71° Lat Chat - the UIC Science Podcast

One Health: Research, Relationships, and Respect with WCS

In this episode of 71° Lat Chat, Michelle Johannsen and Maya Homsy King from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) join Serina Wesen and Clarissa Zeller to talk about One Health research across Alaska’s Arctic and Beringia regions. Together, they explore how wildlife health, human health, and environmental change are deeply interconnected and why local and Indigenous knowledge is critical to understanding Arctic ecosystems.  From tracking zoonotic diseases and sampling lemmings around Utqiaġvik to building community-based research partnerships in Bethel, Ketchikan, and across the North Slope, Michelle and Maya share stories from the field, lessons learned about trust and communication, and the realities of conducting respectful research in rural Alaska.  The conversation also dives into subsistence, conservation misconceptions, Indigenous data sovereignty, Arctic logistics, wastewater monitoring, and the importance of authentic relationships in science. Plus: fishing trips, community events, and why some of the most meaningful conversations happen outside of formal meetings!  For more information regarding One Health with WCS and the SPASAK project visit:   https://wcsberingia.org/spasak/ [https://wcsberingia.org/spasak/]   https://Wildlifeconservationsociety.org [https://wildlifeconservationsociety.org/]     https://oneworldonehealth.wcs.org/ [https://oneworldonehealth.wcs.org/]   Recorded in Utqiaġvik, Alaska.

From Utqiaġvik to Europa: Testing an Under-Ice Rover in the Arctic with NASA

On this episode of UIC Science’s 71° Lat Chat, Lloyd Pikok Jr. sits down with JPL engineers Dan Berisford and Russell Smith to talk about BRUIE—the Buoyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration—a buoyant, wheeled robot that drives along the ice–water interface at Sukok Lake to study methane seeps and seasonal lake chemistry. The team shares why this Arctic field site matters, how under-ice communication works, and how lessons here could inform future exploration of icy worlds like Europa—along with a real conversation about community, fieldwork focus, and connection to place.

Science and Creativity

In this episode of 71° Lat Chat, Iñupiaq photographer and videographer Lloyd Pikok Jr. of UIC Science sits down with artists and Arctic researchers Colleen Iversen, an embroidery artist with NGEE Arctic, Faustine Bernadac, a drawing and painting artist with Polar Field Services, Inc., and Claire Houmard, a writer with Marie and Louis Pasteur University, to explore the powerful intersection of science and creativity. Rather than a formal interview, this episode unfolds as an open discussion centered on storytelling, place, and lived experience. The conversation weaves together personal journeys, creative practice, and research shaped by time on the land, highlighting how art sparks curiosity, influences the way scientific questions are approached, and deepens relationships with the environments where the work takes place. Through shared stories and the act of sharing itself, the guests reflect on how creativity helps communicate research in more meaningful, human ways - connecting people to science, place, and each other.