Episode 159: Science Evangelist

“Your voice is precious, and you should protect it, and you should do everything in your power to make sure it gets heard. ”

— Ainissa Ramirez

ainissa ramirez

Ainissa Ramirez has loved science since the age of four. But her dreams of becoming a scientist were almost squelched when she got to college. When she graduated she vowed to make other people's journeys through science better than her own.

Today, she's helping thousands of people understand and appreciate how the world around them works - and maybe even go into science themselves. In this episode we talk about the influence her grandmother had on Ainissa’s life, the ups and downs of her career, leaving academia to go out on her own, and some of the amazing (often untold) stories in her new book, The Alchemy of Us.

She also has some solid advice for other women scientists who may be finding their workplaces...challenging.

You can also read a transcript of the show.

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Further reading:

The Alchemy of Us by Ainissa Ramirez

STEM Education Needs a Course Correction by Ainissa Ramirez in Scientific American - this is where I first read about the airport bathroom story we talk about at the top of the show.

Black Images Matter: How Cameras Helped, and Sometimes Harmed, Black People by Ainissa Ramirez in Scientific American.

Episode 158: Caring in a Crisis

“I feel elderlies are being neglected. It’s just a good feeling to do my part, and I’m really worried when I get to be that age – who’s going to be there for us?”

— Susie Rivera

“I’m not worried about [going to work] because I believe that in a crisis, not doing anything is not an option...I am not a part of the problem. I am part of the solution. ”

— Maria Colville

Photo by sam thomas/iStock / Getty Images

A lot of us have been able to work from home during lockdown these last few months. One group of workers that hasn't is paid caregivers - aides, mainly women, who are paid by the hour to help elderly, frail and disabled people accomplish some of the tasks of daily living.

In this show we meet two women who have been doing care work for three decades - Susie Rivera in Texas and Maria Colville in Massachusetts. Their job is one of the fastest growing in the U.S. But it pays poorly and a lot of people don't see its importance...until they need that care themselves. Some clients are grateful and gracious, others less so.

Each woman feels called to her role. As Maria puts it, "The opportunity to make an impact in someone else's life," is its own reward.

You can also read a transcript of the show.