate.
In this episode:
Georgia Zellou, associate professor, Department of Linguistics, UC Davis
Michelle Cohn, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Linguistics, UC Davis
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
The Water We Eat: Tackling the Groundwater Dilemma
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
You’ve probably heard of groundwater — the water stored underground in aquifers that is a critical natural resource for the western U.S. Did you know that in California, these aquifers provide nearly 40 percent of the water used by farms and communities? During a drought, that figure is even more — nearly 60 percent. Groundwater is vital for growing crops. But California is using this underground resource faster than it can be replenished. In this episode of Unfold, learn how UC Davis researchers are working to make groundwater more sustainable while also helping California remain the most productive agricultural state in the nation.
In this episode:
Isaya Kisekka, director of the Agricultural Water Center at UC Davis
Thomas Harter, hydrologist and distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources
Mallika Nocco, assistant professor of Cooperative Extension in soil-plant-water relations and host of the podcast Water Talk
Patrick Brown, distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences
Matthew Roby, research scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Nick Edsall, orchard manager of Bullseye Farms in Yolo County, CA
Kirk Pumphrey, owner of Westwind Farms in Yolo County, CA
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
Learn About Unfold, a UC Davis Podcast
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
Unfold, a UC Davis podcast about science, innovation and discovery, unfolded through storytelling. We make complex topics relatable and reveal answers to questions you’ve always been curious about. Each episode takes you into the field with leading researchers and scholars who are working to tackle big picture problems – like how we’re going to feed a growing population, adapt to climate change and improve the health of people, animals and the planet. Hosted by public radio veteran Amy Quinton. Co-hosted by Kat Kerlin and Marianne Russ Sharp. Sponsor free. Learn more at ucdavis.edu/unfold.
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Bonus: Is Springing Forward Bad for Your Health?
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who love daylight saving time, and those who don’t. UC Davis Health sleep medicine expert Heinrich Gompf is not a big fan of the clock change — or at least not the way we currently do it in the United States. In this episode of Unfold, he tells us why it’s so darn difficult for our bodies to adjust to the time change (the suprachiasmatic nucleus!) and offers tips to help you prepare and adapt when we do spring forward.
In this episode:
Heinrich Gompf, sleep researcher, Department of Neurological Surgery, UC Davis Health
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Valentine’s Special: The Science of Relationships
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
No better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Unfold than to “partner” with another UC Davis podcast, The Backdrop, hosted by Soterios Johnson. In this episode, you’ll learn a little about the science of relationships from a conversation Soterios had last year with UC Davis Psychology Professor Paul Eastwick. Eastwick investigates how people initiate romantic relationships and the psychological mechanisms that help romantic partners remain committed and attached. Discover what the science says about whether you’ll find the perfect mate if you “swipe right.”
In this episode:
Paul Eastwick, UC Davis Professor of Psychology
Hear the entire interview with Eastwick on The Backdrop.
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Linking Wartime Trauma to Dementia in Vietnamese American Communities
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, more than 1.2 million Southeast Asian refugees have resettled in the U.S. Many of them have experienced significant trauma. Now, many Vietnamese refugees in the U.S. are at ages where they’re beginning to develop dementia. But like other underrepresented groups in the U.S, they also face barriers to seeking treatment for trauma and dementia. In this episode of Unfold, we talk to a UC Davis researcher embarking on the first long-term study examining early life contributors to dementia in Vietnamese communities.
In this episode:
Oanh Meyer, social psychologist at Alzheimer's Disease Center at UC Davis Health
Duy Nguyen, former child refugee from Vietnam, recent graduate of UC Davis School of Medicine and psychiatry resident at UCSF Fresno
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
The Human Machine: Reimagining Prosthetics
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Nearly half of all arm amputees choose not to use their prosthesis, despite improvements in technology. Prosthetics can be too difficult to operate, unintuitive, and don’t allow amputees to sense pressure or temperature. At UC Davis, engineers, neuroscientists and surgeons are collaborating to solve this problem. In this episode of Unfold, we look at how the combination of surgery and machine learning is making life easier for amputees.
Jonathon Schofield, assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, College of Engineering
Wilsaan Joiner, neuroscientist and associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences
Andrew Li, assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery, UC Davis Health
Clifford Pereira, associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery, UC Davis Health
Laduan Smedley, certified prosthetist-orthotist and biomedical engineer, UC Davis Health
Fehran Maher, certified prosthetist-orthotist, UC Davis Health
David Brockman, retired firefighter, hand amputee with prosthesis
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Connecting Health Care to People and Their Pets
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
About 1,000 people live in Knights Landing, California, a rural agricultural area in Yolo County. Because of its small size, the community lacks most services, including doctors and veterinarians - except on one Sunday every month. In this episode of Unfold, learn about the Knights Landing One Health Center, where veterinarians, physicians and their students team up to help some of the most vulnerable and underserved animals and people in the county.
In this episode:
Kristin Jankowski, faculty director, Knights Landing One Health Clinic and access-to-care chief at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Susan Adams, associate professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis Health
Erik Olstad, assistant professor, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Tiaira Washington, nursing student, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis Health
Sydney Rasmussen, nursing student, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis Health
Izzie Hack, veterinary student, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Carlos Ayala, Knights Landing One Health Clinic client
Santos Lopez, Knights Landing One Health Clinic client
Stephanie Hernandez, Knights Landing One Health Clinic client