This week I was honored to interview John Calderazzo, a nature writer and science communicator. John was a professor of English at Colorado State University, and while I did attend that school, I was never lucky enough to have him as a professor as he had retired by that point. John currently is a freelance writer, focusing on science communication and coastal living.
By complete accident, I had found John's book, Rising Fire, in a bookstore one day and both the title and the author caught my eye. In cracking it open, I was immediately hooked in the stories John tells about volcanoes all around the world, and how people survive in the shadows of these geological monuments. From Pompeii to Krakatoa, John gives an in-depth history of each volcano, and his journeys to get to the actual volcano and describe what's going on. From various near-death experiences to making friends with the locals, John uses his skills as a story-teller to communicate the science of volcanoes in a new and fascinating way. I couldn't put the book down!
John was more than excited to have me interview him, and we talked for longer than I was expecting. While the main focus of the exclusive interview below is on his book Rising Fire, we also discuss the importance of being a good story-teller and science communicator. John's stories are both entertaining and valuable and have changed the way I see volcanoes. I'd highly recommend reading John's book if you're looking for something easy, fascinating, and adventurous. You can get your own copy here.
And make sure to listen to the fun and interesting interview I had with John below!
I apologize for taking a longer break than usual, as it was the Fourth of July. However, this week I want to talk about science writing for...babies? Yep! I was privileged enough to interview physicist Chris Ferrie, who is also the author of some best-selling baby books about science, such as Astrophysics for Babies or Quantum Physics for Babies. I asked Chris about the difficulty of trying to explain hard theoretical science to someone like a baby. He responded by saying that you can't keep all the science the same, but using analogies and also simple models will help get the ideas across better.
I asked Chris why he decided to write these books originally, and he replied with explaining the desire to show his kids what type of work he does as a physicist. Besides writing Astrophysics for babies, Chris has also written a couple science parody books, such as Goodnight Lab and Scientist, Scientist, Who do you See? I remember picking up Goodnight Lab just for the obvious parody on Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, and loving it! Though I won't give too much away, my favorite page from the book is "Goodnight Liquid Nitrogen." I ended up displaying Goodnight Lab inside my glass-windowed laboratory as an undergraduate. Passersby asked if that was an actual book, and I explained that it was. From these conversations, I had been wanting to interview Chris for a while, and hearing his story has just made me fall in love with his books all over again!
Whether you have young kids or are a curious adult like me, Chris's books are full of surprise and entertainment for all ages. You can even find videos of him reading his own books on YouTube. If you want your own copy, you can find it here! Chris is continuing to work with the Baby University series, where Astrophysics for Babies first got published and is grateful they have expanded out to Climate Change for Babies as well as other fields of science! I'd highly recommend Chris' books to any expecting parents, current parents, or anyone wanting an entertaining and nerdy read.
