Did your grandmother give you diabetes before you were even born? How do linguists make sense of dead languages? And what the hell is Wakfu?? This month, we’re answering some very nerdy questions with three fantastic presentations. And absolutely nothing out of the ordinary will happen. This is surely going to be a totally normal show with no surprises.
July 9th, 2026 doors 6pm, show 7pm at River Arts District Brewing Co.
Pre-sale tickets $10, door $15 (cash or Venmo). Get your pre-sale tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/nerd-nite-asheville-july-2026
This month’s lineup:
Laura Borth
Epigenetic Connections to Your Ancestors
Can your grandparents’ experiences affect your health today? Maybe. Epigenetics is the study of how life experiences can turn genes on and off, and sometimes this is passed across generations. We’ll explore famous studies linking grandma’s famine to your diabetes, the fierce debate over trans-generational epigenetic inheritance, and research using folate to protect offspring from spinal cord injuries. We’ll also separate science from hype with epigenetic treatments that promise to rewrite your destiny—for a price. All the science is fascinating, but some of it is probably nonsense. Come find out which is which.
Laura Borth is a Registered Dietitian and nutrition nerd who loves talking about data. While her professional work focuses on advocating for older adult nutrition programs including Meals on Wheels, she enjoys exploring nutrition research and the science behind how our bodies work. She holds a Master of Science in Nutritional Science with a minor in Life Sciences Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her free time you can find her on the ultimate frisbee field or upside down in a whitewater rapid. Volunteer for Meals on Wheels Buncombe County or your favorite anti-hunger cause https://www.mowabc.org/volunteer; https://www.unitedwayabc.org/food-resources
Grant Hardy
Deciphering Dead Languages
It can be a challenge to learn to read a language you already speak, even with a teacher. Learning to read a language that no one else in the world knows seems almost impossible, yet this feat has been accomplished several times in the last two centuries. Dead languages such as Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mesopotamian cuneiform, Greek Linear B, and Mayan glyphs have all been deciphered. How was this done? And how did scholars know they had succeeded? Come learn more about these dead languages, and how they were brought back to life.
Grant Hardy is a Professor of History and Religious Studies at UNC-Asheville. He has published books and articles on early Chinese history and Mormon Studies, in addition to studying several dead languages, including Ancient Greek, Latin, and Classical Chinese. He has also recorded two lecture series for the Great Courses company: “Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition” and “Sacred Texts of the World.”
Z Hawkwood
What the Hell Is Wakfu?
In 2004, a French internet marketing agency called Ankama decided to create an ambitious MMO in a browser with Adobe Flash. It should have been a failure. Instead, it became the sixth most played MMO in the world, spawning a franchise that continues to this day. For their second game, they created a companion TV show, forming a cross-media marketing ouroboros. It’s name is Wakfu. It’s beautiful, unique, and confusing as hell. And very, very French.
Z. Hawkwood is a novelist, Youtuber, and game designer. He’s the creator of the Hawkwood Youtube Channel, where he focuses on detailed retrospectives of older media. You might like his videos on Homestuck, the history of Dropout.TV, or the wild origin of the 1993 Super Mario Bros movie. https://youtube.com/@Hawkwood
With your host, Von
This month’s Star Trek mini-feature: 1001 Reasons Star Trek Is the Best Sci-Fi Franchise
Star Trek: greatest sci-fi franchise of all time? Or greatest thing ever created? Because no one has ever complained about Von talking about Star Trek too much, Von thought this month would be a great time to talk about Star Trek more than ever before! With over one thousand reasons why Star Trek is superior to every other science fiction franchise (and everything else, really)–in alphabetical order–what could go wrong!
Von claims this show for the Romulan Empire. (IG: @nerdniteAVL)