Best Eugene Heather Podcasts (2025)

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Armin W. Schulz, "Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences" (Springer, 2025) 1:05:06

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7h ago1:05:06

1:05:06

Humans live in richly normatively structured social environments: there are ways of doing things that are appropriate, and we are aware of what these ways are. For many social scientists, social institutions are sets of rules about how to act, though theories differ about what the rules are, how they are established and maintained, and what makes s…

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Ep243 Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson 55:10

1d ago55:10

55:10

Joined by Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson for a deep conversation about where our city is headed. From housing goals and public safety to the city budget, transportation, and the shifting media landscape in Lane County, we cover the issues shaping Eugene’s future. Topics include: Reflections from her Sept 5 City Club of Eugene talk at the WOW Hall Hous…

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Ep242 Blair Hickok & Community Support 47:58

4d ago47:58

47:58

Blair Hickok returns to Spent the Rent Podcast. A close friend, redemption story, and community organizer, Blair shares what it takes to stay focused through hard times, the stigma of struggling, and why advice isn’t always what people need. We also touch on AI job searches, online privacy, back-to-school energy in Lane County, and the national pol…

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Ep241 Mental Health w/ Bekkah Bee 46:10

14d ago46:10

46:10

Patty Rose sits down with his friend Rebekah for a candid conversation about mental health in Lane County. They talk about access to care, the impact of Oregon’s Measure 110 changes, and the controversy around the proposed stabilization center in Springfield. Along the way, Patty shares a personal update about living with CSR and the challenges of …

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Christopher Kemp, "Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation" (Norton, 2022) 50:51

16d ago50:51

50:51

Inside our heads we carry around an infinite and endlessly unfolding map of the world. Navigation is one of the most ancient neural abilities we have―older than language. In Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation (Norton, 2022), Christopher Kemp embarks on a journey to discover the remarkable extent of what our minds can do. Fueled…

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Eugene Rosenberg and Ilana Zilber-Rosenberg, "Where Did We Come From?: The Origin and Evolution of Life" (Austin Macauley, 2025) 34:56

17d ago34:56

34:56

In this intimate interview, Mel Rosenberg speaks with Prof. Eugene Rosenberg and his partner in life and in science, Dr. Ilana Zilber-Rosenberg on their new book for the general public on how life started and developed on earth, titled Where Did We Come From? The Origin and Evolution of Life (Austin Macauley, 2025). We talk about their scientific b…

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Mario Livio and Jack Szostak, "Is Earth Exceptional?: The Quest for Cosmic Life" (Basic Books, 2024) 55:44

19d ago55:44

55:44

For a long time, scientists have wondered how life has emerged from inanimate chemistry, and whether Earth is the only place where it exists. Charles Darwin speculated about life on Earth beginning in a warm little pond. Some of his contemporaries believed that life existed on Mars. It once seemed inevitable that the truth would be known by now. It…

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Ep240 Justice for Kyle Ledford 36:02

1M ago36:02

36:02

Kayla Reynolds (Ledford) joins the podcast to discuss her brother, Kyle, losing his life to an “accidental” gunshot wound and the aftermath that affected the Cottage Grove community in many ways.. RIP Kyle Ledford 1993-2016

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Paul Thagard, "Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?" (MIT Press, 2021) 59:54

1M ago59:54

59:54

Octopuses can open jars to get food, and chimpanzees can plan for the future. An IBM computer named Watson won on Jeopardy! and Alexa knows our favorite songs. But do animals and smart machines really have intelligence comparable to that of humans? In Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart? (MIT Press, 2021), Paul Thagard l…

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Athena Aktipis, "The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer" (Princeton UP, 2020) 57:38

1M ago57:38

57:38

When we think of the forces driving cancer, we don’t necessarily think of evolution. But evolution and cancer are closely linked because the historical processes that created life also created cancer. The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer (Princeton UP, 2020) delves into this extraordinary relationship, and shows tha…

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Heather Browning and Walter Veit, "What Are Zoos For?" (Policy Press, 2024) 1:30:35

1M ago1:30:35

1:30:35

Are zoos an anachronism in the 21st century when we can watch animals in their natural habitat, close-up from our couches without worrying about cruelty? Should they go the way of other bygone era ‘spectacles’ and ‘attractions’ that we now regard as barbaric? There are vocal campaigners and activists who believe so. Heather Browning and Walter Veit…

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Christa Kuljian, "Our Science, Ourselves: How Gender, Race, and Social Movements Shaped the Study of Science" (U Massachusetts Press, 2024) 1:01:03

1M ago1:01:03

1:01:03

When Christa Kuljian arrived on the Harvard College campus as a first-year student in the fall of 1980 with copies of Our Bodies, Ourselves and Ms. magazine, she was concerned that the women's movement had peaked in the previous decade. She soon learned, however, that there was a long way to go in terms of achieving equality for women and that soci…

