In this episode of Life Unculturable, Julia skedaddles away, exploring New Mexico and Arizona, while Sam stays in good 'ole Oklahoma holding down the fort. If you're looking for the science and the nitty gritty parts of anaerobic microbiology, this is not the episode for you! Today, it's all about road trips and childhood memories with a heaping helping of judgement.

Please excuse the sound quality of this episode! It really was recorded in a coffee shop and hence includes all the clanking and clinking and the occasional bark of coffee shop dog Hope! If you are in Winslow, Arizona, be sure to check out MOJO Coffee Roasting Co.& Cafe (not sponsored; Julia is just a fan).

In this episode of Life Unculturable, Sam and Julia are taking a deep dive into the 'bread and butter' of the lab: enrichment and isolation. Tune in to find out how they go about enriching for and isolating specific anaerobic organisms, how they identify their isolates, and what lab equipment they secretly prefer over others.

In the first interview episode of Life Unculturable, Sam and Julia sit down with Drs. Noha Youssef and Mostafa Elshahed, as they chat about microbial ecology, anaerobic fungi, and offer up career advice. Along the way, Sam and Julia learn more about their bosses, determine who is the ‘best’ liar, and try to answer the ultimate question: do PIs ever actually leave the lab?