Antibody Testing // Why is the FDA Cracking Down on Raw Milk Cheese?

contentThis 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 record of safety in artisans cheese. in this fascinating book, she discusses the art of cheese making, and the self-imposed guidelines that make using raw milk in the artisanal process safe.

Hosts:Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong
Producer:Beth Bennett
Engineer:Maeve Conran
Executive Producer: Joel Parker

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Corona Virus: Therapies and Transmission

nCoV-1This 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 “medicines” in the future, and how to speed up their development.

Hosts: Beth Bennett, Angele Sjong, Joel Parker, Shelley Schlender
Producer: Beth Bennett & Joel Parker
Engineer: Maeve Conran
Executive Producer: Joel Parker

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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 said: A magisterial tour of fearsome science and vast brewery history leavened with cheery anecdotes, humor, vivid you-are-there prose and a clever eye for personality . . . His rhapsodies about the meaning of life and the meaning of beer are stirring. . . .His expertise and insight will leave you with a glimmer of infinity every time you hold a bottle of it in your hand.

Hosts:Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong
Producer:Beth Bennett & Joel Parker
Engineer:Maeve Conran
Executive Producer:Beth Bennett

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CoVid19 Update // Sleep and Your Immune System

man-in-bed-struggling-to-sleep-wd-noexp-620x400This 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 studies sleep in his lab at the University of Colorado here in Boulder (interview starts at about 10 minutes). He’s especially interested in the interaction between sleep and our immune systems. Not that long ago, people didn’t think there was any relationship between the two, but our understanding of both systems has evolved.

Host: Beth Bennett
Producer: Beth Bennett
Engineer: Maeve Conran
Additional contributions: Angele Sjong
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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Peer Pressure can Influence Your Carbon Footprint // CoVid19 Update

9780691193083This 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 energy sources, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone. Dr Frank has developed some novel strategies relying on peer pressure to get people to change their actions so as to reduce carbon emissions and climate change. He also details many prior and successful examples of this type of peer pressure. You can see more at the publisher’s website.

Hosts: Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong
Producer: Beth Bennett
Engineer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Angele Sjong
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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The Science of Hearing and Hearing Aids

Volume Control
Volume Control

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 science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have.

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Producer: Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong
Headlines: Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong
Engineer: Beth Bennett

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Who Pays for Climate Change?

merlin_166536642_24b1e96c-327a-4b9c-9979-f87ed8a0b502-articleLargeThis 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 to fossil fuel producers. She is a widely quoted expert on climate change, and co-authored the UCS guide Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living. For more information you can visit her website.

Hosts: Angele Sjong and Beth Bennett
Producers: Angele Sjong and Beth Bennett
Engineer: Beth Bennett
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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Ketogenic Diet and Muscle and Memory

Fat MouseThis 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 for the Air Quality and Climate Conference, send an email to sstrife@bouldercounty.org

Hosts: Angele Sjong & Beth Bennett
Producer: Beth Bennett
Engineer: Maeve Conran
Executive Producer : Beth Bennett

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Top Stories of the Decade

Black Hole Image from New Scientist
Black Hole Image from New Scientist

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
Producer: Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong
Engineer: Beth Bennett
Executive Producer: Joel Parker

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Cognitive Brain Development in Adolescents, Part 2

Prof Marie Banich
Prof Marie Banich
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 of neuroscientists and experts in developmental psychology who have begun testing the 11,000+ 8-10 year olds enrolled in the massive study. To find more detail, see her lab website (https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/banich/research/research-interests).
Hosts: Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong
Producer: Beth Bennett
Engineer: Beth Bennett
Executive Producer: Joel Parker
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