About us
- Who: Geared toward adults in their 20s, 30s, 40s.. though any intellectually curious folks are welcome! **
- Where: Location changes (see event details)
- When: Every 4-8 weeks on Mondays
Deep Dives & Drafts is a Meetup for intellectually curious individuals who enjoy engaging in thought-provoking conversations and exploring complex topics and ideas.
How it works: Each month or so, we’ll select a central theme to explore. In advance of the meetup, a list of resources (books, documentaries, podcasts, etc.) will be listed in the event description that will be used to frame the conversation. While you're encouraged to engage with the materials beforehand, it is not a requirement for participation.
Each gathering offers an opportunity to delve into unfamiliar topics, challenge assumptions, and gain new perspectives (while enjoying a cold beer, if that is your thing.) The group is new, and thus flexible as we establish membership and group structure/flow.
A quick note on group norms:
This is a space for curiosity, not confrontation. While we may explore complex or even controversial topics, all discussion should remain respectful, grounded in the materials we’ve engaged with, and centered on a spirit of shared learning. No personal attacks, no hidden agendas, no tolerance for hate speech, bullying, or any other behavior that disrupts a constructive atmosphere.
This group is explicitly inclusive of all races, genders, orientations, abilities, and neurotypes. Diverse perspectives enrich our conversations, and we’re committed to fostering a space where everyone feels safe, heard, and respected.
**Social science informs us that a shared life stage can help with group chemistry, but curiosity definitely transcends age—if the format speaks to you, come join us!
Upcoming events
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Good Vibrations: The Science and Psychology of Sound
The Fox Restaurant & Brewery, 124 Wonder St., Reno, NV, USWelcome to Deep Dives and Drafts! If you're new, please check out our group page to learn more about us here.
From invisible vibrations shaping matter, to the songs of whales and the playlists that give you chills, sound is more than just something we hear. It’s a physical force, a biological trigger, and a powerful tool for communication, emotion, and control.
Themes we might explore:
- Sound 101: The basics of sound physics—frequency, resonance, why we hear what we hear (and sometimes feel what we don’t). Infra- and ultrasounds, cymatics, etc.
- The Acoustic World: How animals (and plants?) use sound. Echolocation, mating calls, soundscapes of nature, acoustic ecology, bio-acoustics, etc.
- Sound in the Brain: How sound becomes emotion—memory, dopamine, ASMR vs. misophonia, how the brain perceives sound and why music is so powerful.
- Designing with Sound: Sound engineers and architects, LRADs, cinematic sound.
Suggested resources to spark conversation:
(feel free to message me with additional suggestions!)Books
- Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks (TY Kim!)
- A Book of Noises: Notes on the Auraculous by Caspar Henderson
- The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants by Karen Bakker
- This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin
- The Sound Book: The Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World by Trevor Cox
Podcasts
- From Screams to Serenity: How sound shapes us — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Silent Sea: Whalesong & Undersea Noise Pollution — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- ASMR: Why certain sounds give you tingles — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Sound Escapes: Nature’s untouched soundtrack — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Sonic Illusions: Can you really trust your ears? — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Plants That Listen (and some that sing) — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Sonic Weapons: From LRADs to Havana Syndrome — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Infrasound: The "Ghost" Frequency — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Cymatics: Visualizing Sound — Twenty Thousand Hertz
- Misophonology with Dr. Jane Gregory — Ologies with Alie Ward
- Acoustic Ecology (NATURE RECORDINGS) with Eddie Game — Ologies with Alie Ward
- Episode 53: Sound and Music — The Science of Everything Podcast
Movies & Documentaries
- Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
- Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough
- Music Medicine: Sound At A Cellular Level |TED Talk
- The Art of Sound: Episode 1 – Sound is Fundamental (Docuseries)
- Sound of Metal (Feature Film)
How does this group work?
Each month we will select a topic to explore. Participants use the list of books, podcasts, documentaries to learn about the topic prior to the MeetUp- this resource list is non-exhaustive but provides a solid foundation for discourse. At the MeetUp, we chat for an hour or two about anything we learned. Our aim is to foster intellectual engagement, thoughtful dialogue, and collective learning.
Meetups will be in public spaces (bars) where folks can order beverages if they wish.9 attendees
Past events
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