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KGNU - How On Earth

English, Sciences, 1 season, 648 episodes, 4 days, 15 hours, 11 minutes
About
How On Earth is a 25-minute news magazine about science, environment, technology, and more. The show is produced by volunteers at KGNU community radio in the Boulder-Denver area. We collect fascinating science headlines from around the world, produce features about the exciting research being done in our region, and interview the many accomplished scientists that make Colorado their home. How On Earth is also broadcast live at 8:35am (Mountain Time) every Tuesday morning in the Boulder-Denver area on KGNU: 88.5 FM / 1390 AM / Streaming on KGNU.org
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Air Pollution+Maternal Health

This week’s How On Earth features the following: How Environmental Toxins Harm Maternal Health (start time: 1:30) Being exposed to wildfires and other forms of air pollution can wreak havoc on anyone’s health. If you’re pregnant, or  socioeconomically disadvantaged, you are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of airborne contaminants. How On Earth’s Susan Moran, … Continue reading "Air Pollution+Maternal Health"
1/30/202427 minutes, 17 seconds
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Astronomy Highlights: Stellar Magnetic Fields, Zooniverse

This is the first episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting. Magnetic Braking in Old Stars (starts at 3:13)  Dr. Travis Metcalfe from the White Dwarf Research Corporation talks about studies of one particular star, 51 Peg, that has gone through magnetic … Continue reading "Astronomy Highlights: Stellar Magnetic Fields, Zooniverse"
1/23/202427 minutes, 15 seconds
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Traumatic Brain Injury & Ibogaine – Andrew Linares

Ibogaine for Traumatic Brain Injury – The Science journal Nature has published a small case study about Special Forces veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injury . . . they report good results from one single dose of the illegal psychedelic Ibogaine . . . with careful supervision. Ibogaine – Huberman Lab discussion with Nolan … Continue reading "Traumatic Brain Injury & Ibogaine – Andrew Linares"
1/16/202427 minutes, 3 seconds
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A New Year and the Same Old Environmental Issues

On this week’s show, we focus on the ongoing challenge of climate change. In addition to headlines about this issue, we replay an interview with author John Vaillant, who has written extensively about the natural world over his long career. In his new book, Fire Weather:A True Story from a Hotter World, he explores the … Continue reading "A New Year and the Same Old Environmental Issues"
1/9/202427 minutes, 39 seconds
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Science Stories from 2023

  We share the How on Earth team’s picks for of science stories of 2023: Superconductor Hopes And Failures (starts at 1:47) New Weight Loss Drugs (starts at 5:56) Hot Temperatures (starts at 9:27) Asteroid Autumn (starts at 12:29) Bird Population Decline (starts at 16:51) Sickle Cell Disease Treatment (starts at 22:29) Executive Producer: Joel … Continue reading "Science Stories from 2023"
1/2/202426 minutes, 43 seconds
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STEM Ed: Improving access for the blind, etc.

STEM ed accessibility (start time: 2:03): It’s challenging enough learning science, technology, engineering and math when you can clearly see the physical models or images of neurons on a screen.  So, imagine the hurdles faced by students who are blind or otherwise visually impaired? In this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews two chemists who … Continue reading "STEM Ed: Improving access for the blind, etc."
12/19/202327 minutes, 39 seconds
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Chronic Pain: A New Approach

On this week’s show, Beth speaks with Dr Afton Hassett, psychologist and pain researcher about her book, Chronic Pain Reset: 30 Days of Activities, Practices, and Skills to Help You Thrive. Not just a guide for evaluating pain and its triggers, her book offers straightforward and often fun strategies to move past chronic pain. Dr. … Continue reading "Chronic Pain: A New Approach"
12/10/202328 minutes, 2 seconds
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COP28 Climate Summit: Pledges & Realities

Climate Change & COP28 (start time: 1:30) A major global climate conference is taking place now in Dubai, amidst a year of record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods and more around the world.  COP28 is short for the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The aim of the conference … Continue reading "COP28 Climate Summit: Pledges & Realities"
12/5/202326 minutes, 44 seconds
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Teen Raptor Survey//Gaia Theory for 21st Century

Soccer Headers and Brain Damage (starts 1:00) New research about long term effects of soccer heading — the practice of hitting a soccer ball with the head, indicates a brain damage risk, even without “official” concussions. Teen Raptor Survey (starts 3:00) Naturalists Steve Jones and Elena Klaver lead the Boulder Teen Naturalists on a survey … Continue reading "Teen Raptor Survey//Gaia Theory for 21st Century"
11/28/202326 minutes, 56 seconds
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Ghosts of Thanksgiving Past

In addition to recent news about possible therapies to restore lost sense of smell due to COVID, we do a deep dive into the How on Earth archives to bring you some still-relevant stories from past Thanksgiving episodes: Start with some happiness (2015 Nov 24) A main course wild turkeys in North America… (2011 Nov … Continue reading "Ghosts of Thanksgiving Past"
11/21/202326 minutes, 51 seconds
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From Sewage to Planet Savior?

The Power of Poop (start time: 5:41)  This potent byproduct of our digestive system holds the promise of being a big part of the solution to several public health and environmental challenges of our time, such as drinking water scarcity and degraded cropland. In this week’s show, How On Earth’s Susan Moran interviews Dr. Bryn … Continue reading "From Sewage to Planet Savior?"
11/14/202327 minutes, 55 seconds
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Naming Birds – with Boulder Naturalist Steve Jones

Bird Feather Fossils  (starts 1:00)  give new evidence about what we know, and don’t know, about how flying feathers evolved. Boulder Naturalist Steve Jones  talks about the movement to stop naming birds after people. (starts 2:30) Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Susan Moran Headline contributors: Beth Bennett
11/7/202326 minutes, 58 seconds
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The Little Book of Aliens

In this Halloween episode, we talk with Dr. Adam Frank, an astrophysicst/astrobiologist at the University of Rochester, about his recent book: The Little Book of Aliens. We hear some of the stories and learn about the science of life “out there” – astrobiology – and the past, present, and future search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Host/Producer/Engineer: Joel … Continue reading "The Little Book of Aliens"
11/1/202327 minutes, 57 seconds
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Climate Change Maladaptations

Over the Seawall (start time: 7:33): One of the key things that makes us human is our ability to problem-solve.  But often our engineered fixes backfire and even make the problem we’re trying to solve much worse. How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews journalist Stephen Robert Miller about how this applies to massive seawalls, … Continue reading "Climate Change Maladaptations"
10/24/202327 minutes, 15 seconds
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Convalescence: The Art of Recovery

In this episode of How on Earth we hear the full interview Beth did with physician and author Gavin Frances. They spoke about his book, RECOVERY: The Lost Art of Convalescence. He emphasizes the importance of taking an active role in one’s recovery and outlines many paths one can take in doing so. It is … Continue reading "Convalescence: The Art of Recovery"
10/18/202328 minutes, 32 seconds
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Recovery – The Lost Art of Convalescence / Fund Drive

As part of the KGNU Fund Drive, this episode of How on Earth features excerpts of Beth Bennett’s interview of Dr. Gavin Francis about his book Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence. We explore the difference between sickness and health, and the gap between them: Recovery. Based on decades of treating disease and injury, Dr … Continue reading "Recovery – The Lost Art of Convalescence / Fund Drive"
10/13/202327 minutes, 50 seconds
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BirdCast Bird Migration Forecasting

Fall bird migration is reaching its peak, with billions of birds traveling thousands of miles, mostly at night.  We talk with Kyle Horton, director of Colorado State University’s AEROECO Lab, and a key member of BirdCast, which is a collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Kyle Horton shares the history of “weather radar” use … Continue reading "BirdCast Bird Migration Forecasting"
9/26/202326 minutes, 56 seconds
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Tackling Plastic Pollution

Plastics: From Pollution to Solutions (start time: 0:58)  We all want to think that the yogurt tubs, takeout containers and other plastic products that we toss into our kitchen recycling bin will actually get recycled. Chances are, they won’t.  Plastic product makers have for many years been deceptively applying the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol on … Continue reading "Tackling Plastic Pollution"
9/19/202327 minutes, 28 seconds
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Artificial Intelligence for Police Body Cameras

AI for Police Worn Body Cameras (Starts 3:45) Body Cam AI uses artificial intelligence analysis for body cam transcripts.  Can this new tech reduce excessive use of force and help restore public trust in policing?  To learn more, we talk with Anthony Tassone, CEO of Truleo.  Truleo is an AI system for analyzing body cam … Continue reading "Artificial Intelligence for Police Body Cameras"
9/12/202326 minutes, 58 seconds
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Road Ecology // Wildlife Crossings

Wildlife Crossings (start time: 0:58) In this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews journalist Ben Goldfarb about his new book, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. It’s hard imagine modern human society without roads, be they  interstate highways or county dirt roads. Love them or hate them, roads make our … Continue reading "Road Ecology // Wildlife Crossings"
9/5/202327 minutes, 4 seconds
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Hummingbirds and Master Bander Steve Bouricius

Master Hummingbird bander Steve Bouricius does workshops about hummingbirds.   Today, Boulder Naturalists Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman join Steve Bouricius to see the thousands of hummingbirds that visit his mountain cabin, and to talk about their lives and migration. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer:  Shelley Schlender Engineer:  Shannon Young  
8/29/202326 minutes, 58 seconds
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This week on How on Earth, Beth speaks with Robert Crifasi about his new book, Western Water A to Z: The History, Nature, and Culture of a Vanishing Resource. This book is the first ever field guide to Western water. Organized as a collection of terms, the book addresses the most salient water issues and … Continue reading ""
8/15/202326 minutes, 8 seconds
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West Nile Virus // Mosquito Borne Diseases

West Nile Virus and other Mosquito Borne Diseases  (Starts 4:45)  Colorado’s case count from West Nile Virus is starting to rise, with state health officials predicting a histoically high season ahead for West Nile Virus.  How on Earth’s Panisara Jaijongkit explains the origins of mosquito borne diseases, how, even in Colorado, people have stories of … Continue reading "West Nile Virus // Mosquito Borne Diseases"
8/8/202326 minutes, 56 seconds
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Welcoming Biodiversity Back To Cities

In this week’s How on Earth, we focus on how cities can foster biodiversity in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. First, we speak with author and journalist Tony Hiss (4:29), who says that while the Earth is rapidly losing species, we can still do something about it. In his latest book, … Continue reading "Welcoming Biodiversity Back To Cities"
8/2/202332 minutes, 7 seconds
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Memory-boosting via Multivitamins?

Multivitamins help prevent memory loss (start time: 8:02) In this week’s  show, How On Earth host/producer Susan Moran interviews Dr. Adam Brickman, a neuropsychologist at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, about a large new study that shows how taking multivitamins can prevent memory loss in older adults. Memory decline is an inevitable, … Continue reading "Memory-boosting via Multivitamins?"
7/25/202327 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Science of Sex in Sports – Women Athletes

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Christine Yu – an award-winning journalist who has turned her reporting on women athletes and the relationship between science and athletic performance into a comprehensive book on the subject. In UP TO SPEED:The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes, she covers topics ranging from a historical overview … Continue reading "The Science of Sex in Sports – Women Athletes"
7/17/202326 minutes, 29 seconds
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Bears: Beloved & Imperiled

Of Bears & Humans (start time: 1:34) If you live on the Front Range or in the mountains, you’ve probably seen a black bear while hiking or in your neighborhood.  Black bears are thriving, but most of the other eight remaining bear species are struggling to survive. How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews journalist … Continue reading "Bears: Beloved & Imperiled"
7/12/202326 minutes, 39 seconds
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Superconductors for Better Energy

Room Temperature Superconductors (starts 1:00)  Backyard tinkerer, Joe Eck, maintains a popular website that explains the limitations of “Low Temperature” supeconductors that must be cooled by liquid helium to almost absolute zero.  He describes the benefits that would come from “Room Temperature” superconductors, which he searches for with equipment that includes a table top kiln.  … Continue reading "Superconductors for Better Energy"
7/4/202327 minutes
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Biomechanics for Dummies

On today’s show Beth speaks with biomechanics Katy Bowman about her new book, Rethink Your POsition. Are you a fitness fanatic? Or a couch potato? Whichever, there’s something for you here. Katy’s biomechanics background, allows her to assess the movements of everyday life and describe how to perform them correctly, based on human anatomy. Moving … Continue reading "Biomechanics for Dummies"
6/29/202327 minutes, 2 seconds
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Race Science: Then & Now

Race Science’s Legacy (start time: 0.57): We like to think of science as neutral, beyond politics. But of course it isn’t. After all, science is a product of the political landscape in which it arises. Despite the fact that decades ago the United Nations declared that race has no biological basis, science has continued to … Continue reading "Race Science: Then & Now"
6/20/202327 minutes, 31 seconds
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Boulder Society for Scientific Exploration

NCAR and NOAA open for visitors (Starts 1:00)  COVID pandemic rules were lifted earlier this year, so Boulder’s  National Center for Atmospheric Research and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are once again open for public tours. LASP Artist in Residence Applications due July 21 (starts 2:12) CU-Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics is accepting … Continue reading "Boulder Society for Scientific Exploration"
6/13/202326 minutes, 46 seconds
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Fire in a Hotter World

In this week’s How on Earth, Beth speaks with author John Vaillant about his new book, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World. He explores the phenomena of fire, the wildland urban interface, and climate change in the context of a precedent-shattering combustion in a modern city.This colossal wildfire in Alberta in 2016 … Continue reading "Fire in a Hotter World"
6/6/202326 minutes, 11 seconds
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2023 Graduation Special (part 2)

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 2 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school … Continue reading "2023 Graduation Special (part 2)"
5/30/202329 minutes, 6 seconds
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Honeybee Trials and Tribulations

This week on How on Earth, Beth replays in interview with Professor Mike Breed, who has been studying social insects, including ants and bees, at the University of Colorado here in Boulder, for decades. She spoke with him last year about the fascinating biology of these important pollinators, in an interview that is still timely, … Continue reading "Honeybee Trials and Tribulations"
5/23/202327 minutes, 24 seconds
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Gold Lab Symposium on Science and Health

CU-Boulder’s 14th annual Gold Lab Symposium on the Science of Health takes place this Thursday and Friday at CU-Boulder’s Muenzinger Auditorium and on line.   You can sign up for the symposium  here.   In today’s show, Larry Gold, founder, scientist and entrepreneur, talks about some key scientific discoveries being discussed at this year’s symposium, along … Continue reading "Gold Lab Symposium on Science and Health"
5/16/202326 minutes, 56 seconds
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2023 Graduation Special (part 1)

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 1 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school … Continue reading "2023 Graduation Special (part 1)"
5/2/202327 minutes
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Chasing Heirloom Seeds with the Seed Detective

In this week’s show Beth speaks with Adam Alexander, author of The Seed Detective, a treasure trove of stories about heirloom seeds and the plants they grow into. Not only does he entertain with his adventures in exotic places, but he also takes the reader on a journey through the history of many common cultivated … Continue reading "Chasing Heirloom Seeds with the Seed Detective"
4/25/202327 minutes, 21 seconds
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Green Energy & Nuclear Power

Energy  Technology that will Power the World (Entire Show)  We look at a climate change discussion from CU-Boulder’s Conference on World Affairs about our Energy Future – where the panelists included ideas about hydrogen, geothermal and nuclear power . . . and we get audience reaction both pro . . and con. Go here for … Continue reading "Green Energy & Nuclear Power"
4/18/202326 minutes, 58 seconds
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Your Brain On (and off) Chronic Pain: Part I

Chronic pain science and treatments (start time: 4:27) In this week’s show host Susan Moran interviews two experts on the emerging neuroscience of and mind-body treatments for chronic pain, which is a leading cause of disability in the U.S. As many as one in five Americans suffer from chronic pain. The problem has cost the … Continue reading "Your Brain On (and off) Chronic Pain: Part I"
4/11/202326 minutes, 57 seconds
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Easter Candy Risks & Real Easter Daisies

We share news about upcoming science events, cancer-causing additives in Easter candy, and we hunt for Colorado’s native Easter Daisies. Tibetan Watershed in Danger (Starts 1:00)  Lobsang Yangtso speaks 11 AM Wednesday at CU Boulder about the crucial need to protect Tibet’s “Roof of the World” and its role in the world water supply.  Wednesday’s … Continue reading "Easter Candy Risks & Real Easter Daisies"
4/4/202326 minutes, 58 seconds
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How to Make STEM Better

Today on How on Earth, Beth speaks with William Penuel, faculty in the School of Education at CU Boulder, and part of the Renee Crown Wellness Institute. He designs and studies curriculum materials, assessments, and professional learning experiences for teachers in STEM education, especially in science. His work is beginning to focus more on cultivating … Continue reading "How to Make STEM Better"
3/29/202326 minutes, 10 seconds
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Water Reuse for the Arid West

Water Recycling for Climate Resilience (start time: 7:54) When you poured tap water into your coffee maker this morning, or flushed the toilet, you may not have been thinking about where that water came from, or where it flowed to next. Pegged to World Water Week, on this week’s How On Earth host Susan Moran … Continue reading "Water Reuse for the Arid West"
3/21/202326 minutes, 51 seconds
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Mankind Owes Its Success on Earth to Decimated Forests

On today’s show, Benita speaks with author John Perlin about his book, A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization. The book follows the rise and fall of human civilizations as they fuel their success and reap their downfall by using trees as a key resource. Published by Patagonia, Perlin revised this … Continue reading "Mankind Owes Its Success on Earth to Decimated Forests"
3/15/202328 minutes, 54 seconds
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A Less Stressful Life- in Seven Days?

On today’s show Beth talks with Dr Elissa Epel, about her book, The Stress Prescription,Seven Days to More Joy and Ease. As the director of UCSF’s Aging, Metabolism, and Emotion Center and associate director of its Center for Health and Community, she studies stress, aging, and obesity. Her book is quick and easy to read … Continue reading "A Less Stressful Life- in Seven Days?"
3/6/202327 minutes, 39 seconds
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AI or not AI, that is the question — ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Human World

We talk with Dr. Casey Fiesler, Associate Professor of Information Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder about “generative AI,” particularly regarding ChatGPT and DALL-E, which are topics of recent news stories expressing excitement and concern. We asked ChatGPT to write a description of what such an interview might be: Dr. Casey Fiesler joins Joel Parker on the … Continue reading "AI or not AI, that is the question — ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Human World"
2/28/202327 minutes
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Colorado Environmental Film Festival

Colorado Environmental Film Festival is an annual event that takes place in Golden, at the American Mountaineering Center.  This year’s festival starts Thursday Feb 23, 2023 and goes through Sun, Feb 26, 2023.  Today, we talk with festival co-chair Dave Steinke and Environmental Filmmaker John DeGraff.  We feature the films, Stewart Udall and the Politics … Continue reading "Colorado Environmental Film Festival"
2/21/202326 minutes, 54 seconds
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Music on the Brain

Your Brain on Music (start time: 6:18): Most people love music, whether it’s opera music, jazz, rock-n-roll, gospel, nursery rhymes or another genre. Whether you’re a trained professional or someone who just likes to sing in the shower or listen to your favorite playlists, you’ve likely felt the power of music in shaping your thoughts, … Continue reading "Music on the Brain"
2/15/202326 minutes, 11 seconds
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Mountain Lions in Northern Colorado

In this episode, Jill Sjong interviews Wild Nature Media‘s David Neils who has been studying mountain lions and other apex predators in Colorado’s wild lands for over 20 years using remote cameras.  They visit one of the front range’s best habitats for mountain lions, the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, located near where the Big Thompson … Continue reading "Mountain Lions in Northern Colorado"
2/7/202326 minutes, 37 seconds
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James Webb Space Telescope (Part 2)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – JWST – was launched on December 25th, 2021.  We talked with scientists and engineers about JWST’s first year and some of the projects it is being used for.  In this second part of our JWST special, our guests and their projects are: Dr. Imke de Pater (Distinguished Professor Emerita, … Continue reading "James Webb Space Telescope (Part 2)"
1/31/202327 minutes
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Animal Creativity

This week on How on Earth, Beth speaks with Professor Carol Gigliotti about her new book, The Creative Lives of Animals. She provides a new perspective on animals as agents in their own lives, as valuable contributors to their world and ours, and as guides in understanding how creativity may contribute to conserving the natural … Continue reading "Animal Creativity"
1/24/202324 minutes, 26 seconds
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New Alzheimer’s Drug . . . and Dale Bredesen Challenge

Various experts share pros and cons about Lecanemab (starts 1:00) the newly approved drug for Alzheimer’s. Dale Bredesen of Apollo HealthCo (starts 5:30) shares his criticisms of the new Alzheimer’s drug and gives recommendations for better ways to improve cognition. Links to topics mentioned in this show: American Alzheimer’s Association Statement urging Medicare and Medicaid … Continue reading "New Alzheimer’s Drug . . . and Dale Bredesen Challenge"
1/17/202326 minutes, 55 seconds
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Colorado’s Solid Power Car Battery (and other Breakthrough Batteries)

Better Electric Car Batteries are a key to moving toward all-electric cars.  While the standard liquid lithium ion/graphite battery is making advancements, this week’s show focuses batteries that add new materials to the mix for batteries that could be safer, faster charging and longer range.  Featured are Colorado’s Solid Power solid state battery, the Sila … Continue reading "Colorado’s Solid Power Car Battery (and other Breakthrough Batteries)"
1/10/202326 minutes, 58 seconds
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The Health of the US Public Health System

On today’s show, Beth speaks with Michael Stein, primary care physician and researcher, who has been writing about medicine and public health for decades. In Me Vs Us, he instigates a conversation about how we might change the current situation in which public health loses out to individual medicine and how public health nevertheless holds … Continue reading "The Health of the US Public Health System"
1/4/202327 minutes, 31 seconds
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Top Science Stories for 2022

We share the science team’s top science stories of 2022: DART Asteroid Deflection (Starts 1:00) mRNA Vaccine for RSV (starts 3:30) Bumblebees Like to Play (starts 6:00) Sexual Pleasure in Female Snakes (starts 8:30) Alphafold Protein Folding  (starts 11:00) CU Boulder Scientists Make Graphyne (starts 13:30) Chatty Chatbots Can Backfire (starts 18:00) Ancient DNA Indicates … Continue reading "Top Science Stories for 2022"
12/27/202226 minutes, 50 seconds
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James Webb Space Telescope (Part 1)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – JWST – was launched one year ago on December 25th, 2021.  We talked with scientists and engineers about JWST’s first year and some of the projects it is being used for.  In this first part of our JWST special, our guests are: Dr. Naomi Rowe-Gurney (Planetary Scientist Postdoctoral Researcher, … Continue reading "James Webb Space Telescope (Part 1)"
12/20/202227 minutes
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Looking for a Good Night’s Sleep?

In today’s show Beth talks with Aric Prather, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, where he co-directs the Aging, Metabolism, and Emotions Center. A licensed clinical psychologist, he has helped hundreds of patients improve their sleep. In his new book, The Sleep Prescription, Dr. Prather describes the … Continue reading "Looking for a Good Night’s Sleep?"
12/13/202226 minutes, 8 seconds
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Finding Home in a Changing Climate

Unruly Planet (start time: 5:31) This week on How On Earth Susan Moran interviews science journalist Madeline Ostrander about her recently published book, At Home On An Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge On A Changed Earth. The author reflects on what it means to reimagine the concept of home, and to literally find a secure home, … Continue reading "Finding Home in a Changing Climate"
12/6/202226 minutes, 47 seconds
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Can Your Microbiome Protect You Against Covid?

This week on How on Earth Beth talks to Dr. Robynne Chutkan, about her newest book, The Anti-Viral Gut, in which she describes research elucidating the protective role of the microbiome. Many studies have confirmed the link between the health of our microbiome—the trillions of bacteria that live in our digestive tract—and our likelihood of … Continue reading "Can Your Microbiome Protect You Against Covid?"
11/29/202224 minutes, 58 seconds
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Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World

How on Earth’s Beth Bennett talks with authors Ridge Shinn and Lynne Pledger about how regenerative grazing can replace corn-based feedlots, which are responsible for significant climate emissions, nitrogen pollution, and animal suffering. Their book, Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World, outlines a hopeful path out of our broken food system via regional networks of regeneratively produced … Continue reading "Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World"
11/23/202227 minutes, 1 second
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Recycling: Obstacles and Progress

Recycling: Obstacles and Progress (start time: 4:35): This week’s How On Earth focuses on the state of recycling and composting in Colorado and well beyond. A newly published report by Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG shows that Colorado ranks well below the national average, and below its own goals, on recycling and composting. But the report also … Continue reading "Recycling: Obstacles and Progress"
11/15/202227 minutes, 39 seconds
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Song of the Cell: Siddhartha Mukherjee’s New Book

Today on How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee. His first book, The Emperor of All Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011. His new book, The Song of the Cell, explores our radical new ability to manipulate cells. Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and … Continue reading "Song of the Cell: Siddhartha Mukherjee’s New Book"
11/7/202227 minutes, 25 seconds
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Clean Water Act 50 years later

Clean Water Act, Then and Now (start time: 3:38): Two weeks ago was the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.  The landmark law set out to clean up the nation’s lakes, rivers and streams, and to safeguard the water supply for humans throughout the country. While there’s been some progress since the act was … Continue reading "Clean Water Act 50 years later"
11/1/202228 minutes, 6 seconds
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Hearing & Hearing Aids

Starting this week, the FDA has approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids.  In light of that, in today’s edition of How on Earth, we play an Encore Feature from February 2020 of an interview we did with David Owen about his book, Volume Control, in which he explores the surprising science of hearing and the … Continue reading "Hearing & Hearing Aids"
10/18/202227 minutes
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Sweet in Tooth and Claw // Fund Drive Show

We talk with author Kristin Ohlson about her recent book: “Sweet in Tooth and Claw”.  In it, Ohlson examines cooperative relationships found in the natural world and in human civilization. She says this view is missing from many of our cultural and scientific narratives because of a tendency to apply Darwin’s idea of survival of … Continue reading "Sweet in Tooth and Claw // Fund Drive Show"
10/11/202227 minutes, 39 seconds
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Pollution Impacts on Gut Microbiome // Folding Proteins

Pollution Impacts on Gut Microbiome (starts at 1:00) The Environmental Protection Agency has downgraded the air quality in the Denver Metro and Northern Front Range area to “severe” nonattainment for ground level ozone.  Shannon Young talks with Dr. Tanya Alderete (University of Colorado Integrative Physiology Department) about a recent study showing how air pollution may also affect the … Continue reading "Pollution Impacts on Gut Microbiome // Folding Proteins"
9/27/202227 minutes
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Beavers: Engineers for Our Planet

Today’s show features: Employing Beavers (start time: 11:12):  Some consider them pests. Others praise them as saviors of the environment. Whatever your impression of these furry swimming rodents, beavers are gaining more proponents for their ability to make landscapes, and thus humans, more resilient to climate change. Through their dams and lodges, beavers raise water levels, … Continue reading "Beavers: Engineers for Our Planet"
9/20/202227 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Amazing…Honeybee!

On today’s show Beth talks to Prof Michael Breed about honeybees. Sure, there is a little on their decline which is concerning to all of us, but we focus on many remarkable aspects of their biology. If you want to go deeper, you can visit Mike’s website or the book he mentions in the interview. … Continue reading "The Amazing…Honeybee!"
9/13/202224 minutes, 57 seconds
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Nature Wants Us to Be Fat – Rick Johnson MD

Nature Wants Us to be Fat:  The Surprising Science Behind Why we Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent and Reverse it.  University of Colorado Medical School Professor Rick Johnson shares why he thinks eating lots of fructose sugars can trigger a Survival Switch that helps bears put on weight before they hibernate . . … Continue reading "Nature Wants Us to Be Fat – Rick Johnson MD"
9/6/202226 minutes, 58 seconds
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Nature Wants Us To Be Fat – Extended Version

This is an extended version of the interview with Rick Johnson, author of Nature Wants Us to Be Fat.   LISTEN HERE TRANSCRIPT BELOW: RICK JOHNSON [00:00:00] My name is Richard Johnson. I’m a professor of medicine here at the University of Colorado. SHELLEY [00:00:04] In fact, you direct the Department of Hypertension, or have … Continue reading "Nature Wants Us To Be Fat – Extended Version"
9/5/20221 hour, 6 minutes, 15 seconds
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Testosterone – Bane or Benefit?

ON this week’s show, Beth talks with Carole Hooven about her new book: “T – The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us”. She demonstrates that the hormone acts in concert with genes and culture to produce a vast variety of male and female behavior. And, crucially, the fact that many sex … Continue reading "Testosterone – Bane or Benefit?"
8/30/202226 minutes, 21 seconds
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Colorado River Basin Crisis: Pt. II

Colorado River Basin Crisis Pt. II (start time: 6:19): This week’s How On Earth show focuses on the implications and future prospects after the federal government in June ordered the seven Western states that rely on the river to come up with a plan to save trillions of gallons of water from the shrinking river) … Continue reading "Colorado River Basin Crisis: Pt. II"
8/23/202228 minutes, 5 seconds
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What’s New in Climate?

In this week’s How on Earth, we look at 3 aspects of climate change: its role in disease incidence and transmission; some effects of the new climate change legislation; and how ‘micro-forests’ can mitigate temperature and water loss. The latter comes from an interview with author Hannah Lewis and her book Mini-Forest Revolution, in which … Continue reading "What’s New in Climate?"
8/17/202227 minutes, 57 seconds
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DNA Superconductors // Western Rewilding // What Your Food Ate

DNA Superconductors (Starts 1:00) Scientists are harnessing DNA to make electronic components at the nano-scale. Western Rewilding Network (Starts 3:50) Researchers at Oregon State University are urging the U.S. to set aside 500,000 square kilometers for a Western Rewilding Network that would include wolves and beavers as part of ecosystem restoration.  Their research appears today … Continue reading "DNA Superconductors // Western Rewilding // What Your Food Ate"
8/9/202226 minutes, 57 seconds
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Alcohol, Brain Damage & Genetics

Colorado Cafe Sci (starts 1:00)  happens monthly, in Denver. Alcohol and Alcoholism Recent News (starts 2:49) We look at recent science about alcohol consumption, including a study that indicates as little as 3 glasses of wine a week is associated with buildups of iron in the brain — a risk factor for brain disease, increased … Continue reading "Alcohol, Brain Damage & Genetics"
8/3/202226 minutes, 58 seconds
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Colorado River Basin Crisis

This week on How On Earth: Colorado River Basin Crisis (start time: 5:31–scroll down for arrow) The Colorado River is the life blood for about 40 million inhabitants. And it’s in dire straights. The river’s two reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are at historically low levels, due primarily to climate change and overuse. The water-supply crisis is … Continue reading "Colorado River Basin Crisis"
7/26/202226 minutes, 37 seconds
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Salmon Wars Part 2: Farm-Raised LAND Salmon

We continue our look at the new Expose, Salmon Wars, the Dark Underbelly of our Favorite Fish, by checking out an alternative – LAND-Based Farmed Salmon. Chef Sheila Lucero –  (starts 2:25) We TASTE land-based salmon, with Coloraado’s award-winning, national expert on sustainable fish and member of Seafood Watch BlueRibbon Task Force,  Jax Fish House … Continue reading "Salmon Wars Part 2: Farm-Raised LAND Salmon"
7/19/202226 minutes, 57 seconds
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Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish – Part 1

Salmon Wars:  A Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent and a former private investigator dive deep into the murky waters of the international salmon farming industry in this just-published expose.       HostProducer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
7/12/202226 minutes, 58 seconds
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All About Mars

This week on How on Earth, Beth speaks with author and planetary geologist Dr. Simon Morden. In his book, The Red Planet, he presents a tantalizing vision of our nearest neighbour, its dramatic history, and astonishing present.   Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennet Additional Contributions: Joel Parker & Shelley Schlender Listen to … Continue reading "All About Mars"
7/6/202228 minutes, 16 seconds
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Birds and Dopamine // Nature Wants Us To Fat

Birds and Dopamine (starts 1:00) If bird songs help a bird fall in love, does it get even better with a dose of dopamine?       Nature Wants us to be Fat (starts 13:56) CU-Medical School professor and researcher Richard Johnson discusses his latest book, Nature Wants Us to Be Fat. The Surprising Science … Continue reading "Birds and Dopamine // Nature Wants Us To Fat"
6/28/202226 minutes, 55 seconds
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Summer Solstice Hike // On the Trail of a Hidden Hominoid

Pre-dawn Summer Solstice Hike (Starts 1:00) We head out before 5:30 AM, to visit the NCAR Burn site, with Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones, Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman   Hobbit Like Hominoids — Still Here?  (Starts 12:06) Anthropologist Gregory Forth discusses his book, Between Ape and Human – On the Trail of a Hidden … Continue reading "Summer Solstice Hike // On the Trail of a Hidden Hominoid"
6/21/202226 minutes, 57 seconds
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Skin Cancer // Methane Leaks // Engineering Happiness // Black holes

Today’s show features headline news about new methods for detecting skin cancer and using “frequency comb” lasers to sniff out even the faintest traces of methane leaks.  And then we have an encore presentation of How on Earth features about “Engineering Happiness” and a black holes. Hosts: Joel Parker, Susan Moran, Beth Bartel Producer: Joel … Continue reading "Skin Cancer // Methane Leaks // Engineering Happiness // Black holes"
6/14/202226 minutes, 37 seconds
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Keeping Your Heart Healthy – Off the Western Medicine Track

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Seven Hussey about his recent book, Understanding the Heart: Surprising Insights into the Evolutionary Origins of Heart Disease—and Why It Matters. Following his early (34 years old) heart attack, he delved into alternative therapies to heal his heart. In the book he lays out a … Continue reading "Keeping Your Heart Healthy – Off the Western Medicine Track"
6/9/202226 minutes, 49 seconds
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2022 Graduation Special (part 2)

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 2 of our annual “Graduation Special” (you can listen to Part 1). Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what … Continue reading "2022 Graduation Special (part 2)"
5/31/202227 minutes
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2022 Graduation Special (part 1)

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 1 of our annual “Graduation Special” (you can listen to Part 2). Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what … Continue reading "2022 Graduation Special (part 1)"
5/24/202227 minutes, 2 seconds
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Gold Lab Symposium and DeepMind/Alphafold

Gold Lab Symposium and DeepMind’s Alpha Fold  (starts 1:00) We continue our discussion with Boulder scientist and entrepreneur, Larry Gold, about the Gold Lab Symposium on the science of Health, taking place this Thursday and Friday.  You can sign up here. Off-Target Drug Effect (starts 5:48 – ends at 10:00)  A local Boulder man recounts … Continue reading "Gold Lab Symposium and DeepMind/Alphafold"
5/17/202226 minutes, 58 seconds
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Brains in Space // Climate Grief // Gold Lab Symposium

We explore a wide range of science topics today. Brains in Space (starts 1:00) Joel Parker explains how space travel may affect human brains         Climate Grief (starts 5:17) The United Nations warns that the changing climate will lead to increasing climate grief around the world.  Kritee, a senior scientist at the … Continue reading "Brains in Space // Climate Grief // Gold Lab Symposium"
5/9/202222 minutes
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The Queen of Fats: Omega-3

This week on How on Earth, Beth speaks with Susan Allport, an award-winning writer who has written extensively on science. They talk about her book on omega 3 fats, The Queen of Fats, namely the touted omega-3 fatty acid. These essential fats can’t be synthesized by the human body and must be obtained from our … Continue reading "The Queen of Fats: Omega-3"
5/7/202223 minutes, 27 seconds
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Climate- & Pollinator-Conscious Planting

Climate-conscious, pollinator-friendly gardening (start time: 4:55; scroll down for audio file): This week’s episode of How On Earth features a discussion on how cities, neighborhoods, individual residents can plan their landscapes and gardens for a hotter and drier future here on the Front Range. Host Susan Moran interviews Dave Sutherland, a field naturalist formerly with … Continue reading "Climate- & Pollinator-Conscious Planting"
5/3/202227 minutes, 33 seconds
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Climate Change: A Laughing Matter?

