Revisiting The Titanic, STEM Drag Performers As Science Ambassadors. May 6, 2022, Part 2
Science Friday
Science Friday and WNYC Studios
4.4 • 6.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2022
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1985, oceanographer Robert Ballard was sent on a secret deep-sea search operative with a very specific mission: to seek two sunken nuclear submarines. Ballard, who by then had explored the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and helped design deep-sea research submersibles, was assigned by the U.S. Navy to investigate and take images of the U.S.S. Thresher and U.S.S. Scorpion. But locating these two wreckages wouldn’t bring him to fame—instead, it was another watery grave he would find along the way. After he located the two subs, Ballard had time left in the mission to satiate a hunt he had begun nearly a decade prior: He discovered the R.M.S. Titanic, which sank into the North Atlantic 110 years ago.
While the Titanic might be his most publicized finding, the famed marine archaeologist has adventured beneath the waves on more than 150 expeditions that have broadened our understanding of the oceans and the planet. “We think there’s probably more history in the deep sea than all of the museums of the world combined—and we’re only now opening those doors to those museums,” he says. Ballard’s recorded the activity of hydrothermal vents, the ecology of hot springs on the ocean floor, and the diversity of incredible marine creatures.
In excerpts from two conversations in the Science Friday archives (originally recorded in 2000 and 2009), Ballard describes the 1985 expedition in which he discovered the wreck of the Titanic. He also discusses the value of combining the efforts of oceanographers, engineers, and social scientists to study the world’s deep oceans. Plus, Ballard elaborates on his belief that some undersea finds should be left preserved and protected, and his work in expanding access to ocean research via telepresence and computer links.
Meet The Drag Artists Who Are Making Science More Accessible
Each generation has had science communicators who brought a sometimes stuffy, siloed subject into homes, inspiring minds young and old. Scientists like Don Herbert, Carl Sagan, and Bill Nye are classic examples. But our modern age of social media has brought more diverse communicators into the forefront of science communication, including the wild, wonderful world of STEM drag stars.
These are queer folk who mix the flashy fashions of the drag world with science education. Some, like Kyne, use TikTok as a medium to teach concepts like math. Others, like Pattie Gonia, use drag to attract more people to the great outdoors. The accessibility of the internet has made these personalities available to a wide audience.
Kyne and Pattie Gonia join Ira to talk about the magic drag can bring to science education, and why they think the future of SciComm looks more diverse than the past.
This segment originally aired on February 11, 2022.
Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Plato. This year marks the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. |
| 0:07.0 | And I can't think of a better way to recall the tragedy than to resurrect a conversation with the man who found the ocean liner in its final resting place, Robert Ballard. |
| 0:18.0 | His team located the wreck back in 1985. And we're going to play a conversation with him from the year 2000 about the discovery and some of his other amazing underwater finds. |
| 0:30.5 | Looking at underwater explorer Dr. Robert Ballard's resume, it seems hard to believe that it's all the work of just one person. |
| 0:39.8 | He trained dolphins, discovered sunken Nazi warships, discovered giant worms and volcanoes called black smokers at the bottom of the ocean. |
| 0:48.3 | He's explored places as diverse as the Mediterranean Sea, Lake Ontario, the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea and the Galapagos. |
| 0:55.8 | And through his Jason project, he has virtually taken hundreds of thousands of kids with him on his fantastic adventures via computer. |
| 1:04.8 | But most people will think of Bob Ballard by one thing. They'll know him as the discoverer of the wreck of the Titanic. |
| 1:11.3 | And this hour we're going to be talking with Bob Ballard. Robert Ballard is the director of the Institute for Exploration at the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic Connecticut and a National Geographic Explorer in Residence. |
| 1:22.8 | He's also the author with Will Heively of the Eternal Darkness, a personal history of deep sea exploration published by Princeton University Press. |
| 1:30.8 | And he joins us today from Providence, Rhode Island. Thank you for being with us, Dr. Ballard. |
| 1:34.8 | Oh, it's a pleasure to be here. I've listened to you so often. It's nice to be at this end of the game. |
| 1:38.8 | Very kind of you to say so. So many questions. So little time. Let me get to some of the questions that everybody's been asking on over the years. |
| 1:47.3 | And that is, and I read it in your book that in searching for a Titanic, you say that you've always been interested in searching for underwater ships. And especially the Titanic. |
| 1:55.8 | Well, I became fascinated actually in human history when the US Navy asked me to survey the Thresher and the Scorpion. |
| 2:03.8 | Up into that time, everything I had explored was natural history, volcanoes and life forms like I just talked about. |
| 2:10.8 | But when I came upon the wreck of the Thresher and the Scorpion, I, even though it was sad because as a naval officer, I was in the Navy during those two tragic sinkings. |
| 2:21.8 | I was fascinated by the state of preservation of many of the objects. And certainly when we went on to find the Titanic, again, finding her bow upright on the bottom. |
| 2:32.8 | I can remember landing on the bow of the deck up there and reading off the ballards and the captains, the manufacturer's name. |
| 2:41.8 | And as we explored the promenade, seeing a little brass sign said, first-class entrance. And that was amazing. And as you know, we went on to find the German battleship Bismarck. |
| 2:52.8 | That was very chilling to come up over that ship at 16,000 feet and see this swastika still painted on the deck of the ship. |
| 3:01.8 | So I went on several years of exploring contemporary history beneath the sea. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Science Friday and WNYC Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Science Friday and WNYC Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.