The Vandal Theory Podcast
“The Vandal Theory” podcast asks, “What gets University of Idaho researchers’ brains buzzing ... besides coffee?” These award-winning stories showcase researchers exploring and solving real-world problems. With interviews on all things Vandal, discover the world of U of I research with hosts Leigh Cooper and Danae Lenz.
Subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform so you don’t miss an episode and to listen to past seasons.
Season 7, Episode 7: Geology on Mars and in Minecraft
Question: Did you ever nerd out about geology as a kid?
Meet Erika Rader, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences at University of Idaho. We’re going to discuss how scientists are studying the geology of Mars, how astronauts will need to navigate when they get to the moon and even how to go on a geology field trip online.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
Sustainable Science Innovations
Addressing the Mammoth in the Room
Researchers Model Vulnerable Energy and Water Nexus
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Through the Asteroid Belt” by Timber Music Supply via Amphibious Zoo.
Season 7, Episode 6: Education Inequalities and Student Mental Health
Question: What types of things do you imagine are harder for first-generation students to navigate while attending college, versus their peers whose parents also attended?
Meet Krista Soria, an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership and Counseling at University of Idaho. Her research focuses on the conditions that help students to learn, thrive and grow and how colleges and universities can create campus climates that support students from diverse backgrounds. Today she will discuss inequalities in higher education, the lasting effects of COVID-19 on students’ mental health and what faculty members can do to help.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Discovery Never Ends” by Brendan Warren Burns via Amphibious Zoo.
Season 7, Episode 5: Diversity in the Workplace
Question: Can you name types of diversity that could influence a team’s working dynamic?
Meet Yun Chung, professor of management and human resources at University of Idaho. Chung is going to walk us through several studies about diversity in the workplace including how diversity on a company board affects the company’s success and some nuances behind different types of diversity in the workplace.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
Why Wouldn’t You Help People If You Can?
Football Player Nominated to Join National Community Service Team
Developing New Building Technology to Reduce Errors
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“The Facts About Facts” by Micah Dahl Anderson via Amphibious Zoo Music.
Season 7, Episode 4: Learning to Love Running
Question: How do you feel about running?
Meet Sharon Stoll, the director of the Center for ETHICS at University of Idaho and a leading authority in competitive moral education intervention techniques for college-aged students in America. She has been a consultant with many well-known organizations, including the U.S. military. Today she is going to discuss moral development in athletes and whether it’s possible to learn to love running.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“I'm Good, You're Good” by Sam Cardon via Amphibious Zoo.
Season 7, Episode 3: Exploring the Unknown Deep Soils
Question: Today we are talking about soil, so I want you to imagine digging a hole. How do you think the soil might change as you dig farther and farther down?
Meet Michael Strickland and Zachary Kayler, associate professors in the Department of Soil and Water Systems at University of Idaho. They are leading a national contingency of scientists in building what amounts to huge terrariums at U of I: all to study a world that scientists still don’t understand — the deep soils under our feet.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Wanderlust” by Cody Martin via soundstripe.
Season 7, Episode 2: Human Remains, Politics and Curiosity
Question: Do you think the dead have power over the living, either literally or figuratively?
Meet Kate Kolpan, an assistant professor in the Department of Culture, Society and Justice at University of Idaho. Kolpan is a bioarchaeologist and forensic anthropologist whose research focuses on migration, violence, warfare and the politics related to the exhumation, identification and commemoration of human remains in both the past and present. She will discuss the politics of human remains and how forensics in real life differs from how it’s depicted on TV.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
Meeting Educators Where They Are
Using Mathematics to Tackle Infections
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Redwood Chill” by Matthew Trent Cropper via Amphibious Zoo.
Season 7, Episode 1: International Sports Intertwine With Politics
Question: What does your favorite sports team jersey mean to you?
Meet Bill Smith, a clinical professor and director of the Martin Institute at University of Idaho. When athletes playing at the international level walk onto pitches, courts and fields, the politics of their countries tag along. Listen as Smith explains how cultural identity and politics are woven into soccer jerseys.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
U of I Senior Identifies Reasons for Issue Polarization
Summer Internship in D.C. Became an Integral Part of Education
Professor, Students Help Police Investigators Dig Up Evidence
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Colombian’s in Zimbabwe” by Anthony Catacoli via soundstripe.
Season 6, Episode 8: Kattlyn Wolf — Teachers Care
Question: Why do agricultural teachers stay in, or leave, their profession?
Meet Kattlyn Wolf, interim head of the Department of Agricultural Education, Leadership and Communications at University of Idaho. Wolf researches what motivates agricultural educators to keep teaching or leave the field. By and large, she and other researchers found that agricultural teachers like the work, are invested in their fields and care about their students. So, why do they go?
