KPBS Midday Edition

Rad Scientist Podcast: Lessons On Environmental Science And The Complex Relationship Of Blackness In STEM

KPBS | By Margot Wohl

Published October 14, 2020 at 7:42 AM PDT

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Chandler Puritty is pictured in this photo taken in Paris, France is 2019.

When you ask Chandler Puritty who she is, she’ll give you many answers: Ecologist, social justice advocate, plant lover, cat mother, artist, psychic medium. She cares deeply about the environment and climate change. Her thesis charted the resilience of exotic versus native plants of Southern California after drought. But she also cares about the environment, or culture, within STEM that makes Black scientists feel uncomfortable. Chandler takes many steps as a writer, professor, and healer to make the experiences of early career Black scientists better. Chandler sells artwork and Tarot sessions at https://www.housepuritty.com/ Episode Music: Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher Nocturnal - Podington Bear Entwined Oddity - Blue Dot Sessions Sad Marimba Planet - Podington Bear Shines Through Trees - Podington Bear Tollhouse - Podington Bear Gruyere - Podington Bear The Secret to Growing Up Dimmy - Podington Bear Purple Butter - Breakmaster Cylinder Sunset - Podington Bear Flowing Bells - Daniel Birch Closet Interlude- Blue Dot Sessions De Facto - Chad Crouch Coming Round - Modus The Speed of Life - Podington Bear

When you ask Chandler Puritty who she is, she’ll give you many answers: Ecologist, social justice advocate, plant lover, cat mother, artist, psychic medium.

Puritty cares deeply about the environment and climate change. She was primed to be an ecologist from a young age. She was only allowed to watch "Animal Planet" and the Discovery Channel. In grad school, she studied how drought followed by dramatic rainfall affect native, versus exotic, plant species in Southern California.

But she also cares about the environment, or culture, within STEM that makes Black scientists feel uncomfortable. After attending an HBCU for college, transitioning to the largely white space of her graduate program was difficult. Puritty takes many steps as a writer, professor, and healer to make the experiences of early career Black scientists better. This semester, on top of a course on environmental science, Puritty is also teaching a new course she devised called “Blackness in STEM; a complex relationship.”

Become a KPBS sponsor

To learn more about Puritty’s journey and other Black scientists, listen to the latest episode on "Rad Scientist," a KPBS Explore podcast that makes the scientist the subject.