Comedy+Climate Change: (start time: 5:50)  In this week’s show we look ahead to Earth Day by discussing the latest science about climate change, as reported in the recently released assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. And we explore the role that performing arts, especially comedy, can play in communicating, and processing emotions … Continue reading "Climate Change: A Laughing Matter?"
4/19/202227 minutes, 27 seconds
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The Last Stargazers, Part 2

We feature an interview with astronomer and author Dr. Emily Levesque about her book, The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers.  In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Levesque about the history and future of astronomy.  We hear about how astronomical observing at some of the premier telescopes in the world has changed over … Continue reading "The Last Stargazers, Part 2"
4/12/202226 minutes, 43 seconds
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The Last Stargazers, Part 1

We feature an interview with astronomer and author Dr. Emily Levesque about her book, The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers.  In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Levesque about how one becomes an astronomer and what a typical – and sometimes not so typical – night’s work is like at an observatory with highly … Continue reading "The Last Stargazers, Part 1"
4/5/202227 minutes, 27 seconds
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Sounds Wild and Broken

Nature’s Songs and Cries (start time: 0:59) In this week’s show David George Haskell, a biologist at the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tenn., talks with How On Earth’s Susan Moran about his newly published book, Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction. The book is at … Continue reading "Sounds Wild and Broken"
3/29/202227 minutes, 6 seconds
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KGNU Fund Drive with The Last Stargazers

On this week’s show  – part of the annual KGNU Spring Fund Drive – we play excerpts of an upcoming interview with astronomer and author Dr. Emily Levesque about her book, The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers. The book is a modern history of observational astronomy, and shares an inside look at the lives and … Continue reading "KGNU Fund Drive with The Last Stargazers"
3/10/202228 minutes, 40 seconds
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Walking Doesn’t Have to Get Old

In this week’s show Beth talks to author Annabel Streets. Her book 52 WAYS TO WALK, takes you week by week, through a smorgasbord of walks in silence, rain, mud, or wind, as well as sunshine, scents and birdsong. She explains exactly how our bodies and minds benefit from a wide mix of terrain and … Continue reading "Walking Doesn’t Have to Get Old"
3/1/202226 minutes, 32 seconds
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Avalanche Accidents — Who Dies?

We speak with Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, about the new study he has coauthored with Spencer Logan, a chief researcher at the center who alsoversees the Avalanche Accident database for the United States.    Their new study is available now.  It’s titled, Education and Experience Levels of People Involved in Avalanches … Continue reading "Avalanche Accidents — Who Dies?"
2/22/202226 minutes, 55 seconds
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Green Walls // Drones Study Marshall Fire // Volunteering to GET COVID

Long COVID  (starts 1:00) National Jewish in Denver shares research about how COVID sometimes affects the powerhouses inside our cells, the mitochondria. Green Walls (starts 3:54) are a beautiful way to cover indoor and outdoor walls with living plants.  It’s a popular feature for ultra-modern buildings.  Researchers in England report that green walls on older, … Continue reading "Green Walls // Drones Study Marshall Fire // Volunteering to GET COVID"
2/8/202226 minutes, 54 seconds
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The Science of Heartbreak

Heartbreak in Our  Bodies: (start time: 6:58) This week on How On Earth, host Susan Moran talks with science journalist Florence Williams about her newly published book, Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey, in which she goes on a quest to understand why, and how, the heartbreak she felt when her marriage fell apart was … Continue reading "The Science of Heartbreak"
2/1/202227 minutes, 40 seconds
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Climate Change and Local Fires

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks to 2 climate scientists about their (very different) fields, and how climate change can play into local disasters, especially the recent fires that devastated the Front Range towns outside Boulder. Twila Moon is a glaciologist turned climate scientist who researches the effects of ice sheet melt on … Continue reading "Climate Change and Local Fires"
1/24/202228 minutes, 11 seconds
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30th Anniversary Show

In this episode, we celebrate the show’s 30th Anniversary with Dave Atkins and Jeff Orrey, How on Earth’s original  hosts. We’ll play some excerpts from the pilot January 14, 1992 episode and update the science from a 2022 perspective.  Subjects range from Chinook winds and Colorado fires, finding exoplanets, the history of Hubble telescope, Halley’s … Continue reading "30th Anniversary Show"
1/21/202226 minutes, 9 seconds
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Top Ten from 2021

2021 saw many remarkable science stories making it difficult to pick the top contenders. The How on Earth team struggled with these decisions but here they are! Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show Producer: Beth Bennett Additonal contributions by: Benita Lee, Joel Parker, Jill Sjong, Shelley Schlender Listen to the show:
1/5/202224 minutes, 32 seconds
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Defy Aging // Green Recycling // Corona (not virus) News

Corona (Not Virus) News (starts 1:00)  Astrophysicist Joel Parker explains the probe that touched the sun’s corona. Green Recycling from Discarded Electronics (starts 3:59) Benita Lee talks with Penn State Scientist Amir Sheikhi about recycling neodymium. Defy Aging:  A Beginner’s Guide to the New Science of Longer Life and Better Health.  (starts 9:28)  Science Show … Continue reading "Defy Aging // Green Recycling // Corona (not virus) News"
12/21/202126 minutes, 55 seconds
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The Fentanyl Epidemic: Why It’s Growing and Some Solutions

This week on How On Earth, we welcome Benita Lee who brought up the growing problem with fentanyl – a new street drug that’s killing many. Benita talks with DEA agent David Olesky about the scope of the problem and what the agency is doing to combat it. Beth talks with pharmacologist and policy maker … Continue reading "The Fentanyl Epidemic: Why It’s Growing and Some Solutions"
12/16/202129 minutes, 40 seconds
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Can Cattle Reduce Climate Change?

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Professor Fred Provenza, author of the book Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering our Nutritional Wisdom. He returns to discuss his current venture into the utility of grazing animals in regenerating soil and reducing our carbon footprint. Yes, cows may actually reduce the rate … Continue reading "Can Cattle Reduce Climate Change?"
12/2/202127 minutes, 45 seconds
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Wild Strawberries, Wild Turkeys & Farewell to Bernie Rollin

Green Building Handbook (starts 1:00) CU Boulder Engineering Professor Wil Srubar is the co-author of a new report highlighting innovative building materials that actually store more CO2 than the emissions from their manufacture, making these building materials what’s known as “carbon sinks” Wild Strawberry Flavor from Fungi (starts 3:29) Holger Zorn explains how and why … Continue reading "Wild Strawberries, Wild Turkeys & Farewell to Bernie Rollin"
11/23/202126 minutes, 42 seconds
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Building Bones without Drugs

On today’s show, Beth talks with Dr John Jaquish about his novel method for treating osteoporosis, using ‘osteogenic’ loading. His method has been shown in clinical trials to build bone without drugs, and consequently without the serious side effects of these drugs. The loading method has been validated in using the classic DEXA screening method … Continue reading "Building Bones without Drugs"
11/19/202127 minutes, 34 seconds
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It’s A Dog’s World!

Ever wonder what the world would be like without us humans? Professor Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce answer that question from a dog’s eye perspective in their book, A Dog’s World. In addition to speculating about the future of our canine friends without us, they provide a thorough and well-researched look at all aspects of … Continue reading "It’s A Dog’s World!"
11/11/202123 minutes, 41 seconds
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The Natural Funeral

Today marks the Day of the Dead in Mexico. It’s a time to welcome the spirits and memories of the dearly departed and to reflect on our own mortality. But in U.S. culture, this type of face-to-face reckoning with death itself is often taboo. Today we delve into one of those taboos: what to do … Continue reading "The Natural Funeral"
11/2/202126 minutes, 20 seconds
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Microscopic ‘antennae’ use quantum mechanics to harvest heat energy

In this episode of How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Amina Belkadi about her groundbreaking work developing the microscopic ‘rectennas’ (pictured here in a scanning EM photo) to harvest heat energy from their surroundings. This novel approach could revolutionize energy technology. Show Producer: Beth Bennett Additional contribution: Shelley Schlender Listen to the show:
10/26/202123 minutes, 41 seconds
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Beloved Beasts // Fund Drive Show

On this week’s show journalist and author Michelle Nijhuis talks with How On Earth host Susan Moran about her recently published book, Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction. It’s a book of hope, history, and even humor. Special thanks to listeners who donated and received copies of the book. And thanks … Continue reading "Beloved Beasts // Fund Drive Show"
10/12/202127 minutes, 9 seconds
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Funnel Web Spiders at Sawhill Ponds

Boulder County Nature Association Naturalists Steve Jones and Scott Severs search for autumn spiders and other creatures among the tall prairie grasses at Boulder’s Sawhill Ponds. Executive Producer:  Beth Bennett Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
9/27/202126 minutes, 56 seconds
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New Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease

On this week’s show Beth talks with Alzheimer’s Disease researcher Dale Bredesen. In his new book, The First Survivors of Alzheimer’s, he lets some of his patients speak. He also describes in detail his complex diagnostic and personalized therapeutic approaches. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:
9/14/202127 minutes, 50 seconds
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Ready for RoundUp?

Today on how on earth, Beth talks to MIT scientist Stephanie Seneff about her book, Toxic Legacy. Dr Seneff takes us on a fast paced tour of the large range of toxicities produced by glyphosate. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, the most commonly used weedkiller in the world. Nearly 300 million pounds of … Continue reading "Ready for RoundUp?"
9/1/202124 minutes, 6 seconds
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Wes Marshall – Love Cars LESS

  Wes Marshall – Love Cars LESS (Entire Show) CU-Denver Transportation Engineer Wes Marshall argues that people are safer and cities are more vibrant when communities focus LESS on speedways and parking lots. (This is part 2 of FUTURE of CARs series.  Go Here  for Part 1, about the Glory Days of Fast Cars, at … Continue reading "Wes Marshall – Love Cars LESS"
8/24/202126 minutes, 56 seconds
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Future of Cars – Shelby American Collection//Colorado DIgital ID

                    FUTURE OF CARS – Shelby American Collection (Starts 3:30) We tour Boulder’s Shelby American Collection of world-famous Vintage Shelby Cobra racecars, with founder Steve Volk.  We discover what made people in the 1960s LOVE fast cars,  and we learn how  hot rodders created many automotive … Continue reading "Future of Cars – Shelby American Collection//Colorado DIgital ID"
8/17/202126 minutes, 57 seconds
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My Colorado Vaccination App – Extended Version

Here’s the Extended Version of the Interview with Russell Castagnaro about Colorado’s official way to display your vaccination record AND your driver’s license, on your smart phone.  – Shelley Schlender
8/15/202115 minutes, 48 seconds
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A New Way to Measure Aging

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Professor Tom LaRocca, professor in the department of Health and Exercise Science at CSU in Fort Collins. His background is in molecular biology and physiology, but he is particularly interested in translational research (using laboratory science to develop practical applications or treatments that can help people). … Continue reading "A New Way to Measure Aging"
8/12/202127 minutes, 25 seconds
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Psychedelic Mushrooms & Depression

In this How on Earth episode, we learn about the latest research on psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin) and their potential for treating depression.   Jill Sjong speaks with Alex Kwan, a neuroscientist and Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Yale University’s School of Medicine, who studies dendritic plasticity in mice using advanced optical methods.   Dr. Kwan … Continue reading "Psychedelic Mushrooms & Depression"
8/3/202126 minutes, 47 seconds
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Dismal US Mortality Data – Ryan Masters

              Rare Ebony Winged Damselfly at Flagg Park (starts 1:00)  Naturalists Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman take us to Lafayette’s Flagg Park to see a rare and beautiful cousin of the dragonfly Early Warning for Celiac Disease (starts 4:35) Dismal US Mortality Rates (starts 7:07) – CU Sociologist … Continue reading "Dismal US Mortality Data – Ryan Masters"
7/13/202126 minutes, 57 seconds
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Emerging World: A Road Map for a Better World

Today on How on Earth, Beth speaks with author Roger Briggs about his new book: Emerging World. Briggs explores the evolution of consciousness and shows that this is behind everything humans have done, are now doing, and are capable of in the future. By bringing together knowledge from paleoanthropology, cultural philosophy, cognitive psychology, and evolutionary … Continue reading "Emerging World: A Road Map for a Better World"
7/11/202127 minutes, 34 seconds
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UFO Report – Carol Cleland

We discuss the Pentagon’s new UFO . . . well . . . UAF report, with CU Boulder’s Center for the Study of Origins Director, Carol Cleland.  Cleland wants the Pentagon to release more data, and for Congress to organize an interdisciplinary Task Force to study it.  Along the way, we also discuss other “UFO … Continue reading "UFO Report – Carol Cleland"
6/29/202126 minutes, 53 seconds
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Fitness in mid-life and the new Alzheimer drug

This week on How on Earth, Beth gives an update on the new drug just authorized by the FDA to treat Alzheimer’s disease, aducanumab, sold under the brand name Aduhelm. Then hear her interview with Dr Marc Bubbs, whose new book, Peak 40, builds on the strategies he laid out in his first book on … Continue reading "Fitness in mid-life and the new Alzheimer drug"
6/26/202129 minutes, 9 seconds
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Energy from Hot Air – Amina Belkadi & Garret Moddel

              CU-Boulder Electrical Engineers Amina Belkadi and Garret Moddel explain how scientists are working to pull energy from radiantly heated air, and why their efforts might expand renewable energy production AND help cool the planet. Producer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Joel Parker
6/9/202122 minutes, 15 seconds
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Water in the Arid West

Today on How on Earth, Beth replays a timely interview with Boulder author Bob Crifasi, a long time water resource manager. His book, on the history and consequences of Front Range water use, is especially relevant now during our longterm drought.Bob works in water management and planning and is an environmental scientist with over 25 … Continue reading "Water in the Arid West"
6/6/202124 minutes, 30 seconds
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Skunk Canyon Songbirds // Longmont Beavers

  Skunk Canyon Songbirds  (Starts 1:00) Scott Severs and Steve Jones hike Boulder’s Skunk Canyon Trail explaining why spring is late this year, plus why Skunk Canyon is home to so many song birds. Longmont Beavers (Starts 12:00) Scott Severs, Wildlife Expert for the City of Longmont, explains how beavers can promote stream health, and why … Continue reading "Skunk Canyon Songbirds // Longmont Beavers"
5/25/202126 minutes, 55 seconds
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What’s Your Genetic Risk?

In this week’s show, Beth talks with epidemiologist Genevieve Wojcik. We spoke about her work standardizing what is called the Polygenic Risk Score. This is a composite risk factor, extracted from information on many individual genes that can contribute to a disorder or genetic character. To find out more about her research visit her website. … Continue reading "What’s Your Genetic Risk?"
5/21/202128 minutes, 15 seconds
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GoldLab Symposium 2021 – Big Data and Healthcare

(Entire Show)  Larry Gold, Boulder entrepreneur and scientist, invites listeners to register on line for the 12th annual GoldLab symposium.  Due to COVID, it’s a virtual symposium this year, Thursday and Friday, May 13-14.   Extended version coming soon.   Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer & Host: Shelley Schlender
5/11/202126 minutes, 56 seconds
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2021 Graduation Special

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next. Kate Doubleday – CU Boulder, … Continue reading "2021 Graduation Special"
5/4/202127 minutes, 23 seconds
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A Tour of Mycotopia

On this week’s show, Beth talks with author Doug Bierend about his new book, In Search of Mycotopia. He introduces us to an incredible, essential, and often denigrated kingdom of life: the fungi. A growing community of mushroom-mad citizen scientists and devotees are expanding the uses and availability of myriad fungi. From decontaminating landscapes and … Continue reading "A Tour of Mycotopia"
4/6/202128 minutes
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Burn- A New Look at Our Metabolism

On today’s show, Beth talks to Herman Pontzer about his new book, Burn, a deep dive into how the human body evolved, and how our species’ deep past shapes our health and physiology. His writing includes fascinating glimpses into both field projects in small-scale societies, including hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers, in Africa and South America, … Continue reading "Burn- A New Look at Our Metabolism"
3/30/202127 minutes, 22 seconds
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On today’s show, Beth talks to Dr. Brianna Stubbs. Brianna is the lead translational scientist at the Buck Institute, the world’s first research institute for the study of aging. As translational scientist, she spearheads efforts to move basic science research into clinical and daily application. We hear about her research background in the applications of … Continue reading ""
3/16/202127 minutes, 8 seconds
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The Alchemy of Us- How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another

This week on How on Earth we speak with Ainissa Ramirez, materials scientist and author of The Alchemy of Us:  How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another.   In this book, she examines eight inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience.      Listen to how our sleep and language were influenced by some of … Continue reading "The Alchemy of Us- How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another"
3/11/202126 minutes, 35 seconds
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Good Fat is Brown!

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Paul Cohen, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on obesity and metabolic disease. They spoke about his recent study highlighting the link between brown fat and positive health outcomes in cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Their converstiaon starts at about 5 minutes. You can … Continue reading "Good Fat is Brown!"
2/24/202124 minutes, 4 seconds
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Honeybees: Biology & Conservation

This week, Beth talks to Prof. Mike Breed, of the University of Colorado, about his longtime research on honeybees. The interview starts at about 6 min. They explore some fascinating aspects of bee biology, and some of the problems facing these amazing creatures, as well as what you can do to attract and support them. … Continue reading "Honeybees: Biology & Conservation"
2/18/202128 minutes, 21 seconds
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Can Covid-19 Affect Your Mitochondria?

Beth talks with Steven Engle, Chief Executive Officer and Director of CohBar, Inc, a biotechnology company developing mitochondria-based therapeutics to treat chronic diseases and extend healthy lifespan. The company’s lead compound, CB4211, is in early stage clinical trial for fatty liver disease and obesity. The company also has four preclinical programs, two in cancer, one … Continue reading "Can Covid-19 Affect Your Mitochondria?"
2/9/202127 minutes, 54 seconds
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Tom Johnson – Aging & Healthspan & Dementia

  We speak with CU-Boulder Geneticist Tom Johnson about his ground-breaking research into the genetics of aging and ways to improve lifespan and healthspan.  We feature excerpts from Ariel Lavery’s StoryCorps interview with her dad, Tom Johnson, and we speak with Johnson about his recent diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Producer: Shelley Schlender
1/26/202126 minutes, 58 seconds
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Science On Stage

Sometimes it seems that science and art are completely different worlds but that has not always been the case. There is a long history of artistic scientists and scientific artists.  In this edition of How on Earth, we talk about the alchemy of transmogrifying science into theatre. Our guests include two scientists and two playwrights who collaborated to … Continue reading "Science On Stage"
1/19/202126 minutes, 54 seconds
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AKG & “Healthspan” — Gordon Lithgow

(Whole Show) Longer “healthspan”  might be why the most popular Non-COVID story in Science Magazine last year involved the body-building supplement alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), fed to middle-aged mice.  Buck Institute of Research on Aging Scientist Gordon Lithgow explains.   Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Producer: Shelley Schlender Additional Music: Stop This Train – by John Mayer. Listen to the show:
1/12/202126 minutes, 55 seconds
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The Case for the Ketogenic Diet – A Talk with Gary Taubes

In today’s show, Beth talks with science writer and journalist Gary Taubes about his new, and more personal book (The Case for Keto) on his experience with the low-carb, high fat or ketogenic diet. He interviewed hundreds of people, physicians, scientists, and ordinary folks, about their experiences on this diet. The keto diet produces consistency … Continue reading "The Case for the Ketogenic Diet – A Talk with Gary Taubes"
1/8/202129 minutes, 19 seconds
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Recycling Lithium-ion Batteries

Our lives have been changed by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries which are everywhere: in our cell phones, cars, toys, power tools and grid energy storage. Indeed, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the three scientists who invented and developed them.  As the world manufactures more and more Li-ion batteries, what are the challenges and opportunities for recycling … Continue reading "Recycling Lithium-ion Batteries"
12/22/202027 minutes, 14 seconds
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Scratch & Sniff COVID Test // Ice Age BONE Fire

Scratch & Sniff COVID Test (starts 1:00) CU Scientist Dan Larremore explains how a smell test app might offer an affordable COVID screening that’s way more accurate than a temperature check.       Ice Age BONE Fire  (starts 6:00)  Archeologist John Hoffecker and local volunteers recreate a Paleolithic “campfire” that used bones as the primary fuel. Volunteers who helped with this project — … Continue reading "Scratch & Sniff COVID Test // Ice Age BONE Fire"
12/15/202027 minutes, 9 seconds
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Covid Vaccine Update

This week on How on Earth, Beth gives an update on the efficacy, safety, and availability of the mRNA vaccines for the corona virus. You hear from Drs Tony Fauci, Michael Diamond, and Roger Seheult. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Sam Fuqua Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:
12/9/202025 minutes, 15 seconds
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Octopus Wild

This week we review the hit movie “My Octopus Teacher,” the story about a man who goes diving in a kelp forest off the Western Cape of South Africa, and becomes acquainted with an octopus.   We review the movie with Roger Hanlon, a diving biologist, cephalopod expert and senior scientist at the Marine Biological … Continue reading "Octopus Wild"
11/24/202027 minutes, 30 seconds
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CU COVID Testing Update // Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever & Climate Change

CU COVID TESTING UPDATE  (starts 1:00) We join CU Engineering Professor Cresten Mansfeldt as he and his students open a sewer manhole and do maintenance on their wastewater COVID early warning system.  We also get an update on COVID status at CU Boulder.     ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER & CLIMATE CHANGE (starts 11:15) Brown dog ticks … Continue reading "CU COVID Testing Update // Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever & Climate Change"
11/17/202027 minutes, 37 seconds
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The Reindeer Chronicles: Stories of Environmental Regeneration

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews author Judith Schwartz. In her new book, the Reindeer Chronicles, she takes the reader on a tour of some of the most wounded places on earth, and stories of how a passionate group of eco-restorers is leading the way to their revitalization. This optimistic book describes solutions … Continue reading "The Reindeer Chronicles: Stories of Environmental Regeneration"
11/10/202028 minutes, 27 seconds
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It’s All in Your Mouth: Exploring Holistic Dentistry

In this week’s show Beth talks to Dr. Dominik Nischwitz about his new book, It’s All in Your Mouth, to learn more about the relationship between our mouths and the rest of the body. Many European dentists have practiced holistic dentistry for decades. The practice is now becoming more common in the US. This idea … Continue reading "It’s All in Your Mouth: Exploring Holistic Dentistry"
10/28/202030 minutes, 54 seconds
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Andrea Tilstra – Deaths of Despair – or not

CU-Boulder Sociologist Andrea Tilstra discusses how this decade’s reduction of lifespan in the US  ties closely with two factors 1) easier access to painkillers and opioids, and 2) the obesity epidemic and the related health problems that come with it.  Tilstra also explains the quesitons a social scientist/demographer asks when examining the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 Boulder County local tracking of … Continue reading "Andrea Tilstra – Deaths of Despair – or not"
10/20/202027 minutes, 11 seconds
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Clean – The New Science of Skin

How clean is “clean”?  How do you get clean, and how important is it…could it actually be advantageous to your skin and general health to not try to get too clean?  We talk with medical doctor and author Dr. James Hamblin about his new book “Clean:  The New Science Of Skin“. Hosts: Chip Grandits, Joel Parker Executive Producer: Jill Sjong … Continue reading "Clean – The New Science of Skin"
10/13/202027 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Shale Revolution: Weld County’s Golden Goose- Part Two

In Part Two of the Shale Revolution, we look at the environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing, particularly the air quality along the Front Range.    We interview Detlev Helmig, an atmospheric scientist, who monitors the air quality along the front range.    We also discuss why well setbacks are such a contentious issue in Colorado. … Continue reading "The Shale Revolution: Weld County’s Golden Goose- Part Two"
10/6/202026 minutes, 19 seconds
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The Shale Revolution: Weld County’s Golden Goose- Part One

This week on How on Earth, we look at the shale industry, which has transformed this country in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago.    How did this happen?   Where do experts think the fracking industry might be going?     In this two-part series, we consider why Wall Street and environmentalists are … Continue reading "The Shale Revolution: Weld County’s Golden Goose- Part One"
9/29/202027 minutes, 2 seconds
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COVID-19 CU-BOULDER – OFF CAMPUS PARTIES – SUPERSPREADERS

In this final show in our four-part series on CU Boulder & COVID, we look at how CU Boulder Contact Tracing and CU data collection has revealed that the biggest spreader of COVID-19 on CU Boulder’s campus is students “socializing” in risky ways, particularly in off-campus parties at sororities, fraternities and large student apartment buildings on “The Hill” near … Continue reading "COVID-19 CU-BOULDER – OFF CAMPUS PARTIES – SUPERSPREADERS"
9/15/202028 minutes, 7 seconds
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Testing wastewater for COVID-19

PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN COVID-19 TESTS  (starts 1:00)  Beth Bennett reviews the years progress and challenges in COVID-19 Tests, including the latest tests at CU Boulder. CU UPDATE ON COVID-19 (starts 4:15) CU Media Relations spokesperson Candace Smith gives an update on the CU COVID-READY DASHBOARD including progress on getting the Sawyer Lab ultrafast test back in action … Continue reading "Testing wastewater for COVID-19"
9/8/202026 minutes, 57 seconds
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Keeping Indoors COVID-Safe – CU Aerosol Experts Shelly Miller & Jose Luis Jimenez

Ultrafast COVID Test Update (starts 1:00)  Sara Sawyer’s ultrafast COVID saliva test might be an option sometime soon for allowing visits inside senior care facilities. CU COVID-READY DASHBOARD (starts3:35) CU Media Relations spokesperson Candace Smith gives an update, and How on Earth’s Beth Bennett shares comparisons with other university successes and failures at opening up. … Continue reading "Keeping Indoors COVID-Safe – CU Aerosol Experts Shelly Miller & Jose Luis Jimenez"
9/1/202027 minutes, 20 seconds
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CU Boulder – COVID Test Innovations

CU Boulder has just opened up dorms and in-person classes.  The CU Boulder Covid Research Strategies Webinar presents innovative testing plans that include ultra-fast COVID tests from the Sara Sawyer Lab and an automated sewage sampling system from Creston Mansfeldt.  Both tests may speed early warning of Covid.  Both testing strategies are innovative and ambitious.  But funding and testing capacity mean … Continue reading "CU Boulder – COVID Test Innovations"
8/25/202028 minutes, 4 seconds
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The Neuroscience of Pain

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition for millions of people worldwide.   But what role does our brain play in processing pain?    Cognitive neuroscientists are gaining a better understanding of how our brain processes pain.   Using advanced imaging techniques, they can now measure and model brain systems linked to our pain and emotions.   … Continue reading "The Neuroscience of Pain"
8/11/202031 minutes
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COVID-19: The Evidence for Aerosol Transmission & Implications for Containment

This week How on Earth producer Beth Bennett spoke with Professor Jose Jimenez, a professor in the Chemistry Dept here at CU in Boulder. His research background for over two decades has focused on detecting and measuring aerosols. Recently he became involved in applying this expertise to the question of how the corona virus is … Continue reading "COVID-19: The Evidence for Aerosol Transmission & Implications for Containment"
8/5/202028 minutes, 34 seconds
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Salmonella Biofilms — Inside of Us

Salmonella Biofilms — Inside of Us.  (starts 4:06) Foodborne Salmonella infections MIGHT pave the way for arthritis, Parkinson’s disease and even Alzheimer’s.  We talk with Aaron White, co-author of a new study documenting how a salmonella infection can “leak” out of the intestines and form velcro-like biofilms in body tissues.  These biofilms are made of curly-shaped, curli … Continue reading "Salmonella Biofilms — Inside of Us"
7/28/202027 minutes, 52 seconds
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Formation of Pluto and Its Ocean

Five years ago today on July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft made the first reconnaissance of Pluto, collecting data that continue to be analyzed and provide surprises of this distant world.  On this 5th anniversary of the Pluto flyby, our guest is Dr. Carver Bierson, who is a planetary scientist at Arizona State University.  … Continue reading "Formation of Pluto and Its Ocean"
7/14/202028 minutes, 32 seconds
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New Method for Measuring CO2 from Fossil Fuels

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviewed Scott Lehman of the University of Colorado here in Boulder. Dr Lehman collaborated with a team at NOAA, to develop a novel technique to identify the CO2 released by burning of fossil fuels, allowing its exact calibration in the global carbon budget. Due to technical difficulties, you … Continue reading "New Method for Measuring CO2 from Fossil Fuels"
7/8/202025 minutes, 57 seconds
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The Corral Bluffs’ Fossil Discovery: Earth’s Comeback Story

In this episode Angele Sjong interviews Tyler Lyson, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, about his team’s extraordinary fossil discovery at the Corral Bluffs. When the asteroid destroyed most of life on earth 66 million years ago, including the dinosaurs, this cataclysmic event ended the Age of Reptiles and began … Continue reading "The Corral Bluffs’ Fossil Discovery: Earth’s Comeback Story"
6/30/202025 minutes, 49 seconds
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Vaccine Update // General Anesthetic Poses Alcohol Abuse Risk for Kids

This week on How on Earth, Beth delves into the science of vaccination for the new corona virus and speaks with Dr David Werner of SUNY Binghamton about his research on the likelihood that general anesthetics can set children and adolescents up for the risk of later alcohol abuse. Find out more at his website. … Continue reading "Vaccine Update // General Anesthetic Poses Alcohol Abuse Risk for Kids"
6/17/202028 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Nature of Science // Biology is Everywhere!

Today on How on Earth, Beth plays part of a 1964 lecture by Nobel laureate Richard Feynman in which he discusses how the scientific method actually works and the progressive, and therefore uncertain, nature of science. Then she speaks with Dr Melanie Peffer about her book, Biology is Everywhere, and her goals of making biology … Continue reading "The Nature of Science // Biology is Everywhere!"
6/2/202025 minutes, 25 seconds
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Carl Safina – Becoming Wild (Animal Culture)

Carl Safina – Becoming Wild:  How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace We talk with bestselling author Carl Safina about his new book, Becoming Wild, which features sperm whales, scarlet macaws and chimpanzees  Safina also he reflects on what the Covid-19 pandemic means for the entire kingdom of Life on Earth.  (Entire Show) Executive Producer: Joel … Continue reading "Carl Safina – Becoming Wild (Animal Culture)"
5/26/202027 minutes, 34 seconds
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Do Masks Protect from Corona Virus // AgriSolar in Boulder

Beth and Angele discuss the pros and cons of mask wearing as protection against the novel corona virus. You can see the video on sneezing, as well as the various types of masks. Then, Angele talks to Byron Kamenick from Jack’s Solar Garden, located outside of Niwot. Jack’s Solar garden is putting in place an … Continue reading "Do Masks Protect from Corona Virus // AgriSolar in Boulder"
5/22/202030 minutes, 30 seconds
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2020 Graduation Special

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next. Hayley Sohn – CU … Continue reading "2020 Graduation Special"
5/10/202027 minutes, 10 seconds
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Antibody Testing // Why is the FDA Cracking Down on Raw Milk Cheese?