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Agriculture Stories
Agricultural Education Students Teach Over Spring Break
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
"Last Resort" by Avocado Junkie via soundstripe.
Season 6, Episode 7: Omi Hodwitz — Missing and Murdered Indigenous
Question: When it comes to complex social issues like gun violence, health care or in this case, the missing and murdered Indigenous population, how do we even begin tackling these problems?
Meet Omi Hodwitz, an associate professor in the Department of Culture, Society and Justice at University of Idaho. Hodwitz and her students are compiling the most comprehensive database to date of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirits in Canada and the United States.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I CLASS Stories
Florian Justwan — How Our Brains Wrestle With Politics
Junior Wants to Show Idaho’s Latinx Population Anything Is Possible
Childhood Experiences Led to Bex Riehm’s U of I Journey to Become a Cop
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Open Doors” by Anchor via soundstripe.
Season 6, Episode 6: Matthew Bernards — Engineering A Better World
Question: What would you send to space?
Meet Matthew Bernards, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at University of Idaho and the director of the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium. He sends things to space to track how germs spread. And he explains how the search far and wide for answers that could make medicine more and make space travel work better.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Engineering Stories
Super Smart Vineyards
Launching with NASA
Student Improves Robotic Devices to Advance Treatment for Survivors of Stroke
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Still Young” by Desert Dive via soundstripe.
Season 6, Episode 5: Karen Humes — Water, Energy and Irrigation
Question: Nationally, where do you think Idaho ranks in the amount of water used for irrigation?
Meet Karen Humes, a professor in the Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences at University of Idaho. Idaho uses water for irrigation and to make energy. Idaho also uses energy to pump irrigation water. Humes models this convoluted water, energy and irrigation nexus and studies how to delicately balance water and energy use going forward.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Earth and Spatial Science Stories
Vandal Theory 5.3 Tim Bartholomaus — Shifting Glaciers
Geology Student Travels to Iceland to Study Martian Climate
Geology Students Learn Hands-On From Hecla Mining Company Professionals
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Just Around the Corner” by Shimmer via soundstripe.
Season 6, Episode 4: Helen Brown, Erich Seamon — Tracking Idaho’s Health Trends
Meet Helen Brown, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Movement Sciences at University of Idaho, and Erich Seamon, a research scientist in the Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation. They’ve teamed up to track and publish data about health trends in Idaho. Before their project, this information was only available at a public health district level spanning several counties. But modeling work by these researchers is allowing Idahoans dig deeper into the health of their communities, by providing that data on a county-by-county basis. It turns out, when you zoom in, the story becomes much more nuanced.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
- Explore Their Maps at Modeling Idaho Health
- Graduating Scientist, Teacher Aims to Ignite Students’ Passion for Knowledge
- Student Investigates the Links Between Diabetes and Screen Time
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Analysis” by Falls via soundstripe
Season 6, Episode 3: Kenny Wallen — Natural Resource Management
Question: What makes an outdoor experience satisfactory?
Meet Kenny Wallen, an assistant professor of human dimensions in the Department of Natural Resources and Society at the University of Idaho. Everyone has opinions about how Idaho’s natural resources should be used. Wallen teams with Idaho Fish and Game to figure out what those opinions are.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More CNR Stories
U of I and IDFG Partner to Improve Idaho’s Wildlife Management
U of I’s Bat Girls Use Echolocation to Gather Info on Idaho Bat Species
Vandal Researchers See Parallel Between Winter Tick Numbers and Moose Mortality
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Places in Dreams” by Alsever Lake via soundstripe.
Season 6, Episode 2: Damon Woods — Energy Regulations
Question: How do you conserve energy in your home?
Meet Damon Woods, director of the Integrated Design Lab and a research professor at University of Idaho. Woods has helped state officials drill down which energy regulations — among hundreds on the books — protect Idahoans from wasting energy and money in their homes, businesses and elsewhere. He’ll break down the tedious work he and other researchers did to discover how these rules help.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More U of I Stories
A Partnership Toward Sustainable Insulation
Building Resilient and Efficient Communities
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“2 Days at A Time” by Sam Barsh via soundstripe.
Season 6, Episode 1: Adolfo Carmona — Latino Mental Health
Question: What barriers stop people from getting help when it comes to mental health issues?
Meet Adolfo Carmona, a second-year medical student at Idaho WWAMI. Between his first and second year of medical school, Adolfo worked in Jerome, which has a large Latino population. He discusses the barriers to help many Latinos face when experiencing mental health challenges and how he is attempting to help the community overcome those barriers.
Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.
More Idaho WWAMI Stories
Passing Knowledge Down the Line
Idaho WWAMI Leader Receives Honorary Degree
Music
“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified.
“Dark Cloud” by Ian Kelosky via soundstripe.