In this episode, Anthony sits down with Dave Farina, better known as Professor Dave Explains, the science educator with over 4 million subscribers who has taught more chemistry students than any professor on Earth — literally.

Together, they dive deep into:

🔥 Dave’s Origin Story

• How a touring rock drummer accidentally became one of the biggest science educators online
• Why passive income for a struggling band turned into a global teaching mission
• His “rock-star teacher” era and the unexpected aesthetic that shaped early O-Chem videos

📚 Building a Global Classroom

• The moment Dave realized he was reaching millions
• Why students prefer YouTube to textbooks
• How he balances tutorial content with hiring PhDs to write 101-level scripts in new fields
• What makes a video engaging instead of just accurate

⚔️ The Debunking Journey

• The inside story of Dave’s multi-year saga with James Tour and the debate at Rice
• How Dave identifies charlatans, grifters, and bad actors
• His two-tiered strategy: immunize the public + neutralize misinformation at the source
• The toll of daily online vitriol — and the rewarding messages from people who changed their minds

🦠 When Science Meets Family

• Anthony and Dave discuss navigating misinformation at family gatherings
• Dave’s advice for Thanksgiving dinner:
• Ask gentle but probing questions — go full Socratic.

🌎 Hope, Fear, and the Future of Science

• Why Dave is more pessimistic post-pandemic
• The rise of institutionalized pseudoscience
• A glimmer of hope: scientists finally stepping into the sci-comm arena
• Why the next decade may determine whether truth survives online

🎶 Plus

• Dave’s long-delayed plan for a music comeback
• The “Simulated Sun” project
• What he hopes will happen by 2026