11.25.14: The 100 Most Cited Scientific Papers, The Postdoc Glut, & Megan Amram

A postdoctoral appointment, commonly known as a “postdoc”, was once considered an apprenticeship position to help scientists hone their skills before one day running labs of their own. On today’s show, has the postdoc appointment become a temporary purgatory? And colonial history, one panel at a time.  As kids we’re taught the basics about the Mayflower, the Salem witch trials, and the first Thanksgiving. A new collection aims to broaden our perspective on the period, through an unusual medium.

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The Top 100 Scientific Papers

• Richard Van Noorden is a reporter for Nature – he and his colleagues recently spent some time analyzing the 100 most cited scientific papers of all time.

Are We Suffering From a Post-Doc Glut?

• Carolyn Johnson is a science reporter for the Boston Globe where we found her article, “Glut of Postdoc Researchers Stirs Quiet Crisis in Science.”

The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine

• The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine is a neurological disorder with a pretty bizarre name. It was discovered at the end of the 19th century and is unique to the peculiar conditions on lumberjack camps in Northern Maine. Emma Weatherill brings us the story.
• You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.

Megan Amram: Science, for Her!

• Megan Amram is a writer for the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. Her work has also appeared in McSweeneys, Vulture, and The Awl. Her new book is called: Science...For Her!

Colonial Comics

• Writer and editor Jason Rodriguez is re-examining the era with an unusual collection called Colonial Comics: New England, 1620 – 1750.  From Thomas Morton: Merrymount’s Lord of Misrule, to the story of Eunice Williams, a colonist captured and raised by Native Americans – this illustrated collection, opens up under appreciated stories from New England’s rich colonial history.