Nerd Nite SF #165: Crypts Full of Skeletons, Freediving, and Fake Detectives

Ah, Fall. The time of year when trees shed their greenery and leave only their skeletons behind, so too does your friendly neighborhood Nerd Nite embrace our spooky side, and what’s more frightening than the end of the Nerd Nite SF 2026 Season? (Jump Scare!) We’re bringing out our best and spine-tingly-est talks to celebrate and you’re invited! Thrill at the crypts of Washington D.C.! Chill in the watery depths of a freedive! Marvel at the unmasking of scientific fraud! Doors are at 7pm, but the terrors will last a lifetime! Calm your nerves with some Nerd Nite merch (t-shirts, posters, and books!) and take home a few treats if you dare….

Cryptography, or Using a Crypt Full of Skeletons to Decipher the Past

By: Gaby Lapera, AnthroBiology Podcast

What can bones tell us about the lives of the people they belong to? What about the stuff they left behind? In 2009, excavations began on Causten Vault in Washington, D.C.’s Congressional Cemetery. A group of biological anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians worked together to learn the stories of the individuals buried there. We’ll talk about what they found and what it means.  

Fake Detective: Spotting Fraud in Scientific Research

By: Stephen Baum, quantitative sociial scientist

In the summer of 2022, I read an academic paper on how political orientation influences consumer preferences. Then, two things happened. First, I believed essentially nothing that the paper reported. Second, I decided to take a closer look at the data underlying the paper. I’ll describe the results of a year-long investigation into the paper, the origin of the paper’s data, and the claims that the paper makes. This is a detective story with heavy doses of subterfuge, math that does not math, automobile transmission facts, and utter buffoonery.

Deep into the Abyss, Alone: The Fascinating Challenges and Equipment of Freediving

By: Gavin McDonald

The depths call from deep below. Dare yourself to swim as far down as you can, come back, and not die. Freediving is a minimalist sport that relies on the advanced capabilities of only two things to keep you alive: your body, and your fins. While techniques to hone the body have advanced, so has the technology and engineering put into human-powered, underwater propulsion. Both increase how deep a diver can go and how quickly they can get back to the surface. 

Gavin McDonald is a certified Advanced Freediver