Podcast appearances and mentions of audrey schulman

What is the GeoGrid?The Geo Grid is a network of heating pumps that harnesses the geothermal energy stored under the Earth's surface to heat and cool buildings. It operates through a network of pipes that go deep into the ground and connect houses to each other. These pipes are filled with water, which brings the constant underground temperature up to the Earth's surface, and into the buildings. The pipes that connect the buildings to each other are then used to exchange energy between buildings, so one building's need for cooling can be balanced by another's need for heating, ensuring that no energy is wasted. A heat pump located inside each building determines whether the heating or cooling is needed. This interconnected system has already been initiated at college campuses across the country. These networks can be expanded by connecting more systems along city streets, allowing the GeoGrid to spread across neighborhoods, cities, and states. This would help replace natural gas with geothermal energy as a primary heating method, and greatly reduce carbon emissions. Installing geothermal energy for a single household can be expensive and inaccessible for many. In order to keep costs low and expand the accessibility of GeoGrids, HEET has worked with utility companies to install geothermal technology for entire neighborhoods for the same cost of providing gas utilities. This is not only cost-efficient, but energy efficient. Positioning heat pump technology as utility infrastructure will reduce the financial burden of switching to renewable energy for consumers while preserving jobs in utility companies.About HEETHEET, or the Home Energy Efficiency Team, is an organization working to find innovative ways to cut carbon emissions. HEET has worked on several initiatives beyond the GeoGrid Micro Districts in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions. HEET started out as a group of volunteers working together to make their homes more efficient through heat trapping doors, insulated windows, and efficient light bulbs. HEET has also supported solar panel installation challenges, resulting in discounted installation prices and greater adoption of the technology in the area. HEET has also worked to cut methane-polluting natural gas leaks. Natural gas is the most common resource used to heat buildings, and leaks can occur in heating systems. HEET has gained data on these leaks from utility companies, and publishes annual maps showing their location and severity to draw public attention to the issue and spark action to stop them. To improve the way utility companies and governments deal with leaks, HEET also worked to pass a Massachusetts law requiring the most environmentally-impactful leaks to be addressed first. After developing a method to measure environmental impact through the Large Volume Leak Study, HEET worked with community members and the largest utility companies in Massachusetts to plan a path forward to stop the most methane-producing leaks first. Who are Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi?Audrey Schulman is the co-executive director of HEET, which she co-founded in 2008. She spearheaded the public mapping of utility-reported gas leaks as well as the Large Volume Leaks Study, and has worked to implement the GeoGrid Micro Districts, several of which have been installed in New York and Massachusetts. She is also the author of six novels, which have won several awards including the Philip K. Dick Award 2019, and have been translated into twelve languages. Zeyneb Magavi is the co-executive director of HEET. Zeyneb designed the Geo Micro District to make buildings energy efficient in a scalable way. Six Geo Grid installations have been funded, mainly by gas utility companies, and she has started an independent research group to optimize the transition from gas to Geo Micro Districts. She studied physics at Brown University and global health and sustainability at Harvard, where she is now guest faculty at the School of Public Health. Zeyneb previously worked in the public health field, bringing technological solutions to public health problems in the developing world. She has also been part of two start-up launches.HEET: Networked GeothermalWashington Post: What is a heat pump, and should I get one?Department of Energy: Heat Pump SystemsCLEE Policy Report: Hot, Cold, and Clean: Policy Solutions to Promote Equitable and Affordable Adoption of Heat Pump Retrofits in Existing BuildingsFor a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/using-groundwater-to-heat-and-cool-buildings-with-heet/

Del and Dave try to stump each other. Mama Mia.Dave's cardiologist offers him Concierge Service, where he will pay a premium for things like actually getting his calls returned. Dave sticks with the overpriced standard service. Del wants to borrow Dave's cardio monitor for a day to see if they can tell the difference.Del struggles with AI [ Antiquated Intelligence] as he tries to order from am machine at McDonalds. Then his pants fall down.Dave plugs the podcast THE REST IS HISTORY.  Give it a listen, you might learn something. Subscribe wherever you get your TOB podcast.Del discusses Winter World, a sci-fi book by A. G. Riddle. He plans to read it soon.Dave gives 2 of 5 stars to Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman.Ukrainian immigration to the US since the war now stands at 271,000 while Putin fires drones at himself.   Long live Ukraine.Give us your thoughts: BUCKSTWOOLD@GMAIL.COM Find us on Twitter: @twooldbucks1Leave a Voice message - click HERE

