Big Ideas

Dale Blasingame, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, joins the podcast to discuss the era of deepfakes.  

Joe Aebersold, team leader for Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials at NASA, discusses his work imaging samples of the asteroid Bennu returned to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission.  

Jenna Walker, director of Watershed Services with The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, discusses the use of AI to monitor & predict the water quality along Texas’ 367 miles of coastline.

Bob Fischer, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy, joins the podcast to discuss the ethics of insect sentience.

Karl Stephan, a professor in the Ingram School of Engineering, discusses his research into the mysterious phenomenon of ball lightning.  

Christopher Johnson, a clinical professor in the Department of Sociology, joins the podcast to discuss understanding Alzheimer’s disease as a type of time travel. 

Richard Robichaux, a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, discusses his career path, teaching acting for television and movies and his upcoming projects. 

Shelly Wernette, Ph.D., a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, discusses her discovery of 10 new species of extinct trilobites in Thailand.

Keisuke Ikehata, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Ingram School of Engineering, joins the podcast to discuss an innovative pilot program to convert wastewater into purified drinking water.

TXST alumnus Ben Pfeiffer, founder of Firefly Conservation & Research, discusses the fascinating insects known as fireflies and the threats and pressures that threaten their existence.

David Coleman, director of The Wittliff Collections, joins the Big Ideas podcast to discuss the legacy of Edward Curtis and his photography collection, “The North American Indian.”

Jake Waddingham, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the McCoy College of Business, discusses the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs trying to reenter the traditional workforce.

David Bailiff, special assistant to new head coach G.J. Kinne, discusses his return to San Marcos and Bobcat football.

Elizabeth Buckley, a lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance, joins the Big Ideas podcast to discuss the Texas State film program. 

Colleen Myles, an associate professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, discusses her research into the social interplay between craft breweries & the communities they reside in.

Ali Forbes, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, discusses her research into the cultural impact of video games — NBA2K, in particular.

Emma Parsley, sustainability coordinator in the Office of Sustainability, discusses the university’s recent STARS Silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements.

Alyson Collins and Stephen Ciullo join the Big Ideas podcast to discuss their program to improve writing instruction for students with disabilities.

Miranda Wait, deputy director of Spring Lake education for The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, discusses various projects and programs that can be found at Spring Lake.

Texas State University’s Farzan Irani, professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at Texas State University, discusses the stereotypes and myths about stuttering.

Laure Brimbal, assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, discusses research that shows children are judged more harshly for telling blunt truths than for lies.

Stella Silva and Victoria Black join the Big Ideas podcast to discuss the university’s recent designation as a Seal of Excelencia recipient.  

Rodney Rohde, Texas State University System Regents Professor in the College of Health Professions, discusses the recent outbreak of monkeypox in the U.S.  

Aimee Villarreal, asst. professor in the Department of Anthropology, discusses her appointment by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names.

Hank Hehmsoth, an associate professor of practice in the School of Music, discusses his work with Christopher Cross, music education and the fascinating discoveries he’s made in jazz research.  

Dale Blasingame, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, discusses National Parks, State Parks, and incorporating the outdoors into higher education.

Kate Spradley, a professor in the Department of Anthropology, discusses her work along the South Texas border with Operation I.D.  

Seoyoun Kim, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, discusses the surprising health benefits of volunteering.  

Andrew Ojede, an associate professor in the Department of Finance and Economics, joins the podcast to discuss the international sanctions are having in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Andrea Banzatti, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics, discusses the observatory time he has been awarded on NASA's recently-launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Elizabeth Eger, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies, discusses presenteeism—the pressure to work while sick—and the negative impacts this has on individuals & businesses.

Josh Daspit, an associate professor of business, and Daniel Roy discuss the Sustainable Cultivation and Advancement of Local Enterprises for Underserved Populations (SCALEUP) program. 

Joseph Laycock, an associate professor of religious studies in the Department of Philosophy, discusses religious freedom, new religious movements, and the pan-cultural phenomenon of exorcism. 

Kim Rossmo, Director of the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation, discusses geographic profiling and the wide range of applications for that discipline.   

Kaitlin Hopkins, head of the Musical Theatre Program, discusses building a ground-breaking musical theatre program from the ground up and then navigating the program through the COVID pandemic.   

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

Nick Dornak, director of watershed services with the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, joins the Big Ideas podcast to discuss the Clean Coast Texas Collaborative.

Award-winning novelist Jennifer duBois, assistant professor in the Department of English, discusses her career, creative process, and joys of teaching in the MFA program in creative writing at TXST. 

Katherine Warnell and Jennifer Clegg, assistant professors in the Department of Psychology, discuss their ongoing research into how children learn to lie

Merritt Drewery, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Sciences, discusses her innovative study into using black soldier fly larvae as a high-protein feed source for cattle production.

Matthew McAllister, assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance, discusses how intermittent fasting can contribute to weight loss and other surprising health benefits.

Emily K. Brunson, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, discusses how vaccination hesitancy is complicating the effort to immunize the U.S. population against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Steve Ison, founder and CEO of Rebecca Creek Distillery and TXST alumnus, discusses how he made the leap from selling insurance to opening one of the first craft spirits distilleries in Texas

Hector Saldaña, curator of the Texas Music Collection at The Wittliff Collections, discusses his more than 20 years working as a music journalist and his dream job as music curator with The Wittliff

Acclaimed poet Cyrus Cassells, a professor in the Department of English and an instructor in the university's MFA in creative writing program, discusses experiences that impacted his writing. 

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, and the staggering death toll in the U.S.

Dr. Sarah Fritts, Dr. Ivan Castro-Arellano, and Dr. Sara Weaver discuss the threat white-nose syndrome poses for native bats in Texas and its damaging environmental and ecological consequences.

Eugene Lee, 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.

Dr. Melinda Villagran, director of the Translational Health Research Center, discusses the results of a research study she conducted to survey the impact of daily work commuting in the Austin area.

Dr. Shannon Weigum, an associate professor in the Department of Biology and head of the Weigum Research Group, discusses the recently-established Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at TXST.

Dr. Jennifer Devine and Dr. Nate Currit discusses the staggering environmental destruction and human suffering being wrought in Central America by narcotics traffickers to launder drug money.

Dr. Rodney Rohde, 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

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

Dr. Eddie Piner, a professor in the Materials Science, Engineering and Commercialization Program, discusses materials with intelligence that hold the potential to transform infrastructure. 

Dr. Pete Blair, director of the ALERRT Center, discusses how cutting-edge augmented- and virtual reality training will impact law enforcement, first responders and public safety.