This week on How on Earth, we speak with Professor Catherine Donnelly, of the University of Vermont, about her book, Ending the War on Artisan Cheese. She exposes the efforts of the corporate dairy industry, in conjunction with the FDA, to limit the use of raw milk in making artisanal cheese, despite a long track … Continue reading "Antibody Testing // Why is the FDA Cracking Down on Raw Milk Cheese?"
4/30/202030 minutes
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Ron Rosedale – Leptin, IL-6 and Cytokine Storms (Extended Version)

Listen here to this extended version of the abridged interview with Ron Rosedale that broadcast on HowonEarthradio April 14, 2020.  Transcript is below. Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender TRANSCRIPT OF EXTENDED INTERVIEW Ron Rosedale, MD, Talks about COVID 19, the Immune System and Cytokine Storms DATE: April 14th 2020 Introduction — The Centers for Disease Control reports that people are at greater risk … Continue reading "Ron Rosedale – Leptin, IL-6 and Cytokine Storms (Extended Version)"
4/14/202040 minutes, 46 seconds
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Scientists Help a City Run COVID Tests // A Diet to Reduce Cytokine Storms

Berkeley Scientists help their city test for Covid 19 (Starts 1:00)   Fyodor Urnov of Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute explains why and how scientists anywhere can help their local community test for the Covid-19 virus.   Cytokine Storms Explained (Starts 13:05) CU Boulder Biology Professor Beth Bennett explains the “cytokine storms” that people are hearing more about in serious Covid-19 infections. A Diet that … Continue reading "Scientists Help a City Run COVID Tests // A Diet to Reduce Cytokine Storms"
4/14/202027 minutes, 31 seconds
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Corona Virus: Therapies and Transmission

This week on How on Earth, we are still producing off site. Beth and Angele give an update on treatment and transmission of the corona virus and Shelley interviews CU Boulder scientists Anushree Chatterjee and Prashant Nagpal who explain the pros and cons of using old medicines to fight Covid-19, and they describe some new … Continue reading "Corona Virus: Therapies and Transmission"
4/8/202027 minutes, 23 seconds
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CoVid19 Update // Beer Chemistry Redux

This week How on Earth adjusts to the restrictions imposed by the corona virus by replaying a previous feature on the chemistry of beer brewing. First Beth gives an overview of some proposed treatments for corona virus. Then, the featured interview with author Pete Brown. When the New York Times reviewed Miracle Brew, the reviewer … Continue reading "CoVid19 Update // Beer Chemistry Redux"
4/8/202027 minutes, 56 seconds
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COVID-19: ACE, Targeted Therapies, Old & New Medicines

This episode talks about research about COVID-19, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), and targeted therapies, and our feature is an interview with CU-Boulder scientists Anushree Chatterjee and Prashant Nagpal. This husband and wife science team explains why there may be a downside to adapting old medications to fight Covid-19.  They’ll also explain their anguish about why creating new “drugs” to fight Covid-19 … Continue reading "COVID-19: ACE, Targeted Therapies, Old & New Medicines"
4/7/202027 minutes, 23 seconds
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Miracle Brew (encore feature) // COVID-19 // Drying Towels

This week on How On Earth, we present an Encore Feature from January 2018 about the science and art of brewing beer with guest Pete Brown, author of Miracle Brew.  This episode also includes new headlines about current research about COVID-19 and about the science of drying towels outside. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Joel Parker, Beth Bennett Engineer: Maeve Conran Additional contributions: Angele … Continue reading "Miracle Brew (encore feature) // COVID-19 // Drying Towels"
3/31/202027 minutes, 56 seconds
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CoVid19 Update // Sleep and Your Immune System

This week on How On Earth, we produced the entire show out of the studio, explaining one brief glitch. Beth gives a short update on the way the corona virus infects cells and how this entry point can affect people taking blood pressure medications. In our feature interview, Beth talks with Professor Mark Opp, who … Continue reading "CoVid19 Update // Sleep and Your Immune System"
3/25/202026 minutes, 9 seconds
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Peer Pressure can Influence Your Carbon Footprint // CoVid19 Update

This week on How on Earth we start with an update on the corona virus, focusing on treatments and vaccines. At 12 minutes, we begin our interview with Bob Frank, author of Under the Influence, Putting Peer Pressure to Work. This book explains how we could redirect trillions of dollars annually in support of carbon-free … Continue reading "Peer Pressure can Influence Your Carbon Footprint // CoVid19 Update"
3/18/202027 minutes, 47 seconds
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Ice Age Bone Fire // Backcountry Skiing & Wildlife

Backcountry Skiing & Wildlife (Starts 1:00) Margaret Hedderman reports on how off-trail use of wilderness areas is causing increasing harm to wildlife . . . and what to do instead. Ice Age Bone Fire  (starts 6:15)  We join Archeologist John Hoffecker and a team of volunteers to recreate a Paleolithic campfire. This “campfire” was used over 20,000 … Continue reading "Ice Age Bone Fire // Backcountry Skiing & Wildlife"
3/3/202027 minutes, 12 seconds
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Space Mining

Space Mining [starts at 9:20] Stars have been called “diamonds in the sky,” but there are other valuable and more accessible resources up there.  Asteroids might be the next gold rush, though for resources other than gold, if there are ways to actually get there and mine them.  Can we do that? And, even if we can, does … Continue reading "Space Mining"
3/1/202025 minutes, 51 seconds
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Stem Cell Science // Decoding Science

Stem cell science v. hype (start time: 00:57) Clinics offering stem cell therapies and other forms of so-called regenerative medicine are cropping up in many states, including Colorado. Practitioners of stem cells, are touting them as repairing damaged cartilage, tendons and joints, and even treating diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. While the science looks … Continue reading "Stem Cell Science // Decoding Science"
2/12/202027 minutes, 49 seconds
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The Science of Hearing and Hearing Aids

This week Beth and Angele talk with David Owen about his book, Volume Control, in which he explores the surprising science of hearing and the remarkable technologies that can help us hear better. In the book, he argues that failing to take care of our hearing comes with a huge social cost. He demystifies the … Continue reading "The Science of Hearing and Hearing Aids"
2/7/202028 minutes, 42 seconds
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Who Pays for Climate Change?

This week, Beth and Angele speak with with Brenda Ekwurzel in the studio. Brenda is the director of climate science for the Union of Concerned Scientists. She was in Boulder for a panel on Air Quality and Climate Change. She spoke about some Colorado issues e.g. wildfire and drought, and assigning responsibility for specific events … Continue reading "Who Pays for Climate Change?"
1/23/202027 minutes, 56 seconds
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Ketogenic Diet and Muscle and Memory

This week on How on Earth, we speak with Dr John Newman, geriatrician and geoscientist at the Buck Institute. He describes his recent research in mice, showing that both memory and muscle improve in animals eating a high fat diet. To see more details on these experiments, you can visit the lab website. To register … Continue reading "Ketogenic Diet and Muscle and Memory"
1/15/202030 minutes, 11 seconds
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Climate Watch // Extreme Conservation

Today’s show features the following interviews, by How On Earth’s Susan Moran and guest host Ted Wood. Audubon’s Climate Watch (start time: 4:03) Starting on Jan. 14, the Audubon Society will launch a month-long citizen science program to better understand how birds are responding to climate change. This comes at a time when, according to a 2019 … Continue reading "Climate Watch // Extreme Conservation"
1/7/202026 minutes, 56 seconds
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Top Stories of the Decade

This week on How on Earth, Angele and Beth distill some of the top science news of the past year and decade, ranging from the first image of a black hole, as seen here, to DNA sequencing of ancient genomes, some new hominid ancestors, advances in AI, and more! Hosts: Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong … Continue reading "Top Stories of the Decade"
1/1/202026 minutes, 3 seconds
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Climate (COP25) Summit Review

COP25 Postmortem (start time: 3:35) Earlier this month many nation’s leaders, as well as scientists, environmental activists, companies and others gathered in Madrid for a two-week United Nations climate summit. The conference, called COP25, is rooted in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which is a blend of pledges from about 200 nations to dramatically slash their planet-warming emissions. Next year’s … Continue reading "Climate (COP25) Summit Review"
12/17/201928 minutes, 18 seconds
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Cognitive Brain Development in Adolescents, Part 2

Four years ago Beth interviewed Professor Marie Banich, a neuroscience researcher at the University of Colorado here in Boulder. She had just received a major grant from NIH to characterize how brain regions involved in decision making and judgment change as children grow up. In the past four years she has assembled a multi-site team … Continue reading "Cognitive Brain Development in Adolescents, Part 2"
12/11/201927 minutes, 38 seconds
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Voyager Passes Heliopause//Xmas Bird Count

Voyager Passes Through the Heliopause   (Starts 1:00) LASP scientist Fran Bagenol explains how the over 40 year old Voyager Mission, that launched in the 1970s is still providing incredible surprises, including passing through the border between the solar system and “outer space.”  As part of making that journey, the Voyager spacecraft have passed through cosmic plasma that … Continue reading "Voyager Passes Heliopause//Xmas Bird Count"
12/3/201926 minutes, 31 seconds
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COP25 Global Climate Summit

COP25 & Climate Change (start time: 1:07): Next month (Dec. 2-13), the United Nations global climate change summit, known as COP25, will take place in Madrid. Many scientists, environmental nonprofits, students, activists will also attend side events related to the UN sustainable development goals (SDG). The goal of COP over the years has been to … Continue reading "COP25 Global Climate Summit"
11/19/201927 minutes, 43 seconds
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Buzz: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers

BUZZ:  Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils and Adrenaline Junkies.    We speak with clinical psychologist and author, Ken Carter about his new book BUZZ, and high-sensation seekers who can’t get enough “new” and love to seek out more.  Carter is a consultant for the Denver Science Museum’s Extreme Sports exhibit, running through spring 2020.  He speaks at the Boulder Bookstore … Continue reading "Buzz: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers"
11/5/201927 minutes, 53 seconds
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Randall Munroe Explains “How To”

How To [starts at 4:30] Our guest for this episode is Randall Munroe, perhaps best known for his comic xkcd, and author of the books “What If” and “Thing Explainer”.  Randall has figured out how to do many things, so he wrote a new book appropriately called “How To”, which promises to provide absurd scientific advice for common real … Continue reading "Randall Munroe Explains “How To”"
11/4/201925 minutes, 28 seconds
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Almost Human – Julius the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds (FULL INTERVIEW)

Almost Human – The Story of Julius, the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds (Extended Version) by Alfred Fidjestøl.  This is the full version of the interview.
10/22/201927 minutes, 43 seconds
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Pledge Drive Show – Almost Human: The Story of Julius, the Chimpanzee

Almost Human:  The Story of Julius, the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds.  In this fall pledge drive show, we feature  Alfred Fidjestøl‘s new biography about one of Europe’s most famous chimpanzees.   (We’ll broadcast the full interview with Alfred Fijestol at a later date.) Hosts: Shelley Schlender & Chip Grandits Producer/Engineer:  Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Joel Parker
10/22/201927 minutes, 42 seconds
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At the Intersection of Science and Art with Jorge Perez-Gallego

We talk with University of Colorado Scholar in Residence Jorge Perez-Gallego about many non-traditional paths one might take after getting a science Ph.D. as well as CU’s Grand Challenge and the fascinating intersection of science and art through the Nature, Environment, Science & Technology (NEST) Studio for the Arts. Host, Producer, Engineer: Joel Parker Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender Listen … Continue reading "At the Intersection of Science and Art with Jorge Perez-Gallego"
10/11/201927 minutes, 9 seconds
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Alzhieimer’s Drug Reverses Brain Damage Caused by Binge Drinking

Beth interviews neuroscientist and addiction researcher Scott Swartzwelder who talks about his research on reversing alcohol-induced brain damage in young rats. In past work, Professor Swartzwelder and colleagues have identified specific areas of the brain damaged by drinking, especially in adolescent rats. In this interview, he describes, how this damage occurs, and amazingly, how treatment … Continue reading "Alzhieimer’s Drug Reverses Brain Damage Caused by Binge Drinking"
10/2/201927 minutes, 57 seconds
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Amazon Burning — Jennifer Balch

Amazon Burning – (starts 3:15) CU Boulder Earth Lab Director Jennifer Balch explains how the burning of the tropical rain forests may destroy them, and ways to protect the forests and sustainable development Hosts: Shelley Schlender, Susan Moran Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
9/24/201928 minutes, 16 seconds
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Tackling Ozone Pollution

Tackling ozone pollution in Colorado (starts at 3:55): Cooler fall weather might soon bring back the bluebird skies we all love. But last year ozone levels in the Denver metropolitan area were high enough to prompt state health officials to issue ozone action alerts an average of once a week. (This summer has fared somewhat better.) During … Continue reading "Tackling Ozone Pollution"
9/17/201928 minutes, 1 second
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Lights Out Denver – Saving Birds and Energy

On this week’s show Beth speaks with Vicki Vargas-Madrid, Program Administrator for the Denver Lights Out Program. This program is part of the Denver Sustainability Office, which seeks to conserve energy and promote sustainable lifestyles. They discuss the program’s efforts to reduce bird mortality following collisions with windows by reducing night time illumination. To learn … Continue reading "Lights Out Denver – Saving Birds and Energy"
9/11/201925 minutes, 14 seconds
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Creative (Climate) Communications

Creative (Climate) Communications [starts at 7:40] As a climate scientist Professor Max Boykoff is part of a community that has been persistently making the case that global warming is a serious problem, with severe and widespread consequences and that human activity is contributing to the problem and significant changes in human behavior is instrumental to addressing … Continue reading "Creative (Climate) Communications"
9/4/201927 minutes, 24 seconds
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Edible Bugs

Edible Bugs (Entire Program) When it comes to an animal that has high quality proteins and fats, plus a very small environmental footprint, there’s more bang to the bug.  We talk about, and taste, edible bugs with Wendy Lu McGill, founder of Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch, and Amy Franklin, Founder of Farms for Orphans that teaches orphanages in … Continue reading "Edible Bugs"
8/28/201925 minutes, 55 seconds
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Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone

GLEE (starts at 8:06) We just recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing.  After the Apollo missions, scientists have returned to the Moon with robotic missions because of the scientific clues the Moon can provide about the history of the Earth and the solar system, as well as learning more about the lunar … Continue reading "Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone"
8/13/201925 minutes, 41 seconds
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Marc Bubbs & The New Science of Athletic Performance

In this episode, Beth speaks with Dr Marc Bubbs, author of Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance, his book exploring the fundamentals of high performance. He offers science-based strategies on nutrition, training, sleep, recovery, and stress management to optimize performance for all levels of athletes and trainers. You can read more about the book … Continue reading "Marc Bubbs & The New Science of Athletic Performance"
8/7/201925 minutes, 44 seconds
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Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us

  Slime:  How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us.  (Starts 00:00) We speak with science writer Ruth Kassinger about her acclaimed new book, which  Kirkus Review describes as “accessible and enthralling.”   Nature Science reports that Kassinger’s book, “ is a real pleasure. ” Publisher’s Weekly writes, “ Kassinger turns an obscure subject into delightful … Continue reading "Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us"
7/30/201926 minutes, 27 seconds
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PUNCH-ing the Sun

The PUNCH mission (starts at 8:05) NASA’s new mission to study the Sun is called PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere).  In this episode of How on Earth we talk with solar physicist Dr. Craig DeForest, the Principal Investigator of the PUNCH mission.  Dr. DeForest is a Program Director at the Boulder office of Southwest … Continue reading "PUNCH-ing the Sun"
7/2/201924 minutes, 15 seconds
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Cancer, Immunity and the Future of a Cure

Despite all the advances in modern medical science, a diagnosis of Cancer often casts a pallor of hopelessness, for both the patient and the practitioner.  For many types the prognosis is often poor; the cure is often worse than the disease; victory is usually called simply remission, temporary, perhaps fleeting.  One might think the inability … Continue reading "Cancer, Immunity and the Future of a Cure"
6/25/201927 minutes, 33 seconds
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Yeast & Entropy

Yeast & Entropy  (starts 2:30) When yeast cells eat sugar and then give off ethanol, it helps us make yeast breads and beer.  But WHY would yeast work so hard to metabolize sugar, simply to spit out as ethanol?  This is a mystery that Matthias Heinemann is  trying to figure out. Heinemann is a professor … Continue reading "Yeast & Entropy"
6/18/201927 minutes, 36 seconds
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Toxic Air’s Health Risks

Air Pollution, Possible Solutions (start time: 2:36) It is ubiquitous and essential to our life. It it is also the cause of some 7 million premature deaths around the world every year, ranking just behind diet, cancer and tobacco as a health risk. That’s the air we breath. Beijing, New Delhi, and London are among … Continue reading "Toxic Air’s Health Risks"
6/12/201927 minutes, 31 seconds
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Paternity Science

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Nara Milanich, author of Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father, and professor of history at Barnard College. For most of human history, paternity was uncertain while motherhood most definitely was not. But in the 1920s new scientific advances promised to solve the mystery of paternity. The … Continue reading "Paternity Science"
6/5/201928 minutes, 1 second
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A Walking Life // MOSAIC Arctic Expedition

In the first feature (start time 1:00) KGNU’s Maeve Conran speaks with Antonia Malchik, author of A Walking Life.  This book  explores the relationship between walking and our humanity, how we have lost it through a century of car-centric design, how we can regain it and more.  This part of the interview, produced especially for … Continue reading "A Walking Life // MOSAIC Arctic Expedition"
5/28/201925 minutes, 27 seconds
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2019 Graduation Special

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next. Marcus Piquette – CU … Continue reading "2019 Graduation Special"
5/21/201929 minutes, 7 seconds
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Gold Lab Symposium 2019

We speak with Larry Gold, founder of the Gold Lab Symposium that will take place at CU Boulder’s Muenzinger Auditorium this Friday and Saturday.  This year’s symposium will feature leading scientists discussing the double-edged swords of our modern treatments for cancer, immunity and autoimmunity.  To sign up or learn more, see Gold Lab Foundation. Host,Producer,Engineer Shelley Schlender … Continue reading "Gold Lab Symposium 2019"
5/14/201927 minutes, 34 seconds
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Plastic Pollution & Solutions

Tackling Plastic Pollution (starts at 3:09):  It is, sadly, common for beachcombers around the world to see, along with clam shells and sand dollars, plastic bottles, bottle caps, cigaret filters and fish nets washed up on shore. According to estimates by World Economic Forum, our oceans will be populated by more pounds of plastic waste … Continue reading "Plastic Pollution & Solutions"
5/7/201926 minutes, 27 seconds
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The Nuclear Option for Decarbonization

In this week’s show, Beth interviews Joshua Goldstein. He and co-author Steffan Qvist wrote eloquently about how nuclear energy can replace fossil fuels – a vital necessity in a rapidly warming world. A new generation of nuclear plants reduces waste and completely eliminates CO2. In Sweden, France and Ontario, these plants have allowed these countries … Continue reading "The Nuclear Option for Decarbonization"
5/1/201926 minutes, 20 seconds
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Concussion Test // Pot & Pain Meds // Chords and Codons

  Concussion Test (Starts 1:00)  David Howell is chief researcher at Children’s Hospital Colorado.  Howell says the century old Romberg Balance Test can help evaluate how long a child will need therapeutic intervention after a blow to the brain.   Pot & Pain Meds (Starts 7:00 )  Mark Twardowski is doctor in Grand Junction who does endoscopic procedures that include … Continue reading "Concussion Test // Pot & Pain Meds // Chords and Codons"
4/16/201926 minutes, 44 seconds
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An Astronomical Journey with Michelle Thaller

This special edition of How on Earth is produced in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs.  Our guest a participants of the Conference: Dr. Michelle Thaller, assistant director of science at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.  Her path has taken her from Harvard to Georgia State University to Caltech to NASA. Dr. Thaller has studied hot stars, … Continue reading "An Astronomical Journey with Michelle Thaller"
4/9/201927 minutes, 13 seconds
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Pesticides and Health Impacts

A Consumer’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce (starts  7:55) You may be wondering if you washed the strawberries, blueberries or kale that you had for breakfast this morning enough to rid them of residue of potentially harmful pesticides. That is, if they were conventionally, not organically, grown. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 200 different pesticides … Continue reading "Pesticides and Health Impacts"
4/2/201927 minutes, 25 seconds
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This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution

This View of Life (starts 6:56) In this episode of How on Earth, we talk with David Sloan Wilson, an evolutionary biologist with a special interest in human biocultural evolution. Dr. Wilson is Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at SUNY Binghamton, and president of the Evolution Institute as well as editor in chief of its online magazine … Continue reading "This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution"
3/27/201927 minutes, 56 seconds
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The Goodness Paradox – Full Interview

The Goodness Paradox (Starts 5:22): On this week’s show we play the full interview with Richard Wrangham, a primatologist at Harvard University, about his new book, The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution.  Wrangham discusses with How On Earth hosts Susan Moran and Chip Grandits how, and why, homo sapiens evolved to be … Continue reading "The Goodness Paradox – Full Interview"
3/21/201927 minutes, 19 seconds
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The Goodness Paradox // Pledge Drive

The Goodness Paradox (Teaser): Today’s spring pledge-drive show features brief clips from a recent interview with Richard Wrangham, a primatologist at Harvard University, about his new book, The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution.  Wrangham discusses with How On Earth hosts Susan Moran and Chip Grandits how, and why, homo sapiens evolved to … Continue reading "The Goodness Paradox // Pledge Drive"
3/13/201927 minutes, 39 seconds
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Tagging the Bugs that Carry Antibiotic Resistance

In this week’s show, Beth interviews Dr. Ivan Liachko, CEO and Co-Founder of Phase Genomics, a startup biotech company recently funded, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The company is using a new technology that allows researchers to pair plasmids, which are small non-chromosomal pieces of DNA, with the bacterial species carrying … Continue reading "Tagging the Bugs that Carry Antibiotic Resistance"
3/6/201927 minutes, 1 second
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MRI Improvement by Standardization

In this week’s show, Beth speaks with William Hollander, and Kevin Miller, of QalibreMD, a Boulder startup focused on transforming MRI technology. Traditional MRI scans can result in a large differences between readings on different equipment. The results can be costly and misleading, as conditions like cancer can go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.The interview starts ~5’30”, … Continue reading "MRI Improvement by Standardization"
2/28/201927 minutes, 41 seconds
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HOLOSCENES / Little Boxes: Science On a Sphere

Spend some time at the intersection of art, engineering and science; we’ll hear about the world premier of HOLOSCENES / Little Boxes February 20, 7:00 PM at Fiske Planetarium in Boulder. Get a glimpse of how cutting edge visual artists team up with world class scientists using the latest technology to complement a rational understanding … Continue reading "HOLOSCENES / Little Boxes: Science On a Sphere"
2/12/201926 minutes, 59 seconds
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The Science of Exercise Recovery

Athlete’s Guide to Recovery (starts at 5:39): Colorado is riddled with athletes, many of them incessantly chasing the latest recovery products and services that will enhance their performance — from Gatorade and other ubiquitous sports-recovery drinks, to supplements, to compression boots, to cryochambers, to good old-fashioned massages. How solid is the solid the science behind the … Continue reading "The Science of Exercise Recovery"
2/5/201927 minutes, 10 seconds
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Characterizing Microbial Communities

Microbial communities are all around us: in our homes, gardens, oceans, even deep underground but their roles in the function of the biosphere are poorly understood. Today Beth spoke with Professor Noah Fierer, at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, who uses DNA to identify microbes in communities ranging from insect microbiomes to Antarctic soils. … Continue reading "Characterizing Microbial Communities"
1/30/201926 minutes, 21 seconds
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Composting & Carbon Farming

Why Compost? (start time: 7:01) Many of us may feel a little less guilty letting fruits and vegetables go bad, because we figure that this waste, thanks to curbside compost pickup, will be turned into nutritious food for crops, lawns or grasslands down the road. And landfills will spew less methane, a greenhouse gas far … Continue reading "Composting & Carbon Farming"
1/22/201927 minutes, 10 seconds
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Wisdom of the Body

Animal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this myth. Their work shows that when given a choice of natural foods, livestock have an astoundingly refined palate. Like these animals, humans too, … Continue reading "Wisdom of the Body"
1/9/201926 minutes, 25 seconds
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A Tale of Two Missions: OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons

OSIRIS-REx (starts at 1:00) In today’s first feature, we hear about OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s first mission to do a sample return from an asteroid.  Our guest is Dr. Vicky Hamilton, a Staff Scientist at the Southwest Reserarch Institute’s Boulder office, and a member of that mission.  She talks about the scientific goals of OSIRIS-REx, and how it … Continue reading "A Tale of Two Missions: OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons"
12/26/201827 minutes, 26 seconds
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Soft Robotic Muscles

Soft Robotic Muscles (WHOLE SHOW)  Robotic Materials are going beyond gears and levers toward powerful components that are softer and more muscular.  These materials may someday soon help build more human like prosthetic limbs for amputees. . . . or help a harvesting machine pluck ripe strawberries without squishing them. PhD students Nick Kellaris and Shane Mitchell  are with CU Boulder’s … Continue reading "Soft Robotic Muscles"
12/18/201826 minutes, 12 seconds
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Titan Talk with Sarah Hörst

Headlines: Inheritance of mitochondrial DNA.  Coffee and Parkinson’s disease. Sending your name and a message to the New Horizons spacecraft.  Winds on Mars.  Water on Asteroids. Feature: Titan (starts at 8:55) The solar system has so many different worlds that come in all shapes and sizes and histories, from boiling hot Mercury and Venus to icy Pluto and … Continue reading "Titan Talk with Sarah Hörst"
12/15/201827 minutes, 6 seconds
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National Assessment on Climate Change

Climate Change (starts at 6:30)  Volume II of the fourth National Assessment on Climate Change was released on the day after Thanksgiving. The findings are stark. It is already too late to prevent major long term effects of climate change.  The scientific community has now turned to predicting and quantifying those effects and how human civilization … Continue reading "National Assessment on Climate Change"
12/5/201827 minutes, 33 seconds
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Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn

Never Home Alone (starts at 4:26) In this week’s How on Earth, Beth interviews Professor Rob Dunn. In his recent book, Never Home Alone, he gives a sneak peak into the natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements. You can find out more … Continue reading "Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn"
11/28/201825 minutes, 15 seconds
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Baking Soda for Autoimmune Disease // Crickets for the Gut

Baking Soda for Autoimmune Disease (starts at 1:00)  Georgia Medical College researcher Paul O’Connor reports that a small amount of baking soda in water, for two weeks, shifts the immune cell known as macrophage away from “attack” mode and more toward, “repair” mode.  He says this research comes, in part, from studies involving the benefits of baking soda for people … Continue reading "Baking Soda for Autoimmune Disease // Crickets for the Gut"
11/27/201827 minutes, 45 seconds
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Nature and Health

Nature Rx (start time: 9:33): Nature is good for your health. Sounds obvious, but what does science tell us? A walk in the woods can help to calm your nervous system and spark novel ideas, and spending time in nature can reduce symptoms of PTSD or ADHD.  Little is actually known about how nature offers healing … Continue reading "Nature and Health"
11/13/201828 minutes, 20 seconds
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Living in a World of Thinking Machines

It has been 50 years since the original 2001, A Space Odyssey, where movie viewers first heard Captain Powers asking, “Open the pod bay doors, HAL” and found HAL thought differently about whether that was a good idea.  For most of that half-century, artificial intelligence still seemed a long way off, but in the last … Continue reading "Living in a World of Thinking Machines"
10/30/201824 minutes, 28 seconds
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Front Range Fracking // Planet+Human Health

Today’s show offers two features: Oil & Gas Impacts (start time: 1:05) Proposition 112, which would require oil and gas wells to be at least 2,500 feet from homes, schools, parks and other buildings, has highlighted mounting public concerns about the health, social and other impacts of extensive drilling along Colorado’s Front Range.  Weld County is  … Continue reading "Front Range Fracking // Planet+Human Health"
10/23/201828 minutes
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Ketotarian & Pledge Drive Show

This week on How on Earth Beth interviews author Will Cole, functional medicine physician, about his new book, Ketotarian. He proposes a novel ketogenic diet, which has typically derived its high fat content from meat and dairy. The book describes the ketogenic approach and illustrates vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian alternatives. Also hear Beth and Chip … Continue reading "Ketotarian & Pledge Drive Show"
10/17/201827 minutes, 10 seconds
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Regenerative Medicine #1: Primer

Regenerative Medicine (start time: 7:30): We begin our series on regenerative medicine with a discussion of scientific advancements, promises, caveats, regulations, and challenges of regenerative medicine therapies for orthopedic applications, such as stem cell, prolo therapy and PRP (platlet-rich plasma) therapy. Together, these therapies aim to regenerate or replace injured, diseased, or defective cells, tissues, … Continue reading "Regenerative Medicine #1: Primer"
10/9/201826 minutes, 12 seconds
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Eager Beavers

Beth talks with author Ben Goldfarb about his new book, amusingly titled Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. You’ll gain a better understanding of beavers’ myriad skills, and want to restore beaver populations in our local environments. Spoiler alert, we’ll have copies of his book available during the pledge drive … Continue reading "Eager Beavers"
10/4/201826 minutes, 23 seconds
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How Skin Begins // Dr. Dan

Boulder researchers have discovered a key mechanism by which skin begins to develop in embryos, shedding light on the genetic roots of birth defects like cleft palate and paving the way for development of more functional skin grafts for burn victims.  We bring you an interview with lead researchers, Associate Professor Rui Yi of CU … Continue reading "How Skin Begins // Dr. Dan"
9/18/201826 minutes, 4 seconds
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Cricket Chorus // Foliage Science

This week’s How On Earth features the following two segments: Late-summer Cricket Chorus (start time: 1:02) One of the most poetic sounds of the end of summer is …. no, not your kids kicking and screaming because summer is over. It’s the sound of crickets, katydids and other melodic insects “chirping” at night. Our focus here is Snowy … Continue reading "Cricket Chorus // Foliage Science"
9/11/201827 minutes, 34 seconds
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Saving Summer: The National Wildlife Federation Report

The National Wildlife Federation just released its report, Safeguarding Summer: From Climate Threats to Iconic Summer Experiences. This report chronicles the latest scientific findings on these trends and shows how we can engage on these issues to save our summers now and for future generations. This week Beth interviews the lead author, Frank Szillosi, about … Continue reading "Saving Summer: The National Wildlife Federation Report"
9/5/201826 minutes, 33 seconds
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Email Anxiety // Food Waste

This week’s How On Earth offers two features: Work-Email Anxiety (start time: 7:58) If you’re wondering why you often feel anxious on Monday mornings, despite having spent time with your family and friends over the weekend, you might recall the amount of time you spent glued to your smart phone or laptop, checking email because you … Continue reading "Email Anxiety // Food Waste"
8/28/201827 minutes, 48 seconds
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Low Carb & Lifespan//Down syndrome & Inflammation

Low Carb Diets and Lifespan (starts 3:00) Dr. Ron Rosedale, MD, gives a “second opinion” about a widely publicized report in the prominent medical journal The Lancet.  The Lancet report contends that low carb diets (40% carbs or less) shorten lifespan, and moderate carb diets (roughly 55% carbs) promote longer lifespans. The study is being hailed as proof for why people should “eat carbs in moderation.” But what if the … Continue reading "Low Carb & Lifespan//Down syndrome & Inflammation"
8/22/201828 minutes, 19 seconds
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Aerogel as Clear as Glass//New Science Standards for Colorado Schools

Aerogel as Clear As Glass:  (Starts 4:00)   Most aerogels “windows” are kind of foggy looking.  A CU-Boulder science team has created something better.  It’s a liquid made from recycled plant material, a liquid that hardens into a  gel that’s almost as light as air, almost as clear as glass, yet it can insulate against temperature changes.  This “gel” is flexible … Continue reading "Aerogel as Clear as Glass//New Science Standards for Colorado Schools"
8/15/201827 minutes, 10 seconds
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Dogs for Diabetics

Dogs have an incredible sense of smell – it’s so good, people can train dogs to sniff our everything from illegal drugs and explosives to lost people and even computer “thumbnail” drives, that maybe someone is trying to sneak into a high security building so they can sneak out information.  So how about dogs sniffing … Continue reading "Dogs for Diabetics"
8/7/201828 minutes, 35 seconds
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Vascular Disease & Aging Part 2

This week on How on Earth, Beth finishes up her interview with Professor Doug Seals, aging researcher. He explains the role of vascular damage in heart disease and how lifestyle choices such as exercise and diet can maintain healthy vasculature. In addition, he discusses some of his experiments in older humans with supplements and pharmacologic … Continue reading "Vascular Disease & Aging Part 2"
8/1/201826 minutes, 35 seconds
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What’s Happening Inside Your Arteries?

