We have a few surprises for our season 1 finale featuring Dr. Kaj Johnson, a geophysicist studying earthquakes remotely. Hear about Kaj's journey into the field, the connection between show choirs and teaching, listen in on a couple of potential new segments he promotes (including a drink of non-choice and a friendly competition), hear from a couple of new voices with familiar names - Cari Metz (our producer) and Betsy Leijas (our technical board operator), and stick around for Walther's Outlaws (our department band)...it's worth the wait.

Thanks to all of our listeners for sticking with us over the season, it has been so much fun getting to highlight so many great and interesting people in the field. I hope you join us again next season for new guests and stories (and maybe a new segment or two if Kaj has his way).

Special thanks on this episode to Cari Metz and Betsy Leijas for their contributions. Thanks, too, to Walther's Outlaws members - Kaj Johnson (vocals and guitar), Andrea Stevens Goddard (mandolin), Stuart Kenderes (banjo), Andrea Bridges (vocals), Jake Gearon (guitar), Mel Humbarger (bass), Arya Gotoh (vocals). Special thanks to Kyle Fulford for his technical expertise and leading the band recording. And thanks overall to the National Science Foundation for their financial support that makes the show possible.

Dr. Arndt Schimmelmann joins us today, a geochemist focusing on organics in both natural systems and when developing lab standards. Listen in to hear about a couple of close calls in the lab, exciting field work in caves and lakes in Vietnam, his well-known reference materials program (including a range of standards from foods to hydrocarbons to caffeine!), and his views on the current state of the public trust in science.

On the show today is Dr. Claudia Johnson, a geobiologist studying ecosystems of the past and present to understand what adaptations things like corals have made to survive environmental changes over geologic time. Hear about coral reefs and coral farming (or growing baby corals to then place in various spots in our oceans), the role of reefs in our daily lives (even when we don't realize it, like for fisheries, hurricane protection, and the global economy), how we are always evolving as learners and teachers, and the surprise appearance of scuba gear at the Oscars.