Kgnu - How On Earth

This is the first episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting. 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 gone through magnetic … Continue reading "Astronomy Highlights: Stellar Magnetic Fields, Zooniverse"

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. Ibogaine – Huberman Lab discussion with Nolan … Continue reading "Traumatic Brain Injury & Ibogaine – Andrew Linares"

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 … Continue reading "A New Year and the Same Old Environmental Issues"

  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) Executive Producer: Joel … Continue reading "Science Stories from 2023"

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, host Susan Moran interviews two chemists who … Continue reading "STEM Ed: Improving access for the blind, etc."

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. … Continue reading "Chronic Pain: A New Approach"

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 … Continue reading "COP28 Climate Summit: Pledges & Realities"

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 Teen Naturalists on a survey … Continue reading "Teen Raptor Survey//Gaia Theory for 21st Century"

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 in North America… (2011 Nov … Continue reading "Ghosts of Thanksgiving Past"

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 … Continue reading "From Sewage to Planet Savior?"

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 Headline contributors: Beth Bennett

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/Producer/Engineer: Joel … Continue reading "The Little Book of Aliens"

Over the Seawall (start time: 7:33): One of the key things that makes us human is our ability to problem-solve.  But often our engineered fixes backfire and even make the problem we’re trying to solve much worse. How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews journalist Stephen Robert Miller about how this applies to massive seawalls, … Continue reading "Climate Change Maladaptations"

In this episode of How on Earth we hear the full interview Beth did with physician and author Gavin Frances. They spoke about his book, RECOVERY: The Lost Art of Convalescence. He emphasizes the importance of taking an active role in one’s recovery and outlines many paths one can take in doing so. It is … Continue reading "Convalescence: The Art of Recovery"

As part of the KGNU Fund Drive, this episode of How on Earth features excerpts of Beth Bennett’s interview of Dr. Gavin Francis about his book Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence. We explore the difference between sickness and health, and the gap between them: Recovery. Based on decades of treating disease and injury, Dr … Continue reading "Recovery – The Lost Art of Convalescence / Fund Drive"

Fall bird migration is reaching its peak, with billions of birds traveling thousands of miles, mostly at night.  We talk with Kyle Horton, director of Colorado State University’s AEROECO Lab, and a key member of BirdCast, which is a collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Kyle Horton shares the history of “weather radar” use … Continue reading "BirdCast Bird Migration Forecasting"

Plastics: From Pollution to Solutions (start time: 0:58)  We all want to think that the yogurt tubs, takeout containers and other plastic products that we toss into our kitchen recycling bin will actually get recycled. Chances are, they won’t.  Plastic product makers have for many years been deceptively applying the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol on … Continue reading "Tackling Plastic Pollution"

AI for Police Worn Body Cameras (Starts 3:45) Body Cam AI uses artificial intelligence analysis for body cam transcripts.  Can this new tech reduce excessive use of force and help restore public trust in policing?  To learn more, we talk with Anthony Tassone, CEO of Truleo.  Truleo is an AI system for analyzing body cam … Continue reading "Artificial Intelligence for Police Body Cameras"

Wildlife Crossings (start time: 0:58) In this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews journalist Ben Goldfarb about his new book, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. It’s hard imagine modern human society without roads, be they  interstate highways or county dirt roads. Love them or hate them, roads make our … Continue reading "Road Ecology // Wildlife Crossings"

Master Hummingbird bander Steve Bouricius does workshops about hummingbirds.   Today, Boulder Naturalists Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman join Steve Bouricius to see the thousands of hummingbirds that visit his mountain cabin, and to talk about their lives and migration. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer:  Shelley Schlender Engineer:  Shannon Young