Ever wonder how scientists learn about other planets?  Tune in this week as Dr. Krista Soderland, from the Institute of Geophysics here at UT, joins us to talk about her work exploring the solar system.  Krista works specifically with modelling how other nearby planets generate their magnetic fields, which might surprise you with their diversity!  She also shares her experience travelling to Antarctica and how that relates to possibly finding extraterrestrial life on one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa.  

The Daily Texan, the University of Texas’s student daily, hosts a weekly science news column, Science Scene.  With contributors from both graduate and undergraduate over a range of scientific disciplines, Science Scene provides a unique and perspective on science news pertinent to the local community but also the rest of the country.  Robert Starr, Paepin Goff, and Hellen Airhart sit down with us in the booth to talk about the writing process, finding stories, while the Albino Squirel isn’t really albino, and other tidbits of science communication.

Max Parks joins the weekly Monday night science party to share his experience working at Moon Express, one of many companies around the world competing for the Google Lunar X Prize.  The Lunar X Prize is a 30 million dollar award for the first private company to land a rover on the Moon, have it travel 500 yards, all while live streaming the journey back to viewers on Earth.  Tune in to learn about what the future of space travel will look like, what minerals we will find on the Moon, and the possible future decline of the need of science communicators.  (Hopefully not too soon!)    

‘They Blinded Me with Science’ is joined this evening by Behavioral Ecology doctorial student Tracy Burkhard.  Tracy studies vocal communication in mammals, but her favorite subjects are singing mice.  Tracy’s research has taken her from the laboratories of UT to the mountains of Costa Rica in search of these crooning mammals.  Join us as we discuss how mice not only claim territory but also flirt with their potential mates through song, Tracy describes some of her more interesting mice hunting adventures, and the crew practices singing some of their favorite mouse songs!