What is the GeoGrid?The Geo Grid is a network of heating pumps that harnesses the geothermal energy stored under the Earth's surface to heat and cool buildings. It operates through a network of pipes that go deep into the ground and connect houses to each other. These pipes are filled with water, which brings the constant underground temperature up to the Earth's surface, and into the buildings. The pipes that connect the buildings to each other are then used to exchange energy between buildings, so one building's need for cooling can be balanced by another's need for heating, ensuring that no energy is wasted. A heat pump located inside each building determines whether the heating or cooling is needed. This interconnected system has already been initiated at college campuses across the country. These networks can be expanded by connecting more systems along city streets, allowing the GeoGrid to spread across neighborhoods, cities, and states. This would help replace natural gas with geothermal energy as a primary heating method, and greatly reduce carbon emissions. Installing geothermal energy for a single household can be expensive and inaccessible for many. In order to keep costs low and expand the accessibility of GeoGrids, HEET has worked with utility companies to install geothermal technology for entire neighborhoods for the same cost of providing gas utilities. This is not only cost-efficient, but energy efficient. Positioning heat pump technology as utility infrastructure will reduce the financial burden of switching to renewable energy for consumers while preserving jobs in utility companies.About HEETHEET, or the Home Energy Efficiency Team, is an organization working to find innovative ways to cut carbon emissions. HEET has worked on several initiatives beyond the GeoGrid Micro Districts in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions. HEET started out as a group of volunteers working together to make their homes more efficient through heat trapping doors, insulated windows, and efficient light bulbs. HEET has also supported solar panel installation challenges, resulting in discounted installation prices and greater adoption of the technology in the area. HEET has also worked to cut methane-polluting natural gas leaks. Natural gas is the most common resource used to heat buildings, and leaks can occur in heating systems. HEET has gained data on these leaks from utility companies, and publishes annual maps showing their location and severity to draw public attention to the issue and spark action to stop them. To improve the way utility companies and governments deal with leaks, HEET also worked to pass a Massachusetts law requiring the most environmentally-impactful leaks to be addressed first. After developing a method to measure environmental impact through the Large Volume Leak Study, HEET worked with community members and the largest utility companies in Massachusetts to plan a path forward to stop the most methane-producing leaks first. Who are Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi?Audrey Schulman is the co-executive director of HEET, which she co-founded in 2008. She spearheaded the public mapping of utility-reported gas leaks as well as the Large Volume Leaks Study, and has worked to implement the GeoGrid Micro Districts, several of which have been installed in New York and Massachusetts. She is also the author of six novels, which have won several awards including the Philip K. Dick Award 2019, and have been translated into twelve languages. Zeyneb Magavi is the co-executive director of HEET. Zeyneb designed the Geo Micro District to make buildings energy efficient in a scalable way. Six Geo Grid installations have been funded, mainly by gas utility companies, and she has started an independent research group to optimize the transition from gas to Geo Micro Districts. She studied physics at Brown University and global health and sustainability at Harvard, where she is now guest faculty at the School of Public Health. Zeyneb previously worked in the public health field, bringing technological solutions to public health problems in the developing world. She has also been part of two start-up launches.HEET: Networked GeothermalWashington Post: What is a heat pump, and should I get one?Department of Energy: Heat Pump SystemsCLEE Policy Report: Hot, Cold, and Clean: Policy Solutions to Promote Equitable and Affordable Adoption of Heat Pump Retrofits in Existing Buildings

