About

From the “This Week in Science” Wikipedia Entry

This Week in Science (TWIS) is a weekly science radio talk show broadcasting from KDVS 90.3FM on the UC Davis campus since 2000. Each week TWIS founder/host Kirsten Sanford and co-host Justin Jackson deliver a lively and informative review of up-to-the-minute research in science and technology. This Week in Science has received wide acclaim for its unique and personable approach to science journalism, with a style that is one part Science Friday to one part Car Talk.

The show is available live on FM radio in Northern California and via live internet broadcasts from the KDVS website. Archived versions of the show are available on the This Week in Science Archive and through the TWIS podcast on iTunes.

Hosts

Dr. Kirsten Sanford is research scientist in neurophysiology at the University of California, Davis and is a specialist in learning and memory. She has a Ph.D in Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology from UC Davis and is a frequent lecturer on the Davis campus.

Kirsten was recently awarded the 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Fellowship Award in recognition for her work with This Week in Science. Through this fellowship she worked as a television news producer at WNBC News in New York City working with noted health and science reporter Dr. Max Gomez.

Justin Jackson (Co-Host) is currently selling cars and is hoping that TWIS will become his golden meal ticket. While not possessing any form of verifiable science education, Justin is a world renowned armchair theoretical physicist and has developed his own (somewhat dubious) competitor to String Theory which he calls “Oceanic String Theory”. With the show since 2005, he brings a unique comic sensibility to TWIS and aspires to be the next Adam Corolla.

Listenership

This Week in Science reaches a potential audience of over 100,000 each week through a combination of terrestrial radio broadcasts, live streaming media, and podcast shows. Listened to in 60 countries worldwide, TWIS reaches an international audience and regularly fields science questions on the air from listeners around the world.

In the six months following their entry into podcasting in June 2005, the show received over 300,000 unique IP downloads, enough to put them in the top 95th percentile of all podcast programs. TWIS continues to expand its listenership through innovative use of new media.

Guests

This Week in Science regularly interviews top scientists, technologists, and luminaries. Past interview include Cornell physicist and author of The Elegant Universe Brian Greene, mechanical engineer and author of Notes from the Technology Underground William Gurstelle, NASA astrobiologist Jack Farmer; Harvard theoretical physicist Lisa Randall, popular science fiction author and futurist William Gibson, and author of the Mars Trilogy Kim Stanley Robinson.<