{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 284 - Author Elizabeth Shreeve on Dinosaurs to Dragons","description":"First, Ben and Celestia chat about reflecting pool gashes, a biohacking longevity guru's diagnosis, the new Info Wars, and two anti-vaxxers in the news. Then we are joined by children's author Elizabeth Shreeve to discuss her new book Dinosaurs to Dragons: The Lore and Science of Mythical Creatures. Elizabeth takes a clever approach in structuring her book, which invites kids to think about monsters and fairies but also sneaks in evolutionary knowledge, folklore detective work and critical thinking. A few of her chapters have also been the subject of previous Squaring the Strange episodes, so we had a lot to talk about. In addition to discussing how storytelling can be an ally to science, we also discuss misconceptions about writing, using imagination as a skeptical tool, and Elizabeth's recent introduction to the skeptical community. Teachers will be happy to know Bertha Vasquez has created a teacher's guide for the new book already, and she and Elizabeth have teamed up to work on &quot;Germ Wars,&quot; a story due out in 2027 about how modern public health and medicine have decreased child mortality. ","author_name":"Squaring the Strange","author_url":"http:\/\/squaringthestrange.libsyn.com\/website","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/42135000\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/204239795"}