Ben Ratner’s photo of StarTalk All-Stars Emily Rice and Summer Ash in studio with co-host Chuck Nice.
Ben Ratner’s photo of StarTalk All-Stars Emily Rice and Summer Ash in studio with co-host Chuck Nice.

Women in Science, with Summer Ash and Emily Rice – StarTalk All-Stars

Women Crushing It: StarTalk All-Stars Emily Rice and Summer Ash in studio with co-host Chuck Nice. Credit: Ben Ratner.
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About This Episode

New StarTalk All-Stars hosts, astrophysicists Summer Ash and Emily Rice, share their take on “Women Crushing It Wednesday” – reclaiming a sexist hashtag by celebrating women in STEM and examining the challenges women scientists face. To help them out, co-host Chuck Nice has picked an interesting assortment of fan-submitted Cosmic Queries, from the social to the scientific. And the first question he asks Summer and Emily is, unsurprisingly, about how to keep motivated in the face of sexism, ugliness and hurt after the recent election. You’ll hear how the underrepresentation of women and minorities in science is reflection of society as a whole, but that scientists can be tougher to convince of their own bias because they think they’re acting rationally. Explore the “leaky pipeline” that tends to lose women along the path from student to professor, influenced by gender bias among teachers, selection bias and even how women are more susceptible to getting discouraged by self-doubt than men. You’ll also find out how, in spite of trolling, the internet has actually led to more women in science finding communities of support. You’ll hear about the importance of mentors, especially in the light of underrepresentation in higher education, and the best ways to encourage young girls to pursue careers in STEM. On the scientific front, Emily and Ash address the importance of scientific literacy, the challenge of climate change and climate science deniers, and what we know and don’t know about black holes, which, according to Summer, don’t suck.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Women in Science, with Summer Ash and Emily Rice – StarTalk All-Stars.

In This Episode

  • Host

    Summer Ash

    Summer Ash
    All-Stars Host, Astrophysicist, Director of Outreach for Columbia University’s Department of Astronomy, co-founder of STARtorialist and Astronomy on Tap
  • Host

    Emily Rice

    Emily Rice
    All-Stars Host, Astrophysicist, Astronomer at College of Staten Island/University of NY and The American Museum of Natural History, co-founder of STARtorialist and Astronomy on Tap
  • Co-Host

    Chuck Nice

    Chuck Nice
    Comedian

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