This week’s How on Earth guest, Dr Doug Seals, researches vascular aging. Several events occur as we age that conspire to damage blood vessels, culminating in what is popularly known as hardening of the arteries. But lifestyle modifications to exercise and diet can prevent and even reverse this trend. This week’s show gives background and … Continue reading "What’s Happening Inside Your Arteries?"
7/25/201827 minutes, 10 seconds
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Wildfire Health Impacts // Detained Immigrant Children Suffer Medical Woes

We offer two feature interviews on this week’s show: Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke (start time: 4:22) It’s peak wildfire season. Smoke from forest and grass fires contains particulates that can irritate eyes, throat and lungs — especially in children, the elderly, and people already suffering from asthma, allergies, heart disease. How On Earth host Susan … Continue reading "Wildfire Health Impacts // Detained Immigrant Children Suffer Medical Woes"
7/17/201826 minutes, 21 seconds
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Science of Psychedelics

We present another part of our interview with Michael Pollan about his book “How to Change Your Mind:  What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence”.  It is an investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs, and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic … Continue reading "Science of Psychedelics"
7/11/201829 minutes, 25 seconds
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What do Dogs Think?

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks to author Dr Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus, CU Boulder. His new book has the wonderful title of Canine Confidential. If you enjoy dogs, dog parks, and watching them interact with each other and people, you’ll enjoy this book! Hosts: Beth Bennett and Gretchen Geibel Producer: Beth Bennett … Continue reading "What do Dogs Think?"
7/3/201827 minutes, 5 seconds
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Junk Raft // The Green Reaper

Junk Raft (starts 6:20) Marcus Eriksen discusses what can and cannot be done about the “plastic smog” of microscopic debris permeating the world’s ocean, from the state-sized floating islands of plastic in the Pacific, to the microscopic debris that sinks all the way down the the deepest parts of the Pacific, OR gets eaten and into … Continue reading "Junk Raft // The Green Reaper"
6/30/201827 minutes, 28 seconds
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Mitochondria and Your Health

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Lee Know, author of Mitochondria and theFuture of Medicine. These amazing organelles, which allow complex life on Earth to exist, do more than “just” make ATP. Ask that isn’t enough! They are intimately involved in many aspects of health and disease. The good news is that … Continue reading "Mitochondria and Your Health"
6/20/201825 minutes, 2 seconds
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How Food Affects Your Brain

Two epidemics sweeping the developed world are Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Steven Masley about his book, The Better Brain Solution in which he explores the connection between diet (and other lifestyle factors) and these diseases. Based on the results of numerous clinical trials he has … Continue reading "How Food Affects Your Brain"
6/14/201826 minutes, 6 seconds
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Ocean Conservation: MPAs

This week’s show brings you the following feature interview: Protecting Ocean Biodiversity (start time: 2:42) In honor of World Environment Day (today), World Oceans Day (Friday) the March for the Ocean (Saturday), and Capitol Hill Ocean Week (all week), we examine one of the biggest marine conservation tools: Marine Protected Areas. What’s working? What’s not, and … Continue reading "Ocean Conservation: MPAs"
6/5/201827 minutes, 55 seconds
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Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind (with psychedelics)

Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.  We speak with New York Times Bestselling science writer Michael Pollan about his new book that features LSD and magic mushrooms. Pollan will give a book talk in Denver this Thursday — at the Trinity Methodist … Continue reading "Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind (with psychedelics)"
6/1/201827 minutes, 28 seconds
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Chasing New Horizons, continued

In 2015, the New Horizons Spacecraft flew past Pluto. Because Pluto is so far away, it took nearly 10 years of travel for the spacecraft to reach that distant dwarf planet — and that was after a decade of work to get the spacecraft to the launch pad. Planetary scientists Alan Stern and David Grinspoon … Continue reading "Chasing New Horizons, continued"
5/24/201828 minutes, 38 seconds
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Chasing New Horizons // GoldLab Symposium

Chasing New Horizons  (starts 1:00) brings the reader Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto to  hear the details and meet the personalities behind building, launching, and flying this audacious mission.  How on Earth’s Joel Parker (also an astrophysicist on the New Horizons mission) speaks with authors and fellow scientists Alan Stern and David Grinspoon. (Booktalks at Boulder Bookstore … Continue reading "Chasing New Horizons // GoldLab Symposium"
5/15/201827 minutes, 7 seconds
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Chasing New Horizons – full extended interview

Here we provide the full interview by How on Earth’s Joel Parker of planetary scientists Dr. Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute) and Dr. David Grinspoon (Planetary Science Institute), about their new book: “Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto“. Their book describes the the story of Pluto and NASA’s New Horizons mission, bringing the … Continue reading "Chasing New Horizons – full extended interview"
5/15/201842 minutes, 2 seconds
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2018 Graduation Special (part 2)

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is the second of a two-part annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who will receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next. HyunJoo Oh – … Continue reading "2018 Graduation Special (part 2)"
5/9/201827 minutes, 46 seconds
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2018 Graduation Special (part 1)

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is the first of a two-part annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who will receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next. Oliver Paine … Continue reading "2018 Graduation Special (part 1)"
5/2/201828 minutes, 14 seconds
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City Nature Challenge BioBlitz Citizen Science enhanced with iNaturalist

Attention all Nature Lovers and Amateur Naturalists, Friday April 27th kicks of the City Nature Challenge, where Boulder will compete with 65 cities throughout the world to identify the most species within their area over a 4 day period. It’s a competition to identify biodiversity powered by the enthusiasm of citizen scientists. Chip Grandits speaks … Continue reading "City Nature Challenge BioBlitz Citizen Science enhanced with iNaturalist"
4/30/201826 minutes, 25 seconds
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Cancer Biology // Oil&Gas Health Impacts

Today’s show offers two feature interviews: New Theory of How Cancer Evolves Inside Us (start time: 0:58): It is commonly known that cancer afflicts old people more than youth. Conventional wisdom has held we get cancer with age largely because we accumulate lots of genetic mutations over many years, and it’s the mutations that cause cancer. … Continue reading "Cancer Biology // Oil&Gas Health Impacts"
4/17/201828 minutes, 10 seconds
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Astrobiology and the Anthropocene

As part of the Conference of World Affairs, which is being held this week at the campus of the University of Colorado, Boulder, we are speaking today with astrophysicist Adam Frank. Frank is a professor at the University of Rochester, where he studies the final stages of evolution for stars like the sun. He is … Continue reading "Astrobiology and the Anthropocene"
4/10/201826 minutes, 50 seconds
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Geoengineering the Climate

Hacking the Planet (start time: 10:24): It’s tough to wrap one’s mind around just how monumental and consequential the problem of climate change is. So dire that scientist and engineers for years have been exploring ways to “hack” the planet–to manipulate the global climate system enough to significantly reduce planet-warming gases or increase the Earth’s ability … Continue reading "Geoengineering the Climate"
4/3/201829 minutes, 24 seconds
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The Moral Arc – Extended Interview with Michael Shermer

Shelley Schlender talks with renowned skeptic Michael Shermer about his new book, The Moral Arc:  How Science and Reason lead humanity toward truth, justice and freedom.  This is an extended version of the interview.  (27 minutes)
4/2/201826 minutes, 59 seconds
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MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Karen, PTSD Survivor

This is an exended interview with a survivor of treatment resistant post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.  Karen says she is cured of her PTSD now, thanks to a treatment that includes lots of psychotherapy, plus three times when she took a dose of the psychoactive chemical, MDMA.  MDMA is classed as a … Continue reading "MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Karen, PTSD Survivor"
3/28/201812 minutes, 52 seconds
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MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Marcella Ot’Alora – Principal Investigator

This is an extended interview with Marcella Ot’alora.  Ot’alora is a Boulder psychotherapist, and the principal investigator for the Boulder branch of the FDA approved, nationwide studies of using MDMA in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.  MDMA is classed as a federally illegal drug.  However the FDA has approved the … Continue reading "MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Marcella Ot’Alora – Principal Investigator"
3/28/201823 minutes, 2 seconds
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MDMA for PTSD – Psychiatrist Will Vanderveer

In the years ahead, doctors across the U.S. might be prescribing a currently illegal drug as therapy for the hard-to-treat condition known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  The new “medicine” would be MDMA, an ingredient in the party drug ecstasy.  The treatment is showing success for many of the study participants (go here for an … Continue reading "MDMA for PTSD – Psychiatrist Will Vanderveer"
3/28/201826 minutes, 33 seconds
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Enlightenment Now

You may be among many who wistfully harken back to the “golden days” of the past. For some people the past does look rosier, or perhaps the present looks grim, but, according to Steven Pinker, a Harvard University cognitive psychologist, that “golden age” of the past is a reflection of faulty memory. We — most … Continue reading "Enlightenment Now"
3/20/201828 minutes, 4 seconds
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Enlightenment Now // Pledge Drive Teaser

Today’s pledge-drive show features parts of our recent interview with Steven Pinker. Enlightenment Now: If you think the world, including the U.S., is falling apart, that the ideal of progress is as quaint as riding to work on a horse and carriage, you’re hardly alone. But you’re wrong, argues  Harvard University cognitive scientist Steven Pinker in his … Continue reading "Enlightenment Now // Pledge Drive Teaser"
3/13/201828 minutes, 50 seconds
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Urban Air Pollution: A new culprit

It’s the endless stream of tailpipes on the L.A. freeway which  causes that unsightly smog, nagging cough and chronic respitory problems, right?  Perhaps not any more, a new scientific study helps build the case that the major culprit may now be purchases made at the corner drug store or hardware store.  Chip Grandits speaks with … Continue reading "Urban Air Pollution: A new culprit"
3/7/201827 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Starmus Festival

Woodstock.  Lallapalooza. Lilith Fair.  Coachella.  Burning Man.  All famous music and art festivals.  What about…science festivals?  Perhaps a festival with all the “rock stars” of science and space exploration, and while you’re at it, throw in a few music rock stars as well?  Well, that describes the Starmus Festival.  Starmus is the brain child of Dr. Garik … Continue reading "The Starmus Festival"
2/27/201827 minutes, 55 seconds
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Spaceport Earth

Spaceport Earth. This week on How on Earth, we speak with Joe Pappalardo about his book “Spaceport Earth”. With the successes of Space-X and Blue Origin, private and commercial spaceflight is a fast growing business. Pappalardo talks with us about this new space industry and the advances and setbacks that have been faced. In particular, … Continue reading "Spaceport Earth"
2/25/201826 minutes, 29 seconds
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Plastic Pollution in Ocean

In today’s show we offer two related features: Plastic Pollution in the Arctic, Green Chemistry  (start time: 7:48) Try to wrap your brain around this statistic: by mid-century the mass of plastic in the oceans will weigh more than the total mass of fish if we continue with ‘business as usual,’ according to the World Economic Forum. Plastic … Continue reading "Plastic Pollution in Ocean"
2/13/201827 minutes, 33 seconds
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The Longevity Diet

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute. Dr Longo has researched the fundamental mechanisms of aging in yeast, mice and humans using genetics and biochemistry techniques. He is also interested in identifying the molecular pathways conserved from simple organisms to humans that can be modulated … Continue reading "The Longevity Diet"
2/3/201827 minutes, 13 seconds
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Science on Tap

Boulder, Colorado has a rich culture of science, as the home for serveral prestigious national laboratories, a thriving technology industry, the flagship campus of the University of Colorado and various joint ventures between them.  As a science enthusiast, where might you go to find a community of like minded people? Must you work in a … Continue reading "Science on Tap"
1/23/201827 minutes, 50 seconds
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Fragrance Free – Roger the Barber // Shelly Miller

Roger the Fragrance Free Barber (Starts 3:25)   Artificial fragrances in shampoos, colognes, lotions. deodorant, laundry detergent and more nearly led Roger the Barber, to give up his profession, due to his chemical sensitivities.  Then he opened his own, fragrance free, shop.  He caters to clients who prefer a fragrance free environment . . . and educates people about what fragrance … Continue reading "Fragrance Free – Roger the Barber // Shelly Miller"
1/16/201826 minutes, 40 seconds
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Miracle Brew – The Amazing Science (and Art) of Brewing Beer

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Pete Brown, author of Miracle Brew, the story of how beer is made of 4 seemingly simple components, but really from an amazing complexity of science and art. The New York Times recently reviewed Miracle Brew. Here’s what they said: A magisterial tour of fearsome science and … Continue reading "Miracle Brew – The Amazing Science (and Art) of Brewing Beer"
1/12/201827 minutes, 52 seconds
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2017 Look Back – 2018 Look Forward

For this end-of-the-year/start-of-the-year  How on Earth show, we look back to 2017 with clips from some of our features from the past year: selections about tracking methane leaks, ketogenic diets, using MDMA to treat PTSD, gravitational waves, the solar eclipse, space missions, and the politicization of science.  Those are just a few of the topics we covered … Continue reading "2017 Look Back – 2018 Look Forward"
1/6/201825 minutes, 19 seconds
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Keto for Cancer, part 2

This week on How on Earth, Beth finishes the interview with Miriam Kalamian, author of Keto for Cancer. This encyclopedic volume lays out the groundwork for using a ketogenic diet to treat cancer. But, as the author points out, the diet, which starves cancer cells, should be used in conjunction with other therapies. To see … Continue reading "Keto for Cancer, part 2"
12/20/201730 minutes, 30 seconds
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Healthy . . . But Missing Gut Microbes

Healthy . . . But Missing Gut Microbes (Starts 3:25) Practically everyone on the planet now knows that animals have microbes in their guts. This is a new field of exploration, and top researchers emphasize that we need to learn much more before making any blanket statements about the total effect of the gut microbiome.  Nevertheless, … Continue reading "Healthy . . . But Missing Gut Microbes"
12/13/201726 minutes, 6 seconds
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Ketogenic Diet for Treatment of Cancer//BBC Science in Action

This week on How on Earth, we started speaking with Miriam Kalamian, author of the newly released Keto for Cancer. The interview starts at 11′ 30″, but unfortunately we lost the connection after only 5 minutes. You can link to her book at http://www.chelseagreen.com/keto-for-cancer and we will have her back to hear the full story! … Continue reading "Ketogenic Diet for Treatment of Cancer//BBC Science in Action"
12/6/201725 minutes, 43 seconds
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The Unnatural World

The Unnatural World (start time: 6:58): It’s an audacious topic for a book: the planet, and audacious individuals who are working to save — actually, to remake — human civilization and our home on Earth. David Biello is the science curator at TED and a contributing editor at Scientific American. His debut book, The Unnatural … Continue reading "The Unnatural World"
11/21/201726 minutes, 42 seconds
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Lancet Countdown on Climate Change

Lancet Countdown on Climate Change (starts 3:45) Respectable science journals no longer debate whether human activity causes climate change, or even if it can be reversed to prevent human suffering.  They now scramble to figure out what will be the cost and who will pay.  The bill will be payable in lost lives and livelihoods.  The … Continue reading "Lancet Countdown on Climate Change"
11/15/201727 minutes, 14 seconds
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Tamed and Untamed: Essays on the Animal Kingdom

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Sy Montgomery and Liz Thomas, co-authors of Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind: Some amazing stories of their experiences with animals throughout the animal kingdom, ranging from domestic animals (chickens are smarter than we thought!) to wild animals to invertebrates. the 2-3 page format … Continue reading "Tamed and Untamed: Essays on the Animal Kingdom"
11/8/201726 minutes, 41 seconds
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Mutant Proteins // Future Technologies

Mutant Proteins and Protein Evolution (starts 4:42) CU School of Medicine professor David Pollock explains why he has devised a new way to identify and predict both the evolution of proteins and disease causing protein mutations.    Pollock’s highly technical model uses an analogy about a physical model called the Stokes Shift to help explain the biochemical properties of how proteins change, for better or worse.  … Continue reading "Mutant Proteins // Future Technologies"
10/24/201726 minutes, 9 seconds
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Nuclear Tests and the Van Allen Belts

In 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, agreeing to not test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, underwater, or in outer space.  France continued atmospheric testing until 1974, and the last atmospheric test was done by China on October 16, 1980. Over 500 atmospheric nuclear tests … Continue reading "Nuclear Tests and the Van Allen Belts"
10/12/201728 minutes, 4 seconds
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Antibiotics & Your Microbiome

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Martin Blaser of New York University who challenges the assumption that antibiotics are harmless drugs targeting only harmful pathogens. In his recent book, Missing Microbes, Blaser presents the evidence that antibiotics are causing the extinction of important bacteria in our microbiome. These microbes have co-evolved with … Continue reading "Antibiotics & Your Microbiome"
10/5/201725 minutes, 24 seconds
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Committed Warming

Much of current climate science research focuses on understanding how the climate is changing and what type of climate we will have in the near future. But to understand where the climate is going, we need to understand where the climate has been. It is especially important to understand how the climate has responded to … Continue reading "Committed Warming"
9/27/201727 minutes, 12 seconds
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The Cassini Mission to Saturn

The Cassini mission to Saturn launched 20 years ago, on October 15, 1997.  It took seven years to reach Saturn, and has been orbiting and intensely studying Saturn ever since…until last week when the mission ended in a final dive into Saturn’s atmosphere.  The mission studied Saturn, its famous rings, and its many moons using … Continue reading "The Cassini Mission to Saturn"
9/19/201728 minutes, 35 seconds
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Aging Research Part 2

This week on How on Earth we speak with Simon Melov, a biochemist at the Buck Institute for Aging. Dr Melov studies various aspects of aging in worms, mice and humans. The aging field is replete with new and exciting discoveries and Simon’s work epitomizes that. Hosts:Beth Bennett and Chip Grandis Producer:Beth Bennett Engineer:Maeve Conran … Continue reading "Aging Research Part 2"
9/13/201726 minutes, 46 seconds
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Biofuels Tradeoffs

Biofuels Tradeoffs (start time: 8:27): In this week’s show David DeGennaro, an agriculture policy specialist with the National Wildlife Federation and author of a report called “Fueling Destruction,”  talks with host Susan Moran about the environmental consequences of biofuels, and about possible solutions. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed maintaining record support for biofuels, namely corn. Last week the EPA … Continue reading "Biofuels Tradeoffs"
9/5/201726 minutes, 3 seconds
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Climate Change and Extinctions Following an Asteroid Impact

Climate Change and Extinctions Following an Asteroid Impact (starts at 8:45) It has been hypothesized that the dinosaurs were killed off by a large asteroid that struck the Earth. The details of how the impact of a 10 kilometer diameter asteroid led to global scale extinction have remained elusive. Recently, climate researchers from the Boulder … Continue reading "Climate Change and Extinctions Following an Asteroid Impact"
8/30/201726 minutes, 41 seconds
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Boulder Firestone Monorail // Regeneration & Eclipse photo-bombing

Sustainable Transportation is a major issue for the front range.  In that field a hot topic is PRT, which stands for Personal Rapid Transit system, a radical vision for creating a sustainable infrastructure to get us from point A to point B.  How on Earth interviews Dr. R. Paul Williamson about his proposal for an … Continue reading "Boulder Firestone Monorail // Regeneration & Eclipse photo-bombing"
8/26/201725 minutes, 46 seconds
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Stay Young – If You’re a Worm

This week on How on Earth, Beth spoke with Dr Gordon Lithgow, a researcher at the Buck Institute for Aging in California who studies aging in nematode worms. Stress actually keeps us young by activating systems that repair and maintain cells. These stresses can be things like caloric restriction and exercise. Eventually the molecular bases … Continue reading "Stay Young – If You’re a Worm"
8/16/201728 minutes, 10 seconds
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Mortality Trends in America // Life Expectancy in America

This week on How on Earth we look at the scientific research into the lifespans of Americans. Mortality trends in America (start time 4:05): We speak with Andrea Tilstra, who co-authored a recent paper on mortality trends in America. Tilstra is a co-author of a recent study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.  Her team’s paper is titled … Continue reading "Mortality Trends in America // Life Expectancy in America"
8/14/201726 minutes, 49 seconds
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Chasing Shadows – Stellar Occultations and the Outer Solar System

Chasing Shadows [starts at 9:40]  Astronomy is a science that depends on watching things happen in the universe that we don’t have control over: supernovae, formation of stars, orbits of planets, and the spectacle of solar eclipses.  You can’t grab a distant galaxy and bring it into the lab for experiments, so astronomers have to … Continue reading "Chasing Shadows – Stellar Occultations and the Outer Solar System"
8/1/201727 minutes, 53 seconds
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Space Shield for Satellites // Virtual Colonoscopy

Space Shield for Satellites (starts 1:00)   An invisible radio wave pollution makes a “space shield” that protects orbiting satellites from Van Allen Belt radiation.  Dan Baker, head of CU-Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) explains how his team figured out the man-made source of the mysterious space shield. Virtual Colonoscopy Option Improves Cancer Screening Rates (starts 6:32)  Colon cancer kills 50,000 Americans … Continue reading "Space Shield for Satellites // Virtual Colonoscopy"
7/25/201727 minutes, 39 seconds
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The Alien Hunter & SETI

Today’s show offers the following feature: Extraterrestrial intelligence? (start time: 6:30): It’s mid-summer, a time when many of us like to spend leisurely time outside at night, gazing at the stars and planets, and asking the big existential questions, such as, Are we alone? Is there intelligent life waaay out there? Our guest today, science … Continue reading "The Alien Hunter & SETI"
7/18/201727 minutes, 30 seconds
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Is Your Oral Microbiome Affected by Your Genes?

On the first day of the summer pledge drive, Beth interviews Dr Brittany Demmitt, a behavioral molecular geneticist. Her recent study used a powerful genetic tool, identical twins, to show that the micro biome in the mouth is influenced by both genes and environment. Hosts:Beth Bennett, Chip Grantis, Joel Parker Producer:Beth Bennett Engineer:Joel Parker Additional … Continue reading "Is Your Oral Microbiome Affected by Your Genes?"
7/14/201727 minutes, 5 seconds
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The American Eclipse of 1878

This August 21st, some parts of the Earth will be plunged into darkness in the middle of the day.  It will be a solar eclipse; the moon’s shadow will cross the United States from Oregon to South Carolina, with the path closest to Colorado passing through Wyoming and Nebraska. There have been many eclipses across … Continue reading "The American Eclipse of 1878"
6/27/201727 minutes, 38 seconds
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome // Renewables

We offer two feature interviews on today’s show. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (start time: 11:49)  Imagine spending years waking up so sore and fatigued many mornings that you can barely move. And traversing the country to find doctors who could offer a clear diagnosis, only to find out they don’t really know. And feeling your friendships … Continue reading "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome // Renewables"
6/21/201727 minutes, 40 seconds
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Protecting Pollinators // Testing Drinking Water

We offer two features on today’s show: Protecting Pollinators (start time: 0:58): Hills, prairies and gardens are neon green and in full bloom. A pollinator’s paradise, at least it should be. Birds, bees, butterflies, beetles and other pollinators rely on the nectar from flowering plants. We humans rely on them; roughly one out of every … Continue reading "Protecting Pollinators // Testing Drinking Water"
6/13/201723 minutes, 48 seconds
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2017 Graduation Special (part 2)

With graduation season is upon us, or in many cases in the rearview mirror, today’s edition of How on Earth is the second of a two-part “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who recently graduated with – or soon will receive – their Ph.D.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school … Continue reading "2017 Graduation Special (part 2)"
6/6/201727 minutes, 22 seconds
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2017 Graduation Special (part 1)

With graduation season is upon us, or in many cases in the rearview mirror, today’s edition of How on Earth is the first of a two-part “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who recently graduated with – or soon will receive – their Ph.D.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad … Continue reading "2017 Graduation Special (part 1)"
5/30/201727 minutes, 41 seconds
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Treating Cancer Metabolically

In their upcoming book, A Metabolic Approach to Cancer, authors Dr Nasha Winters and Jess Kelley, describe new developments in individualized therapies for cancer, based on nutrition and personalized genetic analysis. Almost 100 years ago it was found that cancer cells rely almost exclusively on burning glucose for their growth. In the last 10 years, … Continue reading "Treating Cancer Metabolically"
5/24/201726 minutes, 23 seconds
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Gold Lab Symposium // Marc Bekoff Animals Agenda

Gold Lab Symposium (starts 1:00) Scientist and Entrepreneur Larry Gold shares what to expect in science and health at the annual Gold Lab Symposium, taking place this weekend at CU Boulder.  This year’s theme is “From Lab to Living Room.”  Go to the Gold Lab Symposium website to register for the conference and to hear … Continue reading "Gold Lab Symposium // Marc Bekoff Animals Agenda"
5/16/201727 minutes, 36 seconds
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A New Theory of Cancer

This week on How on Earth Beth interviews Travis Christofferson, author of Tripping over the Truth, in which he explores the history, and the human story that has led to the resurgence of Otto Warburg’s original metabolic theory first proposed in 1924. Despite incredible biomedical advances, the death rate today is the same as it … Continue reading "A New Theory of Cancer"
5/10/201727 minutes, 58 seconds
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500 Women Scientists // Tracking Methane Leaks with Google Street View Cars

500 Women Scientists (starts 3:01) Ecologist Jane Zelikova explains how an acquaintance while at CU-Boulder led to an open letter she co-authored with Kelly Ramirez about science . . . and this ultimately launched an advocacy group.  Over 19,000 women scientists have joined 500 Women Scientists.  They have on line and also local community face-to-face discussions, and they plan to be part of … Continue reading "500 Women Scientists // Tracking Methane Leaks with Google Street View Cars"
4/18/201725 minutes, 32 seconds
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New Adventures in Astronomy with Gerrit Verschuur

Today’s How on Earth show is a special edition in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs panel entitled: “New Adventures in Astronomy”. Our guest is Gerrit Verschuur, a radio astronomer who has worked at Jodrell Bank radio observatory in the United Kingdom, National Radio Astronomy Observatory in West Virginia, and Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. … Continue reading "New Adventures in Astronomy with Gerrit Verschuur"
4/12/201726 minutes, 53 seconds
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Long Now Foundation in Colorado // Wild Boulder Citizen Science

The Long Now Foundation in Colorado (start time 5:02): People often measure “success” as fifteen minutes of fame, or a blockbuster financial quarter. This focus on short term results doesn’t always build the skills needed to solve long-term problems, such as reducing disease outbreaks or maintaining species diversity. So some visionaries have created a playfully serious way … Continue reading "Long Now Foundation in Colorado // Wild Boulder Citizen Science"
4/4/201725 minutes, 18 seconds
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Health Impacts of Oil/Gas Drilling

Drilling’s Health Impacts (start time: 7:50): A pressing question on the minds of many Colorado residents, health experts, and others amidst a surge of oil and gas activity is this: Does living near an oil and gas well harm your health? A scientist at the forefront of exploring such questions is Dr. Lisa McKenzie, a professor of … Continue reading "Health Impacts of Oil/Gas Drilling"
3/28/201727 minutes, 6 seconds
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Your Baby’s Microbiome

Your Baby’s Microbiome (start time 6:13): This week on How on Earth Beth Bennett interviews Toni Harmon, author of Your Baby’s Microbiome, a look into the role the maternal micro biome plays before and after birth. For a newborn, the biological defenses to diseases and the environment come from the mother. Harmon talks about how the … Continue reading "Your Baby’s Microbiome"
3/28/201726 minutes, 50 seconds
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Nature Fix 2 // Case Against Sugar

The Nature Fix.  (starts 1:50)  In this spring pledge drive show, we revisit the science show interview about the benefits of getting out in nature. The Case Against Sugar. (starts 9:40) Best-selling science writer Gary Taubes discusses his new book, which explains what happens when industry funds science . . . and controls the strings … Continue reading "Nature Fix 2 // Case Against Sugar"
3/16/201728 minutes, 18 seconds
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Eclipse 2017

Eclipse 2017 (start time 5:56): This summer America will experience its first total solar eclipse in almost 30 years. How on Earth’s Alejandro Soto speaks with Dr. Claire Raftery from the National Solar Observatory (NSO) about the upcoming eclipse. Dr. Raftery talks about the science and history of eclipses, the best ways to view the eclipse in … Continue reading "Eclipse 2017"
3/3/201726 minutes, 50 seconds
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Of Wasps and Figs

Today’s feature has How on Earth’s Beth Bennett talking with Dr. Mike Shanahan, a biologist who has a degree in rainforest ecology.  He has lived in a national park in Borneo, bred endangered penguins, and investigated illegal bear farms.  His writing has appeared in The Economist, Nature, and The Ecologist, and he also was the … Continue reading "Of Wasps and Figs"
2/22/201727 minutes, 22 seconds
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The Nature Fix

Your Brain on Nature (start time: 5:49): You may think it’s a no-brainer: that nature is good for your mental and physical health. After all, a walk in the woods or even an urban park brightens your outlook on life, at least for a little while. Turns out, the notion that being outside in nature … Continue reading "The Nature Fix"
2/14/201728 minutes, 30 seconds
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Citizen Science

Citizen Science (start time: 5:32): For those who would love to track birds and other creatures or to test drinking water quality in their community, for instance, but think it would require a degree in science to contribute to important scientific discoveries, our guest today aims to set the record straight. Dr. Caren Cooper is an … Continue reading "Citizen Science"
2/7/201724 minutes, 27 seconds
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Clinical Trials Test MDMA as PTSD Treatment

This week on How on Earth host Susan Moran interviews two investigators of FDA-approved clinical trials testing the efficacy and safety of the illegal drug MDMA — known in an altered form as Ecstasy or Molly — as a treatment (along with psychotherapy sessions) for Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Our guests are Marcela Ot’alora and Bruce Poulter, … Continue reading "Clinical Trials Test MDMA as PTSD Treatment"
2/1/201727 minutes, 8 seconds
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Secret Life of Fat

When Sylvia Tara had more trouble fitting into her skinny jeans than her friends, she decided to learn why she was prone to being fat.  Her new book is –  The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body’s Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You. Host: Shelley Schlender Producer: Shelley Schlender Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: … Continue reading "Secret Life of Fat"
1/24/201729 minutes, 1 second
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American Gut Project

The American Gut project is the largest crowd-sourced project ever: to date, over 80.000 participants have contributed fecal, skin, or oral samples. The ambitious goal is to characterize the microbiota of as many individuals as possible to identify the diverse species living in and on us. Beth interviews Dr Embrietta Hyde, Project Manager of the … Continue reading "American Gut Project"
1/18/201725 minutes, 44 seconds
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Earth in Human Hands – Shaping our Planet’s Future

Sometimes when we are having personal or health problems, it helps to get an outside perspective: talk to other friends who have experienced similar problems and how they dealt with them, and other friends about how they avoided those problems.  Talk to experts.  Then using all that input, we try to make the best choice … Continue reading "Earth in Human Hands – Shaping our Planet’s Future"
1/11/201727 minutes, 10 seconds
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Earth in Human Hands – extended interview

  This is the full interview with Dr. David Grinspoon, author of the book “Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet’s Future”.  Excerpts of this interview by Joel Parker aired on How on Earth on our January 10, 2017 show. Listen here:
1/11/201737 minutes, 9 seconds
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Forensic Plant Science: CSI for Real!

Beth interviews Drs Jane Bock (starts at 16:35) and David Norris (starts at 7:10), co-authors of Forensic Plant Science, the application of plant science to the resolution of legal questions. A plant’s anatomy and its ecological requirements are in some cases species specific and require taxonomic verification; correct interpretation of botanical evidence can give vital … Continue reading "Forensic Plant Science: CSI for Real!"
1/5/201728 minutes, 14 seconds
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2016 Retrospective

For this end-of-the-year How on Earth show, we look back to 2016 with clips from some of our features from the past year: selections from the Our Microbes, Ourselves series, research about Zika, gravitational waves, and carbon farming.  Those are just a few of the topics we covered in 2016, which also included: electric cars, electric airplanes, renewable … Continue reading "2016 Retrospective"
12/27/201626 minutes, 42 seconds
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Where is climate science research heading?

This week on How on Earth Beth interviews two NOAA scientists who study climate change. Joanie Kleypas is a marine ecologist who investigates how rising atmospheric carbon dioxide affects marine ecosystems. She is a self-described optimist who is committed to finding solutions to the “coral reef crisis.” Pieter Tans he has led the Carbon Cycle … Continue reading "Where is climate science research heading?"
12/21/201627 minutes, 27 seconds
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Biodiversity Matters // Scientists Implore Trump

This week’s show offers two features: Global Biodiversity (start time: 1:22): Scientists, NGOs and government representatives from nearly 200 countries have been gathering in Cancun, Mexico, for the UN Biodiversity Conference, known as COP13. They’re meeting to promote protocols and strategic actions related to biological diversity, climate change, food security, and even citizen science.  Gillian Bowser, … Continue reading "Biodiversity Matters // Scientists Implore Trump"
12/16/201626 minutes, 43 seconds
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Colonizing Mars?

