crisscrossing Science

40 Episodes
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By: Michael Crosser & Chad Tillberg

Welcome to crisscrossing Science, the podcast in which we answer the science questions that you never thought to ask. Every other week, co-hosts Michael Crosser and Chad Tillberg will share their love of natural science by discussing a topic that they find interesting.

Episode 240: Rediscover Bat Plagues
11/24/2025

Chad and Mike are learning more about what have been described as "Flying Puppies" by re-playing this episode with Leah Rensel.


Episode 239: Graphene
11/11/2025

Mike and Chad finally talk about Mike's research in the material called graphene. Graphene is a two dimensional conductor that can be used as a biosensor and many other interesting applications.


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Episode 238: Bloodtypes
10/27/2025

In a particularly bloody episode, Chad and Mike discuss the A, B, and O blood types, as well as the Rh positive and negative. What do these designations mean? And what are some of the health consequences of these differences?


This episode came about because of a listener question. If you have questions, email us at crisscrossingsci@gmail.com


Episode 237: Nobel Roundup 2025
10/13/2025

Mike and Chad discuss the first three Nobel award announcements for 2025. We review the science behind the medicine, physics, and chemistry prizes that will be awarded in Stockholm later this year.


If you have ideas for future episodes, or just questions that make you curious, email us at crisscrossingsci@gmail.com and we will try to answer your questions in a future episode.


Episode 236: Primordial Blackholes
09/30/2025

Mike and Chad discuss new findings by the James Webb Space Telescope about blackholes formed at the beginning of the universe, before there were even stars.


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Episode 235: Rerun, How to Hit a Homerun
09/16/2025

Mike and Chad are revisiting this episode about the physics of baseball. So grab some peanuts and crackerjacks, and enjoy this classic episode.


If you have science questions that you have always wondered about, email us at crisscrossingsci@gmail.com


Episode 234: Carnivorous Plants
09/02/2025

Chad and Mike discuss carnivorous plants, such as the Venus fly trap. They are surprisingly common and many species independently developed the tools needed to consume flies.


If you have a topic you'd like us to sink our teeth into, email us at crisscrossingsci@gmail.com


Episode 233: Rediscussing the Origin of the Moon
08/19/2025

Mike and Chad are on vacation, but still have the moon to keep us together. So enjoy this episode from the vault about where the moon came from.




Episode 232: Crisspies III
08/04/2025

Mike and Chad invite Kevin Curry back in the studios to talk about movies and the best Science in Science Fiction for the Third Annual Crisspies. This year, we are talking about time travel, which is tricky because time travel is already science fiction. But, we narrowed down the list to the top five contenders and debated which movies should come out on top.


Do you agree with our assessment? Let us know on any social media platform.


Episode 231: The Final Frontier
07/22/2025

Mike and Chad discuss some of the ongoing space missions currently in operation by NASA as well as the European Space Agency, and space agencies from India and Japan. There is a lot of research taking place that deserves recognition.


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Episode 230: ReVisiting Jurassic Park
07/07/2025

In celebration of the latest Jurassic Park movie, we are reposting an episode from 2022 about how the birds escaped Jurassic Park. Enjoy.


This episode came from a listener question. To ask questions for yourself, email us at crisscrossingsci@gmail.com or DM us on social media platforms.


Episode 229: Chirality
06/25/2025

Chad and Mike talk about how biological molecules are often left handed or right handed. This affects us in many fascinating ways.


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Episode 228: Relearning the Curie-ous Case of Marie Curie
06/10/2025

Mike and Chad are re-listening to this episode from 2020 about the married couple of Marie and Pierre Curie, each of whom won at least one Nobel Prize and were an amazing scientific power couple.


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Episode 227: Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge
05/28/2025

Chad and Mike invite Dr. David Lewis, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and an anthropologist from Oregon State University, onto the podcast. David talks with us about what this land looked like and how land was managed for thousands of years.


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Episode 226: Re-listening to Mandolin
05/12/2025

Mike and Chad are re-sharing this episode with Stephen Tufte, a physics professor from Lewis and Clark. He shared with us the science behind playing the mandolin and what makes it different from a guitar.


Episode 225: Turtles, tortoises, and terrapins... Oh MY!!
04/28/2025

Chad and Mike discuss the ancestral plight of turtles and how strange a journey it was for sea creatures to come onto land, then return to the water, and (in the case of the tortoise) return back to land.


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Episode 224: Angular Momentum
04/15/2025

Mike and Chad discuss angular momentum and some of the seemingly counterintuitive predictions that come from it. Yet so many things in our daily lives rely on this concept.




Episode 223: Nobel Laureate Randy Schekman
03/31/2025

Chad and Mike invite Nobel Laureate Dr. Randy Schekman to discuss his research into yeast cells and the mechanisms that yeast (and human) cells use to direct traffic. Proteins that are created within the cell need to be pushed into the appropriate places and Schekman is one of the discoverers of those mechanisms.


