Chili peppers, a spicy fruit featured in cuisines around the world, were used in Mexico long before going global, as was the agave-derived distilled drink tequila. This week, the Museum’s Adventures in the Global Kitchen series presents Tequila and Chilies, which will include a conversation with Juan Carlos Aguirre, the executive director of Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders. Aguirre, who will be providing samplings of chili-based dishes from across Mexico alongside tequila from Richard Sandoval Restaurants, recently offered a quick history lesson about the ubiquitous chili pepper.

Skin is the body’s largest organ, and one with a complex cultural and evolutionary past. At the upcoming SciCafe on Wednesday, May 2, biological anthropologist Nina Jablonski will discuss how human skin evolved, particularly as an adaptation to ultraviolet radiation. She recently answered a few questions about skin and its role in our lives.

When did you decide to study the history of human skin?

Nina Jablonski: By accident. About 23 years ago, a colleague asked me to give a lecture to his class about skin because he was going to be out of town for a conference. I obliged. In preparing for the lecture, I realized just how little had been written about the evolution and meaning of human skin.

As part of the national celebrations for Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) in April, the Museum will honor jazz’s birthplace on Saturday, April 28, with the day-long Global Weekends program New Orleans: Culture Remixed. Headlining the event is famed jazz trombonist and music producer Delfeayo Marsalis, whose family includes saxophonist Branford Marsalis, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, drummer Jason Marsalis, and pianist Ellis Marsalis. Delfeayo recently answered a few questions about his music.

The celebrated richness of France’s cuisine makes the equally exalted slimness of its population that much more of a mystery. At the Adventures in the Global Kitchen program on Wednesday, April 25, Mireille Guiliano, author of the bestseller French Women Don’t Get Fat, addresses the so-called French paradox and offers a selection of frittatas, tartines, and mousse for tasting—in the French style, of course. Guiliano recently answered a few questions.

The French eat some of the richest foods in the world but maintain slim physiques. What’s the secret?

Mireille Guiliano: A different approach to food and eating. The key is to find pleasure in eating while maintaining one’s weight. French women don’t get fat because they eat with their heads and have learned to eat with pleasure while managing their relationship with food and gratifying their appetite. It’s all about balance and knowing thyself.

Miaki Ishii is an associate professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University who uses North American seismometers to understand how the magnitude 9 earthquake in Japan in March 2011 started and spread. On Tuesday, April 24, Dr. Ishii will visit the Museum to discuss what scientists know about this earthquake and what they have left to learn. She recently answered a few questions.

What geological forces caused the 2011 earthquake in Japan?

Miaki Ishii: At the site of this earthquake, the Pacific plate is colliding with the North American plate—that part of Japan, believe it or not, is considered part of the North American plate. When two things bump into one another, you have stress buildup, and to relieve it, there are earthquakes. In this case, a lot of stress had accumulated for over 1,000 years, and it was released all at once in a huge quake. Many faults failing at once also made this a large event.