This week, Alejandro speaks with Leonard David, a space journalist who has written a new book Mars – Our Future on the Red Planet. In his book he discusses the plans of both NASA and private companies to send humans to the red planet. The book is a companion to a six-part television series from … Continue reading "Colonizing Mars?"
12/8/201625 minutes
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Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets

Beyond Earth (start time 5:10) Many have dreamt of colonizing other planets. It’s been a staple of science fiction for decades. Most often, people imagine creating a colony of humans on Mars, where people would live on a cold, dry planet with a thin, unbreathable atmosphere. Mars, however, may not be the best destination for future … Continue reading "Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets"
11/29/201627 minutes, 22 seconds
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Regenerative Economics//Logicomix

Regenerative Economics (starts 3:20) Natural Capitalism Solutions leader, Hunter Lovins, will share an economic argument for why now’s the time for cleaner energy.  Lovins, who lives near Niwot, Colorado, has presented this speech to government leaders and organizations throughout the world.  This is an excerpt from that speech.  Go here for extended version) Logicomix (starts 8:52) Can … Continue reading "Regenerative Economics//Logicomix"
11/22/201627 minutes, 34 seconds
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Max Boykoff – Global Climate Talks – Moving Ahead

Max Boykoff – Global Climate Talks – Moving Ahead With or Without US –  (entire show) While the world has held climate talks for 22 years (This is COP – Conference of the Parties — 22) and the Kyoto Protocol talks about climate change have been held for 12 years, this year’s October’s climate talks in Paris mark the first … Continue reading "Max Boykoff – Global Climate Talks – Moving Ahead"
11/15/201627 minutes, 38 seconds
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Suggestible You: How Our Brain Tricks Us

The Science of Suggestibility (start time: 5:00) Scientists are learning more and more about how our expectations and beliefs influence how our bodies, including our neurochemistry, respond to pain and disease. The researchers are discovering that we are very suggestible creatures. But we are not all equally suggestible. Some of us can cure serious ailments even … Continue reading "Suggestible You: How Our Brain Tricks Us"
11/8/201627 minutes, 43 seconds
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I Contain Multitudes–Our Microbes, Ourselves

Multitudes of Microbes (start time: 3:38): You may find it unsettling to learn that our human cells make up only half of our bodies. The other half is a bunch of microbes (in the neighborhood of 40 trillion), all living and reproducing in, and on, our bodies. What’s more, these invisible machines could have a … Continue reading "I Contain Multitudes–Our Microbes, Ourselves"
10/25/201624 minutes, 39 seconds
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Pledge Drive//Interview with Ed Yong

This week’s pledge- drive show features a teaser introduction to Ed Yong’s new book I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life. We play segments from the interview that host Susan Moran recently had with Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic. There still may be a copy left, so call … Continue reading "Pledge Drive//Interview with Ed Yong"
10/19/201627 minutes, 2 seconds
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Denver Permaculture Guild//Ron Rosedale Explains Autophagy

Denver Permaculture Guild (starts 3:30) staff and board members explain the goal of permaculture and guild’s annual workshops program taking place this weekend.       Ron Rosedale, MD, Explains Autophagy (starts 17:50)   The Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine has just been awarded to Japanese Scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi  for his discoveries about a process inside our cells known as autophagy.  … Continue reading "Denver Permaculture Guild//Ron Rosedale Explains Autophagy"
10/6/201628 minutes, 27 seconds
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The Rosetta Mission

Rosetta [feature starts at 5:27] The Rosetta Space Mission has been in flight for ever 12 years and will be ending with a dramatic crash this Friday morning around 10:40 UT (4:40 am Mountain time) – it’s an event that will be watched and talked about by people around the world. Rosetta is run by the European … Continue reading "The Rosetta Mission"
9/27/201627 minutes, 34 seconds
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Alzheimer’s Reversal – Extended Interview with Dale Bredesen

This is an extended interview with Dale Bredesen, leader of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.  Bredesen has documented reversal of early Alzheimer’s in a small case study, largely through lifestyle interventions.  We spoke while he was at CU-Boulder for the 2016 Ancestral Health Symposium.   For the broadcast version and links to websites, … Continue reading "Alzheimer’s Reversal – Extended Interview with Dale Bredesen"
9/20/201636 minutes, 3 seconds
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Alzheimer’s Reversal: ApoE4.info and Dr. Dale Bredesen

Alzheimer’s Reversal (starts 2:20) The Alzheimer’s Association calls Alzheimer’s “the only disease among the top 10 causes of death in America that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.”  This gloomy outlook means many people avoid screening tests for dementia.  Now Dale Bredesen, a leading scientist from California’s Buck Institute for Research on Aging has … Continue reading "Alzheimer’s Reversal: ApoE4.info and Dr. Dale Bredesen"
9/20/201627 minutes, 48 seconds
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Personalized Medicine from Genome Sequencing

This week, an interview with Howard Jacob, PhD, principal investigator and executive vice president for genomic medicine at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (starts at 5’30”)describing the potential for personalized genomic sequencing and analysis in the identification of rare undiagnosed and misdiagnosed disease. A headline featuring research on how dogs process words mentioned a video of … Continue reading "Personalized Medicine from Genome Sequencing"
9/15/201625 minutes, 1 second
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Gregory Benford – Science Fiction/Fact and Starshot

What are the qualities that make a good scientist? What are the qualities that make a good science fiction writer? Those skills do not necessarily overlap, but when they do, they not only can produce wonderful works of speculative fiction based on hard science, but they also can generate exciting new ideas for science research. Our … Continue reading "Gregory Benford – Science Fiction/Fact and Starshot"
8/30/201628 minutes, 8 seconds
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Methane Emissions From Natural Gas

Methane Madness (start time: 2:20)  More than a decade ago, scientists noted that the area where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet, known as Four Corners, appeared to be emitting a curiously large amount of methane. In a new study, a team of scientists have traced the source: more than 250 gas wells, storage tanks, … Continue reading "Methane Emissions From Natural Gas"
8/23/201627 minutes, 28 seconds
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Lessons From Flint’s Lead-In-Water Crisis

Tackling Lead Contamination: Flint and Beyond (start time: 6:27) When you pour yourself a glass of water from the tap, do wonder whether it’s truly clean and safe? How would you know for sure? Flint, Mich., is a haunting example of how a breakdown in water-supply infrastructure, and political integrity, can result in lead contamination of a … Continue reading "Lessons From Flint’s Lead-In-Water Crisis"
8/16/201627 minutes, 23 seconds
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Zika Update

In headlines and 2 interviews with Zika researchers,Beth covers new material on this disturbing disease. CDC Chief of Virology, Dr Ann Power (start time 3’45”) and Dr Rushika Ferrara of CSU (start time 10’45”), describe aspects of the viral life cycle, including transmission, symptom variability, and promising avenues leading to potential treatments and preventions. For … Continue reading "Zika Update"
8/10/201626 minutes, 47 seconds
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The Keeling Curve//Electric Airplanes//Moth Parties

The Keeling Curve (starts 5:00) Friday, August 12th the Boulder Shambala Center hosts:  Living Beyond Hope And Fear:  Social Confidence And Climate Change.  One leader of the event is the daughter of scientist who created the Keeling Curve for tracking CO2.  Emily Takahashi talks about how the memory of her father’s work inspired her to do the symposium. Electric … Continue reading "The Keeling Curve//Electric Airplanes//Moth Parties"
8/2/201627 minutes, 28 seconds
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Impacts of Fracking

In Colorado, a boom in methane development over the past few years has raised questions about whether the environmental impacts are outpacing scientists’ ability to measure them. Shelley Schlender and Daniel Glick discuss the current state of the science looking into fracking’s impacts.  Here is a compendium of scientific, medical, and media findings demonstrating risks and … Continue reading "Impacts of Fracking"
7/27/201627 minutes, 18 seconds
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Exploring your DNA // Cellular Innards Revealed

This week on How on Earth we speak with 2 notables. NY Times columnist Carl Zimmer describes his exploration of his genome sequence, yes all 3 billion bases! See the series he has produced detailing this journey at https://www.statnews.com/feature/game-of-genomes/season-one/. Then, local cell biologist Gia Voeltz studies how the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is formed. It is … Continue reading "Exploring your DNA // Cellular Innards Revealed"
7/20/201627 minutes, 40 seconds
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Toward Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture (starts 3:06): We couldn’t feed the planet without nitrogen, a vital nutrient for crops. But most soils don’t produce enough of it to feed anywhere near our 7 billion-plus humans on the planet. So, for nearly a century we’ve been applying synthetic fertilizer—mainly nitrogen and phosphorus — to grow crops for animals and people. But … Continue reading "Toward Sustainable Agriculture"
7/13/201626 minutes, 26 seconds
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Quantum Dot Antibiotics // Shrinking Ozone Hole

Quantum Dot Antibiotics (starts 1:00) This programmable antibiotic might keep pace with quickly evolving superbugs.  Unlike most drugs – it’s not derived from biological sources.  It’s a tiny version of the semiconductors in everything from TVs to iphones to solar panels.  This “antibiotic” is made of nanoparticles, known as quantum dots.  CU Biofrontiers scientists Prashant Nagpal and Anushree Chatterjee explain their new … Continue reading "Quantum Dot Antibiotics // Shrinking Ozone Hole"
7/5/201626 minutes, 17 seconds
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Pollinators Matter // Denver BioLabs

Pollinators Matter (starts at 4:43): Now that backyard gardens are in full bloom it’s a good time to think about pollinators. Honeybees, butterflies, beetles and other pollinators depend on many flowering plants for nectar. And we depend on these pollinators for many foods we love in our diet, from almonds to apples to blueberries. Some of these pollinators, … Continue reading "Pollinators Matter // Denver BioLabs"
6/28/201626 minutes, 32 seconds
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Soccermatics // Pledge Drive Show

David Sumpter’s new book is Soccermatics–Mathematical Adventures in the Beautiful Game.  It’s about how the mathematical patterns of how to win at soccer — and much much more — like how a math algorithm of how a slime mold seeks out food can help engineers design an efficient subway system.  The math that helps a … Continue reading "Soccermatics // Pledge Drive Show"
6/21/201628 minutes, 23 seconds
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Carbon Farming // Light Pollution

The Carbon Farming Solution – (Starts 2:13) Carbon Sequestration is the act of removing carbon from the air and putting it . . . somewhere else.  Kendra Krueger talks with author Eric Tunesmeier about his book, The Carbon Farming Solution, with surprising information such as how driving to a remote organic farm stand can cause … Continue reading "Carbon Farming // Light Pollution"
6/14/201627 minutes, 24 seconds
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Diatoms: Ecology and Aesthetics

Beth interviews Dr Sarah Spaulding, of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research here in Boulder. Sarah studies microscopic single celled algae, creatures that photosynthesize but aren’t plants. She discusses their ecological roles in numerous ecosystems as well as challenges in identifying them and her long term goals in studying these elusive but ubiquitous creatures. … Continue reading "Diatoms: Ecology and Aesthetics"
6/8/201628 minutes, 1 second
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Cell Phones & Cancer // Narcotics Prolong Chronic Pain

Cell Phones & Cancer  (Starts 1:00) A $25 million study reports cell phone radiation boosted brain cancer in rats . . . and rats exposed to radiation lived longer.  Frank Barnes, CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, explains these paradoxical findings and implications for people.  (Related stories — 2011 Cell Phone Radiation and 2014 An Electric Silent Spring) Narcotics Prolong Chronic Pain (Starts 11:35)   CU-Boulder neuroscientist … Continue reading "Cell Phones & Cancer // Narcotics Prolong Chronic Pain"
6/1/201625 minutes, 7 seconds
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Our Microbes, Ourselves: Soil Bacteria Treat Stress Disorders

Microbes and Stress Resilience (starts 5:13) If you’re worried that some dirt still clings to your skin under your fingernails after planting or weeding in the garden, fear not. In fact, the more you feel and even breathe its fumes, the better, research suggests. As part of our series called “Our Microbes, Ourselves,” we explore … Continue reading "Our Microbes, Ourselves: Soil Bacteria Treat Stress Disorders"
5/24/201628 minutes, 20 seconds
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GoldLab Symposium: Standing Together—Health Care for Our Common Good

((Starts 00:00)) Today we speak with Larry Gold, founder of the GoldLab Symposium that brings scientists and thinkers from around the world to share their perspectives about health and healthcare.  The theme of this year’s symposium is: Standing Together—Health Care for Our Common Good Host / Producer / Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
5/17/201627 minutes, 16 seconds
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2016 Graduation Special (part 2)

In this follow-up episode of our “Graduation Special” we talk with three more guests graduating with science Ph.D.’s from the University of Colorado in Boulder.  They join us to talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next: Carleigh Samson – Environmental Engineering Program Topic: Modeling Relationships between Climate, Source … Continue reading "2016 Graduation Special (part 2)"
5/5/201627 minutes, 47 seconds
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2016 Graduation Special (part 1)

The graduation season is upon us and our guests in today’s show will be graduating with science Ph.D.’s from the University of Colorado in Boulder.  They join us to talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next: Greg Salvesen – Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Topic: Rethinking Accretion … Continue reading "2016 Graduation Special (part 1)"
5/5/201627 minutes, 28 seconds
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Foundations for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability // Quantified Self

(Starting at 6:30) FLOWS bridges social justice and environmental issues. FLOWS provides leadership training opportunities, green job skills, and free energy and water upgrades while building partnerships between CU students and staff and community members.  They partner with and work primarily for low-income communities for water and energy conservation (the communities most in need of lower … Continue reading "Foundations for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability // Quantified Self"
5/4/201628 minutes, 33 seconds
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The Most Perfect Thing: A Bird’s Egg

((Starts 00:00)) We speak via Skype with Renowned English Ornithologist Tim Birkhead, about “The Most Perfect Thing.”  That’s the title of his new book.  It’s all about taking a scientific look inside, and outside, a bird’s egg. Host:  Shelley Schlender Producer:Shelley Schlender Engineer:Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
4/19/201627 minutes, 2 seconds
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A History of Water in Colorado’s Front Range

Host Beth Bennett interviews Bob Crifasi, author of A Land Made of Water (starts at 4’55”). Bob works in water management and planning and is an environmental scientist with over 25yr experience. He was the Water Resources Administrator for the city of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Dept. He has served on board of … Continue reading "A History of Water in Colorado’s Front Range"
4/13/201625 minutes, 14 seconds
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Across the Universe – You Can’t Get There From Here

This special edition of How on Earth is produced in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs.  Our guests are two of the participants of the Conference: astrobiologist Dr. David Grinspoon and physicist Dr. Sidney Perkowitz.  In keeping with the traditional format of the conference panels, our guests will start by talking about their interpretation of the … Continue reading "Across the Universe – You Can’t Get There From Here"
4/5/201625 minutes, 30 seconds
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Prairie Wildfire // Predicting Heat Waves // Mapping Nitrogen Pollution

Prairie Fire (start time: 0:57) Journalist and Megafire expert Michael Kodas discusses the raging Kansas prairie fire and how it compares to wildfires in Colorado. Pacific Temperatures Predict New York Heat Waves (start time: 6:58) Climatologist Karen McKinnon says it’s possible to use precise monitoring of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures to predict heat waves on the East Coast 50 days in … Continue reading "Prairie Wildfire // Predicting Heat Waves // Mapping Nitrogen Pollution"
3/30/201624 minutes, 35 seconds
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The Science of Mind Over Body

Mind+Body Science (start time: 4:52): If you’ve ever struggled  to decide whether to see a Western conventional doctor or an  “alternative” medical practitioner for ailments ranging from a compromised immune system to irritable bowel syndrome, you are aware of a deep divide between the two camps. Dr. Jo Marchant, a British geneticist and science writer, has delved … Continue reading "The Science of Mind Over Body"
3/15/201624 minutes, 45 seconds
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Pledge Drive: Mind-Body Science

In today’s spring pledge-drive show we play clips from an interview with  Jo Marchant, author of the new book Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body. (Stay tuned for the extended interview on next Tuesday’s show.) And we highlight another book, Sex in the Sea: Our Intimate Connection with Sex-Changing Fish, Romantic … Continue reading "Pledge Drive: Mind-Body Science"
3/8/201627 minutes, 12 seconds
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STEM Research // Sex in the Sea

Today’s show offers two features: High School STEM Stars (start time: 5:00): Developing polymers to reduce waste from biodiesel production. Using 3D printing to design ocean textures, such as fish gills and waves, that blind students can use in textbooks to better understand nature. These are the kind of vexing challenges of seasoned scientists. Well, a select group … Continue reading "STEM Research // Sex in the Sea"
2/24/201624 minutes, 3 seconds
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First Detection of Gravitational Waves

Interview with LIGO Scientist Dr. Matt Evans (6:22): The recent big news in physics was the announcement of the first direct detection of gravitational waves.  The detection was made by the LIGO project, which stands for “Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory”.  Reports have said that this is a confirmation of general relativity and a new way to … Continue reading "First Detection of Gravitational Waves"
2/17/201625 minutes, 10 seconds
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How the Glucocorticoid Receptor can Treat Asthma, Cancer, and More

The Glucocorticoid Receptor (starts at 5:30): We interview Dr. Miles Pufall who studies the glucocorticoid receptor, a protein in cell membranes that is the target of drugs used to treat a variety of conditions from asthma to cancer. Binding cortisol causes the receptor to be moved to the nucleus where it turns on (or off) … Continue reading "How the Glucocorticoid Receptor can Treat Asthma, Cancer, and More"
2/12/201625 minutes, 38 seconds
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Winter Stars // Pollinators and Insecticides

Winter Stars (starts at 5:30).  We talk with Dave Sutherland, an interpretive naturalist with Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, about winter star-gazing.  This program is tied to an upcoming concert performance by the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra on February 12, 2016.  More information about the Boulder night hikes and other programs can be found at:  www.naturehikes.org and to find out more about … Continue reading "Winter Stars // Pollinators and Insecticides"
2/2/201624 minutes, 17 seconds
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Electric Car Road Trips // Renewable Energy Nation . . . in 15 Years

Electric Car Road Trips (starts 3:42): We go on a road trip with How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender to see how all-electric vehicles are exceeding “range anxiety” by driving coast to coast, all on electricity.  Along the way we talk with Boulder Nissan’s Nigel Zeid about regional plans to help more drivers “plug in” and with Hunter Lovins, head of Natural Capitalism Solutions. … Continue reading "Electric Car Road Trips // Renewable Energy Nation . . . in 15 Years"
1/26/201624 minutes, 23 seconds
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Using the Microbiome to Determine Time of Death

Using the Microbiome to Determine Time of Death (starts at 5:40): This week on How on Earth, we speak with Jessica Metcalf, an evolutionary biologist, who studies bacteria, specifically the microbiome. One of her research interests is using molecular biology to address basic hypotheses about the role of microbes in corpse decomposition. The time since … Continue reading "Using the Microbiome to Determine Time of Death"
1/20/201625 minutes, 10 seconds
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Hubble Space Telescope

Today’s show of How on Earth starts with headlines about dark matter, genetic mysteries, jealous monkeys, and polar bears.  We then present a short feature of BBC’s Science in Action about the Hubble Space Telescope. This is shorter than our usual How on Earth show due to technical difficulties with the phone system for our feature interview … Continue reading "Hubble Space Telescope"
1/18/201613 minutes, 29 seconds
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Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics Extended Version

Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics EXTENDED VERSION.  This is the extended version of the fall 2015 talk by Hunter Lovins, recorded by Shelley Schlender. Lovins heads up Natural Capitalism Solutions, and she’s a sought after speaker around the world, as well as here in Colorado. She gave this talk, including visuals, and called it Regenerative Economics.  This talk was recorded in Boulder as … Continue reading "Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics Extended Version"
1/5/20161 hour, 21 minutes, 27 seconds
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Our Microbes, Ourselves — Special Call-in Show

Our Microbes, Ourselves, Dec. 31, 2015: Roughly one hundred trillion bacteria are living, and gorging, in our gut–all the more so during the indulgent holidays. Microbes influence our health and well-being, by affecting our gut directly, as well as the crops we eat and the soils in which we grow crops. These microbial communities  – called the gut … Continue reading "Our Microbes, Ourselves — Special Call-in Show"
12/31/201555 minutes, 8 seconds
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Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics for the Future of Humanity

Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics (Starts 2:42) One of the world’s leading voices for the environment is urging the world to work for even more than a sustainable economy.  She says it’s time for a regenerative economy.  That’s the message from Boulder County resident, Hunter Lovins.  Lovins heads up Natural Capitalism Solutions, and she’s a … Continue reading "Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics for the Future of Humanity"
12/29/201525 minutes, 49 seconds
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Climate Change and Cities

Climate Change and Cities (starts at 5:05)  Sea level rise, severe storms, heat waves – these are just a few of the challenges cities might be facing as the climate changes in the next few decades.  So how should they adapt to cope with such events? And with urban developments being one of the largest … Continue reading "Climate Change and Cities"
12/22/201524 minutes, 42 seconds
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What You Can Do About Global Warming

What You Can Do About Global Warming (starts at 5:20): We interview Craig Hover, author of A World to Come Home To: Ending Global Warming in Our Lifetime. Craig is a licensed professional engineer with more than 30 years of engineering, project and facilities management, financial services and consulting. In his book he lays out a … Continue reading "What You Can Do About Global Warming"
12/17/201524 minutes, 33 seconds
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Beyond Cop21Paris: Climate Science & Policy

Today, Dec. 8, we offer the following feature: Changing Climate, Changing Policy (start time: 7:06): As political leaders are still hammering out an accord at the UN Climate Summit, or COP21, in Paris, to rein in global warming, today we discuss the underlying scientific facts about climate change, and the policy promises and challenges for … Continue reading "Beyond Cop21Paris: Climate Science & Policy"
12/8/201525 minutes, 26 seconds
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Grad School Science

What is graduate school and how does it differ from the undergraduate experience?  What drives people to go through another 4…5…6…or more years of school? Today’s show features some people who might be able to tell us about the grad school experience in the sciences.  We have three grad students from the University of Colorado at … Continue reading "Grad School Science"
11/27/201523 minutes, 26 seconds
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CUCafe // Math, Science, Intuition and CFS

Today we had a terrific show with two local guests.  First, Sarah McQuate, Post-Doc at the University of Colorado joins us to talk about CUCafe, a student run group committed to creating dialogues and safe spaces for underrepresented student on campus.  We talk about their role in the most recent Inclusion and Diversity Summit on … Continue reading "CUCafe // Math, Science, Intuition and CFS"
11/17/201525 minutes, 32 seconds
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Evolution of the Human-Horse Bond

In today’s show we offer the following feature: The Horse (starts at 6:25)  Next to our connection with dogs and cats, perhaps the deepest bond humans have developed over time is with horses.  In fact, hands down, the horse has done more for us than either of those furry pets. That is, horses lie at … Continue reading "Evolution of the Human-Horse Bond"
11/10/201524 minutes, 4 seconds
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Mighty Microbes in Our Gut & Soils

Mighty Microbes (start time: 5:45): Microbes – fungi and bacteria and probably viruses — are essential to life on Earth. They’re found in soil and water and inside the human gut. There’s a lot happening these days in microbiology, as scientists try to better understand what role these invisible powerhouses play in our health and … Continue reading "Mighty Microbes in Our Gut & Soils"
11/3/201524 minutes, 9 seconds
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How the Brain Matures

Brains (starts at 4:35) This week on How on Earth we interview Professor Marie Banich, from the University of Colorado here in Boulder. Dr Banich uses cutting edge methodologies, particularly structural and functional MRI, to examine the role of the prefrontal cortex, as well as other brain regions, in executive function. Today she tells us … Continue reading "How the Brain Matures"
11/1/201524 minutes, 6 seconds
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Carl Safina – Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel (part 2)

Beyond Words (starts 5:00) Last week, we brought you excerpts from an interview with MacArthur Genius Grant Award winner, scientist and naturalist, Carl Safina, about his ground-breaking book:  Beyond Words – What Animals Think and Feel.  Last week’s excerpts focused on elephants and then on the mysterious accounts of killer whales assisting people in danger … Continue reading "Carl Safina – Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel (part 2)"
10/23/201525 minutes, 32 seconds
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Joel Parker & Space // Carl Safina – Beyond Words

Up Close and Personal – Astrophysicist Joel Parker (starts 3:00)  talks about why he volunteers to educate people about science and outer space. Beyond Words:  What Animals Think and Feel, by Carl Safina.  (starts 4:10) We talk with MacAurther Grant winner, naturalist and scientist, Carl Safina, about his new book.  His publisher has kindly offered a … Continue reading "Joel Parker & Space // Carl Safina – Beyond Words"
10/14/201524 minutes, 49 seconds
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Are GMOs Environmentally-friendly?

GMOs (start time 5:35) An interview with Dr Sharon Collenge, an ecologist at the University of Colorado. Dr Collenge is an advocate of using new genetic technologies to make slight modifications to plant genomes which can increase yield, protect against disease and reduce pesticide use. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Maeve Conran Additional … Continue reading "Are GMOs Environmentally-friendly?"
10/7/201524 minutes, 46 seconds
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Rock Arch Stability // Neonicotinoids and Silent Spring

Rock Arch Stability (Starts 5:24) How on Earth’s Daniel Strain  talks to Jeffrey Moore, a geologist who studies the West’s iconic rock arches — and watches them for signs that they’re about to collapse.   Neonicotinoids and Silent Spring – (Starts 15:33) We share a story from H2O radio warning about a pesticide that’s linked to the collapse … Continue reading "Rock Arch Stability // Neonicotinoids and Silent Spring"
9/30/201523 minutes, 43 seconds
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Neurobiology of Alcohol Abuse

This week on How on Earth, we speak with Dr Paula Hoffman, a neuropharmacologist – she’s scientist who studies what drugs do in the brain- who works on the genetics of alcohol and other drugs of abuse. Paula reviews the action of alcohol on different neurotransmitter systems of the brain then describes some of the … Continue reading "Neurobiology of Alcohol Abuse"
9/16/201524 minutes, 8 seconds
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Quantum Biology: Life on The Edge // Science and Art with Monica Aiello

Quantum Biology: Life on the Edge What do Enzymes and photosynthesis have in common?  Both are biological process that happen to rely on quantum mechanisims.  That’s right, particles tunnling through walls, shifting between particle and wave states: The weirdness of the quantum world isn’t as isolated as we once thought. This past summer Life on … Continue reading "Quantum Biology: Life on The Edge // Science and Art with Monica Aiello"
9/15/201524 minutes, 16 seconds
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Habitat Exchanges // More Frequent Wildfires

Habitat Exchanges (starts at 3:00):  The greater sage grouse is ruffling feathers all the way to Washington.  September 30th is the deadline for the US Fish & Wildlife Service to determine whether to list the grouse under the Endangered Species Act. More than a third of the sage grouse’s shrinking range is on private land. Which … Continue reading "Habitat Exchanges // More Frequent Wildfires"
9/1/201524 minutes, 42 seconds
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Fingerprint Hand Gun // High Altitude Observatory

Fingerprint Hand Gun.  (starts at 5:45) How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender talks with Boulder teen scientist Kai Kloepfer, who is creating a “Smart Gun” that won him first prize in engineering at the INTEL international science fair and a $50,000 grant from the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation.  Kloepfer’s goal is to prevent accidental shootings of … Continue reading "Fingerprint Hand Gun // High Altitude Observatory"
8/25/201525 minutes, 8 seconds
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Gold King Spill, Mining Prospects

Science and Politics of Mining (start time: 6:49)  On August 5 an inactive mine named Gold King, which had been leaking toxins for years, spewed more than 3 million gallons of toxic sludge into a creek that feeds into the Animus River in southwest Colorado. Its neon orange path of wastewater was shocking. But also … Continue reading "Gold King Spill, Mining Prospects"
8/19/201522 minutes, 26 seconds
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Global Climate Models & Climate Change

Beth Bennett speaks with Claudia Tebaldi, a climate scientist at NCAR, about her work analyzing climate models to project climate change in the future. She addressed heat waves and local conditions and how these models can be used to make projections in these areas. Start time approx 5 min. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett … Continue reading "Global Climate Models & Climate Change"
8/13/201529 minutes, 27 seconds
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Historical Analysis of Agriculture and Greenhouse Gases

When it comes to reducing greenhouses gases, every little bit helps, and that includes managing the greenhouse gases produced by how we grow our food.  Raising livestock and growing crops both generate greenhouse gases, and to gauge their impact, a new study takes the long range view.  The results were published in a paper: “Measuring … Continue reading "Historical Analysis of Agriculture and Greenhouse Gases"
8/5/201524 minutes, 17 seconds
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Grazing the Niobrara // Savory Institute

Mooo-ving Cattle Near the Niobrara (starts 4:28) We talk with Steve Hicks, director of the USFW  Niobrara Wildlife Refuge complex near Valentine, Nebraska and join the Rocking Arrow Ranch on a cattle moo-oo-vve designed to help maintain the quality of wild grasslands   The Savory Institute (starts 10:05)  We talk with Boulder’s grazing think tank, The … Continue reading "Grazing the Niobrara // Savory Institute"
7/28/201523 minutes, 37 seconds
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Pluto Flyby // Case of the Rickety Cossack

Pluto Flyby  (start time 1:00): Joel Parker discusses the New Horizons mission from the command center live! Case of the Rickety Cossack (start time 25:00): Beth Bennett talks to Ian Tattersall about his new book,  a fascinating précis of the study of human evolution and some startling new findings showing that our species is one of many … Continue reading "Pluto Flyby // Case of the Rickety Cossack"
7/15/201524 minutes, 48 seconds
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Unprocessed Food // Bee Biodiversity

Real Food (start time 4:20): What we eat , and how we eat, is inextricably connected to our own health as well as the health of the planet.  Every decision we make—whether to bake a chocolate cake or buy it from Safeway or at a Farmer’s Market—is full of nuances and even contradictions. Megan Kimble … Continue reading "Unprocessed Food // Bee Biodiversity"
6/30/201524 minutes, 4 seconds
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Student Dust Counter reaches Pluto

(Main Feature Start Time 6:00) We talk with CU students, former students and their advisor about how a student built science instrument called the Student Dust Counter managed to travel billions of miles on the New Horizons spacecraft, and what happens with its project to study space dust, now that it’s near Pluto. Hosts: Shelley Schlender, … Continue reading "Student Dust Counter reaches Pluto"
6/23/201522 minutes, 40 seconds
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Fourth Phase of Water – Extended Interview

Here is an extended excerpt with Dr. Gerald Pollack, University of Washington professor of Bioengineering. We talk about what barriers exist for scientists in today’s community and a new resource for research to be evaluated in a rigours and open minded format. Listen here!
6/17/201513 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Fourth Phase of Water

How On Earth reporter Kendra Krueger caught up with Gerald Pollack, Bioengineering professor from the University of Washington to talk about the physical chemistry of water.  The science of water has a sordid past of controversy and dispute which continues today in our current scientific and layman communities.  Why is that? What is so strange … Continue reading "The Fourth Phase of Water"
6/16/201524 minutes, 25 seconds
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Aging//and not aging

We talk with Dr Thomas Johnson about his long standing interest in aging and how he used a nearly microscopic worm to investigate this process. Recently, he has transitioned into using mice to identify genes influencing the aging process. Some of his findings have identified potential drugs to slow aging and keep us healthier as … Continue reading "Aging//and not aging"
6/9/201528 minutes, 35 seconds
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Einstein, Niels Bohr and Grandmothers…a Fairy Tale!

An educator and perfomer, Len Barron first developed a piece about Einsteina and Bohr as a one man show, but then decided to evolve the project by enlist the help of 8 grandmothers to tell the story with their own added pizazz.  Not only was lively performance produced, but a process and experience was shared. … Continue reading "Einstein, Niels Bohr and Grandmothers…a Fairy Tale!"
5/26/201524 minutes, 13 seconds
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Birds v. Cats // Humor Science

Birds v. Cats (start time 4:35): Spring is in full bloom on Colorado’s Front Range. Robins and other birds wake us up before the crack of dawn with their choruses.  This is also a time when many chicks will hatch and then fledge — a time when they are most vulnerable to predators. The biggest … Continue reading "Birds v. Cats // Humor Science"
5/19/201523 minutes, 41 seconds
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Gold Lab Symposium//Mapping Pain in the Brain

  GOLD LAB SYMPOSIUM (start time: 4:26) We talk with Larry Gold, Founder of the Gold Lab Symposium, about this Friday/Saturday, free symposium at CU Boulder.  (check the website for previous talks, or to register for this weekend’s seminar).             MAPPING CHRONIC PAIN   (start time: 15:56)  We visit a Chronic Pain Support group … Continue reading "Gold Lab Symposium//Mapping Pain in the Brain"
5/12/201522 minutes, 43 seconds
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Sage Grouse Saga // Ocean Health

Sage Grouse Saga (start time: 4:04): One of the most spectacular and flamboyant rites of spring is, arguably, the mating ritual of a the greater sage grouse, a chicken-like bird with a long tail, with spiky tail feathers.  Its historic range spans 11 Western states, including Colorado. But that sagebrush-dominated habitat has been chopped up … Continue reading "Sage Grouse Saga // Ocean Health"
4/28/201524 minutes, 2 seconds
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Are Ketones the Key?

