Christopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer, which means he was chief cheerleader for all the radio and podcast projects. He helped to select and shape stories, or put them to a gentle death if necessary. He was also the coordinating producer for Science Friday’s live stage events around the nation, and has skated Olympic ice and served as a prop in an optical illusion for SciFri.
Christopher started at Science Friday as an intern in summer 2008, until the day Ira Flatow called him at home, triggering enormous anxiety about the latest script he’d written, to ask if he wanted to be a producer. His favorite stories usually involve microbes or food or both, but anything can pique his interest—other than ocean chemistry. Sorry.
He also reports regularly for Scientific American‘s “60-Second Science” podcast, and was a 2015 Woods Hole Ocean Science Journalism fellow. Prior to becoming a science journalist, he taught English to soldiers and bankers in Verona, Italy, and traversed the Sierra Nevada mountains as a field biologist, on the lookout for mountain yellow-legged frogs. He speaks fluent Italian, awkward Japanese, and passable Ira Flatowese.
He is now an editor for All Things Considered.
18:25
A Climate Pledge, a Medieval Antibiotic, and an Exoskeletal Boot
In the news roundup this week, Eric Holthaus breaks down the new U.S. climate pledge.
16:40
Cracking the Egg
There’s a better way to make hard-boiled eggs—and it doesn’t involve boiling.
10:48
The Math Game Behind the Iran Nuclear Talks
Energy secretary Ernest Moniz joins us to talk about the science behind the diplomacy.
11:35
‘Hellish’ Conditions Gave Spark to Life on Earth
The early Earth was no place for life as we know it: Belching volcanoes, meteor strikes, hydrogen cyanide and a healthy bombardment of ultraviolet rays.
8:12
Malaria Parasite Lures Mosquitoes With Bait-and-Switch
The malaria parasite manufactures lemon-and-pine-scented aromas that attract mosquitoes.
22:34
Keeping the President in Tune With Tech
Megan Smith, a Google alum who once built and raced a solar car across Australia, came on board last year as U.S. Chief Technology Officer.
16:50
Warming West Coast Waters Upset Food Chains
Warmer waters are changing the distribution of food in the Pacific, stranding hundreds of starving sea lion pups on shore, and causing the death of hundreds of thousands of birds.
15:36
‘ResearchKit’ Taps iPhone Users for Clinical Trials
Apps on the new platform allow iPhone users to enroll in clinical trials on heart health, Parkinson’s, or asthma. But critics say the smartphone-driven studies have flaws.
14:52
SciFri Celebrates π
This year holds an unusually special treat for enthusiasts of the constant π: March 14, 2015 approximates π not just to the usual three digits (3.14) but to five: 3.14.15.
14:31
Avoid the Doctor—For Your Health
How much medical care is too much medical care?