Have you ever found yourself wondering "what is energy, exactly?" Not in the "I know it when I see it" way, but something more fundamental.

That question sent Nalina Cherr, an undergraduate communications intern at the Wisconsin Energy Institute, on a months-long quest to explore the concept and how it connects life on Earth. She interviewed professors, WEI researchers, and even a few members of her family.

The result is Energy 101, a truly unique and fun podcast that explores principles of energy through the lenses of chemistry, botany, and biology that blends science and creativity.

You can find the first season here or on Spotify. We hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have.

Episode 1: Chemistry and Creatine

In which a history major asks “what is energy?” and our host tracks down chemist Paul Hooker for an answer. Things are set on fire, and workouts are maxxed out with professional trainer Eli Goodman.

Episode 2: Plant(s) matter

In which botanist/mom Aisha Goodman convinces our host plants are so important they need a whole episode and biochemistry professor Chris Gisriel takes her on a tour of photosynthesis to learn about where plants get their matter. Things go a little haywire when the miniaturizer is broken and our host and her guest are flung backwards in time to learn why plants matter.

Episode 3: Parasite

Just breathe. Yes, you. Wow, you’re doing science. Student farmer Ella DeRosier asks our host what happens to the sugars we eat and Morty the Mitochondrion (UW–Madison BioCore Coordinator Daniel Parrell) talks about his job in the big cell, and our host talks about ATP (again). Then we take away the oxygen and see what kind of cool stuff we can make.

Credits

Energy 101 is written, edited, and hosted by Nalina Cherr, an undergraduate communications intern with the Wisconsin Energy Institute majoring in Life Sciences Communication with minors in Education & Policy and Biocore.