There is bacteria everywhere, it is almost impossible for something to not come in contact with bacteria.  That’s a problem for pharmaceutical companies.  Before drugs go to market they have to be free of any potentially harmful bacteria.  How do they do that? Well, today, the pharmaceutical industry relies on a test using horseshoe crab blood. Yes. Crab blood.  This is the story of how it all started.

The Umami of Customer Service was produced by Veronica Simmonds for the 2013 ShortDocs Challenge. The competition sent out a prompt asking producers to respond to the theme of Appetite.  Veronica decided to talk to the people who know our appetites best: the folks who satisfy them.

From Alabama Fireworks to popping wheeles, Kate Walchuk is in the business of memory preservation. In this podcast originally produced for Visual Arts News, Veronica Simmonds chats with the Halifax-based artist and curator about her recent show at Seeds Gallery, GOOD SHAPE, and her new understanding of nostalgia.

In this Visual Arts News podcast, Veronica Simmonds interviews artist Will Robinson during his recent residency (January 21-March 1, 2013) in Dalhousie University’s Killam Memorial Library, organized in  partnership with the Dalhousie Art Gallery. Will Robinson speaks to Simmonds in depth about his latest project—translating the surface of a building into song.

Throughout the summer of 2014 Veronica Simmonds and Katie Mckay (part & parcel) gathered sounds, sights, and sentiments from the lakes of Halifax, Nova Scotia. They then wove all this into a watery parralax experience that you can immerse yourself in at http://bodyofwater.ca/

If you are intrigued by what you hear you should really visit the full site where you are invited to take a swim through your screen. Turn on your sound, slow down your day, and scroll into the lake, from your head down to your toes.