what is nerd alert?
Nerd Alert was cooked up by a small band of Oxford neuroscientists in the aftermath of getting totally out-nerded on BBC4′s Only Connect. It started life as an online show for Oxide Radio and in the summer of 2010 we set up nerd-alert.net to host the live-recorded shows as a podcast. Since then we have added to the team and taken the opportunity to throw a few more ideas at the world…
the podcast
Our podcast is a seat-of-the-pants mix of chat, science, news and music. We still webcast live on Oxide Radio, once a week during term time, and what you hear in the podcast (subscribe via RSS or iTunes!) is live, unscripted nerds with microphones. Anything can happen.
The original Team Nerdcast: Jonathan, Blake and Neil
The show is aimed at anybody who’s inclined to switch their brain on. We are scientists, but we like to pick ideas apart so that any engaged, relatively tech-savvy, 21st-century person can follow. We also really like on-air experiments. Suggestions are always welcome!
No matter what the topic – science, media, megalomania, mongeese – we like to emphasise critical thinking and the scientific method. But we’re not on a high horse about it. We wouldn’t even know how to ride one.
The music we play in the podcast is covered by a Limited Online Music License from the good people at PRS for Music.
The show began with Jonathan, Blake and Neil and has since frequently included Pete, George and/or Nicky plus occasional special guests. If you love or loathe the show, do let us know! We like hearing from like-minded folks and we’re always up for a nerdfight with anybody else…
Episode 1: Neil wrestles with the hardware and Blake "helps".
“I first listened when I was home with a stomach bug, and had to stop because the giggles hurt too much. Tell me there are more coming!”
- Bianca in Boston
“Great show – a fantastic mish-mash of science rubbish to listen to at 4:30am.”
- Paul in Adelaide
“Cracking stuff!”
- Hugh in London
“Neeeeeeeerds!”
- Nic in Canberra
“When you all stop talking at the same time, it’ll be great!”
- Neil’s mum
the blog
- The Weekly Wrangle is an switched-on but informal piece of writing that levels nerdy thinking at almost anything – from new research to new shoes to new backyard experiments. Subscribe to these for a once-a-week dose of well-written nerdstuff.
- The Random Updates are everything else. Off-the-cuff rants, plugs and fisticuffs. Subscribe to these for a more irregular spray of nerdiness, less constrained by wordcount and forethought. Alternatively, subscribe to the lot!
Again, we’d love to hear from readers so please do comment on the posts.
desktop of the week
This is our effort to sneak some science onto the dull, landscapes-and-pets-dominated computer screens of the world. A cool image of an experiment or an exoplanet or an exotic extremeophile – on your desktop. Every week. Complete with a potted explanation to make you sound clever when people ask about it. Subscribe to the RSS feed!
We are always looking for picture submissions to Desktop of the Week, so if you have a science-based image that would look cool on a desktop, please send it our way! We will, of course, give you all the credit and include a link to your Flickr stream or website. Use the submission form here.
and finally – what the hell is that green brain thing?!
That there is a brain made of lime jelly and it’s thanks to Elizabeth Feldman. Isn’t it cool?
fresh ripostes: