Best Geophysicist Volcanologist Science Communicator Podcasts (2026)

1
ENCORE Nikola Tesla- The man, the myth, the legend Pt1 - Back story and accomplishments 27:24

Play Pause

8d ago27:24

27:24

Nikola Tesla has been credited with large leaps forward like AC current and wireless transmission. Including things that are conspiratorial or not feasible like a death ray and limitless free power. Ya his legacy is complicated. So fire up the device and lets get going with this episode! Here is a demo for a Tesla Coil by me! :https://youtu.be/DQK1…

1
Wandering Stars: How We Found the Planets, Lost Pluto, and Learned How Science Really Works 40:12

22d ago40:12

40:12

This is a reflective, end-of-year historical deviation. From wandering stars and stubborn philosophers to lost planets, national rivalries, and Pluto’s demotion, this episode explores how we learned what the planets are and why the process matters as much as the answer. You see every once in a while, Whimsical Wavelengths takes a historical deviati…

1
Who Becomes a Scientist? Exploring STEM Pathways and Identity in Astronomy with Dr. Zachary Richards 40:30

1M ago40:30

40:30

If we want a thriving future scientific community, we first need to understand why people choose — or don’t choose — careers in STEM. This week on Whimsical Wavelengths, we turn the telescope around and look not at stars, but at the people who choose to study them. What shapes a scientist’s identity? Why do some students pursue STEM — and astronomy…

1
Machine Learning Meets Geophysics: Image Segmentation and Inversion Tools with Johnathan Kuttai 54:03

2M ago54:03

54:03

In this episode of Whimsical Wavelengths, we explore how machine learning is opening new possibilities in geophysical imaging and inversion workflows. Like image segmentation! We look at how modern computational tools can help interpret what we cannot observe directly beneath the surface. Our guest, Johnathan Kutti, joins us to break down how machi…

1
A New Species of Pterosaur Unearthed in Australia with Adele Pentland 1:13:14

2M ago1:13:14

1:13:14

We’re heading back through deep time on Whimsical Wavelengths — but this time, we’re not walking with dinosaurs, we’re flying with them! Flight has evolved at least four separate times in Earth’s history, and today’s episode focuses on one of the earliest masters of the skies: pterosaurs. Host Jeffrey Zurek is joined by Dr. Adele Pentland, palaeont…

1
The Science of Plastic: Environmental Trade-Offs and Sustainability with an Industrial Scientist 59:11

3M ago59:11

59:11

Plastic and the environment and what you think you know. A discussion about science which honestly misses the mark but a useful discussion. Understanding the good is just as important to the bad The first fully synthetic plastic was developed in 1907. What they needed was an electrical insulator. Thanks to alternating current (covered in season 1 t…

1
Modeling Supermassive Black Holes and Accretion Disks with Dr James Chan – New Research Insights 44:01

3M ago44:01

44:01

Diving straight into the deep end of the universe: supermassive black holes! An episode with enough gravitational pull that you can’t help but get sucked in. Host Dr. Jeffrey Zurek welcomes Dr. James Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at the American Museum of Natural History and City University of New York, to explore the strange physics and luminous…

1
The Science of Ice Cream - fat networks, sugar, temperature, air and temperature with Dr. Abigail Thiel! 50:00

4M ago50:00

50:00

I scream you scream we all scream for Ice cream. Time for some sweet delicious science delivered right here on whimsical wavelengths. Food science! Love the breath we get to explore here. This discussion is going to investigate some of the science that goes into perfecting and understanding the greatest frozen dessert that comes in so many differen…

1
Understanding Masaya Volcano – The Science Behind Its Basaltic Plinian Eruptions 41:41

4M ago41:41

41:41

Its the start of Season 2!! Time for Basaltic plinian eruptions, melt inclusions, viscosity and more. Today we going to head into one of my papers! Because it’s one of my papers that means heading back to volcanology. Like other historical scientists covered here on Whimsical wavelengths I will follow where the data is pointing. Follow the path. Wh…

1
Encore: The whimsical sounds of the Birds, Ornithology and why birds sing, territory and more with Miranda Zammarelli 36:30

4M ago36:30

36:30

Today the pod shows its fitness with im-peck-able wordplay. That's right, today's episode is for the birds. At least those which have a raven-ous appetite for knowledge. Our guest, PhD candidate Miranda Zammarelli (Dartmouth College) has research that takes place in what I guess can be best described as the closest we can get for lab conditions in …

1
Encore: Paleontology & Theropods PT2! Dinosaur behaviour from fossils - With Dr François Therrien 42:25

5M ago42:25

42:25

Part2 jumps in where part 1 left off so more about Theropods! specifically about one of Dr François Therrien's recent studies about a Gorgosaurus and what was found inside its stomach!!!! incase you missed it from the notes of the last episode: Dr François Therrien - The Curator of Dinosaur Palaeoecology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller Al…

