New books & media

Tumble: Science Podcast for Kids, Lindsay Patterson and Marshall Escamilla, 2019 (Season 5)

Science journalist Lindsay Patterson and music teacher Marshall Escamilla cohost this charming podcast that’s aimed at elementary school students. Recent episodes open with a question from a young listener, such as “Do plants feel pain?” or “Why are hurricanes so powerful?” Patterson and Escamilla interview scientists to learn the answer; season 4 guests included climate physicist Suzana Camargo and astronomer Jane Luu. Married collaborators Patterson and Escamilla are engaging and have a warm chemistry, and the 20-minute episode length is a good fit for kids’ attention spans. Season 5 began on 4 October, and episodes will be released every other week. —mb

The Imperiled Ocean: Human Stories from a Changing Sea, Laura Trethewey, Pegasus Books, 2019, $28.95

“What is going on out at sea?” asks journalist Laura Trethewey in the introduction to her collection of narrative nonfiction, The Imperiled Ocean. The answer is a lot: It’s a place that people use to earn a living, migrate to another country, inspire creativity, go on adventures, and conduct research. In her first book, Trethewey tells seven stories of what people want from the ocean. The disappearance of a young, ambitious Chilean chef from a luxury liner invites readers to think more deeply about the murky laws that govern the high seas and the safety precautions that people do or don’t take. A clash in a small Canadian town between a group of older, mostly impoverished boat dwellers with nowhere else to live and gentrifiers who view that lifestyle as a polluting eyesore illustrates the issues of class and water rights. The Imperiled Ocean will appeal to both seafaring types and broader audiences looking for personal stories about universal human experiences. —al

Women in Their Element: Selected Women’s Contributions to the Periodic System, Annette Lykknes and Brigitte Van Tiggelen, eds., World Scientific, 2019, $128.00

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements, chemistry historians Annette Lykknes and Brigitte Van Tiggelen have assembled 38 biographical vignettes that showcase the roles of women in the development of chemistry and the periodic table. Written by authors from all over the world and from various disciplines, the chapters focus on discoveries and important events from the 18th century and earlier to recent times. The goal of Women in Their Element, say the coeditors, is both to shed light on the efforts of a group of scientists whose work has often been relegated to the shadows and to reaffirm the collaborative nature of science. —cc

Into the Impossible, Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, 2016—present

Want to add an exciting new book to your shelf, hear an interview with Freeman Dyson, or listen to a sci-fi author talk about how she builds her strange new worlds? Into the Impossible is exactly what you’ve been looking for. Clarke Center leaders Sheldon Brown, Brian Keating, Erik Viirre, and Patrick Coleman take turns hosting interviews with scientists, authors, historians, and other exciting thinkers in this eclectic scholarly podcast. Among the recent guests are science fiction author Annalee Newitz, journalist Julian Guthrie, and physicists Paul Steinhardt and Carl Wieman. Half-hour episodes are released roughly once a month. —mb

Radio Astronomy Podcast, BBC Sky at Night Magazine, 2016–present

This monthly half-hour podcast about space and astronomy is produced by BBC Sky at Night Magazine. News editor Elizabeth Pearson hosts, and Sky at Night staff members join her to discuss the magazine’s content and news they’re excited about. Recent episodes cover India’s Moon landing attempt, new findings about Jupiter’s atmosphere, and the recent discovery of possible tardigrades on the Moon. Listeners in the UK will also enjoy the tips for stargazing each month. —mb

Proving Einstein Right: The Daring Expeditions That Changed How We Look at the Universe, S. James Gates Jr and Cathie Pelletier, PublicAffairs, 2019, $30.00

In 1911, while working on his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein predicted that light from other stars should be bent by the Sun’s gravity. To prove the theory, seven astronomers from four countries spent the next decade traveling the world to try to photograph a solar eclipse, when sunlight is blocked and the stars can be seen. Written by theoretical physicist S. James Gates Jr and novelist Cathie Pelletier, Proving Einstein Right recounts the many adventures, hardships, and mishaps that the astronomers and their crew experienced, including the travel dangers wrought by World War I. —cc