What is the GeoGrid?The Geo Grid is a network of heating pumps that harnesses the geothermal energy stored under the Earth's surface to heat and cool buildings. It operates through a network of pipes that go deep into the ground and connect houses to each other. These pipes are filled with water, which brings the constant underground temperature up to the Earth's surface, and into the buildings. The pipes that connect the buildings to each other are then used to exchange energy between buildings, so one building's need for cooling can be balanced by another's need for heating, ensuring that no energy is wasted. A heat pump located inside each building determines whether the heating or cooling is needed. This interconnected system has already been initiated at college campuses across the country. These networks can be expanded by connecting more systems along city streets, allowing the GeoGrid to spread across neighborhoods, cities, and states. This would help replace natural gas with geothermal energy as a primary heating method, and greatly reduce carbon emissions. Installing geothermal energy for a single household can be expensive and inaccessible for many. In order to keep costs low and expand the accessibility of GeoGrids, HEET has worked with utility companies to install geothermal technology for entire neighborhoods for the same cost of providing gas utilities. This is not only cost-efficient, but energy efficient. Positioning heat pump technology as utility infrastructure will reduce the financial burden of switching to renewable energy for consumers while preserving jobs in utility companies.About HEETHEET, or the Home Energy Efficiency Team, is an organization working to find innovative ways to cut carbon emissions. HEET has worked on several initiatives beyond the GeoGrid Micro Districts in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions. HEET started out as a group of volunteers working together to make their homes more efficient through heat trapping doors, insulated windows, and efficient light bulbs. HEET has also supported solar panel installation challenges, resulting in discounted installation prices and greater adoption of the technology in the area. HEET has also worked to cut methane-polluting natural gas leaks. Natural gas is the most common resource used to heat buildings, and leaks can occur in heating systems. HEET has gained data on these leaks from utility companies, and publishes annual maps showing their location and severity to draw public attention to the issue and spark action to stop them. To improve the way utility companies and governments deal with leaks, HEET also worked to pass a Massachusetts law requiring the most environmentally-impactful leaks to be addressed first. After developing a method to measure environmental impact through the Large Volume Leak Study, HEET worked with community members and the largest utility companies in Massachusetts to plan a path forward to stop the most methane-producing leaks first.  Who are Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi?Audrey Schulman is the co-executive director of HEET, which she co-founded in 2008. She spearheaded the public mapping of utility-reported gas leaks as well as the Large Volume Leaks Study, and has worked to implement the GeoGrid Micro Districts, several of which have been installed in New York and Massachusetts. She is also the author of six novels, which have won several awards including the Philip K. Dick Award 2019, and have been translated in twelve languages. Zeyneb Magavi is the co-executive director of HEET. Zeyneb designed the Geo Micro District to make buildings energy efficient in a scalable way. Six Geo Grid installations have been funded, mainly by gas utility companies, and she has started an independent research group to optimize the transition from gas to Geo Micro Districts. She studied physics at Brown University and global health and sustainability at Harvard, where she is now guest faculty at the School of Public Health. Zeyneb previously worked in the public health field, bringing technological solutions to public health problems in the developing world. She has also been part of two start-up launches. Sourceshttps://heet.org/who-we-are/about/https://youtu.be/fXAum1rXdkshttps://www.coloradomesa.edu/facilities/sustainability/geo-systems.htmlhttps://heet.org/gas-leaks/fix-big-gas-leaks/https://audreyschulman.com/bio

Il libro di Audrey Schulman si basa su di un esperimento del 1965 dove un gruppo di ricercatori hanno provato per la prima volta a capire quanto fossero intelligenti i delfini, cercando di insegnare loro a parlare in inglese. La storia offre moltissimi spunti: l'approccio antropocentrico dell'esperimento, il ruolo della donna in ambiente scientifico, l'importanza di comunicare tra esseri umani, l'empatia nei confronti degli animali.Di questo e molto altro abbiamo parlato con l'autrice, in una puntata un po' in inglese e un po' in italiano. Un esperimento, anche questo, che speriamo possa farvi riflettere (e un po' sorridere).✅ Audrey Schulmanhttps://audreyschulman.com/

