Summer is ending, but it’s always the season to learn! This month we have Private Citizen™ Jared Rennie returning to talk about what it’s like being a federal scientist in this era of anti-science. Plus, George Avery will share the fascinating engineering behind fasteners, and the hilarious Ashley Allen will tell you how to wield logical fallacies as weapons.
September 11th, 2025 doors 6pm, show 7pm at River Arts District Brewing Co.
Pre-sale tickets $10, door $15 (cash preferred, Venmo etc. available). Get your pre-sale tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/nerd-nite-asheville-september-2025
This month’s lineup:
Jared Rennie
What’s it like being a Federal Scientist in 2025?
2025 has been a roller coaster of emotions for federal employees, not just for folks at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, but for many federal scientists at NOAA, NASA, NSF, and elsewhere across the country. Despite the craziness, we are still pushing out important work, even if some people don’t want us to. Bring your “emotional support forks” and join us to learn about what has been going on, why it’s important, and what you can do about it.
Jared Rennie (he/him) is a research meteorologist for NOAA who sits on a treasure trove of data. Originally from Boston, he moved to Asheville in 2010 to perform climate research, primarily focusing on heat waves. Recently, he has shifted efforts towards science communication, bridging the gap between climate extremes and vulnerable communities. IG: @jjrenniewx
George Avery
Understanding Friction Through the Eyes of a Fastener
Fasteners achieve their ultimate goal when they have a torque instruction with them. This could be the 90 ft-lb you install the wheels on your car with, or the 5 N-M you use to assemble the handlebars of your new mountain bike. The heart of the torque instruction comes down to understanding friction, which ironically is a very slippery concept to find a value for. This is an in-depth look at the math that determines torque instructions for fasteners and how small changes can greatly affect the friction that the math is based upon. It’s going to be bolt loads of fun!
George Avery has been a mechanical engineer for the Department of the Navy since 2016. He originally started his career at the Philadelphia Navy Yard before changing to a remote position and moving to Asheville. His job has given him an in-depth understanding how mechanical engineering, material science, process engineering, and specification writing all come together to make sure people use the right fasteners, in the right places, and tightened down the right way. A consequence of this knowledge is how he constantly tinkers with his bikes to use “better” screws.
Ashley Allen
Exploiting Logical Fallacies to Make Anyone Believe Anything
Organizations, corporations, and mass media make a habit of using linguistics and common flaws in reasoning to sway public belief one way or the other. We’re going to look at a few such examples–some you may have even fallen for yourself! Taking a closer look at why some people seem to believe things that seem obviously false to others, we’ll look at how current events are reported and the long-term societal implications if humanity can’t begin to think more critically about the information presented.
Ashley Allen (she/her) is an advocate for literacy, both personally as an avid reader and professionally as the Co-Executive Director of local nonprofit Read 2 Succeed. When not nerding out on all things literary, Ashley enjoys rollerblading, diamond art, learning about reptile husbandry, and a good D&D Campaign. IG: @r2sasheville www.r2sasheville.org
With your host, Von
This month’s Star Trek mini-feature: The Legendary Edits of Andrew Hussie
Last month, Z Hawkwood presented about Andrew Hussie’s one million word creation, Homestuck. But to Von, Andrew Hussie was always that guy who made the infamous Star Trek: TNG edits like 17 years ago. We saw a couple of those hilarious edits in the August show, but they deserve their own dedicated mini-feature.
Von claims this show for the Romulan Empire. (IG: @nerdniteAVL)