@whimsicallambda
I Dr Jeffrey Zurek (volcanologist/geophysicist) am the host for this science podcast whimsical wavelengths! Also juggling day job, fatherhood & a “normal” life 😅. Pod found everywhere! https://open.spotify.com/show/62yumbmTFvGAAsX2aQVTTj?si=0dbca8884aa949
3/3🧪⚒️ Whether you're into #mineral systems, #orbital dynamics, or just want to hear a really specific science joke about a #Spinosaurus, this 1 is for you. Found everywhere #podcasts are listed!
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
open.spotify.com/episode/2uMx...
2/3🧪⚒️We go past the "black box" hype around AI to talk about:
The #Data Cubes, #Neural Networks vs. The 🧠, Garbage In, Garbage Out & Why we can map in 2D today, but the future is 3D
The takeaway? These are new tools to help geoscientists search, find, and understand the 🌎—not replace them.
A wide-angle landscape of the Serranía de Hornocal in Argentina, showcasing a massive, jagged mountain range with distinct triangular "v-shaped" rock formations. The sedimentary layers are dramatically folded and exposed, displaying a vibrant palette of ochre, deep red, purple, and cream-colored minerals. The sharp, rhythmic ridges contrast against a clear, bright blue sky.
A high-angle view of a large-scale open-pit mine carved into a desert mountain side. The image shows multiple horizontal stepped terraces (benches) descending into the pit. Massive yellow industrial haul trucks and excavation equipment are visible on different levels, appearing small against the vast, dusty brown and grey rock faces. The scene illustrates the industrial scale of resource extraction and its significant physical impact on the landscape.
1/2🧪⚒️Artificial Geologist via #MachineLearning
The easy, near-surface mineral deposits are gone. What’s left is buried or in remote regions. Drilling holes cost > $100,000 per hole, don't want to miss!
This ep, joined by #data🧑🔬Frederick Jackson to discuss gold #prospectivity via machine learning.
It's Whimsical Wavelengths!
Special thanks to @oplopanax.ca for pointing out our local newspaper @freshetnews.bsky.social is here on the platform!
Freshet News is employee owned covering Burnaby, New Westminster and the Tri- cities (BC, Canada).
I am a volunteer 🧪 columnist there as well! 🥂
Thanks!!
2/2 This🏆is a nod to the importance of discussing career paths, Scientific methods, & the social impacts of 🧪.
I’m looking for more researchers to share their journeys and scientific papers. If you have a story to tell, my DMs are open! Let’s keep building this community.
#SciComm #SciencePodcast
A celebratory blue graphic with a starry background featuring the "Whimsical Wavelengths" podcast logo at the center. The text reads: "Winner, Podcast of the Year in the Science Category, presented by AmericanWritingAwards.com". Below the logo, a blue ribbon states "2026 Podcast of the Year - Science," and the bottom text reads "Whimsical Wavelengths - Dr. Jeffrey Zurek".
1/2Some big news: Whimsical Wavelengths just won #Science #Podcast of the Year at the American Writing Awards!
It’s incredibly validating to see my focus on 🧪resonate. Massive thanks to @jjrennie.bsky.social and @ahrensscience.bsky.social who I met right here—your insights were a huge part of this.
Whimsical Wavelengths is a science podcast hosted by volcanologist Dr. Jeffrey Zurek, dedicated to the "how" and "why" of discovery. Eschewing the trend of bite-sized science, the show offers a deep, honest look at how science actually works—messy data, imperfect models, and the human personalities behind the research. The show spans the physical sciences—from geophysics and planetary discovery to the history of scientific paradoxes—but the focus is always on the process. We explore how evidence is gathered, how ideas evolve over centuries, and why uncertainty is a fundamental feature of science rather than a flaw. Because science is conducted by people, Whimsical Wavelengths doesn't ignore the human element. We weave together mathematical rigor and historical context with reflections on mentorship, the realities of building a scientific career, and what it truly means to belong in STEM. Whether it's a solo narrative exploration or a conversation with a working researcher, the goal is clarity without oversimplification. The tone is thoughtful and curious, anchored by real-world field experience and the occasional groan-worthy dad joke—because while the science is serious, the pursuit of it is a human adventure. This is for listeners who want to understand the machinery of the natural world and the people who spend their lives trying to take it apart.
I’m Dr. Jeffrey Zurek, host of Whimsical Wavelengths. We eschew bite-sized science for deep dives eg., entomology, 🌋, #Science #history. No headlines—just the messy reality of the scientific process, belonging, mentorship, career paths, and the odd dad joke. Clarity without oversimplification.
Poster using the podcastès album art stating the show has been submitted for: Podcast of the Year American Writing Awards in the categories of Science and Education
It comes a time to enter the ring and see if what you are doing is getting anywhere! Wish the show luck!
🧪⚒️2/2 PSR's are natural #cold traps that are more than geological curiosities; they help determine landing sites, resource strategies, and long-term exploration planning.
open.spotify.com/episode/7773... or any pod app
Sometimes the most exciting #science happens in places that never see the #day.
Taken from NASA website "This illustration shows the distribution of permanently shadowed regions (in blue) on the Moon poleward of 80 degrees South latitude. They are superimposed on a digital elevation map of the lunar surface (grey) from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on board NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. NASA/GSFC/Timothy P. McClanahan"
1/3🧪⚒️What if the 🌔is hiding #history frozen in places #sunlight has never touched?
S2E11 @ahrensscience.bsky.social joins the pod & we talk about #lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) — cold polar craters that may store H2O ice, ancient chemistry, and influence future missions on the #Moon.
