Science Speakeasy: Horror on the Brain

October 5, 2025
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Half Acre Beer, 2050 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

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Program Series:
Life ScienceScience and Society

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Join C2ST at Half Acre Brewery for our next Science Speakeasy. We will be chatting with neuroscientist Austin Lim all about the brain science behind some of our favorite horror and science fiction stories. What real-life science inspired writers to create the scary worlds and characters we enjoy? When were scientists inspired by those scary stories to discover new things? What is happening in our brains when we jump into a scary story?

Event Details

Free, Registration is appreciated but not required

Date and Time: October 5th, 2 pm

Location: Half Acre Beer, 2050 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

Schedule:

2:00 to 3:00 pm – Talk and Q&A

3:00 to 3:30 pm – Networking

Age Range: family friendly and open to all ages but alcoholic beverage sales are restricted to guests aged 21+.

We are dedicated to providing an inclusive environment for everyone. Please respect diversity in individuals and in cultures.

Notice: As a guest of the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST), you agree to be photographed, videotaped, or filmed and grant C2ST permission to put the finished footage/photography to any uses that it may deem proper including marketing, advertising (print, radio, and television) and PR-related activities.

Featured Guests

Austin Lim, PhD

Austin Lim, PhD is a neuroscientist and award-winning associate teaching professor at DePaul University. He developed and offers a course called “The Brain through Science Fiction,” which is an exploration into how science fiction authors such as Mary Shelley, H. P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, and William Gibson have used the popular scientific advances of their time to inspire their creative works. His writing has appeared in Scientific American, U.S. News and World Report, and many other venues. He is the author of the open-source introductory level neuroscience textbook Open Neuroscience Initiative. Since its completion in 2021, the textbook has been adopted by faculty from more than 60 universities or colleges around the world. He has also written and illustrated neuroscience books for children such as Cellular Neuroscience for Babies! and Neuroscience from A to Z for Babies! and published an academic textbook, Understanding Figures in Neuroscience Research, through Cambridge University Press.