Space: who does it belong to? And how gay is it?
In this update: two podcast episodes, last chance for Tuesday evening's speaking workshop, and catch Venus and Jupiter shining together!
Easy Listening
Want answers to the subject line of this email? Then have a listen to my recent episode of the Assigned Scientist At Bachelors podcast! ASAB is hosted by astrobiologist Tessa Fisher and entomologist Charles Wallace, who led us all on this fun and far-reaching conversation about the social side of space exploration and the search for life. This episode was recorded last year, and I'm excited that it's out in the world now!
More recently, I had the chance to talk with Northwestern students Aviva Bechky and Avani Kalra for Brainstorm, Northwestern's science and technology podcast. This episode is all about astrobiology, and the ins and outs of how scientists look for life beyond planet Earth.
Easy Learning
Did you know that speaking is movement? It's true: recent research on speech synthesis has shown that, rather than encoding the sounds we make when vocalizing, the brain actually choreographs the physical motions of the vocal tract to produce speech. This research has huge implications for helping people who have lost speech capability, and it's also a great example of how speaking is far more of a physical experience than most of us realize. Tuesday night, I'm offering a workshop that tackles all the physical aspects of speaking, Speaking As An Embodied Practice! This workshop is the second in a series of short/sweet/cheap taster workshops, and probably won't come around at this price again. It's a great way to learn some new things, and to get a feel for my work as a speaking coach. Grab your spot here!
Early Stargazing
If you're somewhere where the season offers good weather and clear skies--and if you're a morning person-- get up about an hour before sunrise on Friday morning and look to the southeast. There, you'll be treated to the Venus-Jupiter conjunction, meaning that these two bright planets will appear very close together in the sky. On Friday morning they'll appear a mere half a degree (roughly half the width of your pinky finger) apart from one another! If you oversleep, you'll get another chance Sunday morning (they won't be quite as close, but still: pretty close). If you see the conjunction, let me know! Especially because the chances I will be able to get out of bed before sunrise are... slim indeed.
Clear skies,
Lucianne