Get to know one another and your SoundVision hosts, and find out what's ahead for the week.

KQED vice president & general manager

Sylvia Spengler: The scientific method is often viewed as an intrinsic, characteristic part of science—simple and logical to all. It is something you read about and perhaps practice as a process.

Boyce Rensberger: A wide-ranging talk covering: what science makes news; why traditional journalistic balance can mislead the public; the clash between science’s uncertainty and the public’s misunderstanding of science; how to deal with science fact and scientific opinion; and other issues facing journalists who cover the realm of human endeavor with the greatest impact on humanity.

Alain Brizard: A survey of physics in some of its most far-reaching applications and implications.

David Baron, global development editor for The World and former science correspondent for NPR, shares tips on writing simple, short pieces that portray scientists as what they truly are: detectives.

Boyce Rensberger: The frontier of modern biomedical research requires an understanding of the mechanisms within cells and the workings of their genes.

Doug Levy, who has participated in science communications from both sides of the fence, will lead a workshop covering the essential steps that reporters should take before deciding if they have a story, including ways to judge a scientist’s (or a news release’s) credibility and questions that should always be asked.

Dr. Vern Paxson will discuss his research on the detection of terrorist attacks on the Internet, and particularly the problem of detecting large-scale subversions of Internet hosts by "worms."

Sally Lehrman: This session focuses on the role of the individual reporter in science journalism, including the potential opportunities and pitfalls.

Howard Fields: The talk will cover the nuts and bolts of basic brain functions, perhaps going into what you actually see with brain imaging and how that relates to basic brain operations.

Robin Wise: Your good writing deserves good sound. During this session we’ll discuss the process of recording sound, what to listen for in the field, and how to use that sound to tell your story.

Marilyn Pittman: Veteran broadcaster and trainer Marilyn Pittman shows you how to "talk the copy" instead of reading it.

Gary Covino, Rebecca Perl: You may have done excellent reporting work and have a great story to tell, but if you don’t use the powerful inherent methods and techniques of radio, your report will likely go in one of your listeners’ ears and out the other.

Adam Paul Arkin: Systems biology is a new field that is a melding of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. This session explores the basics of the systems biology approach.

Arnold Kriegstein: Stem cells hold the promise of revealing fundamental information about human development, and could ultimately be used to illuminate and treat a broad range of diseases and disorders, from heart disease, Parkinson's disease and diabetes to birth defects and cancer.

Dr. Kevin Padian, professor of evolutionary biology and paleontology and veteran of the "Darwin/I.D. wars," will help us understand the basics of evolutionary biology.

Mervin Field: What are the differences between scientific and unscientific polls? What kinds of questions should a journalist ask before reporting on a poll?

Gary Covino and Rebecca Perl lead a listening session of participants' work.

Judith Grabiner: This is a talk for people who are not knowledgeable at all about statistics, to arm them with a few simple tools that will help them evaluate statistics: that is, not just debunk, but tell the good from the bad and celebrate the good while explaining why the bad is bad.

Michael Blanpied: When the earth speaks, people listen. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides make for riveting news.

Glen Branch: Creationism is making news, but it's not simply the Scopes trial all over again.

Miquel Salmeron: Nanoscience—you've seen it heralded as the next big thing, a coming revolution in science and technology.

Gary Covino and Rebecca Perl continue the listening session of participants' work.

Amelia Kassel: While Google is an excellent search engine, it is rarely used to best advantage.

Saul Rockman and Bari Scott.