The KGNU Science Show
In this episode of How on Earth, we talk about the upcoming 2024 April 8th solar eclipse. Our guests are science writer David Baron, author of American Eclipse, and Dr. Doug Duncan, served as Director of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium.
Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:00 — 37.1MB)
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This is the third and final episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting.
Habitable Worlds Observatory (starts at 5:15) Dr. Megan Ansdell, Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in the Astrophysics Division and the Planetary Science Division, talks about the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a proposed mission for a large ultraviolet, optical, infrared space telescope.
Impostor Phenomenon (starts at 14:28) Jennifer Bates, a licensed clinical social worker, the Broadening Participation Program manager at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and the project lead for the Radio Astronomy Data Imaging and Analysis Lab discusses Imposter Phenomenon and how it affects science researchers.
Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker
Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender
Listen to the show:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:00 — 37.1MB)
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This is the second episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting.
3D Astronomy (starts at 3:08) Dr. Nicole Karnath, Research Scientist, at Space Science Institute, talks about using the Hubble Space Telescope and the airborne SOFIA telescope to explore the wondrous 3D world of protostellar shocks.
AI in Astrophysics (starts at 17:38) Dr. Megan Ansdell, Program Scientist at 
NASA Headquarters in the Astrophysics Division and the Planetary Science Division, talks about using artificial intelligence and machine learning in astrophysics research, and how AI/ML can be applied to large datasets, and the example of data that will come from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker
Listen to the show:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:00 — 37.1MB)
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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 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
Listen to the show:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:15 — 37.4MB)
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We share the How on Earth team’s picks for of science stories of 2023:
Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker
Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender, Beth Bennett, Susan Moran
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:43 — 36.7MB)
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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:
Host/Producer/Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Contributors: Shelley Schlender, Beth Bartel, Benita Lee, Stacie Johnson
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:51 — 36.9MB)
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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 Parker
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Headline contributors: Shelley Schlender, Beth Bennett
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:57 — 38.4MB)
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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 Francis proposes a more active role of the individual in their recovery. We also talk about the importance of self-care and compassion, the role of the environment we create for ourselves, and the importance of caregivers.
Producer/Engineer: Joel Parker
Hosts: Joel Parker, Shelley Schlender
Feature Contribution: Beth Bennett
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:50 — 38.2MB)
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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 experiences, and what they have planned next.
Dhruv Kedar – Physics
Topic: A Fully Crystalline Cryogenic Reference Cavity
Kathleen McGuire – Anthropology
Topic: Navigating the Needs of the Many and the Few: Examining the Relationship between Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) Group Function and Individual Variation on St. Catherines Island
Brian Alden – Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences
Topic: Investigating the Properties of Merging Galaxy Clusters with Radio Halos/Relics Using X-ray Derived Pressure Maps
You can listen to Part 1 of this year’s special or all past year Graduation Special episodes.
Host / Producer : Joel Parker
Executive Producer : Shelley Schlender
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:06 — 40.0MB)
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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 experiences, and what they have planned next.
Rob Streeter – Electrical Engineering
Topic: High-resolution Deep-tissue Microwave Thermometry
Amanda Hampton – Applied Math
Topic: On the Three-Dimensional, Quadratic Diffeomorphism: Anti-integrability, Attractors, and Chaos
Jacob Kravits
– Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
Topic: Balancing Cost, Water, Emissions, and Reliability in Power Systems Operations
You can listen to Part 2 of this year’s special or all past year Graduation Special episodes.
Host / Producer : Joel Parker
Executive Producer : Shelley Schlender
Listen to the show:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:00 — 37.1MB)
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