What is Big Biology?

Big Biology brings the biggest ideas in biology to broad audiences through lively conversations with leading scientists, journalists, and thinkers. We explore how life works across scales—from molecules to ecosystems—by asking bold questions about evolution, ecology, physiology, and beyond. We don’t shy away from complex or controversial topics. Instead, we lean into them. By grappling with difficult ideas, bridging disciplines, and challenging assumptions, we aim to inspire curiosity, foster dialogue, and share the wonder of life in all its forms.

You can listen to the podcasts here or get them on Substack, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify!

Click below to hear Marty and Art talk about their vision for the podcast. 

Why do we need your support?

Big Biology is a science podcast and relies on listener support. All donations go towards the equipment and production of the podcast. We greatly appreciate your donations!

You can donate with a credit card or cryptocurrency on our website. You can also make monthly donations through our Patreon page. The Patreon page allows listeners to donate on a regular basis, and it’s also a place where we interact with listeners.

Contributions to Big Biology are tax-deductible, minus the fair market value of any thank you gifts received. Big Biology is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 82-4179999).

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Hosts

Cam Ghalambor

Dr. Cameron Ghalambor is a professor and biologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Colorado State University. He is interested in the complexity of adaptive evolution and how organisms deal with environmental variation. He studies birds, fish, and insects along different kinds of environmental gradients. Check out his lab website here. Cameron moved to Trondheim, Norway in 2020 and quickly realized his cross-country skiing skills were severely in need of improvement. 

Cohosts

Fran Bonier

Dr. Fran Bonier is a Biology professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her research group explores how organisms cope with diverse challenges like changing temperatures, disease, competition, and urbanization. They approach this aim from a number of perspectives, often investigating plastic changes in behaviour, physiology, and life history to better understand adaptations to challenges.

Marty Martin

Dr. Marty Martin is a professor and integrative biologist at the University of South Florida.  You can learn more about his science at the lab website here.  He wonders about what makes some species pests, what allows some animals to act as disease super-spreaders, and what body size means for the architecture of immune systems.  All of this work is on critters with backbones, and most of it involves the ubiquitous and uber-charismatic house sparrow.

John Drake

Dr. John Drake is Regents Professor of Ecology, Odum School of Ecology and Director of the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases (CEID) and the Global Infectious Disease Intelligence Consortium (GIDIC), at the University of Georgia. John holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Notre Dame University.

A biological modeler who studies the dynamics of zoonotic diseases, John has previously used spatial interaction models and compartmental models to understand and predict the spread of White-nose syndrome in North America, the 2013-2015 West African Ebola epidemic, SARS-CoV-2 across the United States in 2020, and COVID-19 importation risk into United States port of entry airports. His research additionally seeks to understand how zoonotic Infectious Disease Intelligence can be used to inform leaders when an outbreak is beginning, and how it may spread.