Susan Moran – How On Earth

Youth+Adult Climate Engagement

From Climate Week to Societal Climate Engagement (start time: 1:22) Last week tens of thousands of people from environmental nonprofit organizations, private companies, academia and other sectors came together in New York City for Climate Week NYC, which coincided with the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Climate Summit. While climate activists, communicators and others discussed political and economic challenges and opportunities related to transitioning society to clean energy, world leaders at the UNGA displayed in their speeches a widening chasm between nations’ world views. On one end of the spectrum, President Trump rejected warnings of global warming, and on the other end Brazilian president (“Lula”) da Silva urged nations to protect forests and decarbonize economies. In these hyperpolarized times, it seems at once impossible and essential to talk across political divides, and to connect the dots between a healthy climate, a healthy economy, and a healthy human species. In today’s How On Earth, host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Maxwell Boykoff, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder , Faculty Executive Director of the SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education, and author of the book Creative (Climate) Communications; and Sofia Billich, a junior at CU Boulder and Co-President of the CU Boulder chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to promoting climate solutions in Congress.

Host/producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Abby O’Brien
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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How Megafires are Transforming Conifer Forests

Red Feather Lakes landscape 6 years after Cameron Peaks fire. Photo credit: Susan Moran

Forests Vanishing in Wake of Megafires (start time: 7:55) Increasingly large and hot wildfires are turning many conifer-dominated forests in the western U.S.and Canada into shrublands or grasslands, largely by making it impossible for ponderosa and other pines to reseed themselves. The stakes are high, for flora and wildlife, as well as humans. For instance, charred conifer forests are causing winter snowpack to melt earlier, changing the timing of water availability and threatening future water supply for the 40-plus million people who live in the Colorado River Basin states and on tribal lands. In this week’s How On Earth, host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Jonathan Coop, a fire ecologist at Western Colorado University. He’s been monitoring shifts in dry-conifer forests in the western U.S. and Canada for many years. Dr. Coop is the lead author of a study, published recently in the journal Science Advances, about how pine seeds aren’t able to regenerate after super intense wildfires. He also co-authored another recent study, in PNAS, which projects a major further erosion of remaining conifer forests in northern New Mexico if current wildfire patterns persist. Dr. Coop was featured in a recent New York Times article on wildfire trends and impacts.
Action Resource: Fix Our Forests Act

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Headline Contributors: Beth Bennett, Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:42 — 36.7MB)

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Moving Beyond Climate “Hushing”

Climate “hushing” (start time: 5:41) Since President Trump began his second term as president in January, 2025, his administration, at a dizzying pace, has attacked climate change as a Democratic elite “hoax” and gutted federal funding for climate-related research and institutions. Partly in response to these attacks, and in an attempt to appeal to more centrist voters ahead of the midterm elections, many left-leaning politicians have decided to stop talking directly about climate change, and to pull back on initiatives to combat global warming. This pattern is known as “climate hushing.” Some argue that it doesn’t mean these leaders care any less about climate change, and that it’s a necessary strategy to reach more centrist voters. But critics argue that climate hushing is more insidious and, in effect, it is spurring a vicious cycle: The less leaders talk about climate change, the less the public thinks it’s important and feels inspired to take action. In this week’s How On Earth, host Susan Moran interviews journalist Sammy Roth, who recently wrote an article about climate “hushing” on his Climate Colored Goggles Substack; and Dr. Leah Sprain, an associate professor of Communications at the University of Colorado Boulder, who studies democratic engagement.

Host/Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Abby O’Brien
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Headline Contributor: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:51 — 36.9MB)

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Plastics: Health Risks & Solutions

Microplastics: Health Concerns, Solutions (start time: 6:02) The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a new rule related to monitoring 30 unregulated chemicals in drinking water that could pose human health risks. While the list includes pesticides and so-called “forever” substances, it omits microplastics, as well as pharmaceuticals. That’s despite pressure from Democratic politicians, as well as advocacy groups over the last two years urging the EPA to include microplastics in the new rule due to human health concerns. This apparent about-face by the EPA, as well as the fact that this week is Plastics Pollution Awareness Week in Colorado, prompted us at How On Earth to summon experts to shed some light on what is known about the human health risks of exposure to microplastics, as well as what’s being done here in Colorado and nationwide to reduce plastic production and waste. Host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Trisha Vaidyanathan, science director at Beyond Plastics; Ryan Call, policy analyst at EcoCycle; and Emily Freeman, circular economy policy advisor at the City of Boulder. For info about how to join the Boulder Plastic Count (July 20-26), click here.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer & Headline Contributor: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:00 — 37.1MB)

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Pollinator Power & Precarity

The Power of Precarity of Pollinators (start time: 8:01) This extremely warm winter in Colorado has delivered early spring blooms, and thus early appearances of some pollinators. In this week’s show we explore the world of pollinators, such as such as butterflies, bees, moths, hummingbirds and certain flies. Pollinators are responsible for roughly one third of the food we eat, and the help strengthen ecosystems. How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews Amy Yarger, senior director of Horticulture at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colo., about the critical role these pollinators play; the various threats they face, such as the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) and the class of insecticides called neonicotinoids; and how we can help give these important creatures a lift. Yarger leads local pollinator habitat initiatives at the Butterfly Pavilion, a nonprofit research, conservation and education institution focusing on invertebrates and their habitats.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Headline Contributors: Beth Bennett, Joel Parker