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Aline Nardo, "Evolutionary Theory and Education" (Brill, 2025) 1:06:16

2M ago1:06:16

1:06:16

How has evolutionary theory shaped educational thinking over the past two centuries? ‘Evolutionary Theory and Education: The Influence of Evolutionary Thinking on Educational Theory and Philosophy’ (Brill, 2025) explores the considerable but under-appreciated influence of evolutionary ideas on educational theory and the philosophy of education. The…

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Ep239 Kaz Zaidi 51:16

1M ago51:16

51:16

Kaz Zaidi is a lobbyist in Salem, Oregon in the area of housing and devopent and is a former University of Oregon graduate student. Hosted By Patty Rose episodes @ strpod.com

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Robert N. Spengler, "Nature's Greatest Success: How Plants Evolved to Exploit Humanity" (Univ of California Press, 2025) 35:59

2M ago35:59

35:59

The 15,000-year story of how grass seduced humanity into being its unwitting labor force--and the science behind it. Domesticated crops were not human creations, and agriculture was not simply invented. As Robert N. Spengler shows, domestication was the result of an evolutionary process in which people played a role only unwittingly and as actors i…

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Rene Almeling, Lisa Campo-Engelstein, Brian T. Nguyen eds., "Seminal: On Sperm, Health, and Politics" (NYU Press, 2025) 40:01

2M ago40:01

40:01

In Seminal: On Sperm, Health, and Politics, Rene Almeling, Lisa Campo-Engelstein, and Brian T. Nguyen come together across disciplines to offer a kaleidoscopic view of the relationship between sperm, health, and the intersecting politics of gender, race, and reproduction. Always insightful and often provocative, the essays in this unprecedented col…

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Kevin J. Tracey, "The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes" (Penguin, 2025) 30:55

2M ago30:55

30:55

The vagus nerve is fundamental to our health and vitality, coordinating critical functions from the precise heartbeat we need to exercise or rest to the balance of appetite and digestion. Made up of 200,000 fibers, the vagus nerve sends thousands of electrical signals every second between your brain and your most important organs. Yet despite its e…

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Ep238 Sammy Warm Hands 1:16:40

2M ago1:16:40

1:16:40

Host Patty Rose talks to his friend Sammy about punk rock Sammy Warm Hands take92.com Spent the Rent Podcast strpod.com

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Ep237 Pete Knox 42:01

3M ago42:01

42:01

Host Patty Rose talks to LTD Board memer Pete Knox

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Maggie M. Fink and Shahir S. Rizk, "The Color of North: The Molecular Language of Proteins and the Future of Life" (Belknap Press, 2025) 30:58

3M ago30:58

30:58

An awe-inspiring journey into the world of proteins--how they shape life, and their remarkable potential to heal our bodies and our planet. Each fall, a robin begins the long trek north from Gibraltar to her summer home in Central Europe. Nestled deep in her optic nerve, a tiny protein turns a lone electron into a compass, allowing her to see north…

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Alfonso Martinez Arias, "The Master Builder: How the New Science of the Cell Is Rewriting the Story of Life" (Basic Books, 2023) 58:56

3M ago58:56

58:56

What defines who we are? For decades, the answer has seemed obvious: our genes, the “blueprint of life.” In The Master Builder: How the New Science of the Cell Is Rewriting the Story of Life, biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias argues we’ve been missing the bigger picture. It’s not our genes that define who we are, but our cells. While genes are impor…

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Agustín Fuentes, "Sex Is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary" (Princeton UP, 2025) 45:11

3M ago45:11

45:11

Being human entails an astonishingly complex interplay of biology and culture, and while there are important differences between women and men, there is a lot more variation and overlap than we may realize. Sex Is a Spectrum offers a bold new paradigm for understanding the biology of sex, drawing on the latest science to explain why the binary view…

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Robert Chernomas, Gregory Chernomas, and Ian Hudson, "The American Gene: Unnatural Selection Along Class, Race, and Gender Lines" (Routledge, 2025) 24:31

3M ago24:31

24:31

Biological justification for all forms of inequality has a long history, with the claim that particular groups suffer disproportionately from inherited flaws of ability and character used to explain a remarkably wide variety of inequalities. Providing an important critique of that biodeterminist history and how the Human Genome Project has inspired…

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Jack Ashby, "Nature's Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums" (Penguin, 2025) 55:12

3M ago55:12

55:12

In Nature's Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums (Penguin, 2025), zoologist Jack Ashby shares hidden stories behind the world’s iconic natural history museums, from enormous mounted whale skeletons to cabinets of impossibly tiny insects. Look closely and all is not as it seems: these museums are not as natural, Ashby sho…

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Jaap de Roode, "Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves" (Princeton UP, 2025) 45:10

