In this here episode, the Yackers mete out harsh justice for the “savage beast” that is fluorine while also floating a partial pardon for marriage enthusiast Henry VIII. Then they travel to Western Australia, where they wander the Pilbara Craton looking for signs of a deep impact. And closer to home, Brian and Matt wade into the dubious waters of Spunky Creek with their special guest, Candice Miller, an educator with Blue Thumb.
Got a question, comment, or correction? Yack right back at us at YacketyScience@gmail.com.
Theme music: “Funky Machine” (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessed through FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Production help provided by PRT's Scott Gregory.
Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa, Kendall Hall, The University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.
Bio for Our Guest Host:
Candice Miller has been a Blue Thumb Educator for the State of Oklahoma since 2013. Miller coordinates water monitoring with volunteers, conducts biological collections in streams, and educates students and the general public around the state. In addition, she was Project Wet Coordinator from 2016 until 2024. Miller has a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from the University of North Dakota, an MS in Biological Sciences from Eastern Illinois University, and has done additional graduate work at Oklahoma State University.
Links:
The Oldest Crater Ever Discovered
A Paleoarchaean impact crater in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia by Kirkland et al. (Nature Communications; March 2025)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57558-3
Biased Sex Ratios
Is sex at birth a biological coin toss? Insights from a longitudinal and GWAS analysis
(Science Advances; July 18, 2025)
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu7402
Blue Thumb Oklahoma
Water Quality Data and Volunteer Opportunities
https://www.bluethumbok.com/
Disappearing Science
EPA Cuts —
About the Office of Research and Development (ORD)
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-research-and-development-ord
Trump administration shuts down EPA's scientific research arm by Rob Stein (NPR; July 20,2025)
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/20/nx-s1-5474320/trump-epa-scientific-research-zeldin
Dismantling EPA’s research office jeopardizes environmental safety, public health, and US competitiveness (PNAS; June 11, 2025)
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2508060122
NWS Cuts —
NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/
Trump Administration Wants to Close Down Key Weather Labs Nationwide ⦁ by Emily Kennard (Oklahoma Watch, July 8, 2025)