In this Spring Pledge Drive show, we talk with CU-Boulder professor and behavioral economist Peter McGraw about his new book, Solo: Building a Remarkable Life of your own. The book is also available through KGNU for listeners who give a donation to support this non-commercial, community radio station.
Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Hosts: Shelley Schlender/Susan Moran
Deep-sea coral reef discovery (start time: 0:58) Scientists recently discovered and mapped the largest known deep-sea coral reef in the world. It’s located up to 200 miles off the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and it’s larger than Vermont. The news comes as a bright spot for oceans and marine life, when ocean acidification related to global warming, as well as overfishing, have been destroying coral reefs around the world. Contributing host Kara Fox interviews Kasey Cantwell, the operations chief for the Expeditions and Exploration Division of theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, about the big discovery and its implications.
Deep-sea mining: promises and perils (start time: 10:48) Exploratory mining of the ocean floor for minerals began decades ago. Although commercialization remains elusive, some some companies are moving rapidly to exploit the seabed for commercial use. They aim to harness critical minerals – manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt and others – for use in the production of electric vehicle batteries, cell phones, wind turbines, etc. Some scientists, environmentalists, a regulatory body, and even some auto and tech companies, have called for at least a temporary ban on seabed mining, out of concern about its impact on marine life. Host Kara Fox interviews Farah Obaidullah, founder of the conservation group The Ocean and Us, and editor of a book of the same name, about seabed mining.
Hosts/Producers: Kara Fox, Susan Moran Engineer: Sam Fuqua Executive Producer: Joel Parker
In this week’s show Beth speaks with author Annabel Abbs-Streets about her new book, SLEEPLESS: Unleashing the Subversive Power of the Night Self, in which she dives into both the science of sleep and sleeplessness, and a new perspective on life after midnight.
Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer: Beth Bennett
This week on How on Earth Beth speaks with Mattie Matsch, deputy director of Boulder’s Eco-Cycle. We spoke about the challenges of recycling plastics. As consumers, it’s vital to be aware of these challenges and the limitations they impose on the types of plastic we can toss in the barrel for pickup.
Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Sam Fuqua
Boulder native and wildlife photographer John Weller talks about his efforts to save The Ross Sea in Antarctica. The Ross Sea is the world’s largest Marine Protected Area. Weller’s photobooks and documentary films have been a big part of explaining why this area is special, and why protecting it is a crucial part of restoring health of all world oceans. This show also includes John Weller on a hike with Boulder Naturalist Steve Jones and the Boulder Audubon Teen Naturalists, and discussion about why recent CU-Bouldeer research about rising carbon dioxide, and how it increases ocean acidity warns of disaster ahead the small shrimp-like krill at the bottom of the food chain, as well as for whales, penguins . . . and people . . . at the food chain’s top.
Host/Producer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Joel Parker
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, and contributing host Kara Fox discuss these issues with our guests: Dr. Tanya Alderete, an assistant professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder; and Zach Morgan, who earned his masters degree last year in integrative physiology at CU Boulder. He was the lead author on a 2023 study (with senior author Dr. Alderete and others) on how air pollution impairs brain development in infants and toddlers.
(Dr. Alderete and colleagues are seeking participants living in Boulder or Denver in a new study of how plastic exposure might affect the physical health of mothers and their infants. Read this screening survey.)
Hosts/Producers: Kara Fox, Susan Moran Executive Producer/Engineer: Joel Parker
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 braking. He discussed how studying magnetic fields around similarly middle-aged and older stars not oly can help us in our search for life on other planets, but also provide a clue of what might have impacted the evolution of life here on Earth.
Citizen Science with Zooniverse (starts at 13:21) Dr. Laura Trouille from the Adler Planetarium is the Principal Investigator of the Zooniverse project. She explains how “citizen science” works, which crowd-sources science research in a wide range of projects not only in astronomy, but topics ranging from biology and physics to arts and literature.
Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker
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 – Boulder Therapist Andrew Linares (Starts 7:00) shares his experiences working with special forces veterans who are taking Ibogaine at a clinic in Mexico, where it is a legal drug.
Lynx Habitat battle this Wednesday (starts 1:00) Denver’s US 10th District Court of Appeals will hear a case about U.S. Forest Service plans for environmental rollbacks in southern Colorado’s Rio Grande National Forest. They plan to log beetle-killed trees -which may disrupt old growth forest that the endangered lynx needs. Environmentalists are pushing for more study about the impact of these plans.
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 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 almost consumed a city of nearly 100,000. In the process the fire blew up expectations and responses to wild fires. Vaillant gives an in depth exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind along with personal stories of loss and bravery on the front lines of this horrifying event.
Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer: Beth Bennett Additional contribution: Susan Moran