Ketones (start time 6:40) A growing body of scientific research demonstrates health benefits for many people with a diet that’s lower in carbohydrates, and higher in fats.  In fact, some of this research indicates great therapeutic benefits,.  One reason why may be that, when carbohydrate consumption is low enough, the body enters a state of “nutritional … Continue reading "Are Ketones the Key?"
4/23/201525 minutes, 57 seconds
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Biomimicry: A New lens on Technology and Innovation

  Today’s special edition of How on Earth, brought to you in conjunction with this week’s Conference on World Affairs is a conversation on Biomimicy as a new lens to view science and technology with Margo Farnsworth.  Margo has coached two Top Twelve graduate teams for the International Student Biomimicry Challenge and currently serves as … Continue reading "Biomimicry: A New lens on Technology and Innovation"
4/8/201521 minutes, 42 seconds
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Island On Fire: The Story of Laki

Island on Fire (04:45): In 1783, a crack opened up in the Earth, began to spew out lava and ash and poisonous gases, and didn’t stop for eight months. The volcano was Laki, one of many volcanoes in Iceland, and the effects of the eruption went global. Laki’s story is one of geology, chemistry, atmospheric science, … Continue reading "Island On Fire: The Story of Laki"
3/31/201525 minutes, 1 second
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Polar Bears // Climate Scientists

Climate Scientists (starts at 1:00): Climate scientists (scientists in general)  tend to steer clear of speaking out as activists about concerns that are politically volatile.  But that’s changing. Many climate scientists are stepping out of their research comfort zone to offer personal stories of why they care and what we all can do about the … Continue reading "Polar Bears // Climate Scientists"
3/24/201524 minutes, 30 seconds
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Using Worms to Study Neurodegenerative Diseases

Nematode worms for studying Alzheimer’s (start time 4:57). Beth Bennett interviews Dr Chris Link from CU Boulder on his research into the genetic basis of Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, and other neurodegenerative disorders. Hosts: Kendra Krueger, Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Kendra Krueger Executive Producer: Kendra Krueger Listen to the show:
3/22/201523 minutes, 24 seconds
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Rust: The Longest War // The Moral Arc

On today’s spring pledge-drive show we offer segments of two feature interviews. See extended versions also below. Both books are available to those who pledge at least $60 to KGNU. Call 303.449.4885 today. Rust: The Longest War (start time: 4:25) It is arguably the most destructive natural disaster in the modern world. And it’s the … Continue reading "Rust: The Longest War // The Moral Arc"
3/10/201524 minutes, 18 seconds
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The ATLAS Institute // Firefighters and Climate Change

ATLAS Institute Today we are joined in the studio with Mark Gross of the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society institute at CU and Alicia Gibb Director of The Blow Things Up Lab, one of the spaces part of the ATLAS department. ATLAS was formed in 1997 as a university wide initiative to integrate information … Continue reading "The ATLAS Institute // Firefighters and Climate Change"
2/25/201518 minutes, 31 seconds
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Ancestors in Our Genome

We speak with Eugene Harris, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Geology at Queensborough Community College – part of  the City University of New York – about his new book,  Ancestors in Our Genome. In this feature, we discussed the methods used by molecular anthropologists to determine human evolution from our primate ancestors and … Continue reading "Ancestors in Our Genome"
2/18/201523 minutes, 23 seconds
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War of the Whales: A True Story

War of the Whales: A True Story (starts at 3:35): In the early hours of March 15th, of the year 2000, a Cuvier beaked whale washed ashore a mere 100 feet from Ken Balcomb’s house on the island of Abaco in the Bahamas. It was, for the whale, a fortuitous coincidence: Balcomb was a marine … Continue reading "War of the Whales: A True Story"
2/11/201523 minutes, 49 seconds
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Arctic Frontiers // Wind Forecasting

Arctic Dispatch (starts at 2:18): There is no question that the Arctic is thawing faster than anywhere on the planet, except the western Antarctic Peninsula. But there are still so many unknowns regarding how things are actually changing in different places, and to what effect. How On Earth’s Susan Moran recently attended the Arctic Frontiers … Continue reading "Arctic Frontiers // Wind Forecasting"
2/4/201524 minutes, 28 seconds
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Other Rocky Planets are Common!

We talk with astronomer Travis Metcalfe about finding the oldest known planetary system in the Galaxy, and what it means about the formation of planets, the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, and how does one actually find planets around other stars? Headlines include switches in the man-made biological organisms that could possibly be used for bioterrorism, and … Continue reading "Other Rocky Planets are Common!"
1/30/201523 minutes, 50 seconds
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Moonshine // Parkinson’s Network Exercise

The Science of Moonshine  (starts 3:55) We talk with a Boulder scientist who has a home still for making high-proof brandy from backyard apples.  It’s illegal to make your own liquor, even if you only sip it with friends and never sell it.  So our moonshiner remains anonymous.     Parkinson’s Network Exercise Class (starts 7:35) … Continue reading "Moonshine // Parkinson’s Network Exercise"
1/20/201524 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Rightful Place of Science: Disasters and Climate Change

The rightful place of science (starts at 6:22): In 2014, the world certainly saw more than a few costly weather disasters.  Flooding in India and Pakistan in September killed more than 600 people and resulted in economic losses of more than $18 billion.  Super Typhoon Rammasum, which hit the Philippines, China and Vietnam in July … Continue reading "The Rightful Place of Science: Disasters and Climate Change"
1/14/201525 minutes, 4 seconds
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Coral Climate Clues // Tropical Carbon Sink

On today’s show we offer three feature interviews, including a short opening interview. Alcohol and weight gain (starts at 3:34): Science journalist Jill Adams shares the latest science on the connection between alcohol and weight gain. The science is murky, as she states in her recent column in the Washington Post.   Climate Clues in … Continue reading "Coral Climate Clues // Tropical Carbon Sink"
1/7/20150
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Red Meat & Mice // Loren Cordain – The Paleo Diet

“Sugar” in Red Meat – Cancer in Mice? (starts at 6:10) We talk with Ajit Varki, a researcher at the University of California in San Diego whose latest mouse studies  reveal a potential inflammatory compound in red meat — a “sugar” called sialic acid.  (For more, listen to our extended version of this interview)     Paleo … Continue reading "Red Meat & Mice // Loren Cordain – The Paleo Diet"
12/30/201423 minutes, 27 seconds
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Red Meat Sugar Glycans and Inflammation – Extended Version

I’m Shelley Schlender for How on Earth.  Up next is an extended interview with University of California in San Diego scientist Ajit Varki  about his team’s new mouse study that indicates that a “sugar” in red meat, called sialic acid, can trigger inflammation when fed to mice.  This sugar is intriguing because it’s a molecule … Continue reading "Red Meat Sugar Glycans and Inflammation – Extended Version"
12/30/201426 minutes, 35 seconds
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Himalayan Glacial Lakes

Himalayan Glacial Lakes (starts at 5:20) Some scientists conduct their experiments in a laboratory — think clean white walls, artificial lighting, A.C. and a convenient coffee pot not far away. Not so for Ulyana Horodyskyj, a graduate student at the University of Colorado. For the last few years she’s been looking at glaciers and the lakes on … Continue reading "Himalayan Glacial Lakes"
12/24/201423 minutes, 43 seconds
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Weather Drones // The late Dr. Theo Colborn

Weather drones (start time 5:10) Brian Argrow, former professor and Associate Dean of engineering at CU Boulder, joins us in the studio to talk about the recent formation Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Sever Storm Research Group.  The group is a collaboration between the CU Boulder and the University of Nebraska-LIncoln who have been working together … Continue reading "Weather Drones // The late Dr. Theo Colborn"
12/17/201424 minutes, 37 seconds
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Want to Save the Amazon? Think Like an Ant.

The Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse places on earth, but it is currently at risk from oil development. Some of the park’s inhabitants, however, are trying to forge a more sustainable, and less destructive path out of poverty.  These indigenous Kichwa people, who have already been caretakers of the … Continue reading "Want to Save the Amazon? Think Like an Ant."
12/8/201424 minutes, 38 seconds
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Animal Weapons – The Evolution of Battle (Doug Emlen)

We talk with biologist Douglas Emlen, who says that the evolution of animal weapons, in everything from dung beetles to saber tooth tigers, has him very worried about our HUMAN weapons (starts 4:20) . . . and listeners are invited to join the Sunday, December 14th  73rd Boulder Audubon Christmas Bird Count     Hosts: Jane … Continue reading "Animal Weapons – The Evolution of Battle (Doug Emlen)"
12/2/201422 minutes, 49 seconds
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Green Chemistry (extended version)

Listen here for an extended conversation with John Warner about the difference between enthalpy and entropy and how it relates to our scientific world view.
11/25/20143 minutes, 15 seconds
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Green Chemistry

There’s a lot of attention right now on creating environmentally friendly technology, non-toxic and sustainable manufacturing, but as Dr. John Warner explains it, it all has to start with the chemistry. John Warner is a chemist, professor and co-founder of the Warner-Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry.   He speaks profoundly about learning methods from nature … Continue reading "Green Chemistry"
11/25/201424 minutes, 38 seconds
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Science of Booze // Rosetta Mission

Proof: The Science of Booze (starts at 8:09): Science journalist Adam Rogers, who claims to have taken a liking to single-malt whiskey when he reached drinking age, has immersed himself further into alcohol–particularly, the history and science of making booze, tasting it, and enjoying–or suffering—the effects of it. Booze is a big story: Indeed, making … Continue reading "Science of Booze // Rosetta Mission"
11/19/201424 minutes, 8 seconds
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Frontrange Bioneers // Green Electricity or Green Money?

(4:00) Kendra talks with local organizers about the upcoming Front Range Bioneers conference             (11:20) Shelley talks with Tim Schoechle about his new position paper for the National Law and Policy Institute, Green Electricity or Green Money? Hosts: Shelley Schlender, Kendra Krueger Producer: Shelley Schlender Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producers: Jane … Continue reading "Frontrange Bioneers // Green Electricity or Green Money?"
11/4/201422 minutes, 46 seconds
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Gulp

Gulp [starts at 4:25] Bestselling author, Mary Roach has been billed as American’s funniest science writer.  In “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal” she takes readers on a journey through the alimentary canal, extolling the marvels of spit on the beginning end, then moving on to the man who had a hole in his stomach that allowed … Continue reading "Gulp"
10/29/201423 minutes, 42 seconds
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Do Fathers Matter Pt. 2 // Mercury in Water

Do Fathers Matter? (start time: 3:07) If you’re a father or a son or daughter – which pretty much covers everyone – this interview should hit home.  Science journalist Paul Raeburn’s latest book — “Do Fathers Matter? What Science Is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked” – explores  what seems like a no-brainer question. … Continue reading "Do Fathers Matter Pt. 2 // Mercury in Water"
10/21/201424 minutes, 55 seconds
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Do Fathers Matter?

Do Fathers Matter? (start times: 9:55 and 20:58) Today’s How on Earth show is part of the KGNU fall membership pledge drive. During this show we preview an upcoming feature of the book: “Do Fathers Matter? What Science Is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked” by science journalist Paul Raeburn.  It may seem obvious that fathers … Continue reading "Do Fathers Matter?"
10/15/201426 minutes, 38 seconds
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Buddhist Geeks and The Future Earth Initiative

Vincent Horn and Buddhist Geeks (starts at 4:42): On October 16th the Buddhist Geek Conference comes to boulder.  Founder Vincent Horn speaks to us about how mindfulness, compassion and contemplative practice can be integrated into the technical world. http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/conference/ Future Earth (starts at 12:58): On our second feature, CSU Professor Dennis Ojima talks to Susan Moran … Continue reading "Buddhist Geeks and The Future Earth Initiative"
10/7/201421 minutes, 52 seconds
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Living Planet Report // Finding Exoplanet Water

Living Planet Report (starts at 5:50): The environmental organization World Wildlife Fund just released its science-based biennial Living Planet Report.  It doesn’t paint a rosy picture overall; WWF shows that, for instance, wildlife populations across the globe are roughly half the size they were 40 years ago.  And although rich countries show a 10 percent increase … Continue reading "Living Planet Report // Finding Exoplanet Water"
9/30/201424 minutes, 53 seconds
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Facts and Faith: A Conversation with Katharine Hayhoe

Facts and Faith (starts at 4:30): Two weeks ago Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a professor of atmospheric science at Texas tech came to town to speak at Chautauqua.  As a scientist and a Christian, she advocates for illuminating the urgency and reality of climate change to conservative and religious audiences.  We had the opportunity to sit down … Continue reading "Facts and Faith: A Conversation with Katharine Hayhoe"
9/23/201421 minutes, 28 seconds
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Testing the Water

Testing the Water (Start time 3:30) What exactly is in our water—the stuff we drink, shower in and use to wash our vegetables? This is a question lots of Coloradans have started to ask in the last few years as oil and gas operations have ramped up in the state. Several communities have become very … Continue reading "Testing the Water"
9/16/201424 minutes, 1 second
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The Meaning of Wilderness // The Ocean Is Us #5: Living Underwater

The Meaning of Wilderness (starts 4:30): Fifty years ago last week, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act. It was then, and remains today, one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation. It has protected millions of acres of land. And it established a legal definition of wilderness: “an area where the earth … Continue reading "The Meaning of Wilderness // The Ocean Is Us #5: Living Underwater"
9/9/201424 minutes, 1 second
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Solar Flares — High-Tech Armageddon?

Recent headlines  warn that Coronal Mass Ejections, better known as Solar Flares, could trigger a high-tech Armageddon, disabling power and communication on a global scale, for months.  Today we talk with Boulder scientists Dan Baker, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and Doug Biesecker,  National Space Weather Prediction Center, about the risks from Solar Flares, what to worry … Continue reading "Solar Flares — High-Tech Armageddon?"
9/2/201424 minutes, 30 seconds
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The Ocean is Us #4: Sustainable Seafood

Sustainable Seafood: (start time 5:10) This is the fourth feature interview in The Ocean Is Us series, which explores how we in land-locked states are connected to the oceans and what’s at stake.  Today we discuss sustainable seafood, which to some critics is an oxymoron, given that some 90% of large fish already have been … Continue reading "The Ocean is Us #4: Sustainable Seafood"
8/26/201425 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Ocean Is Us #3 : Marine Sanctuaries

Marine Sanctuaries (starts at 5:18) This is the third feature interview In the Ocean Is Us series, which explores how we in land-locked Colorado are connected to the oceans, why they matter so much to us all, and what’s at stake.  Today we discuss marine sanctuaries: the conservation science behind establishing them, and their ecological … Continue reading "The Ocean Is Us #3 : Marine Sanctuaries"
8/19/201424 minutes, 33 seconds
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Greenback Cutthroat Trout // Migraines

Greenback Cuttthroat Trout (starts at 6:06)  Colorado has always been a state of nature lovers, which is why, in the era of our great great grandfathers, citizens even designated an official state fish. It’s the Greenback Cutthroat Trout that thrived in the mountain streams above Boulder and Denver. Colorado wildlife officials had long assumed that Greenback … Continue reading "Greenback Cutthroat Trout // Migraines"
8/13/201424 minutes, 24 seconds
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A Tough Summer Vacation

A Tough Summer Vacation (start time 10:52) It’s summer! And although the town feels empty of students for many around here, some researchers may be feeling a sad little void this week as summer internships tie up and interns leave town for a short break before beginning their normal school years. Three Boulder institutions run … Continue reading "A Tough Summer Vacation"
8/7/201425 minutes, 15 seconds
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Rosetta // Autism & the Microbiome

We talk with Joel Parker about his Denver Science Museum presentation.  Joel is a project leader for one of the scientific instruments on board the Rosetta space mission.  We also discuss new findings about how improving the health of the human digestive tract, with the use of beneficial microbes, might improve mood disorders, including reducing … Continue reading "Rosetta // Autism & the Microbiome"
7/29/201424 minutes
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Earth-friendly Landscaping

Summer is a time to celebrate our bursting gardens. But you may be wondering why your neighbor’s garden seems to be attracting all the butterflies, honeybees and hummingbirds, while yours seems to be attracting mostly aphids and raccoons. Our guest, Alison Peck, owner of Matrix Gardens in Boulder, talks with How On Earth host Susan … Continue reading "Earth-friendly Landscaping"
7/23/201424 minutes, 41 seconds
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The Oso Landslide

Jim Pullen speaks with Dr. David Montgomery, Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington about the landslide that buried Oso, Washington, in March 2014. Host: Kendra Krueger Producer: Jim Pullen Engineer: Maeve Conran Executive Producer: Joel Parker Listen to the show:
7/22/201423 minutes, 27 seconds
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The Ocean Is Us #2 : Endocrine Disruptors in Drinking Water

Endocrine Disruptors and Drinking Water (starts at 3:12) Today we continue our series called The Ocean is Us, which explores our  vital connection to the oceans. Alan Vajda, an environmental endocrinologist at the University of Colorado Denver, talks with How On Earth’s Susan Moran about a rare  success story: why fish in Boulder Creek are … Continue reading "The Ocean Is Us #2 : Endocrine Disruptors in Drinking Water"
7/9/201422 minutes, 44 seconds
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Astronomy Through the Ages

Astronomy Through the Ages (starts at 4:10): If I ask you to close your eyes and imagine an astronomer, what do you see? Maybe you think of a lone figure hunched all night over the eyepiece of a telescope in a big, domed observatory. Maybe you think of Jodie Foster, as Ellie Arroway in the movie … Continue reading "Astronomy Through the Ages"
7/1/201424 minutes, 31 seconds
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The Ocean Is Us #1 : Teens4Oceans – Marine Science Education

Teens4Oceans (starts at 9:15): Today, we’re kicking off a series of interviews on the show called The Ocean Is Us. We’ll explore how all of us living in land-locked Colorado are connected to the ocean — whether it’s through our watershed that flows into the Gulf of Mexico, or the fish we buy at the grocery … Continue reading "The Ocean Is Us #1 : Teens4Oceans – Marine Science Education"
6/26/201423 minutes, 38 seconds
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Caffeine and Athletics

Caffeine and Athletics (starts at 4:35): Chances are you’ve already had a cup of coffee this morning or, if you are like me, it was a cup of tea. Or maybe, if you are truly hedonistic, you started the day with a bar of chocolate. Either way, if any of these options are part of your … Continue reading "Caffeine and Athletics"
6/17/201423 minutes, 9 seconds
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Hope On Earth

Hope On Earth (starts 7:08): Few people have thought as critically and deeply about the state of Earth and our role on it than Paul Ehrlich. Over the course of several decades, the Stanford University biologist and ecologist has written many books, including 1968’s controversial The Population Bomb, in which he predicted that hundreds of millions … Continue reading "Hope On Earth"
6/10/201425 minutes, 11 seconds
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Wireless Dawn or Electronic Silent Spring?

(1:00) Cell Phone Radiation – Headphones please?  Chris Farnsworth uses a microwave meter to measure cell phone radiation, to urges people to at least use headphones with a mobile phone. (7:50) CU Engineering Emeritus Professor Frank Barnes talks with  Katie Singer, author of An Electronic Silent Spring.  We also offer an extended interview. Producer, Engineer, … Continue reading "Wireless Dawn or Electronic Silent Spring?"
6/4/201425 minutes, 34 seconds
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Wireless Technology – Extended Version of Interview with Frank Barnes and Katie Singer

CU-Boulder Electrical Engineering Emeritus Professor Frank Barnes is the past president of the BioElectroMagnetics Society.  He recently chaired a National Research Council panel on research priorities related to the potential health effects of exposure to radio frequency energy from the use of wireless technology, such as cell phones.  As a scientist, Frank Barnes recently talked … Continue reading "Wireless Technology – Extended Version of Interview with Frank Barnes and Katie Singer"
6/3/201451 minutes, 53 seconds
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Massive Stars

Massive stars (start time 6:45)  Dr. Emily Levesque is an astronomer who studies big stars, distant stars,  exploding stars, and truly weird stars called Thorne–Żytkow objects. All of these topics relate to massive stars – stars that are more than eight time more massive than our Sun.  Dr. Levesque is a postdoctoral Hubble fellowship and … Continue reading "Massive Stars"
5/27/201424 minutes, 45 seconds
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Colorado’s Science Fair Stars // Rosetta Comet Mission

Colorado’s Science Fair Stars (starts at 3:18) As the end of the school year approaches for high school students, it’s a good time to celebrate the achievements and passion of students in Colorado who have excelled in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM). Two of them — Hope Weinstein, a senior at Fairview High in … Continue reading "Colorado’s Science Fair Stars // Rosetta Comet Mission"
5/20/201424 minutes, 32 seconds
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Gold Lab // National Climate Assessment

For our May 13th show we offer two features: Gold Lab Symposium (starts at 3:42): Biotech entrepreneur Larry Gold, a CU Boulder professor at the BioFrontiers Institute, talks with How On Earth’s Shelley Schlender about the annual Gold Lab Symposium, which will be held in Boulder May 16th and 17th.  This year’s theme is Embracing the … Continue reading "Gold Lab // National Climate Assessment"
5/13/201424 minutes, 2 seconds
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Hacking Happiness

You drive to Starbucks with your cell phone in your pocket, go online, read your favorite newspaper, share an interesting book review on Facebook and then go and order the bestseller from Amazon. It’s only 9:00am, but you’ve already left a data trail—a big one—on your whereabouts, your taste, your friends, and your financial habits. … Continue reading "Hacking Happiness"
5/6/201423 minutes, 56 seconds
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Baseball Vision // Emerald Ash Borer

Today, April 29th, we offer two features: Baseball Vision (starts at 5:42): The major league baseball season is now in full “swing.” Fans may  take it for granted that these professional athletes are in top physical condition.  What’s less known is how important it is for baseball players to have perfect eyesight.  Batters in particular … Continue reading "Baseball Vision // Emerald Ash Borer"
4/30/201423 minutes, 56 seconds
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NASA Visit // IPCC Report

Earth Day gives us plenty of reason to reflect on the state of the planet and the impact we humans have had on it. This week’s show featured Dr. Linda Mearns, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, who is among hundreds of scientists who produced the latest report on global … Continue reading "NASA Visit // IPCC Report"
4/25/201414 minutes, 39 seconds
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Space Dust

Dr. Mihaly Horanyi and his colleagues at the University of Colorado are on the brink of watching an instrument they developed crash into the moon. It’s okay—it’s designed to. In the meantime, the instrument, LDEX, is measuring impacts from dust particles a fraction of the width of a human hair on NASA’s LADEE mission. It’s measured … Continue reading "Space Dust"
4/15/201424 minutes, 1 second
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Space Dust – Extended Version

For the patient and interested listener, here’s more of How On Earth host Beth Bartel’s conversation about space dust with University of Colorado’s Mihaly Horanyi. We talk about why we should colonize the moon, how Dr. Horanyi got into studying dust in the first place—which is a very interesting Cold-War-era story—how space dust may give us … Continue reading "Space Dust – Extended Version"
4/15/201415 minutes, 6 seconds
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Conquering the Energy Crisis

Welcome to this special edition of How on Earth.  This week, the 66th annual Conference of World Affairs is happening on the campus of CU-Boulder, and today’s show is one of the events.  The speaker and guest in our studio today is Maggie Koerth-Baker.  She writes a monthly column, “Eureka,” for The New York Times … Continue reading "Conquering the Energy Crisis"
4/10/201424 minutes, 29 seconds
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Quantum Computers

Quantum Computers [starts at 7:05] Dr. David Wineland has worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, for 38 years. In 2012, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with France’s Dr. Serge Haroche for “ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems”.  Dr. Wineland and his colleagues use electromagnetic … Continue reading "Quantum Computers"
4/1/201425 minutes, 55 seconds
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1964 Alaska Earthquake // Neuroscience of Dying

1964 Alaska Earthquake (start time 04:37) This week 50 years ago, in 1964, the Beatles were huge, Alaska had only been a state for a mere five years, and the theory of plate tectonics was in toddlerhood. This Thursday, March 27, also marks the 50th anniversary of the magnitude 9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. … Continue reading "1964 Alaska Earthquake // Neuroscience of Dying"
3/25/201424 minutes, 3 seconds
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1964 Alaska Earthquake – Extended Version

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. To commemorate the quake, we’re posting this extended version of the interview we broadcast on March 25, 2014, with Dr. Mike West, the Alaska State Seismologist and Director of the Alaska Earthquake Center. How On Earth host Beth Bartel talked with Dr. West about his recent … Continue reading "1964 Alaska Earthquake – Extended Version"
3/25/201434 minutes, 32 seconds
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Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You

Welcome to the Spring Pledge Drive edition of How On Earth. I’m this quarter’s Executive Producer, Jim Pullen. We, the How On Earth team, encourage you to take a different take on the world, to examine assumptions, ideas and evidence critically. The great philosopher of science Karl Popper, a champion of the essential role of … Continue reading "Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You"
3/18/201414 minutes, 10 seconds
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Plants in Space // Relativity

Plants in Space (start time 04:36) What would you miss if you were to spend an extended time in space—driving a car? Going to the movies? Hiking? Playing with your dog? Gravity, maybe? Or maybe something as simple as eating good, nutritious vegetables. How On Earth’s Beth Bartel speaks with University of Colorado undergraduate researcher Lizzy … Continue reading "Plants in Space // Relativity"
3/11/201424 minutes, 8 seconds
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Beringia // Dolphins & Climate Change // The Ogallala Road

Beringia (start time 0:55). We present an excerpt of  Shelly Schlender’s  interview with University of Colorado scientist John Hoffecker, lead author of a recent paper in Science magazine about the Beringia land bridge and the people who lived there 25,000 years ago.  The full interview can be found here.   Dolphins & Climate Change (start time 4:40). Dr. Denise … Continue reading "Beringia // Dolphins & Climate Change // The Ogallala Road"
3/4/201423 minutes, 47 seconds
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How Native Americans Came to Be – Extended Version – Beringia

I’m Shelley Schlender for How on Earth.  Here’s an extended version of an interview about how Native Americans came to be.  It’s about a CU-Boulder study that appeared in Science Magazine in February 2014, and promptly made headlines around the world.  The study involves top-notch detective work that shows how, almost 30,000 years ago, a … Continue reading "How Native Americans Came to Be – Extended Version – Beringia"
3/4/201441 minutes, 35 seconds
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Tracing Methane’s Source in Drinking Water // Safe Place for Captive Wolves

Methane in Drinking Water (start time 05:36) Flaming water faucets were infamously exposed in the documentaries Gasland and Gasland 2. The water isn’t catching fire–methane in the water is. People are deeply concerned that methane, dredged from kilometers down, is leaking into our drinking water supplies through poorly constructed and maintained oil and gas wells, … Continue reading "Tracing Methane’s Source in Drinking Water // Safe Place for Captive Wolves"
2/25/201424 minutes, 50 seconds
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Molecular Gastronomy

Welcome to a special Radio Nibbles version of How On Earth. Nibbles’ (and pie aficionado) John Lehndorff, chef Ian Kleinman and How On Earth’s Jim Pullen set to work making and eating high-tech delicacies. Liquid nitrogen sorbets, strawberries floating above superconducting magnets, and more! Food and tech on the show that makes you smarter. Yum! … Continue reading "Molecular Gastronomy"
2/18/201425 minutes, 11 seconds
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CO2 from the Amazon // US Smokestacks

Amazon CO2 (start time 04:37) The Amazon basin contains the largest tropical rainforest on the planet. It’s been critical not only for its beauty and biodiversity but also for its ability to store more carbon dioxide than it emits. The soil and above-ground biomass of the Amazon makes it one of the largest reservoirs of … Continue reading "CO2 from the Amazon // US Smokestacks"
2/11/201424 minutes
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Arctic Thaw // Methane Study // Bonobo Conservation

Today’s show offers three features: Arctic Dispatch: (start time: 1:02) Co-host Susan Moran returns from Tromso, Norway, with a dispatch from the Arctic Frontiers conference, which addressed the human health and environmental impacts of a rapidly thawing Arctic. Lars Otto Reierson, executive secretary of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program within the Arctic Council, discusses … Continue reading "Arctic Thaw // Methane Study // Bonobo Conservation"
2/6/201423 minutes, 33 seconds
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Newton’s Football // Strontium Clock

Newton’s Football (start time 5:45)  This Sunday the Denver Broncos face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, so we thought we’d bring you a scientific perspective on the game of football. How on Earth’s Ted Burnham talks with the co-authors of the book Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game, journalist Allen St. John … Continue reading "Newton’s Football // Strontium Clock"
1/28/201422 minutes, 36 seconds
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Rosetta Wakes Up // Jelly Sandwich Earth // Hospital Acquired Infections // Microbes Reduce Autism in Mice

Outsourcing Pollution (01:08) What’s sent to China comes back to the good old U S of A. Arctic Frontiers (02:03) How on Earth’s  Susan Moran flies to Norway Conference Wake Up, Rosetta!   (3:00) As project manager for the Rosetta Alice UV Spectrometer, How on Earth’s  Joel Parker shares tense moments, waiting for  Rosetta to wake up. Jelly Sandwich … Continue reading "Rosetta Wakes Up // Jelly Sandwich Earth // Hospital Acquired Infections // Microbes Reduce Autism in Mice"
1/21/201424 minutes, 40 seconds
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Quitting smoking//Smoke and children’s health

Quitting smoking (start time 4:39) 50 years ago, the U.S. Surgeon General began a campaign against cigarettes that has saved million of lives. Cohost Jim Pullen talks with Dr. Amy Lukowski about proven strategies to stop smoking and a special quitting campaign for women who are pregnant. Dr. Lukowski is the Clinical Director of the Health Initiatives … Continue reading "Quitting smoking//Smoke and children’s health"
1/14/201423 minutes, 45 seconds
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2013 Was a Good Year, in Science!

The team considers noteworthy science on the last day of 2013. What’s worth mentioning? Too many people, too much carbon, and way too much fun in astronomy! Biology and Health (start time 00:56). This year marked the passing of long-time Boulder resident, Al Bartlett. Bartlett was one of the world’s most eloquent voices calling for population … Continue reading "2013 Was a Good Year, in Science!"
12/31/201324 minutes, 20 seconds
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Fairy Science // Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count

We offer two features on this Christmas Eve How On Earth. Fairies in 19th century science education (start time: 3:52): Victorian educators used the magical world to teach young children about science. That was before fairies fell out of favor in science, alas. How On Earth co-host Jim Pullen talks with Melanie Keene, director of … Continue reading "Fairy Science // Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count"
12/25/201324 minutes, 31 seconds
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Fireproofing Mountain Homes // Winter Solstice

Fireproofing Mountain Homes (starts at 3:20) We discuss a new study from the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana.  It warns that  thinning forests may help prevent property damage from the “typical” wildfires, fire suppression can’t stand up against the 3% of fires that burn super-hot and spread super fast.  What’s more, the Missoula study warns that … Continue reading "Fireproofing Mountain Homes // Winter Solstice"
12/18/201324 minutes, 51 seconds
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Big Game, Warm World // Hour of Code

Big Game and Climate Change (start time 5:00) Last week, the National Resource Council released some serious warnings about climate change, saying its impacts could be abrupt and surprising. But as How on Earth contributor Brian Calvert reports, the National Wildlife Federation says big game is already getting hit. Species from mule deer to antelope to bear … Continue reading "Big Game, Warm World // Hour of Code"
12/11/201324 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tesla // Octopus!

