2025 is here already! Everyone seems to be doing their quarter-century best of lists. So why don’t we list our nerdy favourites from the last 25 years!
- Lord of the Rings – CGI finally brings the world of fantasy and sci-fi into the mainstream, that paves the way for countless franchises to thrive like Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Marvel.
- International Scientific Collaboration – From the Large Hadron Collider to batting Climate Change. Solving the big issues of the world means bringing together the entire world!
- Knitting and baseball card collecting become cool again – Okay maybe just for Kaylee and Michael.
- Small nerdy sub-cultures find each other throught the internet – Social media and internet may be a net negative, but being able to find community to connect with has been a wonderful way for introverts to connect.
- Nerd Nite – Since 2003 Nerd Nites have connected curious nerdy people in bars all around the world!
As usual your ticket and extra support will go to support a charity which this month is TBD
Hosted by: Kaylee Byers and Michael Unger
Where: The Fox Cabaret
When: Thursday Jan 16th; Doors @ 7, show starts @ 7:30
Tickets: Eventbrite
Poster by: Armin Mortazavi
Amarachi Ezeocha: Antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) isn’t just a global issue—it’s deeply personal for the people and professionals it impacts. Join Amarachi as she shares about the veterinarians in Nigeria, their role in AMR stewardship, and the systemic challenges they navigate daily. Through a One Health lens, she’ll explore how veterinary practices can shape the future of global health and why we should all care about what happens in a vet’s office halfway across the world.
Bio: Amarachi Ezeocha is a veterinarian and public health researcher passionate about showing and bridging the gaps between human, animal, and environmental health. Currently pursuing her PhD at Simon Fraser University, Amarachi focuses on One Health communication and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). With experience spanning global health policy and community engagement, she is committed to amplifying underrepresented perspectives in health science.
Paige Hunter: The Art of Change – we need creative expression for effective climate action
Climate change is…. a lot to handle. Finding the best way to take action is hard, and sometimes it’s tough to know if biking to work in the pouring rain or attending a rally in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery is really making a difference. This presentation will explore how to tap into our creative juices to find the best way to take climate action, and how art can transform us into lifelong climate activists. Paige Hunter, co-lead of the climate community engagement group the sword fern collective, will draw from her own experiences of being a lifelong activist and musician for this talk. She will share stories and examples from the sword fern collective’s climate art event series The Art of Change, and will leave you with a hopeful perspective on how everyone can be a climate activist.
Bio: Paige Hunter (she/her) is a research analyst and a climate activist born and raised in Langley, BC and recently transplanted to Vancouver. Her passion for climate justice began with seeing land-use change in her community and watching her Fern Gully VHS every day. She recently completed her Bachelor’s of Resource and Environmental Management, where her honours thesis focused on how to improve wildfire recovery policy in British Columbia using examples from Australia and California. Paige plays bass trombone and has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and she’s a huge fan of skiing, running, hiking, cycling, rock climbing, thrifting, and reading fantasy books. In 2023 she was named one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 by the Starfish Canada and she puts that in all of her bios because it makes her ego absolutely massive.
Group Info:the sword fern collective is a community-based group that focuses on mobilising collective climate knowledge in a hopeful and compassionate way. We aim to advance climate justice by sparking dialogue and providing people with the tools to discuss climate issues and ideate climate solutions in their own communities. The sword fern collective’s mission is to encourage collective organising through individual empowerment. sword fern collective is led by Paige Hunter (she/her), Victor Yin (he/they), and Erica Binder (she/her), three youth who bonded over their shared passion for climate action, art, and dialogue.
Ben Ashby: When Sex Makes You Sick
Have you ever wondered why peacocks have such ostentatious feathers to attract mates, or why sex even exists at all? Surprisingly, the answer to both of these questions may have something to do with infectious diseases. While infectious diseases are probably one of the least sexy topics for a first date, in the animal kingdom knowing whether a potential mate might infect you is really important for both survival and reproduction. Many species have evolved strategies to minimise their risk of infection, but infectious diseases can evolve too, so who wins in the end? Join mathematical biologist Ben Ashby for a wide-ranging talk on sex, infectious diseases, and evolution to find out more.
Bio: Ben AshbyBen Ashby is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Simon Fraser University, and the Scientific Director of the Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society. He uses mathematical models to understand how infectious diseases evolve, and in turn how they affect the evolution of their hosts. Ben is passionate about public engagement and making mathematics and science accessible to everyone