Hot off the heels of BOSS-STRAVAGANZA 2: Revenge of the Nerds (which you can watch here–we livestreamed it!), Nerd Nite Asheville’s November show will be an absolute banger. We’ve got a former campaign worker explaining why political polls are so terrible, a world-class climate modeler giving a demo of what climate modeling looks like in real time, and an absolutely incredible dancer taking us beyond the surface of dance.
November 13th, 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-november-2025
This month’s lineup:
Joel Shuman
Don’t Trust the Polls
Is polling useful anymore? Even Nate Silver can’t make sense of the state of polling for US elections. Explore the methods that pollsters use to try to suss out public opinion and see why it breaks down for predicting elections. See how turnout, enthusiasm and herding combine to make every race seem like a tossup.
Joel Shuman (he/him) is a data scientist, political junkie, union member, and monster- and wizard- themed music performer. After working in tech in San Francisco and politics for BlueLabs then Bernie Sanders in Washington DC, Joel moved to Asheville with his wife Danielle in 2020. You can find him playing disc golf or surf rock at Highland, attending DSA monthly meetings and Buncombe Democrats canvasses, or taking his two black cats for a walk. Talk to Joel about pro-bono data consulting for your campaign or non-profit.
Andrew P. Jones
Climate Simulations and Why We’re Not Yet F***ed
Come play with a mind-blowing interactive climate simulator, test big global solutions, and zoom into what they mean for Asheville. Along the way: a quick ode to the beauty of high-order nonlinear differential equation models, a nod to how Cleveland rocks, and—most importantly—reasons we’re not, in fact, f***ed. You click the levers; we watch the planet respond in real time.
Drew studied modeling at Dartmouth and MIT and led the 33-person En-ROADS team that received the System Dynamics Society’s 2025 award for best real-world modeling application after engaging 128 members of the U.S. Congress and 1.5 million users across 166 countries. He moved to Asheville back when Highlands and Salsa’s were the only cool things downtown. LinkedIn Facebook https://www.climateinteractive.org
Melvin AC Howell
Beyond The Surface of Dance
Dance is more than entertainment. It’s more than movement set to music—it’s a language that connects the mind, body, and spirit in ways that words often fail to. Behind every step and gesture lies a complex web of neurological processing, emotional release, and spiritual awareness. Dance trains the brain to adapt, to solve problems in real time, and to build stronger neural pathways for creativity, focus, and memory. With Melvin we will deep dive into the complexity and widely overlooked experience of Dance.
Melvin AC Howell is an internationally recognized choreographer, creative director, and newly published author whose work bridges the worlds of art, healing, and human connection. With over a decade of global experience performing, teaching, and creating for stages from Royal Caribbean to international dance conventions, his craft is rooted in storytelling that moves both body and spirit. Through his creative work and writing, Howell continues to explore how movement serves as a universal language for emotional intelligence, self-discovery, and transformation. IG: @Hause_of_mel | website: Melvinachowell.com | NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOK: “From A Nobody To The SOMEBODY”
With your host, Von
This month’s Star Trek mini-feature is TBA
Von just produced the big Boss show and has less time between shows this month, but surely will think of something fun.
Von claims this show for the Romulan Empire. (IG: @nerdniteAVL)