A visionary solution to America's aging, leaking natural gas infrastructure: replace it! In place of pipes carrying gas, lay pipes carrying water warmed by the Earth. Two Massachusetts activists explain how it would work. Get full access to Volts at www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners for their thoughts on loosening pandemic restrictions around the country. Art Caplan shares his thoughts on Florida breaking with CDC recommendations that healthy kids should still get vaccinated. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi talk about the fight for cleaner energy in New England, and the challenges ahead in breaking away from fossil fuels. Schulman and Magavi are co-directors of the Cambridge nonprofit Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET). Ali Noorani explains how the Ukrainian refugee crisis is an opportunity for the U.S. to affirm the country's commitment to human rights, and talks about his forthcoming book, “Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants.” Noorani is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Immigration Forum. Yuriy Matsarsky discusses his experiences on the ground in Ukraine after leaving his job in journalism to volunteer for the country's defense forces. Matsarsky is a longtime Ukrainian journalist who, two weeks ago, put down his pen and took up arms to defend his country against the Russian invasion. Christopher Muther talks about exploring Black history in Richmond, Va., and searching for landmarks of Gilded Age New York. Muther is a travel writer for the Boston Globe. To wrap up the show, we talk with listeners about cheating at Wordle.

Interview from the July 2, 2021 radio show: Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi, Co-Executive Directors of HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team). Find out ways in which the process of determining the future of city owned PGW, can be helpful to other cities across the nation that are trying to make similar climate friendly transitions. Planet Philadelphia, is a radio show about our shared environment on 92.9FM WGGT-LP in Philadelphia and streamed at gtownradio.com 4-5:00 PM ET the first and third Fridays each month. For more information go to: www.planetphiladelphia.com| @planetphila --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kay-wood9/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kay-wood9/support

In Massachusetts, decades-old gas infrastructure is leaking methane, a super pollutant that heats up the climate much faster than carbon. Audrey Schulman, co-executive director of the Home Energy Efficiency Team, a grassroots non-profit working on cutting emissions from buildings, is advocating for renewable geothermal heating systems, a climate-safe way to heat homes without the worry of leaks and explosions.  

Quantum Quote:  "We had identified methane as a greenhouse gas on steroids, with 84 times the impact of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years. If you cut methane, you get a bigger impact faster. It's a huge lever in a positive sense."   Did you know that some natural gas pipes were installed when Lincoln was President? And that there are thousands of utility-reported gas leaks in many old gas pipes around the country?   Energy efficiency is great for lowering emissions, and should always be our first choice.  But building emissions are still high. The culprit? Natural gas used for heating our buildings, hot water, and cooking.   How do we transition off natural gas while maintaining reliable and affordable heat - and keeping local jobs?   Audrey Schulman & Zeyneb Magavi are the Co- executive Directors of the Home Energy Efficiency Team Massachusetts (Heet MA) organization. They first started in 2008 when a handful of local people were terrified by climate change. They organized work parties on weekends to cut emissions and energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient, and eventually created HEET.    They are now on a mission to create the biggest energy shift: Providing thermal energy to homes & buildings with community geothermal boreholes that are connected by a shared loop - using the rights-of-way of the natural gas utilities.   In this episode, Audrey and Zeyneb talk about the danger of gas leaks in our communities. How we are still using old gas pipes that were installed 100-200 years ago. They also talk about community geothermal heating and cooling systems that replace leaking gas pipes in a more natural way that is not only safer for everyone - but helpful to the environment as well.   Sign up for the free 60-minute AWESome EarthKind™ Clean Energy Demonstration to discover 3 simple actions you can take to start saving money and make the world a better place – without having to learn complex technology.   SuperNova #1: [on Gas stove poisoning the air in your house] "Burning gas produces carbon monoxide. People don't necessarily turn on their hoods, and their hoods may not be connected outside. Most houses are often air sealed, particularly in the winter. If you have a gas stove, the chances of childhood asthma increases by 40%. Whenever you turn on your gas stove, always make sure you have proper ventilation, either with the stove hood or fans & open windows.”   SuperNova #2: [How our generation is still using the old natural gas pipe system.] "Some of the natural gas pipes were put in the ground in Lincoln's presidency. They are still there and still working, which is actually kind of incredible. However, like other problems with old infrastructure, the gas pipes are leaking and can cause catastrophic explosions.”   SuperNova #3: [Using induction cooktops for a more convenient, healthy lifestyle.] "Induction cooktops are faster,  more precise, more efficient, cleaner and healthier. The induction only heats up your pan. There's no external heat. So you don't have to worry about a young or older person getting burned. There are no emissions, so you don't have to worry about the carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The air quality in your home is better."   SuperNova #: “We saw we had a process already in place. We were going into our communities, ripping up the streets, taking out the old gas pipe and spending money on putting new gas lines in. So we said, well, if we pull out that branch, What could we do instead?. We wanted it to be safer, lower cost, zero emissions, equitable, & accessible to everyone.  We wanted to keep good jobs for the workers. We came up with the idea of interconnecting geothermal vertical boreholes and delivering temperature to the customer homes where a heat pump is waiting to pull off either heating or cooling for their homes.”   SuperNova #5: [The use of Geothermal Boreholes] "Basically, it's a little mini geothermal heating system. So you're just drilling holes, you're letting the earth heat this fluid, and then you pass in the fluid around to the various different homes and whoever else is in the neighborhood."   SuperNova #6: “At the time that I began, this was just feeling a little bit powerless to affect the change that was needed. I saw the scale of the change needed for my children's future - for all children's future,  for this awesome world. It's a great world. And we're not doing right by it right now.  I just didn't have the capacity personally.What I had to learn was that I could do something about it if I worked with a large network of other people. And if we just opened ourselves to the risk of trying and really imagining what could be. And, I'm demanding that our imagination for that future be not just okay -  but better.”   Connect:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/heet_ma Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heet_ma/ FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/HEETMA Website: https://heetma.org/ eMail: info@heetma.org  

