Original Songs on Science: Composed and Performed by Storyteller and Satirist Nancy Ellen Abrams*

Welcome to an evening’s performance and discussion of songs on scientists by storyteller and satirist Nancy Ellen Abrams. The evening will weave through Einstein’s envisioned life in the song “Einstein”, transcending and encompassing human wisdom in “Alien Wisdom”, and the relationship between science and agriculture in “Third World Bind”, written for a scientific conference on Global Sustainable Agriculture. “All’s Well That Ends Well” contemplates the story of Faust mortgaging his soul to the devil in exchange for power, a myth we may be reliving. “Hired Brain,” satirizes the scientists who sell their brainpower to defend the indefensible. Nancy has served as a lawyer in Congress’s Office of Technology Assessment, a troubadour in a cabaret troupe, and a UCSC lecturer in philosophy of science. She has co-authored two books about the meaning of modern cosmology with her astrophysicist husband Joel Primack (2020 Lilienfeld Prize recipient) and performed her music in 19 countries. Nancy looks forward to discussing the ideas in her songs with the audience.