Feature 1 – Tesla (start time 5:30) Nicola Tesla is one of the iconic figures of the early electrical age. He invented AC motor technology still used today in your DVD player and also polyphase AC power. He was a brilliant demonstrator, whose images of flowers of lightning growing from his inventions and portraits of … Continue reading "Tesla // Octopus!"
12/3/201323 minutes, 46 seconds
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Engineering for Kids // Antarctica’s Ross Sea

On Tuesday, Nov. 26, How On Earth brings you two features: Feature #1: (start time 5:53) STEM, as you may well know, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Many math and science topics are introduced throughout most years of primary education, but technology and engineering — not so much. We live in a world … Continue reading "Engineering for Kids // Antarctica’s Ross Sea"
11/27/201324 minutes, 5 seconds
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Carnegie Professor of the Year // Measuring Oil and Gas Air Pollution

Feature 1 – Carnegie Professor of the Year (start time 5:40):  Join the KGNU How On Earth team and CU physicist and Carnegie Teacher of the Year Dr. Steve Pollock to learn about the pain and pleasure of learning physics. Pollock teaches both upper and lower division physics classes, and according to a former student … Continue reading "Carnegie Professor of the Year // Measuring Oil and Gas Air Pollution"
11/19/201324 minutes, 32 seconds
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The Sports Gene // These Shining Lives

THE SPORTS GENE:  Running has become a great elite sport, thanks in part to the amazing sprinters from Jamaica  and the long distance runners from the African equator.  How much is all that running talent nature, and what’s the power of nurture?  In his book, The Sports Gene, David Epstein says it’s definitely both. THESE … Continue reading "The Sports Gene // These Shining Lives"
11/18/201323 minutes, 59 seconds
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Salt Lake City’s Drier Future // Spruce Beetle Outbreak

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, How On Earth brings you one short report and two features: Feature 1 – Salt Lake City’s Drier Future (start time 4:25): Guests Laura Briefer and Tim Bardsley talk with How On Earth’s Jim Pullen about how science is helping water management planners in Salt Lake City prepare for an uncertain—and … Continue reading "Salt Lake City’s Drier Future // Spruce Beetle Outbreak"
11/6/201322 minutes, 48 seconds
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Flood Winners & Losers // 100 Year Starship Symposium

Feature 1 – Flood Winners & Losers : Last month’s deluge cut canyons, real and felt, through many of our lives, but nature helps us remember that floods can build too. In this feature, How on Earth’s Jim Pullen speaks with Boulder’s wetland and riparian ecologist Marianne Giolitto about flood “winners and losers”.   Marianne watches over 45,000 … Continue reading "Flood Winners & Losers // 100 Year Starship Symposium"
10/29/20136 minutes, 50 seconds
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Antarctica Research // The Cancer Chronicles

We offer two features on the Tuesday, Oct. 22, show: Feature 1 – Antarctica Research (start time 4:15): Diane McKnight, a professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, talks with How On Earth contributor Brian Calvert about scientific discoveries from Antarctica. During the temporary government shutdown the United States Antarctic … Continue reading "Antarctica Research // The Cancer Chronicles"
10/22/201323 minutes, 50 seconds
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The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance

In this pledge drive show for KGNU, we feature an interview with David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene.  Through his new book, Epstein looks straight at a debate that’s as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to be top athletes? Or … Continue reading "The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance"
10/18/201322 minutes, 34 seconds
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Plight of Bees // Climate and Flood

Feature 1: (start time: 03:45) Our first guest is Boulder beekeeper Tom Theobald. He talks about the current state of the bee crisis and what, if anything, the EPA is doing to address concerns that systemic pesticides like Clothianidan are properly controlled.   Feature 2: (start time: 12:42) Then National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist … Continue reading "Plight of Bees // Climate and Flood"
10/9/201323 minutes, 57 seconds
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IPCC Assessment Report 5

On Friday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, better known as the IPCC, released the first bit of its Fifth Assessment Report, a volume with a plain name that may have a large influence on global policy. This first part of the report, part one of three, is the “sciency” part, documenting the current state … Continue reading "IPCC Assessment Report 5"
10/2/201324 minutes, 47 seconds
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Monarch Migration // Better Batteries

Feature #1: (start time 4:45) As we unpack our coats and boots from storage boxes, so are insects, in their own way, planning for a seasonal change.  Monarch butterflies in our neighborhood, east of the Rockies, fly south to very specific forests high in the mountains of Mexico. Their journey, and life at their destination, … Continue reading "Monarch Migration // Better Batteries"
9/24/201324 minutes, 33 seconds
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Boulder Science Festival // Insect Chorus Songs

Headlines:  CU Scientists explore ways to combat methicillin-resistant staff infections; Yale survey indicates Coloradans concerned about climate change; Denver and Boulder Cafe Sci’s begin for fall; Farewell to Population scientist, Al Bartlett. Boulder Science Festival (starts at 5:58) Many people in Boulder are familiar with the large number of local science groups and institutes, so … Continue reading "Boulder Science Festival // Insect Chorus Songs"
9/10/201323 minutes, 41 seconds
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Wildfires & Water Reservoirs // Comet ISON

For the Sept. 3rd How On Earth show we offer two features: Wildfires Threaten Water Supplies: (start time 5:45) The wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park is now the fourth-largest in California’s history. Covering nearly 350 square miles, the Rim Fire is threatening the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which supplies residents in the San … Continue reading "Wildfires & Water Reservoirs // Comet ISON"
9/4/20130
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Noise Pollution

Noise Pollution (starts at 6:15) –  How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender talks with research scientist Larry Finegold about noise pollution and about a workshop being held today in Denver about Noise Management in Communities and Natural Areas.  Dr. Finegold has authored or contributed to over 80 publications on noise including the US National Academy of Engineering … Continue reading "Noise Pollution"
8/27/201325 minutes, 22 seconds
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Kepler’s Prospects // Oncofertility

For the August 20 How On Earth show we offer two features: Kepler Spacecraft’s Uncertain Future: (start time 5:48) Are we alone in the cosmos? Are there other planets out there, and could some of them support life?  Or, is Earth somehow unique in its ability to support life?  The Kepler mission was designed to … Continue reading "Kepler’s Prospects // Oncofertility"
8/21/201323 minutes, 26 seconds
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Copper Might Promote Alzheimer’s – Extended Version

  I’m Shelley Schlender.  This is an extended interview from the report we broadcast on August 20th, 2013, about a new study from the University of Rochester that indicates that too much of an essential nutrient, copper, might promote Alzheimer’s disease. As background Rashid Deane gave mice drinking water laced with 50 times their normal … Continue reading "Copper Might Promote Alzheimer’s – Extended Version"
8/20/201326 minutes, 33 seconds
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Court Orders NRC to Decide on Yucca Mountain Permit

On Tuesday, August 13th, the US Court of Appeals-DC Circuit ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to evaluate the application for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. Dr. Bill Alley and Rosemarie Alley talk with us about the significance of the decision. The Alley’s just published Too Hot To Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste … Continue reading "Court Orders NRC to Decide on Yucca Mountain Permit"
8/18/201319 minutes, 26 seconds
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Too Hot To Touch

Today we’re joined by Dr. William Alley and Rosemarie Alley to learn about the nuclear waste crisis in the United States. Bill Alley, a distinguished hydrologist, was in charge of the USGS’s water studies at Yucca Mountain from 2002 until 2010, when the Obama administration ended the project. Rosemarie Alley is a writer and educator … Continue reading "Too Hot To Touch"
8/14/201325 minutes, 20 seconds
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Smoke Free Casinos Reduce 911 Calls // Mirrors and Water = Hydrogen Fuel

Smoke Free Casinos Reduce 911 Calls (starts at 2:41) Colorado’s ban on smoking up at Central City and Black Hawk casinos has not only reduced second hand smoke.  It’s reduced the number of 911 calls for ambulances.    A new study in this week’s journal, Circulation, reports that ambulance calls to casinos in Gilpin County … Continue reading "Smoke Free Casinos Reduce 911 Calls // Mirrors and Water = Hydrogen Fuel"
8/6/201324 minutes, 5 seconds
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Buzz Aldrin’s Vision for Space//The Bees Needs

Buzz Aldrin’s Vision for Space Exploration (starts at 6:14) Dr. Buzz Aldrin advocates that the United States should not enter a space-race to the moon against the Chinese, or a race to Mars against the Russians, but rather show leadership by cooperating with the major space-faring nations to systematically step across the great void to … Continue reading "Buzz Aldrin’s Vision for Space//The Bees Needs"
8/1/201326 minutes, 47 seconds
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Fecal Microbial Transplant for C. Diff Colitis

We bring you two recent science releases involving Colorado scientists.  One features bumblebees and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.  The second looks at new tick-born disease from Missouri that was tracked down by Harry Savage, CDC Fort Collins. We also share a story about an unusual medical treatment that is saving people from a devastating … Continue reading "Fecal Microbial Transplant for C. Diff Colitis"
7/24/201322 minutes, 29 seconds
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World Listening Day

WWVB Ft. Collins (© 2013 Jim Pullen) The World Listening Project celebrated its 40 anniversary on Thursday, July 18th. On Thursday, How On Earth’s Jim Pullen was in Ft. Collins recording audio for an upcoming story on the National Institute of Standards and Technology radio station WWVB. To celebrate the World Listening Project, World Listening … Continue reading "World Listening Day"
7/21/201310 minutes, 27 seconds
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End of Night – Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light

The world is awash with artificial lights – so much so that most of us never experience the night sky like our ancestors did. So what?  Does it matter?  Is it simply an inevitable and acceptable result of progress?  Here in the studio with us today to talk about the personal and global effects of … Continue reading "End of Night – Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light"
7/17/201325 minutes, 3 seconds
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Good & Bad Calories // PhD Comics

Good & Bad Calories (starts at 4:50) Ever since the 1970s, the rise of obesity in the United States has an epidemic. Researchers around the world are trying desperately to figure out why so many of us get fat, and what we can do to change that.  A large amount of funding, and support from public health … Continue reading "Good & Bad Calories // PhD Comics"
7/9/201324 minutes, 46 seconds
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The Voodoo Doll Task // Drones for Climate Science

The Voodoo Doll Task – (begins 5:30) Scientists have few ways to accurately measure agression.  How on Earth’s Garth Sundem talks with University of Kentucky psychology professor, Nathan DeWall, about a new fix. It’s called the Voodoo Doll Task. DeWall’s recent studies include over thirteen hundred subjects, and an upcoming research paper shows his voodoo … Continue reading "The Voodoo Doll Task // Drones for Climate Science"
6/26/201323 minutes, 22 seconds
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China’s environmental impact // 100 Year Starship

Today, June 18, we offer two features interviews: Feature #1 – China’s Environmental Impact (start time  4:46): China’s meteoric economic rise is causing harmful side effects, ranging from choking air pollution domestically to threatened forests, wildlife and air quality around the globe. Of course China’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions still pale in comparison to … Continue reading "China’s environmental impact // 100 Year Starship"
6/18/201326 minutes, 6 seconds
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Bird collisions and wind energy policy

  One to two million additional bird deaths per year. Wind is the most rapidly growing energy source in the US, but are environmental protections keeping pace? Tuesday on How On Earth, Kelly Fuller, the American Bird Conservancy’s Wind Campaign Coordinator, talks with Jim Pullen about the impact of big wind on birds. Host: Jim … Continue reading "Bird collisions and wind energy policy"
6/10/201323 minutes, 23 seconds
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Cancer Drug Delivery // Mars’ Radiation Risks

Enjoy the two features we offer today, June 4: Feature #1 (start time 5:36):  Cancer drugs are much more targeted than they were many years ago.  But researchers are still trying to find a way to deliver drugs much more precisely to cancer cells, partly to avoid damaging, sometimes lethal, side effects. A huge obstacle … Continue reading "Cancer Drug Delivery // Mars’ Radiation Risks"
6/4/201324 minutes, 40 seconds
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Oh Thank You Canada: Lessons from the North on Growing Industrial Hemp

(starts at 08:19) At (high? no, not this plant) noon on Tuesday, Governor John Hickenlooper will sign a bill that will legalize growing industrial hemp in Colorado. But it’s been 70 years since hemp was legally grown in the US… Fortunately, because Canada lifted its ban in the 1990s, we can seek the experience of … Continue reading "Oh Thank You Canada: Lessons from the North on Growing Industrial Hemp"
5/27/201324 minutes, 57 seconds
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Palm oil and rainforest devastation

(start time: 07:23) We talk with Lindsey Allen, the Executive Director of the Rainforest Action Network, about the destruction of rainforest from the proliferation of palm oil plantations. Hosts: Jim Pullen, Joel Parker Producer: Jim Pullen Engineer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Joel Parker Listen to the show:
5/21/201322 minutes, 57 seconds
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Larry Gold – Gold Lab Symposium

We talk with Larry Gold about this year’s Gold Lab Symposium at CU-Boulder.  It features, “The Biological and Social Evolution of Healthcare: Rube Goldberg and Time.  Friday, May 17th – Saturday, May 18th, 2013, Muenzinger Auditorium, University of Colorado Boulder.  NOTE:  After the conference, speaker presentations will be posted at the Gold Lab Symposium site. Hosts: Joel Parker, Jim … Continue reading "Larry Gold – Gold Lab Symposium"
5/15/201324 minutes, 41 seconds
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Brain Trust // Drought

Brain Trust (starts at 4:23)  When you are trying to make a decision about something important or having a disagreement with someone, don’t you sometimes wish you had a scientist with you – a world expert on the topic at hand – to help you out?  In fact, it would be great to have dozens … Continue reading "Brain Trust // Drought"
5/7/201322 minutes, 52 seconds
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Dr. David Wineland and the human side of winning the Nobel Prize

Today on How On Earth, KGNU’s award-winning science show, we continue our discussion with Boulder’s Dr. David Wineland about the human side of winning the Nobel Prize. The National Institute of Standards and Technology scientist shared the 2012 physics award with France’s Serge Haroche. They’ve developed experimental methods for trapping and holding particles so that … Continue reading "Dr. David Wineland and the human side of winning the Nobel Prize"
5/1/201324 minutes, 29 seconds
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Mapping Pain in the Brain – CU Scientist Tor Wager

Headlines: Climate Change Accelerates Changing Climate Zones – CU-Boulder and CIRES Scientist Irina Mahlstein (starts at 1:00) Family Dogs Harber Family Microbes – CU Boulder Scientist Rob Knight (and the American Gut Project) (starts at 2:26) Sound from the Big Bang – from John G. Cramer (starts at 4:45) Mapping Pain in the Brain (starts at 7:30 … Continue reading "Mapping Pain in the Brain – CU Scientist Tor Wager"
4/23/201324 minutes, 35 seconds
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Conference on World Affairs Special with SETI’s Seth Shostak

Welcome to a special episode of How On Earth with Dr. Seth Shostak, the Senior Astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute. We’ve been listening for their tell-tale signal for 50 years with no luck, but Seth says that he’ll bet a cup of coffee we’ll hear from them in the next few decades. … Continue reading "Conference on World Affairs Special with SETI’s Seth Shostak"
4/9/201325 minutes, 46 seconds
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Everything died under a broiling sky

Extinction at the K-Pg boundary CU professor Doug Robertson and a multidisciplinary team  argue afresh that a global firestorm swept the planet in the hours after a mountain-sized asteroid vaporized above the Yucatan, 66 million years ago. When the blown-out rock missiled back to earth, Robertson says the atmosphere became so hot the whole world … Continue reading "Everything died under a broiling sky"
4/4/201310 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Universe Within // De-Extinction

The Universe Within (starts at 4:40) Within each and every one of us is the history of life on this planet, the planet itself and the entire universe.  This is the theme of a new book “The Universe Within.”  The author, Neil Shubin, is a professor of Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago.  … Continue reading "The Universe Within // De-Extinction"
4/3/201324 minutes, 3 seconds
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Tom’s River // Making Primitive Fire

Tom’s River (starts at 5:03) Susan Moran interviews Dan Fagin, author of the new book Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation.  You’ve likely heard of the chemical contamination of Love Canal at Niagara Falls, in the mid-1970s. And the leukemia cluster linked to water pollution in Woburn, Massachusetts,in the mid-80s — made famous by the book Civil Action. But you may … Continue reading "Tom’s River // Making Primitive Fire"
3/27/201324 minutes, 45 seconds
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Neil Shubin -The Universe Within

In this spring pledge drive show, How on Earth’s Chip Grandits talks with Neil Shubin, author of the new book, The Universe Within:  Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets and People.  We offer this book to listeners to who call KGNU to pledge their support and bring you more programs like this.  Additionally, we … Continue reading "Neil Shubin -The Universe Within"
3/19/201325 minutes
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Facing the Wave // Pandora’s Lunchbox

Facing the Wave (starts at 04:50) Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that rocked and partially devoured the northeastern coast of Japan. Although prone to earthquakes, the Tōhoku event hit a magnitude of 9.0, tying it for fourth largest earthquake on record according to the United States Geological Survey—a magnitude greater than … Continue reading "Facing the Wave // Pandora’s Lunchbox"
3/12/201324 minutes, 59 seconds
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Facing the Wave – extended interview with Gretel Ehrlich

This is an extended version of the interview we broadcast on March 12, 2013, featuring author Gretel Ehrlich discussing the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
3/12/201324 minutes, 59 seconds
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We Are the Martians

(Start time 5:15) “The Men of Earth came to Mars. They came because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy or unhappy, because they felt like Pilgrims or did not feel like Pilgrims. There was a reason for each man. They were leaving bad wives or bad towns; they were coming to find … Continue reading "We Are the Martians"
3/5/201324 minutes
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Parallel Universes

The concept of a parallel universe, a universe remarkably like our own but with some subtle difference, has been the staple of science fiction stories for years.  But it is an idea that is seriously discussed in real science starting many decades ago when physicists wrestled with the weird implications of Quantum Mechanics, and recently … Continue reading "Parallel Universes"
2/26/201324 minutes, 27 seconds
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Parallel Universes – extended interview with Brian Greene

This is an extended version of the interview we broadcast on February 26, 2013, featuring Professor Brian Greene discussing the concepts of Parallel Universes.
2/26/201325 minutes, 33 seconds
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Bright Meteor // Dark Matter

Russian Meteor (starts at 4:28) Just a few days ago on February 15th,  a large meteor broke up in the skies over Russia, creating an air blast and sonic boom, which caused damage to buildings that injured over 1,000 people. We talk with Dr. Clark Chapman to ask why the universe is taking potshots at … Continue reading "Bright Meteor // Dark Matter"
2/20/201323 minutes, 52 seconds
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U.S. Climate Report // Antarctics Sounds

  Feature #1 (starts 05:25): A sweeping new report on the state of climate change and its current and future impacts in the United States was recently released in draft form. It’s called the National Climate Assessment.  It comes at a time when major storms and wildfires are increasing in many areas. And last year … Continue reading "U.S. Climate Report // Antarctics Sounds"
2/13/201324 minutes, 37 seconds
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Dr. David Wineland

Today on How On Earth, KGNU’s award-winning science show, we sit down with Boulder’s Dr. David Wineland and chat about his Nobel-prize-winning research. The NIST scientist shared the 2012 physics award with Frenchman Serge Haroche. They’ve developed experimental methods for trapping and holding particles so that weird quantum behaviors can be studied. The research is … Continue reading "Dr. David Wineland"
2/7/201324 minutes, 52 seconds
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Visindi Circus//Life on Other Planets

  Headlines: Ice Core Studies How Flu Multiplies Wednesday’s Mini-STEM school features Diana Tomback.  Her topic will be: Evolution and the Origin of Life. Features: (5:20 into the show) Shelley Schlender visits the Visindi Circus to learn why some scientists by day become circus performers at night, and how science adds a whole new dimension to circus performances. (13:00 … Continue reading "Visindi Circus//Life on Other Planets"
1/29/201324 minutes, 33 seconds
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Gut Microbes and Autoimmune Disease // What’s in YOUR Gut? The American Gut Project

  Headlines: New CU Studies on GroundLevel Ozone, with NOAA’s Sam Oltmans, CU researcher Daven Henze and NASA’s Kevin Bowman Good Cholesterol, Bad Cholesterol and “Ugly” Cholesterol Tonight’s Denver Cafe Sci features Tad Pfeffer:  Getting sea level predictions right Features: We look at a new study where researchers, led by Jayne Danska transferred gut microbes from male … Continue reading "Gut Microbes and Autoimmune Disease // What’s in YOUR Gut? The American Gut Project"
1/22/201324 minutes, 11 seconds
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Haitian Seismologists//Changing Antarctic Climate

Feature #1: (start time: 06:03) On January 12, 2010, just over three years ago, a magnitude 7 earthquake shook Haiti, taking more than 200,000 lives and displacing an estimated 2 million. Still today, the International Organization for Migration estimates hundreds of thousands of people are without permanent homes, and in many ways Haiti seems no … Continue reading "Haitian Seismologists//Changing Antarctic Climate"
1/15/201324 minutes, 31 seconds
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Medical Marijuana and Traffic Accidents//Ron Rosedale Critiques Body Mass Index Study

HEADLINES: Diabetes Drug Metformin – University of Pennsylvania Researcher Morris Birnbaum reports in Nature that Metformin blocks a hormone that tells the liver to melt muscle to make more blood sugar. (Go here for an extended interview with Morris Birnbaum) Climate Change – Research shows that timely political action has a bigger impact than waiting. … Continue reading "Medical Marijuana and Traffic Accidents//Ron Rosedale Critiques Body Mass Index Study"
1/9/201323 minutes, 10 seconds
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Metformin Lowers Blood Sugars by Blocking the Hormone Glucagon – Extended Interview with Morris Birnbaum

This is an extended version of the January 8th, 2013 interview with Morris Birnbaum, about how Metformin lowers blood sugars in diabetics by blocking the hormone glucagon.
1/9/201353 minutes, 49 seconds
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New Study on BMI (Body Mass Index) and Longevity – Critique by Dr. Ron Rosedale – Extended Interview

This is an extended version of the interview we broadcast on January 8th, 2013, featuring Ron Rosedale discussing the new study about BMI and Longevity.
1/9/201334 minutes, 16 seconds
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Medical Marijuana and Reduced Traffic Fatalities – Extended Interview with Mark Anderson

This is an extended interview with University of Montana Economist Mark Anderson, from the January 8th How On Earth broadcast.
1/9/201315 minutes, 27 seconds
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Marijuana and Pot as Substitutions – Extended Interview with Ben Crost

This is an extended interview from the January 8th, 2013 HowonEarth.
1/8/201312 minutes, 25 seconds
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State Climatologist // Water Contamination

Feature #1: (start time 5:09)  Did you know that Colorado, and for that matter most states, have their own “state climatologist” – an expert who keeps tabs on the changing climate and its impacts in the state. In Colorado’s case it’s Nolan Doesken. He’s based out of the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University. … Continue reading "State Climatologist // Water Contamination"
12/19/201224 minutes, 45 seconds
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Robert Arentz – Asteroid Impact Hazards & Ball Aerospace

Main Feature (starts at 5:25). We talk with Dr. Robert Arentz from Ball Aerospace in Boulder about what’s new and interesting at Ball and in space missions in general including asteroid impact hazards on Earth and what can be done about it. Hosts: Joel Parker and Jim Pullen Producer: Joel Parker Engineer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Jim Pullen Listen … Continue reading "Robert Arentz – Asteroid Impact Hazards & Ball Aerospace"
12/12/201222 minutes, 59 seconds
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The Fat Switch – Richard Johnson MD

Headlines:   Chemicals that make drinking water cleaner, might increase allergies to food Rumors run amok about “historic” Mars Mission press conference West Nile Virus, Lyme’s disease, and Dengue fever on the rise Main feature (6 minutes in):  We’re in that time of year when animals hibernate.  Before they started their long winter’s nap, they … Continue reading "The Fat Switch – Richard Johnson MD"
12/4/201224 minutes, 47 seconds
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The American Gut – What’s in YOUR Gut?

We share three new findings that include contributions from Colorado scientists:  1.  Diane McKnight coauthors study about Bacteria that thrive in a frigid hell-hole – the pitch-dark, super-salty, poisonous Lake Vida in Antarctica, 2.  William Colgan offers new ways to calculate a glacier’s melting rates, 3.  Alicia Karspeck offers a new weather forecast – Cloudy with … Continue reading "The American Gut – What’s in YOUR Gut?"
11/27/201223 minutes, 1 second
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Bernie Krause

Today on How On Earth we speak with Dr. Bernie Krause about how soundscapes can help us understand the health of ecosystems. Dr. Krause has been recording the whole sounds of nature all over the world for 40 years. His new book is The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s … Continue reading "Bernie Krause"
11/25/201224 minutes, 9 seconds
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Clean Tech Nation//Feedback in Climate Models

Clean Tech Nation (start time: 4:57): Over the last few years renewable electricity generation has doubled, thanks in part to President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package. In fact, many clean technologies and industries have taken off, including solar, biofuels, green building and electric vehicles. But the stimulus money is about to run out, as is the … Continue reading "Clean Tech Nation//Feedback in Climate Models"
11/18/201223 minutes, 18 seconds
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The Dust Bowl / Population Growth

Feature #1: The Dust Bowl (start time 6:53) As bad as the drought has been recently in Colorado and other states, it pales in comparison to the nearly 10-year-long drought of the 1930s. Its unrelenting and gargantuan dust storms inspired the name “The Dust Bowl.” In southeast Colorado and other Great Plains states, children died … Continue reading "The Dust Bowl / Population Growth"
11/6/201223 minutes, 18 seconds
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Stopping Cancer in its Tracks – Telomerase Receptor Inhibition

Last month, CU Nobel Prize Winner Tom Cech (Check) and colleagues announced a breakthrough in their quest to stop cancer.  It involves an enzyme known as telomerase (tell-AH-mer-aze), which helps cells divide almost endlessly – helpful when a child is growing.  In adults, most cells stop responding to telomerase.  Instead they save up a limited number of cell … Continue reading "Stopping Cancer in its Tracks – Telomerase Receptor Inhibition"
11/6/201212 minutes, 3 seconds
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The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson

The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson (start time 6:20). The book Silent Spring, published in 1962, is widely credited for setting the stage for the modern environmental movement. Its author, Rachel Carson, an unassuming field biologist and writer, uncovered how in the process of killing crop pests, chemicals such as DDT were also killing birds, fish … Continue reading "The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson"
10/30/201223 minutes, 23 seconds
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CU Multidisciplinary Oil Production Study

How can we best live with natural gas development? A University of Colorado team has just been awarded an NSF grant to tackle the problem. Here to chat with us about the study is Dr. Joe Ryan, the lead-PI of the multidisciplinary team. And the lead of the study’s air quality task, Dr. Jana Milford, … Continue reading "CU Multidisciplinary Oil Production Study"
10/24/201223 minutes, 21 seconds
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Pledge Drive Show//Genetic-mutant Paganini

This is our 2012 Fall Pledge Drive Show and our subject is Genes Gone Bad, or do you have to be a genetic-mutant superhuman to play Paganini? Helping us answer that question is Boulder’s own and world-renowned Dr. Gregory Walker. And in a very special treat, Gregory plays the magnificent Paganini Caprice No. 24, live … Continue reading "Pledge Drive Show//Genetic-mutant Paganini"
10/20/201224 minutes, 28 seconds
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Boulder Nobel Science Winner//Searching for Sister Earth

We talk with Travis Metcalfe, of Boulder’s Space Science Institute, where he is searching for Sister Earth and also part of the Blue Dot Project.  As for why, the past two decades have witnessed accelerating progress on one of the most fundamental questions in astronomy: Are we alone in the Universe? Astronomers have already discovered … Continue reading "Boulder Nobel Science Winner//Searching for Sister Earth"
10/10/201224 minutes, 17 seconds
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Neanderthals//Antarctica

Feature #1: Neanderthals (start time: 6:01) Our Neanderthal ancestors have long been maligned as rather dim-witted cave-dwellers. But they may have been brighter — and more colorful — more like us, shall we say.  We turn to the BBC’s Science in Action for a look at new research into who these ancestors really were. Here’s … Continue reading "Neanderthals//Antarctica"
10/2/201224 minutes, 6 seconds
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Big Waves // Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Big Waves (start time 4:39):  When does one plus one not equal two? When waves behave non-linearly, according to CU researchers Mark Ablowitz and Douglas Baldwin.  The two have been researching how multiple water waves can add together to form a wave with a height much greater than twice the height of either wave. The mathematicians … Continue reading "Big Waves // Omega 3 Fatty Acids"
9/25/201224 minutes, 46 seconds
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Colorado Drought // A More Perfect Heaven

Colorado Drought Conference (start time 4:35): Experts are meeting at a conference in Denver this week to discuss the implications of prolonged drought conditions here in Colorado. How On Earth’ Susan Moran speaks with biologist Dr. Chad McNutt of the NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information Center about wthe drought means for the ecosystem, and for Western … Continue reading "Colorado Drought // A More Perfect Heaven"
9/18/201222 minutes, 38 seconds
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Higgs-Boson: What is all the excitement about?

We’ll talk about the World of a tiny particle called the Higgs-Boson, with CU Physicist Uriel Nauenberg.  Nauenberg also speaks tonight at the Boulder Cafe Scientifique. Hosts: Joel Parker and Ted Burnham Producer: Shelley Schlender Engineer: Jim Pullen Executive Producer: Susan Moran
9/12/201223 minutes, 49 seconds
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The Idea Factory – Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

Bell Labs thrived from the 1920s to the 1980s, when it was most innovative and productive institution of the twentieth century. Long before America’s brightest scientific minds began migrating west to Silicon Valley, they flocked to the Bell Labs campus in the New Jersey suburbs. At its peak, Bell Labs employed nearly fifteen thousand people, … Continue reading "The Idea Factory – Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation"
9/4/201223 minutes, 42 seconds
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Public health risks of BPA

(start time: 5:50). We Coloradoans pride ourselves on our healthy habits — eating right, exercising, and paying attention to what’s in the food we eat. Yet many of the things we use everyday, like water bottles, sunscreens, makeup, and – OK, soda cans — are full of toxic chemicals. Many of them are untested, and … Continue reading "Public health risks of BPA"
8/21/201225 minutes, 10 seconds
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Planetary Sciences Budget // Curiosity’s RAD

Curiosity’s RAD (start time 7:14). To design a successful manned mission to Mars, we’ll have to know a lot about the radiation environment between the Earth and Mars and on the planet’s surface. The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument on Curiosity is designed to make those measurements. We talk with Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Donald … Continue reading "Planetary Sciences Budget // Curiosity’s RAD"
8/15/201225 minutes, 39 seconds
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Beer Can Science

Beer Can Science (start time 6:50) If you’re a beer drinker, you’ve probably noticed that there are a lot of cans on liquor store shelves these days. Here in Colorado, and elsewhere, more and more breweries are choosing to put their beer in cans. There are some good reasons for that, as you’ll hear in … Continue reading "Beer Can Science"
8/7/201223 minutes, 27 seconds
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Volcanoes & the Atmosphere // Traffic in Beijing

Volcanoes & the Atmosphere (start time 6:17): We’ve known for a long time that volcanic particles and gases can travel around the world, often affecting climate.  The 1815 eruption of the Indonesian volcano Tambora chilled New England and Europe, resulting in what came to be known as “the year without a summer.”  More recently, the 1991 eruption … Continue reading "Volcanoes & the Atmosphere // Traffic in Beijing"
8/1/201224 minutes, 32 seconds
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Global Weirdness // Institute for Social and Environmental Transition

We feel it when we step into the heat outside; something weird is up with the climate. . Not only is it hot, we’re weathering a drought of historic proportions. That drought has set the stage for crop losses and for wildfires that are burning up the homes of people who live in the mountains … Continue reading "Global Weirdness // Institute for Social and Environmental Transition"
7/25/201223 minutes, 51 seconds
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Immortality – Science vs Sci Fi

We talk with CU-Boulder’s Tom Johnson and NYT Bestselling author, James Rollins about Rollins’ new book, Bloodline.  We also look at immortality, longevity, and aging, comparing the science and the sci fi.  And we offer extended versions of the interviews with James Rollins and Tom Johnson. Hosts: Joel Parker and Beth Bartel Producer: Shelley Schlender Engineer: Shelley Schlender … Continue reading "Immortality – Science vs Sci Fi"
7/17/201223 minutes, 54 seconds
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James Rollins – Bloodline (SciFi book about immortality)

This is an extended version of the radio broadcast of the interview with James Rollins about his new book, Bloodline.  In it, we look at the issues of science versus fiction, and technologies that might lead to life extension through robotics, artificial intelligence, and triple-stranded DNA . . . IF the good guys don’t defeat … Continue reading "James Rollins – Bloodline (SciFi book about immortality)"
7/17/201217 minutes, 45 seconds
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Tom Johnson – Extended Version

This is an extended version of the broadcast interview with CU-Boulder’s Tom Johnson.  In this interview, Johnson talks about his pioneering work discovering the first “longevity gene” known as AGE-1.  He explains the various functions of this remarkable gene and others like it, and he reviews the science . . . and the fiction . … Continue reading "Tom Johnson – Extended Version"
7/17/201231 minutes, 19 seconds
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Geologic Carbon Sequestration // Clean Technology

Geologic Carbon Sequestration (Start time 4:53): As carbon dioxide emissions continue to skyrocket, researchers are scrambling to find reliable ways to curb emissions of the most persistent greenhouse gas. One of the experimental approaches is geologic carbon sequestration – trapping CO2 from power plants and other sources and pumping it thousands of feet underground in … Continue reading "Geologic Carbon Sequestration // Clean Technology"
7/11/201223 minutes, 15 seconds
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Mountain Wildfires

With record high temperatures along with record low snowpack, the Colorado Front Range has been ravaged by increasingly expensive wildfires.  For today’s show, How on Earth brings in two fire experts for a panel discussion.  John Daily is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado and the director of the Center for … Continue reading "Mountain Wildfires"
7/3/201224 minutes, 15 seconds
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Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History

In this special summer pledge drive show, the How On Earth science team shares reasons why they volunteer to bring you science.  And we share a conversation with Florence Williams, a local author and scientist who has an extensive history of breast and uterine cancer in her family.  She decided to do research into the … Continue reading "Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History"
6/26/201223 minutes, 23 seconds
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Engineering Happiness // The Effects of Black Holes

Engineering Happiness (start time 05:09): You may think the key to happiness lies in money, or love, or more vacation days.  But what it really comes down to is math — a mathematical formula, actually. At least that’s according to a recently published book, called “Engineering Happiness: A New Approach for Building a Joyful Life.” It’s co-authored by two … Continue reading "Engineering Happiness // The Effects of Black Holes"
6/19/201224 minutes, 31 seconds
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Dr. Paul Lightsey

Dr. Paul Lightsey and JWST (start time: 5:55). Paul Lightsey, mission system engineer for the James Webb Space Telescope, joins us to share his intimate knowledge of the telescope’s optical element. JWST is the replacement for the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. The telescope will stare back so far in time and space that it … Continue reading "Dr. Paul Lightsey"
6/12/201223 minutes, 52 seconds
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Potable water//Electric vehicle infrastructure

Potable Water (start time 5:31). Here on the Front Range, the last three months have been the driest on record. Usually, we get about 8 inches of rain through this time period. This year, it’s more like three inches of rain. A dry year raises a question that’s always a worry in Colorado — what … Continue reading "Potable water//Electric vehicle infrastructure"
6/8/201224 minutes, 42 seconds
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Distributed Energy // Pluto’s Occultation

In today’s How On Earth we have two features: Distributed Energy (start time 5:46): Enjoying the twinkling stars without nighttime light pollution is a luxury for many of us. We can flick on the switch when we return home, after all. But think what would it be like if you were among the 1.5 billion … Continue reading "Distributed Energy // Pluto’s Occultation"
5/29/201224 minutes, 45 seconds
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Thorium // Space Weather

