Cara Santa Maria

Dr. Cara Santa Maria is a health psychologist, science communicator, podcaster, and Emmy Award-winning journalist. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Social Justice and Diversity from Fielding Graduate University in 2023. Maria's doctoral dissertation was an existential-hermeneutic phenomenological investigation into the psychological experience of electing to die with medical aid. She also holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology, an M.S. in Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience, and a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy.

Maria is the creator and host of the weekly science and social justice podcast Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria. In addition to co-hosting the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast, she coauthored the Skeptics Guide to the Universe book and coedited the recent release, Pseudoscience in Therapy: A Skeptical Field Guide. Maria was a founding member of the Nerd Brigade and cofounded the annual science communication retreat #SciCommCamp.

Previously, Maria hosted, co-hosted, or was a correspondent or reported on several television series, including Brain Games, Explorer, and Brain Surgery Live on National Geographic Channel; Bill Nye Saves the World on Netflix; TechKnow on Al Jazeera America; Real Future on Fusion; Hacking the Planet and the Truth about Twisters on The Weather Channel; FabLab on Fox; and TakePart Live on Pivot.