Hello, ya'll! I'm takin' a brief break this week, actually working on a couple promo spots for some folks who want to feature S4theB! on other shows. That's really exciting, and I hope those of you who listen will bear with me whilst I do that and also prep for an exciting interview next week with epidemiologist Bill Schaffner, a guaran-durn-tee'd home run Snacks4theBrain! Bird Flu, anyone? Cheers! Scott

This week's Snacks4theBrain! features a brief talk with dynamic astronomer Dr. Keivan Stassun, whose work to encourage students of minority descent to pursue careers in the sciences, particularly in physics and astronomy, is positively inspirational. We'll talk about his "Scopes for Schools" project and about what got him into science in the first place; and we'll learn what he is currently up to in his ongoing research. Come share a listen. Download the show here or click on the "Feed" in the left sidebar to browse this and all past shows. Podsafe music once again courtesy of Dave Keifer, at Cagey House. This song is one of my favorites, entitled "Outside After Bedtime." Thanks, Dave! And thank you, Dr. Stassun. You're a new hero of mine! That's the best part of my job here, dontcha know--getting to meet so many new heroes! Clear skies, and Happy Thanksgiving, ya'll!

This edition of S4theB! makes good on a promise I made several episodes back that we'd visit some audio I grabbed during the three days I spent up at the Keystone Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana the first week of October. See the "Bonus Canal Jogging" episode , S4theB!9, for some local color. The meat of this show is the online-accessible archives of all the workshops and sessions, available at http://vbrick.net/keystone. Take a few minutes and check these out for some really insightful presentations from some cutting edge educators. I feature some verbiage from my friend Joan Roehre, a fellow blogger and extraspecialneatperson. I take famed educator Chris Dede's last few minutes of his keynote and a few minutes of motivator extraordinaire David Thornburg's talk (yes, they're both professors, but I dropped the "Dr." monikers for the casual approach, dontcha know) and share them herein. Download and listen here. Links follow: Keystone video archives Joan Roehre's blog Chris Dede and "Environmental Detective" at the Harvard Graduate School of Education David Thornburg's Thornburg Center Podsafe background music provided courtesy of composer Dave Keifer at Cagey House. Thanks, Dave! ReadPlease Text-to-Speech software

Just to brag, er, note: For "consistency and usefulness" as an example of a working podcast (according to the email announcement), this li'l thang has been awarded 5 stars out of 5 at the podcast directory Podspider.com! Yay us! This has been an entirely self-serving private service announcement. Or as Richard Vobes of the Richard Vobes Radio Show podcast often says, "for a complete transcript of today's show, write down everything you hear." Cheers from Nashville!

Cheers, ya'll. This episode of S4theB! concludes an interview with Dr. Louise Rollins-Smith about her fascinating research seeking a cure for HIV in the bodily secretions of endangered frogs. It's a joy to chat with someone who so genuinely loves her work and so fully respects the contributions of others with whom she works. Give it a listen here or click on the "Feed" link in the left-hand sidebar to browse all our episodes. Cheers! The picture accompanying this post is straight from the recent Vanderbilt University Reporter article about Dr. Rollins-Smith and her team and was taken by Post-doctorate Fellow Dr. Douglas Woodhams, one of the researchers involved in the project!