Thorium (start time 4:54). It sits at the bottom of the periodic table of elements, among its fellow radioactive substances, including uranium and plutonium.  It’s called Thorium, named for the Norse god of thunder. Decades ago, uranium won out over thorium as the nuclear fuel of choice to power the world’s reactors. A new book … Continue reading "Thorium // Space Weather"
5/23/201224 minutes, 40 seconds
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Why Calories Count//Boulder Gold Lab Symposium

Why Calories Count (start time 7:10). More than a billion people in the world suffer from too few of them. About the same number suffer from too many. We’re talking about calories. They’re vital to human health, indeed our very survival. A new book, called “Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics,” delves into the … Continue reading "Why Calories Count//Boulder Gold Lab Symposium"
5/15/201225 minutes, 58 seconds
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Proteomics and the Search for a Wellness Chip

What if you could find out about dozens of diseases, all at once, from just one tube of your blood?  It might happen soon, with proteomics and the search for wellness chip.   In this episode, we talk with scientists at Boulder’s Somalogic, Dan Chan, developer of the proteomics based OVA-1 ovarian cancer test, Quest … Continue reading "Proteomics and the Search for a Wellness Chip"
5/8/201223 minutes, 53 seconds
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Climate engineering // Jamie Williams

Jamie Williams (start time  5:40). Today on How On Earth we speak with Jamie Williams about land conservation. It’s safe to say that Williams should take credit for large swaths of land in the West that have been preserved as wilderness. He has served as The Nature Conservancy’s director of landscape conservation for North America … Continue reading "Climate engineering // Jamie Williams"
5/1/201225 minutes, 15 seconds
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Ron Krauss: Saturated Fat and Red Meat? It Depends

We look at the health effects of saturated fat and red meat with one of the world’s leading scientists in the field – Ron Krauss.  His recent studies show that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates INCREASES heart disease risk.  But combining high saturated fat with moderate carbs and then adding red meat — think cheeseburger … Continue reading "Ron Krauss: Saturated Fat and Red Meat? It Depends"
4/24/201224 minutes, 23 seconds
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Communicating with dolphins

Dolphins are intelligent and communicative creatures within their own species and with the other animals native to their waters. Still, a hundred million years of evolutionary history and pressures imposed by radically different environments separate dolphins and humans. Can that enormous chasm be crossed? Can we have a conversation with an alien, a different and … Continue reading "Communicating with dolphins"
4/18/201225 minutes, 39 seconds
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Kinetic Sculptures Refocus the Human Perspective

Jeff Lieberman is a jack of all science trades, and many non-science trades too, actually.  He is a mechanical engineer, a design consultant, a photographer, composer and kinetic sculptor. He hosts the Discovery Channel’s “Time Warp” TV show, has performed at Carnegie Hall, and gave a TedX talk at Cambridge.  But the common thread that … Continue reading "Kinetic Sculptures Refocus the Human Perspective"
4/10/201223 minutes, 55 seconds
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Bees and Pesticides // Radiometers and Weather

Bees and Pesticides (start at 6:40). Two studies published last week in the journal Science (here and here) make a strong case for beekeepers who worry that a new class of pesticides called “neonicotinoids” hurts honeybees and bumblebees.   In recent years, honeybee populations have rapidly declined, in part due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. … Continue reading "Bees and Pesticides // Radiometers and Weather"
4/3/201224 minutes, 14 seconds
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Pesticides, Bees and Niwot Honey Farm’s Tom Theobald [extended version]

This is an extended interview with Niwot Beekeeper Tom Theobald about three new studies that have recently been published regarding the ways that neonicotinoids harm bees.  The studies include one from Purdue, and two from Europe, and all three indicate that these new pesticides are causing more harm to bees than previously thought.
3/30/201231 minutes, 8 seconds
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The Science of Habit Formation

The Power of Habit: If you’re like most of us you’ve tried over and over again to break a bad habit —  be it procrastinating, gorging on chocolate chip cookies every night, or watching TV rather than exercising.  And you know how hard it is to “kick” bad habits.  This week on How On Earth … Continue reading "The Science of Habit Formation"
3/28/201225 minutes, 14 seconds
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The Science of Habit Formation [extended version]

This is the extended version of the interview by How On Earth host Susan Moran of New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg, author of a new book titled The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business.  The interview first aired on March 27, 2012
3/27/201220 minutes, 35 seconds
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The Accelerating Expansion of The Universe // Pine Bark Beetles

The Accelerating Expansion of The Universe (start at 5:11).   Have you ever had the feeling that things are moving faster and faster these days?  Well, maybe it’s not your imagination.  Proof that the universe is not just expanding but is accelerating garnered a Nobel Prize last year.   To help explain what’s going on, we … Continue reading "The Accelerating Expansion of The Universe // Pine Bark Beetles"
3/20/201224 minutes, 11 seconds
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Pine Bark Beetles – Extended Interview with Jeff Mitton and Scott Ferrenberg

3/19/201228 minutes, 31 seconds
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Fukushima Anniversary: global impacts one year later

Fukushima’s impacts a year later: In today’s show we offer a full-length feature (start at 4:57) to mark the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster — the worse nuclear meltdown since Chernobyl in 1986. We explore the longer-term impacts on public health, the environment, and the nuclear power industry, both in … Continue reading "Fukushima Anniversary: global impacts one year later"
3/14/201225 minutes, 18 seconds
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The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess

For our annual Spring Pledge Drive, we feature a book about race, religion and DNA.  The book is The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess, by Jeff Wheelwright.   It’s a story about a beautiful young, Hispano woman in the San Luis Valley of Colorado who one day finds a pea-sized lump in her breast.  … Continue reading "The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess"
3/6/201226 minutes, 54 seconds
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Fukushima Cleanup // Space Debris

Today, Feb. 28, we feature two interviews. Fukashima Cleanup (start at 7:23).  A daunting and ongoing cleanup task is that of removing radioactively contaminated material from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The plant suffered a meltdown in the wake of a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11, 2011. The tsunami swallowed whole … Continue reading "Fukushima Cleanup // Space Debris"
2/29/201223 minutes, 58 seconds
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Fukushima Cleanup [extended version]

This is an extended version of an interview the KGNU Science show, How on Earth broadcast on February 28th, 2012 about radiation clean-up efforts for Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power plant.   This interview features Steve Rima. He’s Vice President of Radiological Services and Engineering at AMEC, in Grand Junction, Colorado.  He’s been working in Japan … Continue reading "Fukushima Cleanup [extended version]"
2/28/201220 minutes, 22 seconds
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Leaky Natural Gas Wells // Measuring Glaciers and Ice Caps

Leaky Natural Gas Wells (start time 6:22).   We speak with Greg Frost, a scientist from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), about a new study, which is being published by the Journal of Geophysical Research.  The study indicates that natural gas drilling creates higher amounts of methane leakage into … Continue reading "Leaky Natural Gas Wells // Measuring Glaciers and Ice Caps"
2/21/201223 minutes, 48 seconds
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Leaky Natural Gas Wells [extended version]

  This is an extended version of the KGNU Science Show, How on Earth.  It features Greg Frost, a scientist with the University of Colorado at Boulder and with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  He’s on the team led by Gabrielle Petron which has been studying leaks from natural gas production.  In this … Continue reading "Leaky Natural Gas Wells [extended version]"
2/21/201227 minutes, 19 seconds
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Boulder Robotics // Compassion

  Boulder is for Robotics (start time 4:00). “It starts really with the fact that a lot of robotics materials, sensors and manufacturing are here in Colorado.” Boulder as a hub for robotics? You bet. KGNU’s Tom McKinnon reports from the first Boulder is for Robotics meetup, which drew over 100 participants. Learn about some local projects, … Continue reading "Boulder Robotics // Compassion"
2/14/201223 minutes, 58 seconds
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Snowshoe Hare // Cubelets Robotics

Snowshoe Hare Faces Uncertain Future (start time 6:35). They don’t get much cuter than bunnies. One of the cutest of them all is the snowshoe hare. It’s elusive, and well camouflaged, so you may well never have seen one. To survive, these hares change their coats with the seasons – white in the snowy winter and rusty … Continue reading "Snowshoe Hare // Cubelets Robotics"
2/7/201224 minutes, 32 seconds
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Algae oil omega-3 // Little Ice Age

Algae Oil Omega-3 (start time 5:28).  Omega-3 dietary supplements are all the rage. Many studies claim that this family of fatty acids benefits your brain, heart and vision, among other things. A non-fish source that already is infused in milk and other foods we consume is oil derived from marine algae. Cohost Susan Moran interviews Dr. Bill … Continue reading "Algae oil omega-3 // Little Ice Age"
2/1/201223 minutes, 54 seconds
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Underwater Volcanoes // Sleep

Underwater Volcanoes (start time 5:45). Most of our planet’s volcanoes are out of sight, and largely out of mind. Hidden under sometimes thousands of feet of water, volcanoes on the sea floor bubble and boil away without our knowledge and largely without our understanding. We talk with Oregon State University volcanologist Bill Chadwick about some … Continue reading "Underwater Volcanoes // Sleep"
1/24/201223 minutes, 46 seconds
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20th Anniversary Science Show

We celebrate 20 years of How on Earth, featuring the 1st ever KGNU science show, 20 years ago, including Bucky Balls, Electromagnetic Radiation and Cows, Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, and along the way, we give updates on current science issues, including Tom McKinnon talking about applications for Bucky Balls (Fullerenes) today, a conversation with … Continue reading "20th Anniversary Science Show"
1/17/201224 minutes, 1 second
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The first KGNU science show (Jan 1992)

Here is the ORIGINAL KGNU science show, broadcast 20 years ago in January 1992.  For our science show on January 17, 2012, we’ll feature excerpts from this show, along with interviews with two of the show’s originators, KGNU station manager, Sam Fuqua, and KGNU Volunteer, Jeff Orrey.
1/16/201231 minutes, 45 seconds
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Nicotine Patches // Restoring the Desert

Do nicotine patches really help you stop smoking?  Shelley Schlender interviews a scientist who says they don’t.  Lois Biener and her colleagues at the University of Massachusetts and Harvard University  have done a study that  indicates that out in the real world, people who use nicotine replacement therapy in the hopes of an easier “quit” … Continue reading "Nicotine Patches // Restoring the Desert"
1/10/201224 minutes, 31 seconds
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Nicotine Patches Don’t Work [extended version]

This is an extended version of the interview with researchers at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts, which indicates that out in the real world, people who use nicotine replacement therapy in the hopes of an easier “quit” don’t fare any better than people who use will power and community support.  Some people who use … Continue reading "Nicotine Patches Don’t Work [extended version]"
1/10/20127 minutes, 34 seconds
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Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

  We hear about a book called Logicomix, featuring Christos Papidimitriou, who is one of the world’s leaders on computational complexity theory, and what happens when he consents to be interviewed by two 10-year olds.  And in the headlines, we delve into a new report published in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & … Continue reading "Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth"
1/3/201224 minutes, 47 seconds
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Clean Water Struggles // 2011’s Big Sci-Enviro-Tech Stories

Mining retention pond in Colorado. Image courtesy of the EPA. Clean Water Struggles. Co-host Susan Moran interviews journalist Judith Lewis Mernit about how small rural communities in the West are struggling to afford complying with federal water-quality standards as they relate to water pollutants. Mernit wrote an article on the topic in High Country News’ Dec. … Continue reading "Clean Water Struggles // 2011’s Big Sci-Enviro-Tech Stories"
12/27/201123 minutes, 42 seconds
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Holiday Sci & Tech Gifts // Eating Your Heart Out?

  We take a look at favorite holiday sci-tech gifts, including the SparkFun Inventor’s Kit, Logicomix, Manga Guide to Electricity, Lego Mindstorms,  a fun new novelty for anyone on your list – giant microbes.  After the show, we also voted to add yet one more item to your last-minute gifts – a mesh bag of … Continue reading "Holiday Sci & Tech Gifts // Eating Your Heart Out?"
12/20/201123 minutes, 41 seconds
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Incentives for Renewable Energy//Climate Change and Biodiversity

In last month’s election, Boulder voters gave the go-ahead for the city to move forward on municipalizing the electrical utility.  The chief motivation for that decision was to put more renewable energy on the grid.  There are a large number of policy options to incentivize renewable energy – so many that it’s hard to keep … Continue reading "Incentives for Renewable Energy//Climate Change and Biodiversity"
12/13/201123 minutes, 53 seconds
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Future of Electric Vehicles//Diet and Acne

Jim Motavalli joins us by phone from his home in Fairfield, Connecticut.  Jim is the author of a new book titled “High Voltage: The Fast Track to Plug In the Auto Industry” and helped us sort out some of the issues around EVs.  Mr. Motavalli is an auto journalist who writes for the New York … Continue reading "Future of Electric Vehicles//Diet and Acne"
12/6/201122 minutes, 28 seconds
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Of Math and Wizards

One often hears people state “I’m not good at math” or that they don’t like math because it they don’t think it has any relevance to their day-to-day life (other than, maybe, to balance a checkbook). However, both of those myths are addressed head-on in a new book titled “Math for Life: Crucial Ideas You … Continue reading "Of Math and Wizards"
11/29/201124 minutes, 14 seconds
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Wild Turkeys // Light Pollution

In celebration of Thanksgiving, Beth Bartel interviews Stan Baker of the National Wild Turkey Federation about wild turkeys in Colorado. You may be surprised at the story of the wild turkey in North America and just how different the wild turkey is from the domestic turkeys we’re used to. There’s a reason Benjamin Franklin wanted … Continue reading "Wild Turkeys // Light Pollution"
11/22/201124 minutes, 19 seconds
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Water Crisis // Maker Movement

Susan Moran has a telephone interview with Cynthia Barnett.   Cynthia is a journalist and author of Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis.” She calls the U.S. one of the most “water-wasting places on the planet.” But in her book she also draws from positive examples of water conservation in the country to propose a new … Continue reading "Water Crisis // Maker Movement"
11/15/201122 minutes, 38 seconds
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Colorado & Oceans // Nitrogen & Snails

Feature #1 (time mark 5:30)  When people think of Colorado, they usually don’t think about “oceans”.  After all, Colorado doesn’t have much of a coastline these days, though it was definitely had oceanfront property a few hundred million years ago.   However, being in a landlocked state doesn’t mean that there isn’t any thing we … Continue reading "Colorado & Oceans // Nitrogen & Snails"
11/9/201123 minutes, 40 seconds
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Urban Parks // Pythons and Heart Disease

Today, November 1, we offer two features. Feature #1: Co-host Susan Moran interviews Jonathan Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, who discusses NPS’ quest to lure more people to urban parks, not just the iconic national parks such as Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. These “threshold” experiences can lead people to appreciate, and help … Continue reading "Urban Parks // Pythons and Heart Disease"
11/2/201123 minutes, 42 seconds
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National Parks: Extended interview with Jonathan Jarvis

11/2/201124 minutes, 15 seconds
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National Perspective on Municipalization//Science of Fall Colors

Tom McKinnon and Peter Asmus of Pike Research discuss electrical utility municipalization from a national perspective.  Peter adds an interesting statistic — the photovoltaic industry already has created more jobs than coal mining even though at present it produces much less power. Shelley Schlender interviews Bill Hoch of Montana State University about why leaves turn … Continue reading "National Perspective on Municipalization//Science of Fall Colors"
10/25/201123 minutes, 50 seconds
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Extended Interview: Richard Dawkins, The Magic of Reality

On today’s pledge drive show we played excerpts from an interview with evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins about his new book, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True. The book was also featured as a promotional gift for listeners who chose to support KGNU, the independent community radio station that makes … Continue reading "Extended Interview: Richard Dawkins, The Magic of Reality"
10/18/201118 minutes, 36 seconds
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Post-Wild Nature//LED Lighting

Nature means something different to everyone. It’s a towering old-growth redwood forest to some.  Deep silent canyons to others. And urban community gardens to others. Defining what is “pristine nature” is even more dicey. Just ask conservation biologists trying to figure out the best ways to preserve ecosystems and their flora and fauna. Co-host Susan … Continue reading "Post-Wild Nature//LED Lighting"
10/11/201123 minutes, 30 seconds
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Wildfire Science

  October is Wildfire Awareness Month, so on today’s show we look back at the Fourmile Canyon wildfire and hear from local researchers about some of the scientific opportunities that the fire afforded over the last year. Jim Roberts, an atmospheric chemist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tells us about some of the unexpected … Continue reading "Wildfire Science"
10/5/201124 minutes, 18 seconds
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We Breathe Microbes with Noah Fierer

We explore the world microbes, and how they’re everywhere, and how the University of Colorado at Boulder has scientists such as Noah Fierer who are trying to track all those microbes down and figure out which ones help us and which ones don’t, and how they interact.  These scientists have studied the microbes on a … Continue reading "We Breathe Microbes with Noah Fierer"
9/30/201124 minutes, 20 seconds
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Pine Beetle Kill // Plight of Sharks

Feature #1: If you live on the Front Range, or just about anywhere else in Colorado, you don’t have to go far to notice huge swaths of rusty brown that have replaced green conifer forests. By now, many people are familiar at least with the devastating effects of the mountain pine beetle. But far fewer … Continue reading "Pine Beetle Kill // Plight of Sharks"
9/14/201125 minutes, 17 seconds
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Plight of Sharks – Extended Interview with Juliet Eilperin

9/13/201115 minutes, 25 seconds
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Wind Energy

In today’s show take a look at the future of wind energy. We have with us in the studio Sandy Butterfield. Sandy is the CEO and co-founder of Boulder Wind Power. Prior to his starting this venture, Sandy spent over 24 years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Test Center. Co-hosts: Tom McKinnon and … Continue reading "Wind Energy"
9/7/201124 minutes, 49 seconds
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GMOs & Health: The Loss of Small Farms and the Rise of Immune Disorders

We look at the strange rise in autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma, with experts from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center and with National Jewish Health Immunlogist Andy Liu  in Denver.  And, we explore whether genetically modified crops might be increasing our chance of getting ill, with Agricultural Scientist, Charles Benbrook of The Organic … Continue reading "GMOs & Health: The Loss of Small Farms and the Rise of Immune Disorders"
8/30/201125 minutes, 7 seconds
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GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Andy Liu – National Jewish Health

8/30/201137 minutes, 30 seconds
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GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Stefano Guandalini – Celiac Disease Center

8/30/201127 minutes, 54 seconds
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GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Carol Shilson, Celiac Disease Center

8/30/201119 minutes, 36 seconds
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GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Charles Benbrook, The Organic Center

8/30/201113 minutes, 26 seconds
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Nitrogen pollution // Electric vehicles

On today’s show we offer two interview features. Feature #1: Last week the Environmental Protection Agency published a seminal report about nitrogen, which is an enormous environmental and public health problem that some scientists put on par with the carbon imbalance. Nitrogen is essential for all life, including ours, but excess nitrogen in the environment … Continue reading "Nitrogen pollution // Electric vehicles"
8/24/201124 minutes, 12 seconds
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Pluto’s Moons // Wildlife Preservation

Feature #1: Last month, astronomers working on the Hubble Space Telescope announced the discovery of another, fourth moon around Pluto; this moon is so small that it could fit easily inside Boulder County (a pretty tricky thing to find at a distance of three and a half billion miles). The researchers who found the new … Continue reading "Pluto’s Moons // Wildlife Preservation"
8/16/201124 minutes, 36 seconds
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Extended interview with Alan Stern

On today’s show we featured an interview with Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, who is principal investigator on NASA’s New Horizons mission. He told us about a fourth, tiny moon orbiting Pluto—found last month by his team during observations in support of New Horizons, which will arrive at Pluto in 2015. Here’s an … Continue reading "Extended interview with Alan Stern"
8/16/201110 minutes, 16 seconds
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Lean Deli Meat vs A Big Fat Steak . . . and Water in Outer Space

We talk with one of the nation’s leading nutrition scientists  . . . whose opinions about food and health might not be popular with the American Salt Institute . . . OR with the USDA.  Dariush Mozaffarian is with the Harvard School of Public Health, in the department of epidemiology.  Current projects include leadership of … Continue reading "Lean Deli Meat vs A Big Fat Steak . . . and Water in Outer Space"
8/9/201124 minutes, 57 seconds
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Janos Perczel – Invisibility Cloak (Extended Version)

This podcast provides extended version of our interview with Janos Perczel about his new Invisibility Cloak. Background: An undergraduate  at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland has overcome a major hurdle in the development of invisibility cloaks by envisioning an optical device that would allow the cloak to hide things against CHANGING backgrounds.  The … Continue reading "Janos Perczel – Invisibility Cloak (Extended Version)"
8/9/201117 minutes, 8 seconds
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Harvard Epidemiologist Dariush Mozaffarian on Salt (extended version)

Here’s an extended version of Shelley Schlender’s interview with Dariush Mozaffarian on Salt.  Note that in the interview, Shelley asks Dr. Mozaffarian to comment on some of the assertions made in the popular press, Scientific American story, It’s Time to End the War on Salt.”  The interview mentions a citation in the popular press article … Continue reading "Harvard Epidemiologist Dariush Mozaffarian on Salt (extended version)"
8/9/201123 minutes, 52 seconds
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Tech aspects of Boulder utility municipalization

In November Boulder will be asking the voters to approve the conversion of the electrical utility from one run by Xcel Energy to one run by the city.  While there are many, many political issues associated with this vote, there are technical ones as well.  We have on our show today Ken Regelson.  Ken is a … Continue reading "Tech aspects of Boulder utility municipalization"
8/2/201123 minutes, 51 seconds
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Music producer Tom Wasinger comments on HOE theme song entries

  Grammy Award-winning music producer Tom Wasinger comments on the entries to the How on Earth theme song contest.  Give us comments on your favorite theme song here.  The winner will be announced on August 12, 2011. Co-hosts:  Ted Burnham and Tom McKinnon Engineer: Tom McKinnon Executive Producer: Susan Moran Producer: Tom McKinnon
7/26/201123 minutes, 11 seconds
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Green Tech Author // NCAR Climate Scientist

This week’s How On Earth offers two features: Co-host Susan Moran interviews Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor for The Atlantic magazine and author of the new book, Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology. Madrigal spins tales of the bicycle boom in the 1800s and how it paved the way for cars, … Continue reading "Green Tech Author // NCAR Climate Scientist"
7/20/201124 minutes, 3 seconds
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Ocean Acidification // Citizen Science

      Feature #1: Many problems plague the oceans and the fish and other species that inhabit them: overfishing, pollution, and much more. But perhaps the greatest threat to sea life – and possibly to humans – is ocean acidification.  That’s when the chemistry of the ocean changes and causes seawater to become more … Continue reading "Ocean Acidification // Citizen Science"
7/13/201124 minutes, 39 seconds
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Science Education, Evolution & Creationism

At its most basic level, science can be considered as non-political or at least politically neutral: science is dedicated to the collection of facts and interpreting them to help us understand the universe and how it works. For that reason, many people – one may even say our culture in general – places a high … Continue reading "Science Education, Evolution & Creationism"
6/28/201125 minutes, 9 seconds
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Beekeeping in Troubled Times

This week on How On Earth co-host Susan Moran interviews Hannah Nordhaus, Boulder-based author of the new book, The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Feed America. Nordhaus describes how one passionate, colorful and quixotic beekeeper named John Miller struggles against all odds to keep beekeeping–and bees–alive at a time … Continue reading "Beekeeping in Troubled Times"
6/22/201124 minutes, 19 seconds
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Cell Phone Safety

The World Health Organization has officially listed cells phones as a possible carcinogen. One expert who’s not surprised at the designation is University of Colorado, distinguished professor Frank Barnes. For decades, Barnes has cobbled together hard-to-find research dollars to study the biological effects of magnetic fields and radiation, including cell phone radiation. In 2008, he … Continue reading "Cell Phone Safety"
6/14/201124 minutes, 45 seconds
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Cell Phone Safety – Extended Version

  Here is the extended version of the interview with CU Electrical Engineering Professor Frank Barnes about cell phone safety.  
6/14/201132 minutes, 22 seconds
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Cavemen Stayed Local while Women Left Home

We talk with Sandi Copeland, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at CU, about this story: Two million years ago, two-legged apes roamed the African landscape. Many of these ancient hominins,  lived in limestone caves in what is now South Africa. We know this through fossilized skull fragments and teeth from those caves. But fossils only tell … Continue reading "Cavemen Stayed Local while Women Left Home"
6/7/201123 minutes, 37 seconds
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Colorado river crisis // “The Believing Brain”

This week co-host Susan Moran speaks with Dr. Doug Kenney, director of the Western Water Policy Program at the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado,  Boulder’s law school. Kenney sheds light on the Colorado River Compact and how population growth, climate change, and water politics, are expected to further threaten our future … Continue reading "Colorado river crisis // “The Believing Brain”"
6/1/201124 minutes, 39 seconds
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Moonwalking with Einstein (Part 2) // Brain Evolution

We present the second part of Joel Parker’s interview of Joshua Foer, author of the book “Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything” (the full interview can be found here).  To round out the “brain theme” of the show, we also include an excerpt of BBC’s Science in Action where Jon Stuart … Continue reading "Moonwalking with Einstein (Part 2) // Brain Evolution"
5/24/201124 minutes, 40 seconds
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The Future of Space Flight: Alan Stern & Elon Musk

We share excerpts from a talk about the Future of Spaceflight, presented at CU-Boulder in April, featuring Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute and Elon Musk of Space X. Producer: Shelley Schlender Co-hosts: Joel Parker, Ted Burnham Engineer: Shelley Schlender Listen to the show:
5/17/201124 minutes, 1 second
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Gold Lab Symposium & Fat for Stronger Muscles

We learn about new research that indicates that the combination of exercise plus eating high cholesterol foods may help build lean body mass, even in older adults. What’s more, eating high cholesterol foods such as cheese, beef fat and eggs, when combined with exercise, also seems more heart safe than most people think, according to … Continue reading "Gold Lab Symposium & Fat for Stronger Muscles"
5/10/201124 minutes, 10 seconds
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Climate-health link//Smart grid

On this How On Earth show we explore how climate change is taking a toll on human health, and then how “smart grid” technology can help reduce the carbon footprint of electrical power generation.  Co-host Susan Moran interviews Paul Epstein, associate director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School; … Continue reading "Climate-health link//Smart grid"
5/3/201123 minutes, 21 seconds
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Virtual power plants//Wildfires and climate change

Tom McKinnon interviews, via phone, Peter Asmus of Pike Research about Virtual Power Plants.  This emerging information technology may help to integrate more renewable power onto the gird.  And even save money for customers who are willing to turn down their energy demand when the grid is stressed. At the recent Conference on World Affairs, … Continue reading "Virtual power plants//Wildfires and climate change"
4/26/201123 minutes, 2 seconds
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Natural Gas Boom//BP Oil Spill’s Human Toll

We discuss the environmental and human costs of natural gas drilling practices, and then the human toll of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico one year after the disaster. On natural gas drilling practices, Susan Moran interviews Steve Torbit, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Rocky Mountain Center; and Steven … Continue reading "Natural Gas Boom//BP Oil Spill’s Human Toll"
4/20/201124 minutes, 27 seconds
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Extended interview with Anjali Bhatara

Here’s a longer version of my interview with Anjali Bhatara, which aired on today’s program. Dr. Bhatara is with the Laboratory of the Psychology of Perception at the University of Paris, where she studies the interactions between music and the brain, the mind and the emotions. She has published several papers on music perception in … Continue reading "Extended interview with Anjali Bhatara"
4/12/201116 minutes, 27 seconds
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Theme Song Contest // Science of Music

Today we announce a contest to find new theme music for How On Earth! Our current theme has served us well for more than 20 years, but we feel it’s time to change our tune. We’re looking to local musicians for that new “How On Earth” sound. Check out our Contest Page for more information, … Continue reading "Theme Song Contest // Science of Music"
4/12/201123 minutes, 25 seconds
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Pseudoscience // Conservation

Welcome to a special edition of How on Earth, done in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs, which is being held this week on the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus.  Our two guests are participants in the Conference on World Affairs.  This first part of the show is Conference Panel 2051 titled “Pseudoscience”, with … Continue reading "Pseudoscience // Conservation"
4/6/201127 minutes, 43 seconds
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Ocean thermal energy//Climate and drought in the Rockies

Our live guests are consultant Dr. Robert Cohen and CU scientist Kristen Averyt.  Dr. Cohen discusses ocean thermal energy — a method to harvest some of the almost limitless solar energy captured daily by the oceans.  Dr. Averyt surveys the future of the Intermountain West as we increase temperature and put increasing population pressure on … Continue reading "Ocean thermal energy//Climate and drought in the Rockies"
3/29/201123 minutes, 59 seconds
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Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Reactor Accident

In-studio guests Jeff King, Director of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Program at the Colorado School of Mines, and Len Ackland, Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado, discuss the recent nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan.  We look at the accident itself and how it might impact the future of … Continue reading "Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Reactor Accident"
3/22/201123 minutes, 45 seconds
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Moonwalking with Einstein // Pledge Drive Show

In this Spring Pledge Drive Show, we share an update on the crisis in Japan from Kathleen Tierney of CU-Boulder’s Natural Hazards  Center, and then Joel Parker interviews Joshua Foer, author of the runaway bestseller, Moonwalking with Einstein:  The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. (the full interview can be found here) Hosts: Joel Parker, … Continue reading "Moonwalking with Einstein // Pledge Drive Show"
3/16/201124 minutes, 29 seconds
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Scientific Citizen Astronauts // Scientific Performance Art

This week on How On Earth, we talk with two Boulder researchers, Dan Durda and Cathy Olkin, who are training to become “scientist astronauts” on some of the first suborbital space flights provided by private companies in the post-shuttle era (extended interview available here).  We also hear about a show performed by Michelle Ellsworth, and developed in … Continue reading "Scientific Citizen Astronauts // Scientific Performance Art"
3/8/201125 minutes, 36 seconds
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Colorado Growth Model is Replacing CSAPs // Boulder Valley Science Fair

In honor of KGNU’s Kid’s Week, we go to the Boulder County Science Fair with How on Earth’s Tom McKinnon.  In turns out three of the five students Tom interviewed before the judging began ended up as winners at the science show!  Then, we look at CSAPs-Colorado’s Student Assessment Program.  That style of standardized test … Continue reading "Colorado Growth Model is Replacing CSAPs // Boulder Valley Science Fair"
3/2/201123 minutes, 49 seconds
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Bioastronautics at CU Bioserve // Boulder County EnergySmart energy efficiency service

Ted Burnham inteviews CU PhD student Christine Fanchiang on her role in helping the BioServe  program prepare experiments for a ride on the Space Shuttle. Tom McKinnon talks to Beth Beckel, an Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Specialist with Boulder County EnergySmart Service. Beth tells us how this new county program can help homeowners and renters … Continue reading "Bioastronautics at CU Bioserve // Boulder County EnergySmart energy efficiency service"
2/22/201123 minutes, 35 seconds
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CU Medical Professor Shares Love of Science

This week we’ll feature CU Medical School Immunologist John Cohen, who has just received the American Association for the Advancement of Science top award for promoting public understanding of Science.  In addition to teaching at the Medical School, Cohen is the founder of Mini Med and the lead “disorganizer” of the Denver Cafe Sci.  We’ll … Continue reading "CU Medical Professor Shares Love of Science"
2/15/201123 minutes, 29 seconds
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Front range water / Kepler planet-hunter

Our two features for this week’s show:  Susan Moran interviewed Joel Smith, principal at Stratus Consulting in Boulder, who has been helping the city adapt to climate change—in particular, by smartly managing its water supply; and Tom Yulsman interviewed John Troeltzsch, the Kepler mission program manager for Boulder-based Ball Aerospace, which built one of the … Continue reading "Front range water / Kepler planet-hunter"
2/8/201123 minutes, 54 seconds
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From Jars to the Stars / Plants moving uphill

Our guest this week is Todd Neff, who was a science reporter for Boulder’s Daily Camera newspaper and is author of a new book, From Jars to the Stars: How Ball Came to Build a Comet-Hunting Machine, about the history of Ball Aerospace. Neff joins us to speak about that history and the challenges Ball … Continue reading "From Jars to the Stars / Plants moving uphill"
1/25/201125 minutes, 6 seconds
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Earthquakes & corruption / Astrology shake-up

This week on How On Earth, University of Colorado earth scientist Roger Bilham joins us in the studio to talk about his latest study, which shows a correlation between the prevalence of corruption in a country and the likelihood of civilian deaths during an earthquake. And Shelley Schlender talks to HOE contributor and astrophysicist Joel … Continue reading "Earthquakes & corruption / Astrology shake-up"
1/18/201123 minutes
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MAVEN: Mission to Mars // Communicating geophysics

On this week’s How On Earth, we’re joined by the University of Colorado’s Bruce Jakosky, principle investigator on the MAVEN satellite mission that will investigate Mars’ upper atmosphere. NASA granted final approval to MAVEN last fall, and the spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2013. Also, Ted Burnham speaks with Carol Finn, incoming president of … Continue reading "MAVEN: Mission to Mars // Communicating geophysics"
1/11/201125 minutes, 42 seconds