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:02 — 35.8MB)

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Women’s Health Pt. II: Heart Health

Image credit: American Heart Association

Truths & Tips About Women’s Heart Health (start time: 7:33) February is American Hearth Month, a nationwide observation spotlighting cardiovascular disease, and a call for all of us to take care of our hearts.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country, for both men and women, and for most racial and ethnic groups. In fact, it kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. A big problem is that many physicians don’t typically tell female patients about risk factors and symptoms when they are in their 30s and 40s. So no wonder many women develop symptoms that remain hidden until crisis hits. To help shed light on what researchers are discovering about how women can detect symptoms and lower their risks of heart disease, we welcome back to the show health journalist Meghan Rabbit, after we discussed women’s health, and particularly menopause, last week. Rabbitt is the author of the new book, The New Rules of Women’s Health: Your Guide to Thriving at Every Age. She is an editor of Maria Shriver’s weekly digital newsletter, Sunday Paper.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Headline Contributors: Beth Bennett, Joel Parker, Shelley Schlender

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:25 — 33.5MB)

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Women’s Health Pt. I: Menopause, etc.

New Rules of Women’s Health (start time: 6:26) If you’re female, you may have come of age reading the landmark feminist health book Our Bodies, Ourselves. Originally published in the 1970s, it yielded several revised editions up to 2011. Well, get ready for an even more comprehensive tome. It’s called The New Rules of Women’s Health: Your Guide to Thriving at Every Age, and it was published last month by Maria Shriver’s The Open Field Imprint of Penguin Random House. It’s part guidebook, part manifesto. In this week’s How On Earth, host Susan Moran interviews the book’s author, journalist/editor Meghan Rabbitt, focusing on how to take charge of your health before, during and after menopause. (We’ll continue our conversation next week with Pt. II, with a focus on brain health research and practices.) Rabbitt is the executive editor of Maria Shriver’s weekly digital newsmagazine, The Sunday Paper.
-Headline on the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., and how you can voice your opinion with NSF during the public comment period ending March 13. (Email: nsf_ncar@nsf.gov)

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer & Headline Contributor: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:14 — 36.0MB)

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Colorado’s Wildlife Action Plan, etc.: Pt. II

Black-footed ferret Photo credit: Richard Reading

Protecting Wolves, ferrets, prairie dogs, vultures, etc. (start time: 3:39) How effective are Colorado’s efforts to preserve vulnerable species – wolves, black-footed ferrets, bears, prairie dogs and others? And what ingredients make it possible, including throughout the U.S. and the world, for wild animals and humans to get along when their homes overlap? Today How On Earth host Susan Moran continues her conversation with our guest from last week, wildlife ecologist Dr. Richard Reading, Chair of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, about Colorado’s most recent Wildlife Action Plan, and about other efforts to protect vulnerable species, ranging from butterflies to vultures. Dr. Reading is also Vice President of Science and Conservation at the Butterfly Pavilion.
If you missed our Pt. I conversation with Rich Reading last week, click here.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:32 — 36.4MB)

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Wind: It’s Past & Future

The Force of Wind (start time: 7:10) For those living here on Colorado’s Front Range, you’ve likely had close encounters with wind — whether you’ve witnessed in fear branches snapping off trees in a windstorm, or simply looked up to marvel at the UFO-like lenticular cloud formations created by fast westerly winds. Love it or hate it, wind is one of the most powerful, yet overlooked, forces that shape our world. In this week’s show, host Susan Moran, along with cohost Joel Parker, interview Simon Winchester about his just-published, book, The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind. Mr. Winchester has written many books, including the New York Times best-seller The Professor and the Madman, as well as Knowing What We Know, and The Perfectionists. His new book explores how wind has influenced everything from the outcomes of war battles, to the advancement of renewable electricity, to the disappearance of several inches of precious top soil across the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Contributors: Beth Bennett, Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:01 — 37.1MB)

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Winter is Coming: Why Leaves Fall

The physiology of deciduous trees (start time: 11:09) For many people living in places with four distinct seasons, such as here in Colorado, a favorite pastime at this midpoint in autumn is watching the faded leaves fall from their branches, and listening to the crackling sound while raking up the dried leaves. In this week’s How On Earth show, we explore questions like, Why do the leaves of aspen, ash and other deciduous trees “change” color in the fall? (Spoiler alert: They actually reveal their true colors.) Why do they shed their leaves every fall? And what happens to the naked trees in the winter? Host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Stephanie Mayer, a senior instructor emerita in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder.
-Resources for winter watering:
Colorado State University Extension
Denver Botanic Garden
-Resources for citizen science opportunities:
The National Phenology Network

Host/ Show Producer: Susan Moran
Cohost/Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Headline Contributors: Lorraine Healy, Max Hebebrand, Shelley Schlender

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:55 — 59.3MB)

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