Quantum Quote:  “We had identified methane as a greenhouse gas on steroids, with 84 times the impact of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years. If you cut methane, you get a bigger impact faster. It’s a huge lever in a positive sense.” Did you know that some natural gas pipes were installed when Lincoln […]

Co-executive directors of the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), Zeyneb Magavi and Audrey Schulman both entered the climate change fight as mothers concerned for the futures of their children. In this episode, they share the history of their work on fixing super-emitting natural gas leaks in their neighborhood and across the state of Massachusetts. They tell the story of building relationships with natural gas utility executives to make a meaningful reduction in GHG emissions which led to the next major challenge: What is the future of a natural gas systemin a world that needs to eliminate the use of fossil fuels? We discuss HEET’s role in developing the geo micro district, a neighborhood-scale renewable energy network for heating and cooling buildings. They explain the technology but also how its alternative business model offers a cost-effective path forward for our utility companies and their workers as we replace our aging natural gas infrastructure.

Ed’s getting over a cold, John’s sabbatical is over, and they reunite for a mildly glum conversation about death, death, country music, mushroom cookery, editorial etiquette, good books, movies about writers, and death. Follow links to Bjork’s home studio, Ottolenghi’s mushroom recipes, Hands Across America, Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve, Larry McConkey filming Goodfellas, Watchmen episode 3, Barefoot Jerry, John and Stephanie’s country playlist, Blanco Brown, Sam Hunt, Marie-Helene Bertino, Audrey Schulman, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Juan Martinez, Mona Awad, and A Fine Madness.

CONNECT Welcome to SciFi thoughts where for a few short minutes I’ll  tease and tantalize your mind with this genre from the future. Register your email address at LancerKind.com and you’ll get cool extras about science fiction such as convention schedules and other nifty stuff. ==>Lancer— Kind 047 PK Dick Award reading of THE BODY LIBRARY […]

Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards (Europa Editions, 2018) uses a scientist’s relationship with bonobos—and her struggle to keep them alive following a civilization-shattering dust storm—to explore climate change, over-dependence on technology, and the challenge of a body that produces more pain than pleasure. The novel, which won this year’s Philip K. Dick Award and Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award from Dartmouth, was almost never written.. Despite the fact that her four previous books had been well received, Schulman found it a continual challenge to get published and was on the brink of abandoning writing altogether. But Kent Carroll, the editor at Europa Editions who oversaw the publication of her novel Three Weeks in December, reached out, saying he wanted to publish a new book by her. “I've always wanted to write—there's nothing more I've wanted—and so given the opportunity, I couldn't say no.” Schulman’s work returns again and again to a few themes. “I feel like every writer—if they're very lucky—figures out the themes that allow them to do their best writing. And I seem to have very, very narrow themes: some large, charismatic mega-fauna, a hint of possible violence, a different climate, some possible scientific research, and the main character has to be in a body that's somehow physically different from most other people.” The main character in Theory of Bastards, Frankie Burk, an evolutionary psychologist and recipient of a MacArthur genius award, has endometriosis, a painful condition that limits her activity and fuels her misanthropy. As the book opens, the 33-year-old Frankie is arriving at the Foundation, a zoo for primates where she can observe bonobos to research her hypothesis about infidelity—the eponymous “theory of bastards”—which postulates that the reason 10 percent of human children are produced through affairs (a number Schulman encountered while researching the book) is because the mothers have an impulse—regardless of the strictures against infidelity—to have sex with men whose genes will improve the child's immune function. “You have to wonder why there is such a huge percentage of children who are not related to their fathers,” says Schulman, who was raised by her father after her own mother had had an affair. “There has to be a big benefit because the dangers are so big for getting pregnant illegitimately, for having a bastard. And so the theory that my character comes up with is that that it offers genetic benefits.” The plot takes a sharp turn when a dust storm knocks out the power and information grid. To keep both themselves and the bonobos alive, Frankie and her colleague David Stotts, free the animals and lead them on an expedition across rural America, where the primates show that they might be better suited than humans to survive in what appears to be a post-technology world, and Frankie starts to shed her misanthropy, even as society is on the brink of collapse. “I've always loved post-apocalyptic novels, but it's almost always only able-bodied humans that survive. Nobody ever pulls their pet corgi out of the rubble and marches on. And I just thought it would be really interesting to play out what would happen if a relatively capable, somewhat-similar-to-human species survived with humans, post-apocalypse.” Schulman is working on a new novel featuring dolphins. Rob Wolf is the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. He worked for a decade as a journalist, and now serves as director of communications at a non-profit dedicated to justice reform. You can follow him on Twitter @RobWolfBooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards (Europa Editions, 2018) uses a scientist’s relationship with bonobos—and her struggle to keep them alive following a civilization-shattering dust storm—to explore climate change, over-dependence on technology, and the challenge of a body that produces more pain than pleasure. The novel, which won this year’s Philip K. Dick Award and Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award from Dartmouth, was almost never written.. Despite the fact that her four previous books had been well received, Schulman found it a continual challenge to get published and was on the brink of abandoning writing altogether. But Kent Carroll, the editor at Europa Editions who oversaw the publication of her novel Three Weeks in December, reached out, saying he wanted to publish a new book by her. “I've always wanted to write—there's nothing more I've wanted—and so given the opportunity, I couldn't say no.” Schulman’s work returns again and again to a few themes. “I feel like every writer—if they're very lucky—figures out the themes that allow them to do their best writing. And I seem to have very, very narrow themes: some large, charismatic mega-fauna, a hint of possible violence, a different climate, some possible scientific research, and the main character has to be in a body that's somehow physically different from most other people.” The main character in Theory of Bastards, Frankie Burk, an evolutionary psychologist and recipient of a MacArthur genius award, has endometriosis, a painful condition that limits her activity and fuels her misanthropy. As the book opens, the 33-year-old Frankie is arriving at the Foundation, a zoo for primates where she can observe bonobos to research her hypothesis about infidelity—the eponymous “theory of bastards”—which postulates that the reason 10 percent of human children are produced through affairs (a number Schulman encountered while researching the book) is because the mothers have an impulse—regardless of