Sciographies podcast shares personal and professional stories of Dal scientists

- September 11, 2019

Sciographies host David Barclay. (Nick Pearce photo)
Sciographies host David Barclay. (Nick Pearce photo)

Meet the people who make science happen.

That’s the concept of Sciographies, a podcast and radio show launched by the Faculty of Science in partnership with campus-community radio station CKDU FM. The program, which began as a limited-edition storytelling and outreach project celebrating Dalhousie’s bicentennial anniversary last year, has returned for a second season with eight new episodes coming this fall.

The first up features Marine Biology Professor and the Ocean Tracking Network’s Scientific Director Sara Iverson. It will premiere on Thursday, September 12 at 4PM on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax, the same day it becomes available on Apple Podcasts and other podcast apps.


Sara Iverson recording her Sciographies episode. (Niecole Killawee photo)

“Sciographies shines a light on the human-side of working in science,” says Ian Hill, acting dean of the Faculty of Science. “This podcast explores the early lives, interests, and career paths of Dal scientists to showcase the story behind what led each of them to the research they’re conducting today.”

Sharing the stories behind the science


Sciographies host David Barclay, a Dal oceanography assistant professor, has interviewed 14 different types of Dal scientists for the program since last summer. In its first season, he was a co-host with Shauna Bulman, a Science student at the time. Bulman (BSc’19, Neuroscience & Spanish) has since graduated and moved to Vancouver to start her career in science communication.

“I got involved with Sciographies because I’ve always been interested in how scientists are represented to the greater public,” says Dr. Barclay, an underwater acoustics specialist and Canadian Research Chair (Tier II) in Ocean Technology Systems.

“Often our interactions with the public through media have to be limited to a quote or soundbite. With Sciographies, we can offer some breathing room for our guests to share stories about anything and everything. Guests talk about finding their passion, accidental and deliberate discoveries, the meandering academic career path, and the creative process behind scientific research.”

Sciographies guests, like physicist Jeff Dahn or chemist Mita Dasog, can also offer listeners unique scientific insights about what they study because they’re all working at the forefront of new discoveries, methods, technologies, and knowledge mobilization in Canada.

“I’m glad the Sciographies program decided to collaborate with us again [for a second season],” says Seth Glasgow, CKDU’s program director. “We’re always trying to help students and faculty get their voices heard with radio and podcasting, and Sciographies is a great example of that.”

Lineup for 2019


New Sciographies episodes will be released each Thursday between September 12-October 31, 2019. Guests include:

Season one, which contains six episodes, is available in full at dal.ca/sciographies and via Apple and Android podcast apps.