Citizen Science is a podcast from SciStarter. This show spotlights the many different ways that individuals and communities are exploring and changing the world around them through public participation in science. Episodes feature conversations between project developers and volunteers, with subjects ranging from climate change to biodiversity to Alzheimer’s research to community science projects focused on environmental justice and much more. These conversations showcase the important relationships that make these projects successful, what kinds of problems and questions these projects are trying to address, and how you can get involved.
Our co-hosts are Justin Schell, a librarian and media producer, and Caroline Nickerson, the Managing Editor of SciStarter’s Syndicated Blog Network and the Community Manager of Citizen Science Day.
Our podcast can be found on all major podcatchers (iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Overcast, and others). If you can’t find it, drop us a line at info@SciStarter.org and we’ll get you set up. In the meantime, we’ll have a new episode every couple of weeks! Thanks for listening and we’ll talk to you soon.
Our first episode features a conversation about the EyesOnAlz project and specifically the Stall Catchers game. Stall Catchers asks volunteers to look for stalled blood vessels in videos of mice brains, as a way to advance the science of understanding and treating Alzheimer’s disease. We spoke with Pietro Michelucci, director of the Human Computation Institute, which runs the EyesOnAlz project, and Guy Caulkins, a volunteer “Super Catcher” who not only helps with detecting these stalled blood vessels in the game, but also has utilized his experience in marketing to help plan the Stall Catchers Megathon. This unprecedented worldwide event coincided with Citizen Science Day on April 13th. You can listen to a recording on the podcast page and all major podcatchers, and a transcript can be accessed here.
Our second episode focuses on Slavery from Space. This episode features an interview of Dr. Jessica Wardlaw, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, and Justin Schell, a librarian, media producer, and this episode’s host. The Slavery from Space project allows users to contribute to the antislavery movement by mapping the locations of activities in which people are frequently found to be enslaved. The project has a deadline for as many users as possible to analyze their dataset before this Saturday, so this project is very timely! You can listen to a recording on the podcast page and all major podcatchers, and a transcript can be accessed here.