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Episode 222: Packing and Shipping
03/18/2025

Chad and Mike are preparing for our next episode in which we talk to Nobel Laureate Randy Schekman. He won the award for learning the mechanisms for how proteins within the cells are moved to where they need to go. The process can be very complicated, so we are doing a pre-episode to help us understand more.


So be sure to listen to both this episode and the next one with our special guest.


Episode 221: Einstein's Greatest Blunder
03/03/2025

Mike and Chad celebrate Einstein's 146th birthday by discussing his Greatest Blunder.


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Episode 220: The Goss on Moss
02/18/2025

Chad tells Mike all about moss, and the entire ecosystem that lives in that tiny, fluffy, world.


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Episode 219: The Science of Milk
02/03/2025

Mike and Chad discuss milk. Why do mammals drink it? How do mammals produce it? What is pasteurization? Answers to these questions, and more, when you listen to crisscrossing Science!




Episode 218: Star Formation
01/22/2025

Mike and Chad invite astronomer Dr. Kathryn Devine to discuss the process of astronomy and how we can determine how stars form.


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Episode 217: PET Eating Bacteria
01/06/2025

Chad and Mike invite Dr. Jay Mellies to talk about his research into bacteria that are able to break down plastics into their constituent pieces.


To learn about plastics and more, subscribe to the podcast, wherever you listen to them.


Episode 216: Champagne Supernova
12/23/2024

Mike and Chad discuss the bright events called supernova and the chain of events that makes them happen.


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Episode 215: Plastic
12/09/2024

Mike and Chad discuss how plastic is created and why it is so ubiquitous in our modern world. We also consider why plastics are often not recycled and why it will be hard to stop making more.


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Episode 214: Wallace and Darwin
11/26/2024

Chad tells Mike about the co-discoverers of the mechanism of evolution by natural selection: Wallace and Darwin. What? You've only ever heard of Darwin? Listen and learn...


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Episode 213: Primates!
11/13/2024

Chad and Mike welcome Stephen Frost onto the podcast to discuss the evolutionary history of primates.


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Episode 212: The Solar Neutrino Problem
10/28/2024

Imagine studying one problem for forty years until finally the scientific community accepts your research. Mike and Chad discuss the work of Raymond Davis, Jr. who measured the number of neutrinos emitted by the sun. His numbers did not agree with theory and it took decades to prove that new physics was involved.


Episode 211: Original Antigenic Sin
10/14/2024

Chad and Mike delve into disease and vaccinations and consider the role of B cells. When are new B cells produced and when do older ones ramp up production of antibodies?


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Episode 210: Tesla & Edison's Current War
09/30/2024

Mike and Chad talk about the differences between AC and DC power. We then delve into the history of electrifying the world, when advocates for AC (Tesla, Westinghouse) beat out arguments for DC (Edison). It is a crazy story.


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Episode 209: Take Me Home-ing Pigeon
09/17/2024

How do Homing Pigeons find their way? It turns out researchers have done many experiments to confuse them! We also have a tie in to Game of Thrones, so be sure to tune in.


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Episode 208: It's STILL GOLD, I tell ya!
09/02/2024

We've been busy watching the Olympics, which got us thinking about GOLD!! So while we finish our efforts for Season 8, we are replaying this episode about where gold comes from.


Episode 207: Still Humming Along
08/20/2024

Mike and Chad are gearing up for Season 8 and have a lot of ideas for upcoming episodes. In the meantime, we were enjoying hummingbirds flying around and thought it would be fun to revisit an episode from 2021 about these little guys that migrate surprisingly far distances. Enjoy.




Episode 206: Still WaterLogged!
08/05/2024

Enjoy this encore episode in which our guest Janet Peterson discusses how much water we should be drinking.


Episode 205: The Crisspies II - Revenge of the Science!
07/22/2024

This is our second annual Crisspies award show, celebrating the Best Science in Science Fiction.


The awards this year go to the best depiction of the Science behind pandemics (too soon?). Which movie will win this year?


Episode 204: Stressed Bees
07/09/2024

Chad and Mike invite Adam Dolezal to discuss the plight of bees and how they are facing new struggles with parasites, pathogens, pesticides, and poor nutrition.


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Episode 203: Replaying Sunspots
06/24/2024

You may have been wondering about the aurora that have been visible in the last few weeks. Mike tells Chad about sunspots and how these lead to the cool events in our atmosphere.


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Episode 202: Magnets, and how do they work?
06/10/2024

Mike and Chad take a tour through magnetism and explain how magnets are used in everyday life.


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Episode 201: Great Galls of Fire
05/28/2024

Chad and Mike talk about plant formations called Galls in which an external object (insect, bacteria, etc) cause the plant to make small circular scars on its leaves.


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