In this week’s show, Beth speaks with rewilder Derek Gow about his new book, Hunt for the Shadow Wolf, in which he explores the mythology, mystery and history of wolves in Europe, and their speckled history with our species. Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender Show Producer: Beth Bennett Additional Contributions: Esther Franke, Joel Parker Engine…

Dr. Christopher Kerr The Science of Deathbed Visions Many people have visions and dreams as they near the end of their life in which they reunite with loved ones who have gone before them. What can science tell us about these mysterious and common experiences? And how do they affect those who have them? These are questions that Chris Kerr, a hospic…

Corban Tillemann Dick c Maybell Quantum Colorado – The Quantum State: We speak with Corban Tillemann-Dick about how Colorado has emerged as a world leader in Quantum Technologies. Tillemann-Dick will speak at CU-Boulder’s Conference on World Affairs, Thursday, 10:30, at the UMC Central Ballroom. Tillemann-Dick heads up Elevate Quantum, a consortium…

In this episode of How on Earth, we talk about the upcoming 2024 April 8th solar eclipse. Our guests are science writer David Baron, author of American Eclipse, and Dr. Doug Duncan, served as Director of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium. Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender Listen to the sh…

Lake Mead’s water level Credit: Research Gate Colorado River: Promise and Peril (start time: 6:28) For more than two decades the Colorado River has been shrinking, afflicted by climate change-induced drought, population growth, and water politics. Some 40 million people living in seven states, and 30 tribes, depend on the river. The Upper Basin — C…

This is the third and final episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting. Habitable Worlds Observatory (starts at 5:15) Dr. Megan Ansdell, Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in the Astrophysics Division and the Planetary Science Division, talks about the Habita…

Peter McGraw cc Glenn J. Asakawa Copyright: University of Colorado In this Spring Pledge Drive show, we talk with CU-Boulder professor and behavioral economist Peter McGraw about his new book, Solo: Building a Remarkable Life of your own. The book is also available through KGNU for listeners who give a donation to support this non-commercial, commu…

This is the second episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting. Credit: ESO/Igor Chekalin 3D Astronomy (starts at 3:08) Dr. Nicole Karnath, Research Scientist, at Space Science Institute, talks about using the Hubble Space Telescope and the airborne SOFIA telescop…

This week’s How On Earth offers two features: Deep-sea Coral photo credit: NOAA Deep-sea coral reef discovery (start time: 0:58) Scientists recently discovered and mapped the largest known deep-sea coral reef in the world. It’s located up to 200 miles off the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and it’s larger than Vermont. The news comes as a bright spot for oce…

In this week’s show Beth speaks with author Annabel Abbs-Streets about her new book, SLEEPLESS: Unleashing the Subversive Power of the Night Self, in which she dives into both the science of sleep and sleeplessness, and a new perspective on life after midnight. Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:…

This week on How on Earth Beth speaks with Mattie Matsch, deputy director of Boulder’s Eco-Cycle. We spoke about the challenges of recycling plastics. As consumers, it’s vital to be aware of these challenges and the limitations they impose on the types of plastic we can toss in the barrel for pickup. Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer: B…

c John Weller Photography Boulder native and wildlife photographer John Weller talks about his efforts to save The Ross Sea in Antarctica. The Ross Sea is the world’s largest Marine Protected Area. Weller’s photobooks and documentary films have been a big part of explaining why this area is special, and why protecting it is a crucial part of restor…

This week’s How On Earth features the following: AI image credit: Tanya Alderete How Environmental Toxins Harm Maternal Health (start time: 1:30) Being exposed to wildfires and other forms of air pollution can wreak havoc on anyone’s health. If you’re pregnant, or socioeconomically disadvantaged, you are particularly susceptible to the negative eff…

This is the first episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting. (Credit: AIP/J. Fohlmeister) Magnetic Braking in Old Stars (starts at 3:13) Dr. Travis Metcalfe from the White Dwarf Research Corporation talks about studies of one particular star, 51 Peg, that has go…

Tabernath Iboga Plant – courtesy Marco Schmidt, Wiki Commons Ibogaine for Traumatic Brain Injury – The Science journal Nature has published a small case study about Special Forces veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injury . . . they report good results from one single dose of the illegal psychedelic Ibogaine . . . with careful supervision. An…

On this week’s show, we focus on the ongoing challenge of climate change. In addition to headlines about this issue, we replay an interview with author John Vaillant, who has written extensively about the natural world over his long career. In his new book, Fire Weather:A True Story from a Hotter World, he explores the phenomena of fire, the wildla…

cc NOAA Science Graphic We share the How on Earth team’s picks for of science stories of 2023: Superconductor Hopes And Failures (starts at 1:47) New Weight Loss Drugs (starts at 5:56) Hot Temperatures (starts at 9:27) Asteroid Autumn (starts at 12:29) Bird Population Decline (starts at 16:51) Sickle Cell Disease Treatment (starts at 22:29) Executi…

Photo credit: National Science Foundation STEM ed accessibility (start time: 2:03): It’s challenging enough learning science, technology, engineering and math when you can clearly see the physical models or images of neurons on a screen. So, imagine the hurdles faced by students who are blind or otherwise visually impaired? In this week’s show, hos…

On this week’s show, Beth speaks with Dr Afton Hassett, psychologist and pain researcher about her book, Chronic Pain Reset: 30 Days of Activities, Practices, and Skills to Help You Thrive. Not just a guide for evaluating pain and its triggers, her book offers straightforward and often fun strategies to move past chronic pain. Dr. Hassett is Associ…

Climate Change & COP28 (start time: 1:30) A major global climate conference is taking place now in Dubai, amidst a year of record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods and more around the world. COP28 is short for the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The aim of the conference is to have nations…

Bald Eagle Nest – Photo by Mia Hock Soccer Headers and Brain Damage (starts 1:00) New research about long term effects of soccer heading — the practice of hitting a soccer ball with the head, indicates a brain damage risk, even without “official” concussions. Teen Raptor Survey (starts 3:00) Naturalists Steve Jones and Elena Klaver lead the Boulder…

Merriam’s turkey, courtesy of Flickr user “Fool-On-The-Hill.” In addition to recent news about possible therapies to restore lost sense of smell due to COVID, we do a deep dive into the How on Earth archives to bring you some still-relevant stories from past Thanksgiving episodes: Start with some happiness (2015 Nov 24) A main course wild turkeys i…

The Power of Poop (start time: 5:41) This potent byproduct of our digestive system holds the promise of being a big part of the solution to several public health and environmental challenges of our time, such as drinking water scarcity and degraded cropland. In this week’s show, How On Earth’s Susan Moran interviews Dr. Bryn Nelson, a science write…

Pampas (Swainson’s) Hawk – cc Stephen R. Jones Bird Feather Fossils (starts 1:00) give new evidence about what we know, and don’t know, about how flying feathers evolved. Boulder Naturalist Steve Jones talks about the movement to stop naming birds after people. (starts 2:30) Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Susan Moran …

In this Halloween episode, we talk with Dr. Adam Frank, an astrophysicst/astrobiologist at the University of Rochester, about his recent book: The Little Book of Aliens. We hear some of the stories and learn about the science of life “out there” – astrobiology – and the past, present, and future search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Host/Produc…