4M ago45:10

45:10

Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature's pharmacy to heal themselves. Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves (Princeton University Press, 2025) reveals what researchers are now learning about the medical wonders of the animal world. In this visionary book, Jaap de Rood…

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Our Yellowstone Series: Dennis Eugene Johnson 37:40

4M ago37:40

37:40

In this first installment of our new Yellowstone series, Scott and Heather take you deep into Yellowstone National Park to revisit the chilling and heartbreaking disappearance of 8-year-old Dennis Eugene Johnson. In April 1966, Dennis vanished while helping search for his lost sister - a moment that sparked one of the largest search efforts in the …

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Mitchell Thomashow, "To Know the World: A New Vision for Environmental Learning" (MIT Press, 2020) 36:07

4M ago36:07

36:07

Why we must rethink our residency on the planet to understand the connected challenges of tribalism, inequity, climate justice, and democracy. How can we respond to the current planetary ecological emergency? In To Know the World: A New Vision for Environmental Learning (MIT Press, 2020), Mitchell Thomashow proposes that we revitalize, revisit, and…

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Ep236 2 Pats in a Pod (vol.8) 57:35

4M ago57:35

57:35

Patric Miller returns for Volume 8 of 2 Pats in a Pod. As always, we’re cutting through the noise and digging into what’s really happening here in Lane County. From the Trump administration’s comeback to local pushback and federal overreach, we’re asking how all this is hitting regular folks in real time. We’re not policy wonks—we’re observers with…

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The Francine Morgan Case 39:46

4M ago39:46

39:46

In this episode of Status: Pending, we travel to rural Wells, Vermont, where a tragic 2008 shooting left a mother dead and her teenage son accused of pulling the trigger. At just 14 years old, Christian Taylor became the youngest person in decades to be charged with murder in Vermont. This case is still listed with the Vermont State Police as an un…

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Ep235 Ericka Thessen 57:25

4M ago57:25

57:25

Ericka Thessen is running to keep her seat on the 4J School Board. Appointed in 2023, she brings years of experience as a physical therapist, a mother of three, and a longtime volunteer in 4J schools. She’s served on site councils at McCornack, Kennedy, and Churchill, and was on the 4J Budget Committee from 2021 to 2023. She’s focused on equity, st…

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Ep234 Heather Quaas-Annsa for School Board 43:27

4M ago43:27

43:27

Patty Rose sits down with Heather Quaas-Annsa, the appointed Vice Chair of the Springfield School Board and current candidate for Position 2 in Springfield, Oregon. Heather shares her personal story, what she’s learned since joining the board in 2024, and her vision for the future of Springfield’s schools. We talk about what it means to lead with l…

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Ep233 Thomas Hiura for Lane ESD 41:33

4M ago41:33

41:33

Host Patty Rose sits down with Thomas Hiura — artist, educator, activist, and candidate for Lane Education Service District (Lane ESD) Board.Thomas brings a fresh, community-centered vision to the table, shaped by his lifelong connection to Lane County and his experience working directly with students and families. We dive into what motivated him t…

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Ep232 Alan Stout 1:06:53

5M ago1:06:53

1:06:53

Patty Rose engages with Springfield City Councilor Alan Stout in a deep conversation about the intersection of faith, politics, and community. They reflect on the recent passing of Pope Francis, discussing his pastoral approach and the political ramifications of his leadership. The conversation shifts to local governance, the importance of communit…

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Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves 53:51

5M ago53:51

53:51

Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature’s pharmacy to heal themselves. In Doctors by Nature (Princeton UP, 2025), Dr. Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long and shows how the study of self-medicating animals could impact the practice of human me…

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Ep231 Lea Jones 44:55

5M ago44:55

44:55

Catch Lea Jones May 4th @ Tsunami Books in Eugene host Patty Rose welcomes musician Lea Jones, who shares his journey through music and personal challenges, including his battle with cancer. They discuss Lea's re-recording of his song 'I Am Not a Stranger,' reflecting on its themes of connection and overcoming stereotypes. The conversation also tou…

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Insects as a Natural and Cultural Resource across Southeast Asia 34:07

5M ago34:07

34:07

Every year, World Wildlife Conservation Day is observed on 4 December. It reminds us of the importance of protecting our biodiversity, a message that is all the more urgent in the face of polycrises intensifying across the globe. At the foundational level of our ecosystems lie insects, which provide invaluable services to maintain healthy environme…

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The Disappearance of Marlena Childress 43:07

5M ago43:07

43:07

In April 1987, 4-year-old Marlena Danyele Childress vanished from her front yard in Union City, Tennessee. What began as a frantic search turned into one of the most baffling and disturbing missing child cases in state history. Anyone with information about this case should contact the Obion County Sheriff's Office at (731) 885-5832.…

