Shows
SKRAPS: Deep DiveR.I.P ... CDC's Epidemic Intelligence ServiceThis story was inspired by the post on X by Dr. Farsad Mostashari. Center for Disease Control has been at the forefront of many of the alerts (true and false) and now it's officially gone...This is a sombre take on what has happened. SKRAPS is your podcast, where we on your behalf explores unsaid, underappreciated and sometimes, untold stories of sparks of brilliance in science, technology and innovation. Show CreditsCreated & Produced by: Arun Sridhar & JoJo PlattEditing: Arun SridharSound design: Arun Sridhar & Swaminathan ThiruGnanaSambandamSound mixing and mastering: Swaminathan ThiruGnanaSambandam2025-02-1514 min
SKRAPS: Deep DiveHistory of Serotonin - Lessons in how science and innovation works!JoJo and Arun are producing some key content that will make you turn your heads in disbelief. Until then, we thought it would be good to get your mind focussed on that wonderful molecule - serotonin that has received fresh life due to its impact on mental health, be it with psychedelics or with electrical stimulation for depression etc. This episode details some wonderful history of how our body is complicated and yet so wonderful and how there are lessons for everyone irrespective of whether you are a pharmaceutical scientist or a bioelectrician. SKRAPS is...2022-11-091h 30
SKRAPS: Deep DiveBCI's On The Grill 🥩 - Candid Questions in Bioelectronic Medicines (Part 2)What Is a BCI? And just as importantly, what isn’t a BCI?This is an unusual episode and an incredibly fun one. Arun and JoJo enlisted some of the field’s top folks to talk through what’s in and what’s out in this exciting field. Amy Kruse is a general partner at Prime Movers Lab and a self-professed Founder turned Funder (and a neuroscientist by training), Matt Angle is the founder and CEO of Paradromics - developing high data rate BCIs, and Marcus Gerhardt is the co-founder and CEO of Blackrock Neurotech and is hoping that their...2022-11-011h 22
SKRAPS: Deep DiveWhy did Merck KGaA venture into Bioelectronics? - Candid Question in Bioelectronic Medicines (Part 1)At SKRAPS, we are always looking to get behind the veil of the happenings in the field. We want to go beyond the facade of the news headlines.In recognition of this, we are now reading the slug for part 1 of candid conversations or plainly put - “Cutting through the crap in Bioelectronics”. So, we are joining Dr. Robert Spoelgen, Head of Bioelectronics at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, 🇩🇪 (They are very particular about this as Merck and Merck KGaA are two separate entities) about their entry, reason, strategy, tactics and thoughts. All references in this episode is to Merc...2022-10-2244 min
SKRAPS: Deep DiveIt's time for DANC - “Dynamic ANC (Active "Nerve” Cancellation)”Julia Child was a master. She was not a classically trained chef, but pursued cooking as a hobby. Her super power? Passion. A passion for making gastronomy accessible, to deliver an honest and attainable presentation, and she possessed a pure, unadulterated joy for her craft. While Michael Ackermann isn’t a neurotechnolgy hobbyist, he does share other qualities with the inimitable Child. He brings a passion for neurotechnology, mixes it with technical expertise picked up at Case Western Reserve University, panache earned through his time at Stanford BioDesign, and pairs it with an excellent vintage of management style. H...2022-10-031h 10
SKRAPS: Deep DiveIt's the Second Anniversary of Skraps PodcastSkraps is turning two. Or is it our second anniversary? I can't quite decide so let's celebrate both. Join us as we walk down memory lane with some highlights (and hopefully no lowlights) of the past two years of their audio partnership. Re-live some of our favorite moments - laughter, tears, learning, and even occasionally, listening. We revisit early episodes (and see how far we've come) with Kit Parker, Stanton Rowe, Sandy Greenberg, and more. With so many hours under our belts, it is impossible to pick "favorites" but we'd love to hear what some...2022-09-071h 33
SKRAPS: Deep DiveOur British Podcast Awards Nomination TapeHello friends and dear listeners, Recently, we were urged by a couple of our British listeners and experienced audio producers in the podcasting space, to nominate our last season’s science documentary podcast on Psychedelics for the British Podcast awards. Without further adieu, here is the 30 minute tape we sent for the second stage of the nomination.SKRAPS is your podcast, where we on your behalf explores unsaid, underappreciated and sometimes, untold stories of sparks of brilliance in science, technology and innovation. Show CreditsCreated & Produced by...2022-06-2331 min
SKRAPS: Deep DiveEuropean Innovation Council & NeuroTechnology/MedTech fundingFunding for Bioelectronic Medicines does not come from traditional venture capital. It also comes from grant funding agencies. While the most well known grant funding bodies are NIH and DARPA in this area, there is also a renewed deeper interest in funding early research to develop products for clinical applications from the EU as well.So we invited, Dr. Enrique Claverol-Tinture (Enric), Program Manager of the Medical Technologies Program to talk about their most recent EIC pathfinder and accelerator challenges that they ran (2021 Pathfinder challenge results here). EIC is a new body and Enric has autonomy to...2022-06-1647 min
SKRAPS: Deep DiveSleep Apnea: ft. Napoleon, Churchill, Brahms, Stalin & Queen Victoria“Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone” is a famous quote from the author Anthony Burgess.Sleep Apnea affects 425 million adults over the age of 40. Yet, good treatments are unavailable. In this episode we address how Bioelectronic Medicines helps to alleviate the problem.Links as promised:Inspire Medical - the first hypoglossal nerve stimulation product on the market. Kingman Strohl’s lecture A Ted Talk on Didgeridoo SKRAPS is your podcast, where we on your behalf explores unsaid, underappreciated and sometimes, untold stories of sparks of brilliance in sci...2022-05-291h 17