1
Encore: Dinosaurs and the mammal longevity gap, Evolutionary Biology - with Associate Professor Molly Burke 39:57

5M ago39:57

39:57

This time we take a deep dive into an hypothesis The longevity bottleneck hypothesis: Could dinosaurs have shaped ageing in present-day mammals?” by João Pedro de Magalhães https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202300098 See our branch of the animal kingdom, mammals, first evolved around 200 million years ago. During the age of dinosaurs. To quote the paper…

1
How the work of one researcher, Dr Clair Patterson, brought the fall of leaded gasoline and discovered the age of the Earth! 31:48

6M ago31:48

31:48

Time for someone who some have called the greatest scientist you have not heard of. Likely the reason average IQ's have no fallen (even if it feels like they have - idiocracy)! This is the sibling episode to the last one. The rise of Leaded Gas. This time the story starts with Dr. Clair Patterson a geochemist. Before the PhD and discovering the age…

1
Scientific and Historical look at The rise Leaded Gasoline - When industry poisoned the world 40:24

6M ago40:24

40:24

Today we are going to start to cover a real scientific disaster story. No it isn’t the hollywood variety although maybe it should be. We have the movie Oppenheimer although to tell the whole story here requires multiple main characters. Perhaps a TV series then. I have known I wanted to tell this story for some time but have struggled on the best w…

1
Sierra Negra volcano's internal dynamics through gravity and deformation with Dr Antonina Calahorrano-Di Patre 1:17:03

7M ago1:17:03

1:17:03

Deformation and gravity go hand in hand in volcano monitoring like hot apple pie and icecream. They fit together great. as these two techniques tell us so much more together than separately. This time I reached out to a friend to share her research! Remember volcanic eruptions are dynamic. The amount of force and material involved in an eruption … …

1
Insects breathe?! An inside look at insect evolution through respiration with Dr Hollister Herhold 53:22

7M ago53:22

53:22

This time it is all about insects and their respiratory systems?! They represent so much of the biomass on earth. Depending on the study and methods used there is more weight on earth within insects than humans. With over 8 billion humans and each of us weighs a lot more than an insect…… There are a lot of them. They form the backbone of many ecosy…

1
Modeling dwarf galaxies to probe the early universe with Dr. Eric Andersson 57:48

8M ago57:48

57:48

There is so much we don’t understand about the early universe. Or any part of the universe not nearby. Part of the reason for this is time and distance. The universe as we understand/see it today started ~13.8 billion years ago. So how do we test something that we cannot view or experience? The evolution of galaxies takes place over billions of yea…

1
A tale of disappearing Seas, The Mediterranean sea basically drys up! - The Messinian Salinity Crisis 35:59

8M ago35:59

35:59

The Earth is dynamic. All of it. Plate tectonics, weather, ocean currents, biosphere, cryosphere, extraterrestrial like solar events, meteorites, nearby supernovae And on and on and on But the seas are constant right? I mean that they exist. They have almost always existed. No I am not going back to Porto oceans some 4 billion years ago! I am refer…

1
Gravitational Lensing Part 2! Strong Lensing, modeling and so much more! 1:01:53

9M ago1:01:53

1:01:53

Welcome back to Part 2 of Gravitational lenses on Whimsical Wavelengths. In part 2 we finally get to the real star of the show, strong gravitational lensing and the paper that was underlying the topic. “Euclid: A complete Einstein ring in NGC 6505 “ A lot less to setup this time. No need to stretch this out like gravity stretches time. But..... How…

1
Gravitational Lensing - Micro, weak, and Strong Oh MY! with Dr Georgios Vernardos 54:05

9M ago54:05

54:05

Whimsical wavelengths is here again to show that it is useless to fight gravity. Every time I have, it has brought me down. To begin I'll mention Newtonian mechanics of gravity here in the show notes as it works really well for nearly all things within our solar system. But there are things that does not fit. Mercury’s orbit is one famous example. …

1
Umami, taste and Kitchen Chemistry of food ingredients! Delicious with guest Dr Bryan Le 49:45

10M ago49:45

49:45

Today the topic should do more then whimsically tickle your ears, Today I have a guest to get the slobbering sensor in your mouth working. Yup buckle in for a flavorful ride! So I guess definitions first. Food Science is a discipline that investigates food chemistry, food microbiology, physical, sensory, and nutritional properties of food. The disc…

1
The whimsical sounds of the Birds, Ornithology and why birds sing, territory and more with Miranda Zammarelli 36:30

10M ago36:30

36:30

Today the pod shows its fitness with im-peck-able wordplay. That's right, today's episode is for the birds. At least those which have a raven-ous appetite for knowledge. Our guest, PhD candidate Miranda Zammarelli (Dartmouth College) has research that takes place in what I guess can be best described as the closest we can get for lab conditions in …

