DocsVox

Danielle Schlesinger, a third-year student in the geosciences department, tells us about beam time (hint: it has nothing to do with gymnastics or spaceships), discusses her travels to the faraway lands of South Carolina, and tells us whether or not you should believe the hype about Claritin and why. Does it really last for 24 hours? We’ll see.

The music in this episode was written and performed by Alexander Wenner. You can check out more of his stuff on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/user-146405883

Elia Altabet, a fifth-year student in the chemical and biological engineering department, stops by to discuss his research on water in hydrophobic confinement, the appropriate number of jam band shows for a person to have seen, and why people used to think that the Soviet Union had a special kind of water that could turn the ocean into Jello.

Scott Dawson, a former sixth-year Princeton student in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department, stopped by the show eight days before his dissertation defense to tell us about how the way birds flap their wings may influence how planes and cars are designed, why golf balls have dimples, and if Arnold Schwarzenneger could have been the first human to take flight (during the Terminator days, obviously.)

Korhan Kocak, a third-year student in the politics department, tells us how game theory can explain why Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump keep talking about the SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER

And how Nash equilibrium can explain why going for the hottest girl/guy at a bar is always the right move (as long as none of your bros are doing it too)

Ingrid Ockert, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the history of science department elaborates on the complicated relationship between Trekkies and Star Wars enthusiasts, why actors in the ’50s pretended to be scientists on television, and why some people study the history of rulers.