Category: Extras

World Listening Day

WWVB Ft. Collins (© 2013 Jim Pullen)

The World Listening Project celebrated its 40 anniversary on Thursday, July 18th. On Thursday, How On Earth’s Jim Pullen was in Ft. Collins recording audio for an upcoming story on the National Institute of Standards and Technology radio station WWVB. To celebrate the World Listening Project, World Listening Day, and the field of acoustic ecology, he took a few minutes to record a thunderstorm that was causing some havoc at the station. Take some time to listen quietly to the sounds in your life!

(Recorded using linear pulse-code modulation at a sample rate of 96 kHz and resolution of 24 bits per sample with a Marantz PMD 661 recorder specially fitted with low-noise preamplifiers by Oade Brothers and an Audio-Technica BP4025 x/y stereo field recording microphone. The audio file posted here is a 192 kbps mp3.)

Producer: Jim Pullen

Listen to the storm:

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Everything died under a broiling sky

Extinction at the K-Pg boundary

Illustration courtesy NASA/JPL

CU professor Doug Robertson and a multidisciplinary team  argue afresh that a global firestorm swept the planet in the hours after a mountain-sized asteroid vaporized above the Yucatan, 66 million years ago. When the blown-out rock missiled back to earth, Robertson says the atmosphere became so hot the whole world burned. Almost every organism above ground and in the air perished. We talk to Dr. Robertson about that terrible day and how some species reemerged. His team just published their research in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences.

Host: Jim Pullen
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender

Listen to the show:

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Facing the Wave – extended interview with Gretel Ehrlich

This is an extended version of the interview we broadcast on March 12, 2013, featuring author Gretel Ehrlich discussing the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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Parallel Universes – extended interview with Brian Greene

This is an extended version of the interview we broadcast on February 26, 2013, featuring Professor Brian Greene discussing the concepts of Parallel Universes.

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Metformin Lowers Blood Sugars by Blocking the Hormone Glucagon – Extended Interview with Morris Birnbaum

This is an extended version of the January 8th, 2013 interview with Morris Birnbaum, about how Metformin lowers blood sugars in diabetics by blocking the hormone glucagon.

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New Study on BMI (Body Mass Index) and Longevity – Critique by Dr. Ron Rosedale – Extended Interview

This is an extended version of the interview we broadcast on January 8th, 2013, featuring Ron Rosedale discussing the new study about BMI and Longevity.

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Medical Marijuana and Reduced Traffic Fatalities – Extended Interview with Mark Anderson

This is an extended interview with University of Montana Economist Mark Anderson, from the January 8th How On Earth broadcast.

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Pesticides, Bees and Niwot Honey Farm’s Tom Theobald [extended version]

This is an extended interview with Niwot Beekeeper Tom Theobald about three new studies that have recently been published regarding the ways that neonicotinoids harm bees.  The studies include one from Purdue, and two from Europe, and all three indicate that these new pesticides are causing more harm to bees than previously thought.

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How on Earth Wins Colorado Broadcast Association Award

2012 Colorado Broadcasters Award in Excellence to How on Earth

The KGNU Science Show, How on Earth, has won the prestigious 2011 Colorado Broadcast Association Certificate of Merit for Excellence in production in the category,  “Best News Special or Public Affairs Program,” competing against other Denver Metro area noncommercial stations that include KCFR, Colorado Public Radio and KUNC, the college-sponsored radio station at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.   This year, How on Earth was second only to KCFR’s “Colorado Matters,” which is  produced and hosted by staff at KCFR.  The KGNU science show, How on Earth is created, produced and hosted entirely by a volunteer team that currently includes Beth Bartel, Ted Burnham, Breanna Draxler, Tom McKinnon, Susan Moran, Joel Parker, Jim Pullen and Tom Yulsman.  Congratulations, Science Show Team!  Many thanks for a job well-done!  – Shelley Schlender, How on Earth Executive Producer