1
Climate Change - weather, climate & science communications. Frank discussion with Research Meteorologist Jared Rennie 54:59

11M ago54:59

54:59

Welcome back where everyone comes to hear sunny quips and cloudy cuckles! Yes we at Whimsical wavelengths are amazing at precipitating a good story. Today the pod gets into climate vs weather and the increasing extremes. It might feel odd that a general science podcast would take soooooo long to get around to a climate episode. Well it is because t…

1
Investigating the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa Volcano using gravity: what created the Ninole Hills? 33:18

11M ago33:18

33:18

Today I am picking my favourite paper that I wrote. The origin of Mauna Loa's Ninole Hills - Evidence of rift zone reorganization. In geophysical research letters in 2015. It is already nearly 10 years old! Well then a 10 year anniversary tour then? In the past 4000 years lava has repaved 90% of Mauna Loa’s surface! Mauna Loa is huge. It is a very …

1
Paleontology & Theropods PART2! Soooo good it needed a sequel - With Dr François Therrien 42:25

11M ago42:25

42:25

Part2 jumps in where part 1 left off so more about Theropods! specifically about one of Dr François Therrien's recent studies about a Gorgosaurus and what was found inside its stomach!!!! did I forget to mention T-shirt giveaway? incase you missed it from the notes of the last episode: Dr François Therrien - The Curator of Dinosaur Palaeoecology at…

1
Jurassic Park 30 years of Paleontology & T-Rex (Theropods) - With Dr François Therrien 43:13

12M ago43:13

43:13

Great discussion! Soooooooo good I split it into two parts! In Part 1 we start retro! It's hard for me to think of 1993 as retro. But yes that is where we are going, Jurassic Park. Honestly, what a movie! It was how you say DINO -might!. Dinosaurs brought to life on the big screen in ways that had not been done previously. Not only was the movie go…

1
Nikola Tesla - Pt2, Free Energy, and the Physics of Conspiracy 27:20

1y ago27:20

27:20

Last time in part 1 we covered Nikola Tesla's backstory and some of his accomplishments. In part 2 we cover things that are conspiratorial or not feasible like a death ray, limitless free power and electric universe......... ie crazy stuff Ya his legacy is complicated. ... need more proof take a listen. Epic Rap Battles of History Nikola Tesla vs T…

1
Nikola Tesla- The man, the myth, the legend Pt1 - Back story and accomplishments 27:12

1y ago27:12

27:12

Nikola Tesla has been credited with large leaps forward like AC current and wireless transmission. Including things that are conspiratorial or not feasible like a death ray and limitless free power. Ya his legacy is complicated. So fire up the device and lets get going with this episode! Here is a demo for a Tesla Coil by me! :https://youtu.be/DQK1…

1
Dinosaurs and the mammal longevity gap, Evolutionary Biology - Guest Associate Professor Molly Burke 39:57

1y ago39:57

39:57

This time we take a deep dive into an hypothesis The longevity bottleneck hypothesis: Could dinosaurs have shaped ageing in present-day mammals?” by João Pedro de Magalhães https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202300098 See our branch of the animal kingdom, mammals, first evolved around 200 million years ago. During the age of dinosaurs. To quote the paper…

1
NASA's Lucky Peanuts - Interview with JPL's Dr Morgan Cable 39:55

1y ago39:55

39:55

This episode cracks open the history and traditions of NASA (ie. Lucky peanuts) to get to the nutty goodness, which includes hard science and looking towards future missions! To explore this Dr. Morgan Cable joins the pod! Dr. Morgan Cable is a research scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Science Lead for th…

1
What is High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) and it's conspiracies? 24:27

1y ago24:27

24:27

There are just some research programs that some people find scary. Some make sense. Playing with radioactive material or pathogens can be risky! What about the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP)? HAARP is located in Gakona, Alaska a joint project between government agencies and the University of Alaska. It studies the ionosphere…

1
The predicted impending Nova from T Coronae Borealis! An interview with Dr David Zurek 47:56

1y ago47:56

47:56

Today I interview a researcher from the American Museum of Natural History, my uncle, Dr David Zurek about Novea. Yes the same institution where the famous Neil deGrasse Tyson resides. What brought this episode about? Well ~3000 light years away from Earth, a white dwarf star named T Coronae Borealis known to astronomers simply as “T CrB,” is about…

1
Dante's Peak Pt2 - ballistics, lava and earthquakes Oh my! with SFU's Volcanology Group 53:01

1y ago53:01

53:01

Welcome back to the podcast that talks scientifically about disaster movies? Yes it has been two weeks so here is the next installment of Whimsical Wavelengths! This time we join some colleagues, from Simon Fraser University's Volcanology Group, to watch the best(?) volcano movie ever made by "Hollywood". Dante's Peak. James bond becomes a volcanol…