the strictures against infidelity—to have sex with men whose genes will improve the child's immune function. “You have to wonder why there is such a huge percentage of children who are not related to their fathers,” says Schulman, who was raised by her father after her own mother had had an affair. “There has to be a big benefit because the dangers are so big for getting pregnant illegitimately, for having a bastard. And so the theory that my character comes up with is that that it offers genetic benefits.” The plot takes a sharp turn when a dust storm knocks out the power and information grid. To keep both themselves and the bonobos alive, Frankie and her colleague David Stotts, free the animals and lead them on an expedition across rural America, where the primates show that they might be better suited than humans to survive in what appears to be a post-technology world, and Frankie starts to shed her misanthropy, even as society is on the brink of collapse. “I've always loved post-apocalyptic novels, but it's almost always only able-bodied humans that survive. Nobody ever pulls their pet corgi out of the rubble and marches on. And I just thought it would be really interesting to play out what would happen if a relatively capable, somewhat-similar-to-human species survived with humans, post-apocalypse.” Schulman is working on a new novel featuring dolphins. Rob Wolf is the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. He worked for a decade as a journalist, and now serves as director of communications at a non-profit dedicated to justice reform. You can follow him on Twitter @RobWolfBooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards (Europa Editions, 2018) uses a scientist’s relationship with bonobos—and her struggle to keep them alive following a civilization-shattering dust storm—to explore climate change, over-dependence on technology, and the challenge of a body that produces more pain than pleasure. The novel, which won this year’s Philip K. Dick Award and Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award from Dartmouth, was almost never written.. Despite the fact that her four previous books had been well received, Schulman found it a continual challenge to get published and was on the brink of abandoning writing altogether. But Kent Carroll, the editor at Europa Editions who oversaw the publication of her novel Three Weeks in December, reached out, saying he wanted to publish a new book by her. “I've always wanted to write—there's nothing more I've wanted—and so given the opportunity, I couldn't say no.” Schulman’s work returns again and again to a few themes. “I feel like every writer—if they're very lucky—figures out the themes that allow them to do their best writing. And I seem to have very, very narrow themes: some large, charismatic mega-fauna, a hint of possible violence, a different climate, some possible scientific research, and the main character has to be in a body that's somehow physically different from most other people.” The main character in Theory of Bastards, Frankie Burk, an evolutionary psychologist and recipient of a MacArthur genius award, has endometriosis, a painful condition that limits her activity and fuels her misanthropy. As the book opens, the 33-year-old Frankie is arriving at the Foundation, a zoo for primates where she can observe bonobos to research her hypothesis about infidelity—the eponymous “theory of bastards”—which postulates that the reason 10 percent of human children are produced through affairs (a number Schulman encountered while researching the book) is because the mothers have an impulse—regardless of the strictures against infidelity—to have sex with men whose genes will improve the child's immune function. “You have to wonder why there is such a huge percentage of children who are not related to their fathers,” says Schulman, who was raised by her father after her own mother had had an affair. “There has to be a big benefit because the dangers are so big for getting pregnant illegitimately, for having a bastard. And so the theory that my character comes up with is that that it offers genetic benefits.” The plot takes a sharp turn when a dust storm knocks out the power and information grid. To keep both themselves and the bonobos alive, Frankie and her colleague David Stotts, free the animals and lead them on an expedition across rural America, where the primates show that they might be better suited than humans to survive in what appears to be a post-technology world, and Frankie starts to shed her misanthropy, even as society is on the brink of collapse. “I've always loved post-apocalyptic novels, but it's almost always only able-bodied humans that survive. Nobody ever pulls their pet corgi out of the rubble and marches on. And I just thought it would be really interesting to play out what would happen if a relatively capable, somewhat-similar-to-human species survived with humans, post-apocalypse.” Schulman is working on a new novel featuring dolphins. Rob Wolf is the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. He worked for a decade as a journalist, and now serves as director of communications at a non-profit dedicated to justice reform. You can follow him on Twitter @RobWolfBooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CONNECT Welcome to SciFi thoughts where for a few short minutes I’ll  tease and tantalize your mind with this genre from the future. Register your email address at LancerKind.com and you’ll get cool extras about science fiction such as convention schedules and other nifty stuff. ==>Lancer— Kind 046 PK Dick Award reading of THEORY OF BASTARDS […]

