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Science Friday

Math And Social Justice, Chicago Coyotes, Meteorites. June 22, 2018, Part 2

Science Friday

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, Wnyc, Friday, Science

4.46.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2018

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Math isn’t often thought of as a tool for social justice. But mathematical thinking can help us understand what’s going on in society too, says mathematician Eugenia Cheng. For example, abstract math can be used to examine the power structures between men and women, or white and black people, and to more clearly define the relationships and power differentials at play. At our live event at the Harris Theater in Chicago, we called on WBEZ’s Curious City to help us out. Chicago resident Devin Henderson reached out to the Curious City team including editor Alexandra Solomon to learn more about the coyote population that call Chicago home. Wildlife biologist Chris Anchor, who’s part of Cook County’s Urban Coyote Project, talks about how coyotes made their way into Chicago and how they survive in an urban environment. Many people in Chicago probably remember the day meteorites fell from the sky. It’s known as the “Park Forest Meteor Shower” but it wasn’t the kind you stay up at night to watch streaking across the sky. Around midnight on March 27th, 2003, a meteorite exploded into pieces, showering the Chicago suburb of Park Forest, Illinois. People reported seeing stones falling through roofs and causing damage to homes. In the aftermath of the event, meteorite hunters descended on Park Forest looking to buy the rocks, creating a meteorite frenzy. But that didn’t stop Meenakshi Wadhwa, former curator of meteorites at the Chicago Field Museum, from getting her hands on one of these prized space rocks for the museum’s collection. Hear Ira and Chicago comedians Jimmy Adameck, Ross Taylor, and Jen Connor bring the event to life on stage in a play with musical scoring by Mary Mahoney.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Plato coming to you from the Harris Theater in Chicago.

0:09.0

You know, you all know that Chicago has a lot going on and it's a very busy city.

0:16.0

And Chicago wins, well, you're a very inquisitive bunch, and that's good.

0:21.2

You have a lot of questions about what's happening around you.

0:24.1

And, well, there's a show for that, and I'm not just talking about Science Friday

0:27.6

that answers your questions, but it's a good one, too.

0:30.7

I want to introduce our friends from Curious City, a show.

0:36.5

Yeah.

0:40.5

It's a show about questions That you have that's produced out of WBEZ here in Chicago

0:44.1

Alexandra Solomon is the editor for Curious City

0:46.8

And Devin Henderson

0:48.3

He's a curious resident

0:49.6

Thank you for both coming down

0:51.5

The talk today, yeah

0:52.9

Alexandra tell us you for both coming down to talk today. Yeah.

1:00.1

Alexandra, tell us what Curious City is about.

1:08.0

Curious City is about having the public have a say in the kinds of reporting that we do at WBEZ,

1:13.5

and we answer questions from the public. They're about the city, the history, the people who live here. Sometimes it's something someone's noticed and hasn't been able to get an answer

1:18.1

from the city. They come to us. Sometimes it's just a curious thing that they've seen repeated,

1:24.0

you know, something on a building that they've noticed is in several buildings,

1:29.2

and they want to know where's that come from.

1:32.4

And I'm going to put you on the spot that people put me on the spot about our show.

...

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