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 sophisticated scientific instruments in very remote and difficult locations.
IN this week’s show Beth speaks with Dr Thomas Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Insel was giving a presentation when the father of a boy with schizophrenia yelled from the back of the room, “Our house is on fire and you’re telling me about the chemistry of the paint! What are you doing to put out the fire?” Dr. Insel knew in his heart that the answer was not nearly enough. In his book, Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, Dr. Insel describes approaches that work, both in the U.S. and globally. The path to healing, built upon what he calls the three Ps (people, place, and purpose), is more straightforward than we might imagine. In his book, he offers a comprehensive plan for our failing system and for families trying to discern the way forward. He also publishes a newsletter with current information on the mental health community and actions.
Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show Producer: Beth Bennett
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 stories of astronomers past, present, and possible future.
Thanks to independent publisher Source Books for offering several copies to KGNU to help with the fund drive, and to those listeners who donated and received copies of the book.
Hosts: Joel Parker, Susan Moran Headlines: Benita Lee, Beth Bennett
Show Producer & Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive producer: Susan Moran
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 styles of walking. She also details when to set out alone and when to share a walk with others, and the best walking techniques for women, children, the elderly and the time-pressed. And, she presents a cornucopia of science underpinning the many physical, emotional and cognitive benefits you can reap by doing walking.
Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show Producer: Beth Bennett Headlines: Joel Parker and Shelley Schlender
For those looking for videos from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, here is the snowmobile accident posted at the CAIC Avalanche Information Center YouTube CHANNEL. Weekly forecasts are also on this site.
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, conventional buildings can reduce heating costs inside the building.
Drones at the Marshall Fire (starts 10:42) are helping local researchers from around the country collect field data about the recent wildfire disaster that destroyed 1,000 homes. The scientists hope their findings will help the communities recover. REGISTER HEREfor the February 17th, 2 PM, virtual presentation of their findings.
Volunteering to Get COVID. (starts 21:22) in the name of science has produced results that are varied and sometimes surprising.
Hosts: Benita Lee & Stacie Johnson Producers: Benita Lee, Stacie Johnson and Shelley Schlender Additional Contributions: Beth Bennett, National Jewish Hospital Executive producer: Susan Moran
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 wreaking havoc on her body. The book, and this interview, also explore various methods of healing and the science behind them.
Host: Susan Moran Engineer: Rossana Long Headline contributors: Beth Bennett, Shelley Schlender
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 climate. Her TED talk conveys this message clearly. Brian Buma is Associate Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of Colorado at Denver. He studies landscape ecology and is especially interested in natural disasters, like the recent Marshall fire. You can hear Shannon Young, KGNU’s station manager talk to Brian about his recent book here. Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show Producer: Beth Bennett
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 Comet and blood pressure.
Hosts: Jill Sjong, Beth Bennett, Dave Atkins, Jeff Orrey Producer: Jill Sjong Additional Contributions: Joel Parker, Beth Bennett Executive producer: Beth Bennett