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutionsThe $9.8 Million Neuromod Prize and why its not great with Arun SridharArun Sridhar is a cohost of the Skraps podcast which talks about some of the behind-the-scenes stories in science and technology. JoJo Platt is the other cohost and she has been on the show before as well. Today, Arun and I are talking about the recently unveiled $9.8M Neuromod Prize which aims to reward those that are able to come up with a precisely controllable neuromodulation treatment. Arun thinks the prize could've been made better and I (Ladan) think that it is nice to see other forms of grant money. Here is the NIH announcement2022-01-2743 min
SKRAPS: Deep DiveS4 E1: What in the world is a Bioelectronic Medicine?What in the world is a Bioelectronic Medicine? As promised, link to schema below 👇🏻👇🏻Link to Schema on Bioelectronics Medicines Framework: hereSKRAPS will remain free, but the production is not. If you would like to help us, please visit here. Episode Description: “Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is not hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other partBelonging to a man. O, be some othe...2022-01-1929 min
Between Two Mics: The Remote Recording PodcastCommunity Interviews: People of the SquadWelcome to our Between Two Mics community series, The Community Interviews. In this series, Zach and Rock are sharing SquadCaster interviews that they've recorded. They spoke with more than 15 podcasters over the past few months who record their shows on SquadCast.fm.Zach and Rock spoke with scientists, doctors, lawyers, artists, business execs, mental health advocates, and everyone in between, about what it's like to be a content creator.In this week's episode, Rock shares his conversations with podcasters who tell stories of people, stories, and humanity. You'll meet Chris Angel, Felice, Joe, Randy, Paige...2021-12-2139 min
PsychedeRx: The Psychedelics Documentary Series - Past, Present and the FutureEpisode 10: Investing in New Frontiers of the Psychedelic RenaissanceNew molecules, new IP, new opportunities. How can investors be induced to support the massive, but necessary funds required to support the important and carefully regulated research necessary to bring psychedelic therapies to market. Not to be crass, but if something isn’t going to bring a profit, it’s unlikely to receive much funding, regardless of how much good it might do, certainly not enough to cover the massive costs of bringing a disruptive therapy to market. Companies like Cybin and Bright Minds Bio are looking at modifications to create new IP, improved efficacy, and new delivery mechanisms.Â
With inves...2021-11-241h 33
PsychedeRx: The Psychedelics Documentary Series - Past, Present and the FutureEpisode 5: Basic Pharmacology of Serotonin & PsychedelicsWe’ve spent some time already on the definition of psychedelic - and we’ll spend more time before this series is over. But, Skraps is a podcast whose roots are run deep in the sciences, we couldn’t ignore the topic of the basic pharmacology of psychedelics. This episode is a primer for citizen scientists and holds some intriguing information for the bonafide scientists among us.
As always, we don’t just deliver science, we are going to start with core science and intertwine the stories of the people who made the discoveries - ultimately ending with an understanding of how p...2021-10-191h 30
SKRAPS: Deep Dive#TwitterSpaces Live Q&A session on #WarOnDrugs, June 18, 2021 4 PM US ETTomorrow, it is the 50th anniversary of the war on drugs. But we know the evidence collected since has shown that prohibition has only increased the problems. Join us for a session with experts for a live Q&A on Twitter Spaces. How do you get access to Twitter Spaces session: Join Twitter, Follow Arun, JoJo and SKRAPS.  You will see a purple logo at the top when it is time for the session.Alternately, skip steps 2 and 4, by clicking on this link, set a calendar reminder - https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1mnxealWOkQxX?s=202021-06-1703 min
SKRAPS: Deep Dive#PsychedeRx Episode 5: Basic Pharmacology of PsychedelicsWe’ve spent some time already on the definition of psychedelic - and we’ll spend more time before this series is over. But, Skraps is a podcast whose roots are run deep in the sciences, we couldn’t ignore the topic of the basic pharmacology of psychedelics. This episode is a primer for citizen scientists and holds some intriguing information for the bonafide scientists among us.As always, we don’t just deliver science, we are going to start with core science and intertwine the stories of the people who made the discoveries - ultimately ending with an...2021-06-151h 28
SKRAPS: Deep DiveS2 E14: A Skrappy RetrospectiveAfter almost 40 episodes of a project that Arun apparently had little faith in, we're going to take a look back at some of our favorite episodes, some hints of what's coming up next, and what celebrity researcher intimidates JoJo the most.After this episode, we're going to take a week or two sabbatical in order to wrap up our big project. In the meantime, have a listen to what we thought Skraps would be vs. what it has become - and maybe reach back and take a listen to one of our many, many amazing guests.2021-04-1334 minNeural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutionsJojo Platt Discusses the MSRI-EC Conference, NeuraLink, and Her Latest ProjectsTop three takeaways: The goal is to accelerate the translation of devices to be able to reach patients globally.  Jojo Platt is the co-creator of Skraps, a podcast that focuses on the inspirations and stories of influential people in various scientific fields.  There is an important conversation to be had about the future of implantable devices and user privacy.    [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Jojo Platt.   [2:15] Platt talks about her involvement in the MSRI-EC conference.  [5:36] The conference included video testimonials from Ian Burkhart a...2020-09-0315 min
SKRAPS: Deep DiveE1: SKRAPS - A podcast about Science with a differenceSKRAPS is a podcast that seeks to explore the stories behind the sparks of brilliance that led to many discoveries and innovation across industry and academia. In this episode, JoJo Platt and Arun Sridhar provide the listener a ring side seat reservation for the future episode. The goal is to inspire young minds, trainee scientists and established scientists to appreciate the stories of science and about scientists that rarely getthe headlines. Come join us and hear about how the innovators got inspired to do WHAT and WHY they work in a given area. 2020-08-1828 min