Author: Beth Bennett

A Longer Healthier Life

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth speaks with author, psychologist, and aging explorer Alan Carpenter to discuss the paradigm shift on aging he espouses. Following a life changing accident, he turned his life around by diving into the science of healthy aging. In his book, Choose Better, Live Better, he outlines 9 avenues one can address for extending health span i.e. the portion of one’s life spent in good health with the ability to live and function independently.

Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contribution: Shelley Schlender
Engineer: Abby O’Brien

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Forest as Superorganism: What it means to Clearcut.

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth speaks with Suzanne Simard, professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia, about her book, WHEN THE FOREST BREATHES, both a call to action, and a journey into the heart of British Columbia’s old growth forests and the indigenous communities that live there, and her efforts to unite them to ensure the health of these vital ecosystems.Also: an allergist’s take on why this year’s seasonal allergies are worse than normal.

Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:43 — 21.8MB)

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A Brain Circuit That Switches Acute to Chronic Pain

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth talks with neuroscientist and chronic pain researcher Jayson Ball. He recently completed a study of a novel brain circuit involved in generating chronic pain. Since finishing his graduate studies at CU Boulder, he has moved to Neuralink, a biotech start up focused on implantable brain devices with the goal of someday alleviating chronic pain through this new technology.

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender and Abby O’Brien
Engineer: Abby O’Brien

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:43 — 32.9MB)

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Winter Recreation in a Warmer World

On this week’s How on Earth, we hear from a climate scientist about the implications of our changing weather patterns for winter recreation. It’s a warm, dry winter, throughout the Rocky Mountain West and elsewhere in the country, the weather has been a mixed bag. Dr. Elizabeth Burakowski, a Research Faculty member in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space and Affiliate faculty in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of New Hampshire, gives us her take. Her research focuses on winter climate change in the northeastern United States, including what changes we’ve seen in the past, what we can expect for the future, and the impacts on ecosystems and society. She is also familiar with local snowfall changes, having served on the Boulder-based non-profit Protect Our Winters since 2016.

Executive Producer:Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Joel Parker, Shelley Schlender

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:05 — 34.9MB)

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What do Grasslands Have to do with Climate Change?

From Science MOAB

We hear an interview aired by our sister community radio station’s, Science MOAB. Ecologist Brooke Osborne talks about how dryland ecosystems – such as the grasslands east of Boulder – influence the whole planet. Dryands cover 40% of the earth; they support a third of the planet’s humans, and while their roots store lots of carbon, they’re vulnerable to climate change, overgrazing and aggressive land management.

In this episode, you’ll also hear about this weekend’s Colorado Environmental Film Festival in Golden.

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producers: Beth Bennett and Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Gracyn Custin

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:48 — 36.8MB)

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Hepatitis B Vaccination: Just the Facts

On today’s science show we hear from vaccine researchers Rochelle Walensky and Angela Ulrich, and physician/scientist Peyton Thompson, about the safety and efficacy of the hepatitis B vaccine. This is one of 6 that have been removed from the list of recommended childhood vaccines by the CDC. You’ll hear about the history of the vaccine regarding its complete safety and the huge reduction in disease burden following the adoption of the birth vaccine.

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:24 — 21.1MB)

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Coral: Past, Present, Future

In this week’s show Beth speaks with science writer, educator, and scientist Dr. Lisa Gardiner about her recent book Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival. Lisa studied the fossil remains of ancient coral reefs, which also suffered from environmental challenges. In our conversation, you’ll hear about how the past shapes the present, and future, of these amazing invertebrates that are keystones in ocean ecosystems. Her book describes the risks the current environment pose to these amazing organisms and the ecosystems they create, but also much much more of the significance and elegance of the corals and the reefs.

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:11 — 27.3MB)

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World Domination…by Slime Molds?

On today’s show, Beth speaks with award-winning science writer Jennifer Frazer about her upcoming book: The Slime Mold’s Guide to World Domination: A Natural Mystery. The book is a funny natural history of slime molds that’s also a mystery that asks: how can a giant crawling cell possibly be intelligent?” Jennifer has degrees in biology and plant pathology from Cornell University and in science writing from MIT, AND has blogged about the natural history of neglected organisms for nine years for Scientific American. Get ready for an eye-opening visit to the peculiar world of slime molds, not the creepy crawly things you may expect. Also, delightful dialog from the new crop of interning journalists, our Earhtlings!

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Beth Bennett and Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Benita Lee and Mac Hebebrand

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:58 — 37.0MB)

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Peak Performance: Revisiting a Classic

Five years ago, Beth spoke with Dr Marc Bubbs about his best-selling hardcover book, PEAK: THE NEW SCIENCE OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE. Since then, Bubbs has been on the leading edge of new developments in the physiology and psychology of athletic performance. Bubbs helps athletes and other clients in Canada and England cope with metabolic diseases, Bubbs is also the performance nutritionist for the Canadian men’s national basketball team, In addition, he consults with teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB. On this week’s show, Beth talks to Marc about his revised edition of the book, just published, and some of the new developments and strategies he describes.
Also on this week’s show, meet our new interns from CU: Owen Latham and Mac Hebrebrand!

Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producers: Beth Bennett and Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Owen Latham and Mac Hebrebrand

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:43 — 38.1MB)

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What About All Those Body Products We Buy?

On this week’s How On Earth, Beth spoke with two cosmetic chemists, hosts of the podcast The Beauty Brains. We touched on some basic questions I have regarding some of the universe of products, such as shampoos, body lotions and sun screens. Beauty Brains Perry Romanowski and Valerie George, are both veteran cosmetic product developers who have worked on some of the most popular beauty products in the world. They’ve written dozens of science articles and books. Their book, Beginning Cosmetic Chemistry is used in several college programs. You can find transcripts of their podcast episodes on their website.

Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:57 — 31.1MB)

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