New Podcast Episode Spins Web of Wonder The new episode of "W&L After Class: The Lifelong Learning Podcast" features biology professor Nadia Ayoub, who explains her research with black widow spiders.

By Lindsey Nair
October 15, 2021

The latest episode of “W&L After Class: The Lifelong Learning Podcast” features a conversation with Nadia Ayoub, associate professor of biology, who studies the genetics of spider silk in a lab filled with black widow spiders. In this sixth episode of Season Two, “Along Came a Spider,” Ayoub talks spider behavior, the incredible strength and versatility of spider silk, and the practical uses for the knowledge she is capturing in her research, which ranges from lightweight body armor to human tissue regeneration.

Click here to listen to the full episode of the podcast, which is hosted by Ruth Candler, assistant director of Lifelong Learning.

The “After Class” podcast series began in spring 2020. Every episode invites listeners to join conversations with W&L’s expert faculty, giving them a chance to walk down the Colonnade from the comfort of their homes. Listeners hear from W&L faculty members about topics they know and love, meet new professors and learn about their research. Previous topics include poetry, beer, tea, witches, poverty, politics, theater and free speech.

Listeners in the W&L community and beyond are invited to listen to archived episodes for free here or wherever they listen to podcasts (e.g., iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher). Other episodes include:

• “The Nose Knows: The Science of Smell” with Tyler Lorig, professor emeritus of cognitive and behavioral science.
• “No Stone Unturned: Rocking Out” with Elizabeth Knapp, professor of geology and director of the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity.
• “She’s Got Game! A Conversation About All Things Athletic” with Jan Hathorn, director of athletics
• “All the World’s a Stage: The Love of Musical Theater” with Rob Mish, director of the Lenfest Center
• “Can They Say That!? Free Speech in a Crowded Theater: A Look at the First Amendment” with Law Professor Brian Murchison
• “When You’re a Statistical Improbability” with Assistant Professor of Mathematics Sybil Prince Nelson (’01)
• “Let’s Get Real… About Surrealism” with Associate Profess of Art History Elliott King
• “Not to Get Political But…” with the Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law Mark Rush
• “Which Witch?” with Associate Professor of History Mikki Brock
• “Real Opportunity for All” with Director of the Shepherd Program, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Poverty Studies and Adjunct Professor of Law Howard Pickett
• “Your Implicit Bias is Showing…” with the Abigail Grigsby Urquhart Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science Julie Woodzicka
• “The Pursuit of Happiness” with Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science Karla Murdock
• “Enter the Clearing the Mind Abode” with Professor of Japanese Janet Ikeda
• “Beer, Bacteria, and Bison” with Biology Professor Bill Hamilton
• “The New Social (Justice) Network” with W&L Law’s Sydney and Frances Lewis Professor of Law, Johanna Bond
• “Ralph Ellison Walks Into a Jazz Bar” with Marc Conner, former W&L provost and English professor

“W&L After Class” is a collaboration of W&L’s Office of Lifelong Learning, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Communications.