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Jeremy Braddock on "Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums" 1:07:10

5M ago1:07:10

1:07:10

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Jeremy Braddock, Associate Professor of Literatures in English and Coordinator of the Media Studies Initiative at Cornell University, about his book, Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums. The book explores themes of media and technology through nine albums ma…

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Ep230 The Youth Vote (Vol.4) 56:19

5M ago56:19

56:19

Host Patty Rose engages in a deep conversation with Violet Van Horn, exploring themes of identity, transition, and the political landscape surrounding LGBTQ+ rights. They discuss Violet's journey through education, early career challenges, and the complexities of being a trans individual in today's society. The conversation also touches on the impo…

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Ep229 Devon Lawson 24:07

5M ago24:07

24:07

Host Patty Rose interviews Devon Lawson, a candidate for the Lane Community College Board of Education. They discuss Devon's advocacy for lowering the voting age, his goals for the school board, and the importance of youth representation in politics. Devon shares insights on the role of the board, concerns about the Department of Education, and the…

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John Trowsdale, "What the Body Knows: A Guide to the New Science of Our Immune System" (Yale UP, 2024) 37:17

6M ago37:17

37:17

What is our immune system, and how does it work? A vast array of cells, proteins and chemicals spring into action whenever our bodies are damaged, but immunity is not something you can see, touch, or feel. It can fight off malicious bacteria and viruses, locate cancerous growths, and even rewire our brains--but sometimes our own tissues can get cau…

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Leigh Ann Henion, "Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark" (Algonquin, 2024) 43:05

6M ago43:05

43:05

“Almost every storyline we’re familiar with suggests that we should banish [darkness] as quickly as possible—because darkness is often presented as a void of doom rather than a force of nature that nourishes lives, including our own.” According to Dark Sky International, 99% of people in the US live under the influence of skyglow. With each artific…

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Jorge Goldstein, "Patenting Life: Tales from the Front Lines of Intellectual Property and the New Biology" (Georgetown UP, 2025) 1:04:29

6M ago1:04:29

1:04:29

In this episode, Jorge Goldstein, the author of Patenting Life: The Commercialization of Biology, delves into the critical junction where biotechnology meets patent law. With a background as a molecular biologist turned patent attorney, Goldstein offers unique insights into how commercial biology has evolved and its profound effects on patent regul…

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Eliot Schrefer, "Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality" (Clarion Books, 2022) 1:09:37

6M ago1:09:37

1:09:37

In this episode, I talk to Eliot Schrefer about his book Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality (Katherine Tegen Books, 2022). A quiet revolution has been underway in recent years, with study after study revealing substantial same-sex sexual behavior in animals. Join celebrated author Eliot Schrefer on an exploration…

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Ep228 Country Boy Gas Garage 34:17

6M ago34:17

34:17

In this episode of the Spent the Rent podcast, Patty Rose interviews Jason Kellogg, the creator behind the YouTube channel Country Boy Gas Garage. They discuss Jason's journey of restoring a 1948 Ford F5 church bus found in the forest, his rise to YouTube fame, and his minimalist lifestyle living in a yurt. The conversation explores themes of passi…

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Steven Lesk, "Footprints of Schizophrenia: The Evolutionary Roots of Mental Illness" (Prometheus, 2023) 1:02:12

7M ago1:02:12

1:02:12

Of all the mental illnesses, schizophrenia eludes us the most. No matter the strides scientists have made in neurological research nor doctors have made in psychiatric treatment, schizophrenia remains misunderstood, almost complacently mythologized. Without a reason for the illness, patients feel even more alienated than they already do, families a…

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Ethan Tapper, "How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World" (Broadleaf Books, 2024) 46:12

7M ago46:12

46:12

For more than a decade, Ethan Tapper has been recognized as a thought-leader and a disruptor in the worlds of forestry, conservation, and ecosystem stewardship. He has many years of experience managing private and public forestlands. He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including Forester-of-the-Year, by the Northeast-Midwest Foresters…

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Shoumita Dasgupta, "Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins: Lessons on Belonging from Our DNA" (U California Press, 2025) 57:39

7M ago57:39

57:39

Dr. Dasgupta is a geneticist and internationally recognized anti-racism educator. In this book, she provides a powerful, science-based rebuttal to common fallacies about human difference. Well-meaning physicians, parents, and even scientists today often spread misinformation about what biology can and can’t tell us about our bodies, minds, and iden…

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Vanished in the Smokies: The Disappearances of Trenny Gibson & Dennis Martin 56:06

8M ago56:06

56:06

In this episode, we explore two of the most haunting missing persons cases in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. First, the mysterious disappearance of 16-year-old Trenny Gibson, who vanished without a trace during a school hiking trip in 1976. Then, we rewind to 1969 and examine the baffling case of 6-year-old Dennis Martin, whose family Fat…