The Big Blue Rock Pod

Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk with Earth and Environmental Sciences Department Senior Lecturer Summer Brown. They discuss earth science education, teaching, how scientists connect to stakeholders, natural hazard anxiety, the NSF EPSCoR-funded project CLIMBS and the Enviropods Program, the future of earth science education, and much more!

Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk to UK Art Museum Curator, Rachel Hooper. In this special episode, they go on-site to the museum and discuss with Rachel the materials and subjects that connect art and geology: landscapes, photography, painting (with volcanic materials!) a Mt. Vesuvius eruption, ceramics, clay mineralogy, marble, lithography, and much more.

View referenced art pieces below:

Thomas Melville Chapin, Will in Growth, 1993, Colorado yule marble. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Dr. John W. Hankla.


Follower of Pierre Jacques Volaire, Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, late 18th – early 19th century, oil on canvas. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Drs. Jim and Bonnie Tanner.

Iranian, Storage Jar, late 14th-15th century, ceramic with thin quartz-frit layer, decorated in cobalt blue and alkaline glaze. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Mrs. Alice Heeramaneck.

Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Composition, circa 1972, color lithograph on paper. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Carol Williams in honor of Thomas M. Williams, Jr. (B.A., 1955; M.A., 1963).

Matt, Sarah, and Doug discuss the philosophy of science with UK professor Julia Bursten. They talk about the foundations of science, purpose of science, theories, truth, epistemology, misinformation, classification in science, philosophy of geology and much more!

Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk about everything extension with UK Professor Brad Lee, from soil and water quality to dog poop and lawn care. We also explore the role of extension in the University’s land grant mission and UK Extension’s environmental and educational services.   

This week’s top takeaway? Check out the soil tests available from your local county extension office. Find the office online at https://extension.ca.uky.edu/county, or just google it.  

Matt, Sarah, and Doug unpack all things science communication! We talk with Dr. Sarah Vos from UK Department of Health Management and Policy and the Director of Undergraduate Research in the College of Public Health. We discuss communication spanning many scientific disciplines, bridging the gap between science and the public, disaster communication, getting your message to stick, building trust, and why it all matters!

About our guest:

Sarah C. Vos, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy and the Director of Undergraduate Research in the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky. Her research explores how public health organizations can use social media and other short message systems to improve health outcomes, particularly during a public health crisis. Her work has been published in Cancer Control, Health Security, Risk Analysis, and the Journal of Health Communication. In her free time, she likes to run, hike, and watch birds.