Driven to Discover

Obsessed with true crime shows as a teen, Mary Bush naturally gravitated toward forensics as a young professor in the School of Dental Medicine. Today, she is widely acclaimed for her efforts to banish bitemark evidence from the courtroom. She has won numerous research awards, served as an expert witness for high-profile murder cases and testified before Congress. Her research tools, once viciously mocked by prosecutors, are currently on display at the Smithsonian Institution. In this episode, Bush talks to host Laurie Kaiser about the fascinating life of a forensic dentist, which in her case has included writing crime novels and appearing on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”

A childhood fascination with the fish and crabs in the river near his home led Vincent Lynch to a career as an evolutionary biologist, studying the genetic history of various species to better understand human health. In this episode, he explains why human pregnancy is a mystery, why elephants don’t get cancer and why bringing the woolly mammoth back to life is a terrible idea.

Working as a bouncer during college, Mark Frank found he could learn a lot about people by observing their gestures and expressions. Today the communications professor is a globally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who advises the FBI and the CIA. In this episode, Frank explains how he’s able to get the truth out of even the most practiced liars.

After seeing the river she swam in as a child turn black with pollution, Diana Aga became determined to help clean up the planet. In this episode, the renowned environmental chemist talks to host Cory Nealon about PFAS, or forever chemicals: what they are, why they're so dangerous, and what she's doing to take the "forever" out of them.

As a child, Stephanie Poindexter loved watching the apes at the zoo. Now she's an expert in the slow loris, a noctural primate that inhabits Southeast Asia. In this episode of Driven to Discover, Poindexter tells host Vicky Santos what it's like to track down this shy creature in a Thai jungle in the middle of the night, and why she does it.