Big Ideas TXST Podcast

50: Alzheimer's as time travel with Christopher Johnson
Texas State University’s Christopher Johnson, a clinical professor in the Department of Sociology, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss understanding Alzheimer’s disease as a type of time travel. 

49: Acting for screen with Richard Robichaux
Texas State University’s Richard Robichaux, a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss his career path, teaching acting for television and movies and his upcoming projects. 

48: Trilobite geography with Shelly Wernette
Texas State University’s Shelly Wernette, Ph.D., a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss her discovery of 10 new species of extinct trilobites in Thailand and what those discoveries reveal about ancient world geography.

47: Wastewater reuse with Keisuke Ikehata
Texas State University’s Keisuke Ikehata, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Ingram School of Engineering, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss an innovative pilot program to convert wastewater into purified drinking water.

46: Secret lives of fireflies with Ben Pfeiffer
Texas State University alumnus Ben Pfeiffer, founder of Firefly Conservation & Research, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the fascinating insects known as fireflies and the threats and pressures that threaten their existence.

45: Edward Curtis’ “The North American Indian” with David Coleman  
Texas State University’s David Coleman, director of The Wittliff Collections, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the legacy of Edward Curtis and his photography collection, “The North American Indian.”

44: Challenges to entrepreneurs reentering the workforce with Jake Waddingham 
Texas State University’s Jake Waddingham, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs trying to reenter the traditional workforce.

43: A return to Bobcat football with David Bailiff
Texas State University’s David Bailiff, special assistant to new head coach G.J. Kinne, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss his return to San Marcos and Bobcat football.

42: TXST film program with Elizabeth Buckley 
Texas State University’s Elizabeth Buckley, a lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the Texas State film program. 

41: Fermenting change through craft breweries with Colleen Myles 
Texas State University’s Colleen Myles, an associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss her research into the social interplay between craft breweries and the communities they reside in.

40: NBA2K with Ali Forbes
Texas State University’s Ali Forbes, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss her research into the cultural impact of video games — NBA2K, in particular.

Episode 39: Sustainability with Emma Parsley
Texas State University’s Emma Parsley, sustainability coordinator in the Office of Sustainability at Texas State University, join the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the university’s recent STARS Silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements.

Episode 38: Improving writing instruction for students with disabilities with Alyson Collins and Stephen Ciullo
Texas State University’s Alyson Collins, an assistant professor, and Stephen Ciullo, an associate professor, both in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas State University, join the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss their program to improve writing instruction for students with disabilities.

37: Spring Lake adventure with Miranda Wait
Texas State University’s Miranda Wait, deputy director of Spring Lake education for The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss various projects and programs that can be found at Spring Lake.

36: Breaking stuttering myths with Farzan Irani
Texas State University’s Farzan Irani, professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the stereotypes and myths about stuttering.

35: When children are judged for blunt truths with Laure Brimbal
Texas State University’s Laure Brimbal, assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss research that shows children are judged more harshly for telling blunt truths than for lies.

34: Seal of Excelencia with Stella Silva and Victoria Black
Texas State University’s Stella Silva, assistant vice president for inclusive excellence-faculty and staff initiatives, and Victoria Black, associate dean of University College student services, join the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the university’s recent designation as a Seal of Excelencia recipient.  

33: Monkeypox with Rodney Rohde
Rodney Rohde, Texas State University System Regents Professor in the College of Health Professions and chair of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the recent outbreak of monkeypox in the U.S.  

32: Reconciliation in place names with Aimee Villarreal
Aimee Villarreal, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss her appointment by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names, a federal advisory group to help identify and recommend changes to derogatory terms still in use for places throughout the country.  

31: A life in music with Hank Hehmsoth
Hank Hehmsoth, an associate professor of practice in the School of Music at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss his work with Christopher Cross, music education and the fascinating discoveries he’s made in jazz research.  
 

30: Summer is for Parks with Dale Blasingame
Dale Blasingame, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss National Parks, State Parks and incorporating these outdoor treasures into higher education.

29: Operation I.D. with Kate Spradley
Kate Spradley, a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss her work along the South Texas border with Operation I.D.  

28: Health benefits of volunteering with Seoyoun Kim
Seoyoun Kim, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Texas State University joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the surprising health benefits of volunteering.  

27: Russian sanctions with Andrew Ojede
Andrew Ojede, an associate professor in the Department of Finance and Economics at Texas State University joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the international sanctions are having in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

26: James Webb Space Telescope with Andrea Banzatti
Andrea Banzatti, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at Texas State University joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the observatory time he has been awarded on NASA's recently-launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

25: Presenteeism with Elizabeth Eger
Elizabeth Eger, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State University joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss presenteeism—the pressure to work while sick—and the negative impacts this has on both the individual and business.  

24: SCALEUP with Josh Daspit and Daniel Roy
Josh Daspit, an associate professor of business in the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University, and Daniel Roy join the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the Sustainable Cultivation and Advancement of Local Enterprises for Underserved Populations (SCALEUP) program.       

23: Exorcism and religious studies with Joseph Laycock
Joseph Laycock, an associate professor of religious studies in the Department of Philosophy at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss religious freedom, new religious movements and the fascinating, pan-cultural phenomenon of exorcism.    

22: Geographic profiling with Kim Rossmo
Kim Rossmo, holder of the University Chair in Criminology and Director of the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss geographic profiling and the surprisingly wide range of applications for that discipline in various fields of study.       

21: Musical theatre with Kaitlin Hopkins 
Kaitlin Hopkins, head of the Musical Theatre Program at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss building a ground-breaking musical theatre program from the ground up and then navigating the program through the COVID pandemic.    

