Plant scientist and carob expert Megan Lynch smiles and looks up toward her left. She is wearing a colorful, printed collared shirt with Loteria imagery on it, and a white polka-dotted red kerchief tied around her hair. She is outside and behind her is golden grass and green trees. The Ologies logo is superimposed on the lower right.

You might only know carob as not-chocolate, which is a tragedy of its disco-era branding. This tough, gnarly, drought-resistant plant is the real-life Giving Tree, explains passionate Carobologist Megan Lynch. Dripping with leathery banana-shaped legume pods, this tree quietly dots suburban streets but has kept people alive through wars and famines, can feed livestock, makes beautiful furniture, and might cure ailments from neurodegenerative diseases to the dark depths of your irritable bowels. Oh also? It can stand in for chocolate if you need it to. LET’S SHOW SOME RESPECT. Megan also chats about the #DisabilitiesinSTEM movement, academic gatekeeping, and making science more accessible. And cheesecakes.

Listen via Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.

Transcript

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Megan’s website

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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris