I’ll be on “Think,” an hour-long talk show on Dallas’s public radio station KERA at 2 pm EST, to talk about A Planet of Viruses.  Listen live here.

I just got back from San Francisco, where I had the privilege to speak at the remarkable Long Now Foundation. Stewart Brand, the head of the foundation, invites people to talk to the group about topics that stretch our conception of time over long scales. So I spoke about viruses and time–how they exist at scales ranging from minutes to eons. The Long Now folks have just posted the audio, which I’ve embedded below. I’ve also embedded the slides for my talk, too.

If I can win the battle against an army of deadlines this week, I’ll try to write out the entire talk as I did with “The Human Lake.” But I’ve learned not to make hard promises.

Audio:

Slides:

Last week I was thrilled to moderate a World Science Festival panel about the mysteries of sleep and dreams. The video is now up here. I’m also embedding it below (if WordPress plays nice with the code…). Be sure to watch till the end, when you can learn about snore-gasms.

I’ve actually written about Niels Rattenborg, one of the panelists before, in a piece for the New York Times. I also wrote about the researchers he’s now collaborating with, who put transmitters on birds that go on ultra-long migrations.

The World Science Festival is gearing up for its third year in New York, and I’m delighted to participate once more. This time I’ll be talking about a topic near and dear to my heart–telling stories about science. On Thursday June 2, they’ll have a full day of scientist-writers, television producers, and science writers.

Here’s the lineup (go to the festival site to purchase tickets):

Science on Screen
Thursday, June 2, 2011
(9:00 – 10:00)
Participants: Bill Weir, Louie Psihoyos, Simon Singh, Howard Swartz

Fantastic imagery and groundbreaking journalism dominate the best of documentary science storytelling. Director Louie Psihoyos’ Oscar-winning documentary The Cove (2009) stands as one of the most audacious and dangerous-to-film operations in the history of the conservation movement. NOVA’s Emergency Mine Rescue (2010) chronicled the unprecedented technological feat of rescuing 33 trapped Chilean miners. Today’s best producers of on-screen science are pushing the envelope, using a range of computer-based tools—including the highly cinematic techniques of digital science animation—to take viewers on a swooping ride through previously unseen worlds. How do these newly available techniques influence and enhance their editorial judgment? And what stories of science are left to be told?

Science Storytellers
Thursday, June 2, 2011
(10:15 – 12:30)
Participants: Steven Pinker, Siddhartha Mukherjee, James Watson, E.O. Wilson, Brian Greene, Jonathan Weiner, Deborah Blum, Natalie Angier, Timothy Ferris

Scientists with literary sensibilities are telling extraordinary stories about their quest to understand the natural world. With consummate narrative skill, these scientist-storytellers are creating compelling works that provide broad audiences with an entryway into otherwise impenetrable scientific subjects. They are joined in this panel by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists who have ventured into strange but thrilling fields of science. Their work turns the abstract and the seminal into writing so memorable that the rest of us can embrace the science and fully appreciate it.

Improvising Science
Thursday, June 2, 2011
(2:00 – 3:00)
Participant: Alan Alda

What happens when scientists try a short course of training in improvisation? Actor-director-writer Alan Alda, who has interviewed hundreds of scientists from around the world in his role as host of the Emmy-award winning PBS series Scientific American Frontiers, is leading an effort to teach improvisational techniques to scientists. The goal is not to turn scientists into actors, pretending to be what they’re not, but to bring about greater authenticity, clarity, and personal presence. The exercises help scientists communicate with a warmth and lucidity that makes their work more understandable to a lay audience and to colleagues across other disciplines.

Telling Science Stories in Print and on the Web
Thursday, June 2, 2011
(3:15 – 4:15)
Participants: Seth Mnookin, Carl Zimmer, Andrew Revkin, Bora Zivkovic, Emily Bell

A new generation of science writers is tackling issues where the repercussions of not communicating responsibly with the public have enormous policy and research implications. Meanwhile, it is the best of times and worst of times for science writing on the Web. An expanding cadre of fiercely independent, talented, and often very young science bloggers is coming to grips with a new dilemma: Just how do they fit into the changing landscape of science journalism, and to what degree are they willing to incorporate some old media standards into their new media work?

The outbreak continues…

1. On Friday, I talked to Ira Flatow about A Planet of Viruses. The podcast is now available here.

2. I also spoke to the Guardian’s Alok Jha for their Science Weekly podcast. You can listen to that here.

3. Tomorrow around 9:30 am EST I’ll be on Newstalk, an Irish radio network.

4. Thursday I’ll be giving a lecture at California State University Fresno.

5. Sunday I’ll be talking about the book in Los Angeles and Irvine CA. Details here.

Here’s the video of last night’s science-writing event at the MIT Museum. Thanks to everyone who made it possible!

Today I’m in Cambridge, Mass., to take part in the Cambridge Science Festival. I’ll be speaking with Ed Yong and Hillary Rosner about how blogs, Twitter, and social media are changing science writing. I’ll play the part of the old fogey who remembers the days when modems screeched. The event will be live-streamed here, starting around 7:30 pm. Hope you can join us, virtually!

This Friday I’ll be on public radio, talking to Ira Flatow on Science Friday, starting around 3:40 pm EST about A Planet of Viruses.

Also in the good viral news department, the book has been getting good buzz in places like BoingBoing, Bytesizebio, and ERV. Thanks to all!

Tonight at 6 pm EST I’ll be talking about my ebook, Brain Cuttings: Fifteen Journeys Through The Mind. (Amazon / BN/ Mobipocket ). You can listen live to Your Health Connection on KSKA Public Radio, and even ask questions via phone or email.

I’ll be speaking tomorrow at SUNY Plattsburgh on the occasion of the publication of the new edition of Parasite Rex. I’ll be talking about the many ways in which parasites have infiltrated my mind since the book first came out a decade ago. I hope some Loominaries will be able to attend, and be infiltrated as well.

Where: SUNY Plattburgh, Plattsburgh NY. Room 206, Yokum Hall. (Directions and campus map)

When: Friday, April 15, 12:15 pm.

More details here.

An interview with me is running on the latest episode of “Consilience,” a podcast on science and skepticism out of South Africa. The conversation, which takes up the second half of the podcast, covers lots of ground. We talked about my new book, A Planet of Viruses, the secret weapons whales use for fighting cancer, and the enduring, tiresome mistake people make of thinking of bloggers as angry children. Check it out.

If you live in central Connecticut, please consider coming to my public lecture tomorrow (Wednesday 4/12). It’s entitled, “Synthetic Biology: Playing God or Harnessing Nature?” The talk is sponsored by the Connecticut Association of Biology Teachers, the Connecticut Valley Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, and Manchester Community College.

Here are the details:

Where: Manchester Community College, Great Path Academy Building, Community Commons. (Here are directions and maps.)

When: 5:30 pm, Wednesday, April 12

More information here.