For today I ,the host of the #podcast, published a new 🧪column in the #FreshetNews (my local paper). Foreshadowing to a future podcast episode?
Whimsical Wavelengths: Chemical love letters of black widow spiders
www.freshetnews.ca/whimsical-wa...
Shows that Whimsical Wavelengths ranking on Italy’s Apple podcast chart in the category of Science
#Algorithms… flattering but I don’t understand!
Ranking anywhere is an #ego boost! However it still doesn’t make sense!
I guess a win is a win but the scientist side is extremely #puzzled 🤨 phantom listeners in #Italy?
Does #bluesky have a hypothesis?
🧪⚒️🌋2/2 We dig into
• how 2010 #landslide supercharged #sediment supply
• why the #river keeps shifting & raising flood risk
• the human side of hazard communication & resilience
• engineered logjams for stabilizing sediment‑rich rivers
Pod found on all platforms!
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...
Photo taken by Paul Adam 2010, from a Helicopter looking down the valley from Meager creek at the landslide run out. The Lillooet River is in the upper part of the image
🧪⚒️1/2 This pod ep is about Mt Meager a #Canadian 🌋
2 weeks ago, volcanologist Dr. Glyn Williams‑Jones walked us through Mt Meager’s 🌋history and why it is unstable. Today I’m joined by Veronica Woodruff a environmental professional, to explore sediment, & human decision‑making with Lillooet River
🧪The word is getting out everywhere. We have a plastic problem, sure, but it might not be what you think it is.
Be sure to check out the journalism on this! or check out the podcast. Earlier in this season I did an episode on this topic!
Might just have an upcoming podcast episode that touches on some of this! It is also likely to be one of the biggest #science stories for 2026. #Science or #STEM communication. Written by me. Remember the #podcast is found everywhere they are listed!
www.freshetnews.ca/whimsical-wa...
3/3🧪 If you have ever wondered why #Canadian #volcano rarely enter public conversation, or what it takes to reconstruct #eruptions that happened thousands of years before written records, this ep is a grounded & accessible look at a 🌋system that deserves more attention.
www.sfu.ca/volcanology....
2/3🧪 The episode also discusses the largest ever landslide recorded in #Canada, & why #landslides may be a more immediate #hazard than 🌋 eruption. it also gets into #monitoring, & how we model future scenarios.
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/m...
Mt Meager looking northward (the mountain's southern side) at Devastator peak (highest point left) and Pylon Peak (highest point right). -Photo Taken by Dr Sarah Aufrère
looks into the landslide scar of capricorn peak which was Canada's largest recorded landslide in 2010. Looks north-northwest on a ridge ~2.5 km away from Capricorn peak. -Photo Taken by Dr Antonina Calahorrano-Di Patre
1/3 🧪In this time heading to Mt Meager, a 🌋complex that is 150 kilometres NW of #Vancouver. The #Cascades eg Mount St. Helens continue north into #BC 🍁.
This ep tackles Meager’s past, how pyroclastic flows once dammed the #Lillooet #River, how that dam failed, block/ash flow, & cooling joints.
2/2🧪Plastic like every substance we use is flawed. But it has significant carbon offsets with respect to shipping etc. Most of the time plastic is the right material. However we need to get better cleaning up and recycling. Here is the episode that covered this
rss.com/podcasts/whi...
1/2 a 🧪share on a topic previously covered by the podcast. Research on Micro plastics is necessary! But there are pitfalls and perception issues. New letter (peer reviewed and published) questioning brain plastics increasing towards the present
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science Podcast
@whimsicallambda.bsky.social delves into the messy, fascinating process of science with volcanologist Dr. Jeffrey Zurek. Explore topics from volcanoes to ice cream with scientists, all while embracing uncertainty and the joy of discovery—bad jokes included!
🧪Encore addition today to allow me some 🕘to catch up! And get over a nasty 🐛. Going back ~ 1 year S1E8 to a story about wavelengths all about the enigmatic Nikola Tesla.
His name gets thrown around alot in scientific and conspiracy circles. Rightly & Wrongly.
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/e...
Did a #collab with @bestieapproved.bsky.social talking all about the 🧪 of wind! Need the bare bones instead of the in-depth article diving? this is for you.
We Cover
Why the #wind blows
#hurricane formation
#Climate Change Implications
#witty banter
and more!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
🧪Happy Holidays From the host of Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science Podcast!
If you are looking for a short holiday read I have just started writing for my local Newspaper! Following the newest EP, here is a 🎄themed short article! Holiday #Scicomm
www.freshetnews.ca/whimsical-wa...
3/3 The planets remind us that 🧪doesn’t advance in straight lines. It moves slowly, unevenly, and corrects itself through #evidence.
Every winter, when we look up at the #stars for meaning, we’re also looking at the same sky that taught us how knowledge moves — one step at a time.
Happy Holidays!
🧪2/3 In the latest EP, we trace how #planets went from mysterious lights in the sky to worlds governed by #physics — From Babylonian astronomers, to Copernicus and Galileo, to Newton, Neptune, Pluto, and today’s debates about unseen mass in the outer solar system.
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/w...
False-color image of Neptune captured by a Voyager spacecraft, showing the blue planet against the blackness of space with visible cloud bands and storms.
🧪1/3 At this time of year, the night #sky tends to mean a little more.
Stars show up in #holiday #stories, winter traditions, and old myths. Long before telescopes, people looked up for meaning.
But those same lights— especially the wandering ones — also tell a story about how #science works.
3/3 🧪Whether you are a scientist, an educator, or curious about how people come to devote their lives to understanding the universe, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at the human side of STEM.
journals.aps.org/prper/pdf/10...
If you are a researcher & want to come on the pod reach out!