On this Summer Edition of the Bookshelf, Kate hears about the long history of dog-earing books and discovers it wasn't an abhorred practice until the nineteenth century, and Cassie and Kate revisit Irvine Welsh's Dead Men's Trousers and Audrey Schulman's Theory of Bastards with Stuart Coupe, Margo Lanagan and Felicity Castagna

Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh with novels about animals, sex and research (and a few other things)

“Humanity is now in the midst of its fastest-ever period of change,” writes Ed Yong in the July/August issue of The Atlantic. Urbanization and globalization mean pathogens can spread and become drug-resistant more quickly than ever. Yong joins executive editor Matt Thompson and fellow science writer Sarah Zhang to discuss what vulnerabilities exist a century after the 1918 pandemic, and how our sharpest risks might be societal and psychological. Links - “The Next Plague Is Coming. Is America Ready?” (Ed Yong, July/August 2018 Issue) - “VIDEO: Is Trump Ready for a Global Outbreak?” (Ed Yong, Jun 14, 2018) - “China Is Genetically Engineering Monkeys With Brain Disorders” (Sarah Zhang,  June 8, 2018) - “The Perfect Storm Behind This Year's Nasty Flu Season” (Sarah Zhang,  January 13, 2018) - “Trees That Have Lived for Millennia Are Suddenly Dying” (Ed Yong, Jun 11, 2018) - @sarahzhang on Twitter; @-mention her if you’ve read Audrey Schulman’s A Theory of Bastards - 160 Years of Atlantic Stories - “How Bad Is the Flu?” (Justina Hill, March 1944 Issue) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first episode, Laura Lovett sits down with Audrey Schulman of HEET, a Cambridge-based organization that has done extensive work mapping gas leaks. She explains the impact of gas leaks on our community and environment and why all residents of Massachusetts should care.  Laura kicks off Sprouts: Connecting Community to Science with this issue because it affects each person living in Massachusetts. Under our cities and towns there are thousands of pipes lines that run natural gas into our homes. Those pipes can leak. In Massachusetts alone there are 16,507 unfixed gas leaks, according to a Home Energy Efficiency Team report. SPROUTS: This show connects people to the work and innovation in the fields science, technology, and health that is occurring in Massachusetts communities.  Host Laura Lovett, a multimedia journalist with Wicked Local, will talk with scientists, health care professionals, community advocates and business leaders about their jobs, their accomplishments and what is next. Episodes will be released on the 15th and 30th of each month.  Subscribe now through iTunes, Sticher and Google Play.  And connect with Laura on Twitter at @lauralovett7 or by email at llovett@wickedlocal.com.     

In all of his conversations, James has never found anyone who approached the craft of writing with the scientific common sense of Julie Lekstrom Himes. They discuss her debut novel, MIKHAIL AND MARGARITA, and the tremendous amount of work she put into her research in order to understand Russian culture, tracing it all the way to its origins. Plus, Michael Reynolds, Editor-in-Chief of Europa Editions.     - Julie Lekstrom Himes: https://www.europaeditions.com/author/204/julie-lekstrom-himes Julie and James Discuss: Grub Street Fine Arts Work Center  Jim Shepard  SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN  Margot Livesey  Hannah Tinti  Daniel Wallace New York State Summer Writers Institute  THE MASTER AND MARGARITA by Mikhail Bulgakov  THE WHITE GUARD by Mikhail Bulgakov  A YOUNG DOCTOR'S NOTEBOOK by Mikhail Bulgakov  LIE DOWN IN DARKNESS and THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER by William Styron  THE QUIET AMERICAN by Graham Greene  I REMEMBER by Joe Brainard  - Europa Editions: https://www.europaeditions.com/ Michael and James Discuss: Edizioni E/O THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barbery  OLD FILTH by Jane Gardam  THREE WEEKS IN DECEMBER by Audrey Schulman  Elena Ferrante  MIKHAIL AND MARGARITA by Julie Lekstrom Himes  -  http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Author and energy efficiency expert Audrey Schulman explains how understanding the Bystander Effect prompted her to become an environmental activist and how taking action changed her life. Read Audrey's Essay "How to be a Climate Hero" here: https://orionmagazine.org/article/how-to-be-a-climate-hero/ More about her nonprofit HEET: http://www.heetma.org/

"Remarkably fresh, complex and memorable... Max’s adventure would be enough to fill any book." - New York Times Sunday Book Review