Ig Nobel Prize, Julien Baker, Gresham Cash, Squidbillies

The winners of this year’s Nobel Prizes were announced last week. Last month, slightly less prestigious awards honored the funny side of scientific discovery. The Ig Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually since 1991 to honor achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” We talk about silly science with Marc Abraham, an organizer and founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes. Also with us is Georgia Tech doctoral student Patricia Yang, who won an Ig Nobel Prize in 2015.

Julien Baker is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter who has experienced huge success in just two years. She has been featured in a wildly popular NPR Tiny Desk Concert and performed at the Newport Folk Festival. The Tennessee native’s melodies are admittedly melancholy, but Baker says there’s still joy to be found in them. She performs at Masquerade in Atlanta tomorrow, Oct. 12. She talks to us about stardom, and how Southern roots influence her style.

We add two more songs to our Georgia Playlist. Gresham Cash is the guitarist and front man for the Georgia band Oak House. They perform at the Earl in Atlanta on Saturday. Cash brings us tunes by Deerhunter and the Allman Brothers.

"Squidbillies" is the longest running animated show on Atlanta-based Adult Swim. The series is based on the show creators’ experiences here in Georgia – with a cast of anthropomorphic redneck squids. The eleventh season of Squidbillies premieres this Sunday, Oct. 15, on Adult Swim. We talk with the show's co-creators, Dave Willis and Jim Fortier.