Quick GRITS (Getting Real In Talking Science) is a podcast of short episodes that provide listeners with a quick, entertaining look into the lives of biologists and what they study. Episodes can be downloaded here
Mercedes Burns ( website ) is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Before this position, she obtained her bachelor's degree at Macalaster College, a PhD at the University of Maryland. In this episode, which is part 1 of a 2-part conversation, she shares her journey to becoming an esteemed arachnologist and evolutionary biologist and discusses the peculiar group of organisms known as harvesters.