20: The Common Experience with Erika Nielson 
Erika Nielson, director of the Common Experience at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the 2021-2022 Common Experience theme of "Compassion."

19: Clean Coast Texas (with Nick Dornak)
Nick Dornak, director of watershed services with the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the Clean Coast Texas Collaborative.

18: The creative process (with Jennifer duBois)
Award-winning novelist Jennifer duBois, assistant professor in the Department of English at Texas State University, discusses her career, creative process, and joys of teaching in the MFA program in creative writing at Texas State.     

17: Why children lie with (Katherine Warnell and Jennifer Clegg)
Katherine Warnell and Jennifer Clegg, assistant professors in the Department of Psychology at Texas State University, discuss their ongoing research into how children learn to lie.    

16: Fly larvae as feed (with Merritt Drewery)
Merritt Drewery, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Sciences at Texas State University, discusses her innovative study into using black soldier fly larvae as an environmentally sustainable, high-protein feed source for cattle production.  

15: Intermittent fasting (with Matthew McAllister)
Matthew McAllister, assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Texas State University, discusses the how intermittent fasting can contribute to weight loss and other surprising health benefits.

14: COVID vaccination challenges (with Emily Brunson)
Emily K. Brunson, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University, discusses how vaccination hesitancy is complicating the effort to immunize the U.S. population against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

13: Rebecca Creek Distillery (with Steve Ison)
Steve Ison, founder and CEO of Rebecca Creek Distillery discusses how he made the leap from selling insurance to opening one of the first craft spirits distilleries in Texas. Ison, a 1993 political science graduate of Texas State University, founded the San Antonio-based distillery in 2009, making Rebecca Creek one of the first commercial distilleries opened in Texas since prohibition. 

12: Texas music with (Hector Saldaña)
Hector Saldaña, curator of the Texas Music Collection at Texas State University's Wittliff Collections, discusses his more than 20 years working as a music journalist and how that prepared him for the dream job as music curator with The Wittliff, and the amazing materials that may be found in the collection.  

11: Creative writing (with Cyrus Cassells)
Acclaimed poet Cyrus Cassells, a professor in the Department of English at Texas State and an instructor in the university's MFA in creative writing program, talks about his hermitage time spent at a Catholic monastery and visit to a Hawaiian leper colony, and how those experiences impacted his writing. 

10: COVID revisited (with Rodney Rohde)
Now, more than eight months later, Dr. Rohde returns to the podcast to discuss how much the world medical community didn't know back then, how much more is known about the virus now, the staggering death toll in the U.S. and the prospects of navigating the looming third spike of the virus this winter.  

9: White-nose syndrome in bats (with Sarah Fritts, Ivan Castro-Arellano and Sara Weaver)
Dr. Sarah Fritts, Dr. Ivan Castro-Arellano and Dr. Sara Weaver discusses the threat white-nose syndrome poses for native bats in Texas and the damaging environmental and ecological consequences that could unfold if the disease continues to spread unchecked.

8: Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration (with Eugene Lee)
Eugene Lee, Artist in Residence in the Department of Theatre and Dance and director of the Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration at Texas State, discusses why the annual workshop remains an important outlet for marginalized voices in its 18th year. Lee also discusses his career, his evolution as a performer and mentor, and how the BLPC can contribute to healing the unrest and strife afflicting U.S. society today.

7: Commuting in the time of COVID (with Melinda Villagran)
Dr. Melinda Villagran, a professor in the Department of Communication Studies and director of the Translational Health Research Initiative at Texas State, discusses the fascinating results of a research study she conducted with Movability to survey the impact of daily work commuting in the Austin area. The research overlapped with teleworking initiatives implemented by many employers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and yielded fascinating—and in some instances, unexpected—findings.   

6: Innovation and Entrepreneurship (with Shannon Weigum)
Dr. Shannon Weigum, an associate professor in the Department of Biology and head of the Weigum Research Group at Texas State University, sits down with BIG IDEAS to talk about the recently-established Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, discussing the environment and mindset necessary to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration. 

5: Narco Deforestation (with Jennifer Devine and Nathan Currit)
Dr. Jennifer Devine, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, and Dr. Nate Currit, associate professor and director of the Texas Center for Geographic Information Science, discusses the staggering environmental destruction and human suffering being wrought in Central America by narcotics traffickers clearcutting huge swaths of rainforest to establish cattle ranches to launder drug money.  

4: Novel Coronavirus, Part 2 (with Rodney Rohde)
In the second installment of a two-part interview, Dr. Rodney Rohde, a professor in the College of Health Professions and chair of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program, discusses how the understanding of the novel coronavirus has changed since it first came to global attention in January, the urgency of widespread testing and the importance of ensuring proper medical supplies and equipment are readily available to medical providers.

3: Novel Coronavirus Part 1 (with Rodney Rohde)
In the first installment of a two-part interview, Dr. Rodney Rohde, a professor in the College of Health Professions and chair of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program, discusses the novel coronavirus causing the global COVID-19 pandemic, stripping away some of the mystery from a disease that has led to the cancellation of SXSW, suspension of the NBA season and school closures across the country. 

2: Materials with Intelligence with (Eddie Piner)
Dr. Eddie Piner, a professor in the Materials Science, Engineering and Commercialization Program, discusses materials with intelligence that hold the potential to transform infrastructure and make sense of the massive amounts of data generated by modern society. 

1: Virtual Reality (with Pete Blair)
Dr. Pete Blair, director of the Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center, sits down with Big Ideas TXST to discuss how cutting-edge augmented- and virtual reality training will impact law enforcement, first responders and public safety.