1
Dante's Peak Part 1 a Primer 25:17

1+ y ago25:17

25:17

Episode 2 is here! Setting up some background for hopefully understanding the discussion when a handful of fellow volcanologists watch Dante's Peak together! Yes that's right this is Whimsical Wavelengths where we over explain disaster movies! And attempt to show you igneous is bliss! Where Mt St Helens gets it's magma? What are the signs of a long…

1
Introduction and a short history of wavelengths 15:21

1+ y ago15:21

15:21

The first episode! An introduction to the podcast and looking at the history of wavelengths. Kind of like a long trailer. Full of bad science "dad" jokes and puns while weaving a tale through history. Future episodes will include guests from NASA, my previous research group, American Museum of natural History and other academics who are experts on …

Geophysicist Volcanologist Science Communicator Podcasts

1
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science Podcast

Jeffrey Mark Zurek - PhD, PGeo, Geophysicist Volcanologist Science Communicator

1
ENCORE Nikola Tesla- The man, the myth, the legend Pt1 - Back story and accomplishments 27:24

1
Wandering Stars: How We Found the Planets, Lost Pluto, and Learned How Science Really Works 40:12

1
Who Becomes a Scientist? Exploring STEM Pathways and Identity in Astronomy with Dr. Zachary Richards 40:30

1
Machine Learning Meets Geophysics: Image Segmentation and Inversion Tools with Johnathan Kuttai 54:03

1
A New Species of Pterosaur Unearthed in Australia with Adele Pentland 1:13:14

1
The Science of Plastic: Environmental Trade-Offs and Sustainability with an Industrial Scientist 59:11

1
Modeling Supermassive Black Holes and Accretion Disks with Dr James Chan – New Research Insights 44:01

1
The Science of Ice Cream - fat networks, sugar, temperature, air and temperature with Dr. Abigail Thiel! 50:00

1
Understanding Masaya Volcano – The Science Behind Its Basaltic Plinian Eruptions 41:41

1
Encore: The whimsical sounds of the Birds, Ornithology and why birds sing, territory and more with Miranda Zammarelli 36:30

1
Encore: Paleontology & Theropods PT2! Dinosaur behaviour from fossils - With Dr François Therrien 42:25

1
Encore: Dinosaurs and the mammal longevity gap, Evolutionary Biology - with Associate Professor Molly Burke 39:57

1
How the work of one researcher, Dr Clair Patterson, brought the fall of leaded gasoline and discovered the age of the Earth! 31:48

1
Scientific and Historical look at The rise Leaded Gasoline - When industry poisoned the world 40:24

1
Sierra Negra volcano's internal dynamics through gravity and deformation with Dr Antonina Calahorrano-Di Patre 1:17:03

1
Insects breathe?! An inside look at insect evolution through respiration with Dr Hollister Herhold 53:22

1
Modeling dwarf galaxies to probe the early universe with Dr. Eric Andersson 57:48

1
A tale of disappearing Seas, The Mediterranean sea basically drys up! - The Messinian Salinity Crisis 35:59

1
Gravitational Lensing Part 2! Strong Lensing, modeling and so much more! 1:01:53

1
Gravitational Lensing - Micro, weak, and Strong Oh MY! with Dr Georgios Vernardos 54:05

1
Umami, taste and Kitchen Chemistry of food ingredients! Delicious with guest Dr Bryan Le 49:45

1
The whimsical sounds of the Birds, Ornithology and why birds sing, territory and more with Miranda Zammarelli 36:30

1
Climate Change - weather, climate & science communications. Frank discussion with Research Meteorologist Jared Rennie 54:59

1
Investigating the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa Volcano using gravity: what created the Ninole Hills? 33:18

1
Paleontology & Theropods PART2! Soooo good it needed a sequel - With Dr François Therrien 42:25

1
Jurassic Park 30 years of Paleontology & T-Rex (Theropods) - With Dr François Therrien 43:13

1
Nikola Tesla - Pt2, Free Energy, and the Physics of Conspiracy 27:20

1
Nikola Tesla- The man, the myth, the legend Pt1 - Back story and accomplishments 27:12

1
Dinosaurs and the mammal longevity gap, Evolutionary Biology - Guest Associate Professor Molly Burke 39:57

1
NASA's Lucky Peanuts - Interview with JPL's Dr Morgan Cable 39:55

1
What is High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) and it's conspiracies? 24:27

1
The predicted impending Nova from T Coronae Borealis! An interview with Dr David Zurek 47:56

1
Dante's Peak Pt2 - ballistics, lava and earthquakes Oh my! with SFU's Volcanology Group 53:01

1
Dante's Peak Part 1 a Primer 25:17

1
Introduction and a short history of wavelengths 15:21