Category: Episodes

Climate Science, Human Lives at Risk

Waleed Abdalati
photo credit: CIRES

Standing Up for Science (start time: 6:39)  Since President Trump began his second term in January, his administration has been on a rapid-fire campaign to slash federal funding for scientific research, particularly in the fields of climate and earth systems science. Colorado is feeling the pain.  President Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 includes steep cuts in funding to NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which funds and manages research on wildfires, extreme heat waves, floods, and much more. NOAA contributes a huge amount to Colorado’s economy, and its research helps saves lives. The proposed budget cuts would likely result in the shuttering of two cooperative institutes in Colorado that are affiliated with and largely funded by NOAA. Those are  the Cooperative Institute for Research on Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at CU Boulder, and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University. In today’s show, host Susan Moran talks with Dr. Waleed Abdalati, director of CIRES and a professor of geography at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Show contributor: Juanita Huérfano
Executive Producer: Susan Moran

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The Vera Rubin Observatory

The history of astronomy has many stories of trying to understand our universe, and those stories are connected by a common thread: looking at the sky, whether with our eyes or with increasingly powerful telescopes.  The newest entry in this telescopic journey is the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Located in Chile, this observatory has an audacious goal: to repeatedly observe the entire sky visible from its location every few nights, with a project called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

To talk about the Vera Rubin observatory and its science goals, our guest today is Dr. Tony Tyson, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Tyson’s research focuses on experimental physics and cosmology, and he is the Observatory’s Chief Scientist.

Host: Joel Parker
Show Producer/Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Additional Contributions: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:24 — 37.6MB)

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50 Years of Open Space! // Heart Attack and Stroke Risk from Common Sugar Substitute

Erythritol – A common sugar substitute

A Common Sugar Substitute Increases Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke.  (starts 11:00)  CU-Boulder Integrative Physiologist Chris DeSouza explains his recent study that shows why the commonly used artificial sweetener, Erythritol, may be increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

50 Years of Open Space!  (Starts 1:00)  Boulder County Parks and Open Space staff members share how local citizen activists helped protect natural lands in and around Boulder.  This is an excerpt from the podcast series, Voices of Open Space.

Hosts:  Shelley Schlender and Beth Bennett

Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Susan Moran

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The Tumor Microbiome Can Affect Cancer Survival

On this week’s show Beth speaks with computational biologist Justine Debelius about the role of the microbiome. We first discussed a study she was involved in recently that identified how changes in colon cancer tumors can affect survival. Then, she described a large collaborative project she is currently working on to identify factors influencing the development of the microbiome in children and how that affects them later in life.

Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Susan Moran & Joel Parker

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:38 — 21.9MB)

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Climate Science, Cutbacks, Litigation

At a protest outside NOAA in Boulder. Credit: Susan Moran

Tackling Climate Change and Science Cutbacks (start time: 7:03) In this week’s show we discuss the ongoing barrage of executive orders by the Trump administration; and the impacts of defunding of federal agencies, scientific research and scientists focusing on climate change and the environment. We also explore how the legal and political landscape, including pushback against the administration’s actions, are shifting. How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews Marc Alessi, a climate scientist at the nonprofit organization Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS); and Delta Merner, a geographer and associate director of the Climate Accountability Campaign at UCS. Dr. Alessi was an  organizer of a 5-day event in May with climate scientists and meteorologists in May, called 100 Hours to Save America’s Forecasts. And Dr. Merner is an organizer of a public virtual event on Wednesday, July 16, called “Meeting the Moment Through Climate Litigation” (2:00-3:00 p.m. MDT).
Also on this week’s science calendar, check out this FDA expert panel on menopause and hormone treatment, available livestreamed on the FDA’s YouTube channel. It’ll be held on Thursday, July 17, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm. MDT.

Host/Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Evan Perkins
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Headline Contributor: Shelley Schlender

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How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence by Matt Richtel

Teens are in Crisis – Some people warn that Cell Phones are to blame.  But Colorado Native and Pulitzer prize winner Matt Richtel says our tech can be a useful tool, IF we better understand the purpose of adolescence,   That’s the focus of Richtel’s brand new book – How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Susan Moran

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Bird Conservancy of the Rockies – Eric DeFonso

C Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Merlin Bird ID App (starts 1:00) Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman explore the benefits of the Merlin smartphone app, along with its sometimes hilarious mistakes.

Eric Defonso – c Highplainssnowgoose.com

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (Start 5:48) Crew Leader Eric DeFonso explains how the Conservancy’s Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions Program  provides detailed data about birds and their habitat, to better understand the steep decline in bird populations  and what birds need to thrive.

Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Elena Klaver, Eric DeFonso, Steve Jones, Ruth Carol Cushman

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Viruses are Us!

In this week’s science show Beth talks with genome biologist Ed Chuong of CU Boulder’s innovation incubator, the Biofrontiers Institute. Ed takes us for a whirlwind tour of the evolutionary history of these viral invaders of our genome, and some examples of how they can simultaneously be friend and foe. Teaser, did you realize that the genes that allow the formation of the placenta, the organ that nourishes human (and other mammal) fetuses, came from viruses!

Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Engineer: Jackie Sedley

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:17 — 26.3MB)

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2025 Graduation Special (part 2)

diploma-and-graduation-hatWith 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 recently received 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.

Chloe Long – Aerospace Engineering
Topic: Data-Driven Asteroid Tour Design

 

Amin Taziny – Aerospace Engineering
Topic: Multiscale Continuum-kinetic Modeling of Ionic Emission in Electrospray Thrusters

 

Margaret Perkoff – Computer Science and Cognitive Science
Topic: Bringing Everyone In: The Future of Collaboration with Conversational AI


You can listen to all past year Graduation Special episodes.

Host / Producer: Joel Parker

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:24 — 37.6MB)

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GLP-1 and Blindness

photo of intermediate macular degeneration c National Institutes of Health

We talk with scientists who report that a common weight loss/diabetes drug known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist (Wegovy, Ozempic for instance) is associated with an increased risk of blindness.  The study was published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology, about a form of blindness known as “wet” macular degeneration.   The scientists we talk with today are Marko Popovic and Reut Shor.  We also refer to a different, unrelated study, underway, to evaluate a ketogenic diet and eye health, specifically, whether or not a ketogenic diet can reduce diabetes while providing better protection to the eye.

Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer: Shelley Schlender

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:58 — 37.1MB)

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