Podcasts by KGNU - How On Earth

Green Walls//Drones Study Marshall Fire//Volunteering to GET COVID from 2022-02-08T20:37:29

Long COVID  (starts 1:00) National Jewish in Denver shares research about how COVID sometimes affects the powerhouses inside our cells, the mitochondria. Green Walls (starts 3:54) are a beautiful w...

The Science of Heartbreak from 2022-02-01T18:04:29

Heartbreak in Our  Bodies: (start time: 6:58) This week on How On Earth, host Susan Moran talks with science journalist Florence Williams about her newly published book, Heartbreak: A Personal and ...

Climate Change and Local Fires from 2022-01-24T14:04:02

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks to 2 climate scientists about their (very different) fields, and how climate change can play into local disasters, especially the recent fires that devastated ...

30th Anniversary Show from 2022-01-21T17:06:30

In this episode, we celebrate the show’s 30th Anniversary with Dave Atkins and Jeff Orrey, How on Earth’s original  hosts. We’ll play some excerpts from the pilot January 14, 1992 episode and updat...

Top Ten from 2021 from 2022-01-05T16:25:22

2021 saw many remarkable science stories making it difficult to pick the top contenders. The How on Earth team struggled with these decisions but here they are! Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show...

Defy Aging//Green Recycling//Corona(not virus) News from 2021-12-21T21:53:06

Corona (Not Virus) News (starts 1:00)  Astrophysicist Joel Parker explains the probe that touched the sun’s corona. Green Recycling from Discarded Electronics (starts 3:59) Benita Lee talks with Pe...

The Fentanyl Epidemic: Why It’s Growing and Some Solutions from 2021-12-16T15:01:58

This week on How On Earth, we welcome Benita Lee who brought up the growing problem with fentanyl – a new street drug that’s killing many. Benita talks with DEA agent David Olesky about the scope o...

Can Cattle Reduce Climate Change? from 2021-12-02T17:24:18

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Professor Fred Provenza, author of the book Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering our Nutritional Wisdom. He returns to discuss his c...

Wild Strawberries, Wild Turkeys & Farewell to Bernie Rollin from 2021-11-23T04:25:58

Green Building Handbook (starts 1:00) CU Boulder Engineering Professor Wil Srubar is the co-author of a new report highlighting innovative building materials that actually store more CO2 than the e...

Wild Strawberries, Wild Turkeys & Farewell to Bernie Rollins from 2021-11-23T04:25:58

Green Building Handbook (starts 1:00) CU Boulder Engineering Professor Wil Srubar is the co-author of a new report highlighting innovative building materials that actually store more CO2 than the e...

Building Bones without Drugs from 2021-11-19T15:51:51

On today’s show, Beth talks with Dr John Jaquish about his novel method for treating osteoporosis, using ‘osteogenic’ loading. His method has been shown in clinical trials to build bone without dru...

It’s A Dog’s World! from 2021-11-11T19:16:02

Ever wonder what the world would be like without us humans? Professor Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce answer that question from a dog’s eye perspective in their book, A Dog’s World. In addition to s...

The Natural Funeral from 2021-11-02T02:23:23

Today marks the Day of the Dead in Mexico. It’s a time to welcome the spirits and memories of the dearly departed and to reflect on our own mortality. But in U.S. culture, this type of face-to-face...

Microscopic ‘antennae’ use quantum mechanics to harvest heat energy from 2021-10-26T20:12:01

In this episode of How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Amina Belkadi about her groundbreaking work developing the microscopic ‘rectennas’ (pictured here in a scanning EM photo) to harvest heat energy ...

Beloved Beasts // Fund Drive Show from 2021-10-12T17:50:23

On this week’s show journalist and author Michelle Nijhuis talks with How On Earth host Susan Moran about her recently published book, Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction. It’...

Funnel Web Spiders at Sawhill Ponds from 2021-09-27T20:40:48

Boulder County Nature Association Naturalists Steve Jones and Scott Severs search for autumn spiders and other creatures among the tall prairie grasses at Boulder’s Sawhill Ponds. Executive Produce...

Funnel Web Spiders at Sahill Ponds from 2021-09-27T20:40:48

Boulder County Nature Association Naturalists Steve Jones and Scott Severs search for autumn spiders and other creatures among the tall prairie grasses at Boulder’s Sahill Ponds. Executive Producer...

New Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease from 2021-09-14T14:37:36

On this week’s show Beth talks with Alzheimer’s Disease researcher Dale Bredesen. In his new book, The First Survivors of Alzheimer’s, he lets some of his patients speak. He also describes in detai...

Ready for RoundUp? from 2021-09-01T00:13:49

Today on how on earth, Beth talks to MIT scientist Stephanie Seneff about her book, Toxic Legacy. Dr Seneff takes us on a fast paced tour of the large range of toxicities produced by glyphosate. Gl...

Wes Marshall – Love Cars LESS from 2021-08-24T19:52:11

  Wes Marshall – Love Cars LESS (Entire Show) CU-Denver Transportation Engineer Wes Marshall argues that people are safer and cities are more vibrant when communities focus LESS on speedways and pa...

Future of Cars – Shelby American Collection//Colorado DIgital ID from 2021-08-17T15:44:25

                    FUTURE OF CARS – Shelby American Collection (Starts 3:30) We tour Boulder’s Shelby American Collection of world-famous Vintage Shelby Cobra racecars, with founder Steve Volk.  W...

My Colorado Vaccination App – Extended Version from 2021-08-15T22:12:57

Here’s the Extended Version of the Interview with Russell Castagnaro about Colorado’s official way to display your vaccination record AND your driver’s license, on your smart phone.  – Shelley Schl...

A New Way to Measure Aging from 2021-08-12T17:47:02

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Professor Tom LaRocca, professor in the department of Health and Exercise Science at CSU in Fort Collins. His background is in molecular biology and physi...

Psychedelic Mushrooms & Depression from 2021-08-03T15:00:55

In this How on Earth episode, we learn about the latest research on psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin) and their potential for treating depression.   Jill Sjong speaks with Alex Kwan, a neuroscient...

Dismal US Mortality Data – Ryan Masters from 2021-07-13T22:39:33

              Rare Ebony Winged Damselfly at Flagg Park (starts 1:00)  Naturalists Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman take us to Lafayette’s Flagg Park to see a rare and beautiful cousin of the dr...

Emerging World: A Road Map for a Better World from 2021-07-11T18:23:55

Today on How on Earth, Beth speaks with author Roger Briggs about his new book: Emerging World. Briggs explores the evolution of consciousness and shows that this is behind everything humans have d...

UFO Report – Carol Cleland from 2021-06-29T23:24:01

We discuss the Pentagon’s new UFO . . . well . . . UAF report, with CU Boulder’s Center for the Study of Origins Director, Carol Cleland.  Cleland wants the Pentagon to release more data, and for C...

Fitness in mid-life and the new Alzheimer drug from 2021-06-26T19:30:48

This week on How on Earth, Beth gives an update on the new drug just authorized by the FDA to treat Alzheimer’s disease, aducanumab, sold under the brand name Aduhelm. Then hear her interview with ...

Energy from Hot Air – Amina Belkadi & Garret Moddel from 2021-06-09T01:19:38

              CU-Boulder Electrical Engineers Amina Belkadi and Garret Moddel explain how scientists are working to pull energy from radiantly heated air, and why their efforts might expand renewab...

Water in the Arid West from 2021-06-06T18:21:37

Today on How on Earth, Beth replays a timely interview with Boulder author Bob Crifasi, a long time water resource manager. His book, on the history and consequences of Front Range water use, is es...

Skunk Canyon Songbirds//Longmont Beavers from 2021-05-25T06:00:59

Skunk Canyon Songbirds  (Starts 1:00) Scott Severs and Steve Jones hike Boulder’s Skunk Canyon Trail explaining why spring is late this year, plus why Skunk Canyon is home to so many song birds.   ...

What’s Your Genetic Risk? from 2021-05-21T01:17:43

In this week’s show, Beth talks with epidemiologist Genevieve Wojcik. We spoke about her work standardizing what is called the Polygenic Risk Score. This is a composite risk factor, extracted from ...

GoldLab Symposium 2021 – Big Data and Healthcare from 2021-05-11T17:13

(Entire Show)  Larry Gold, Boulder entrepreneur and scientist, invites listeners to register on line for the 12th annual GoldLab symposium.  Due to COVID, it’s a virtual symposium this year, Thursd...

2021 Graduation Special from 2021-05-04T15:00:44

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a STEM...

A Tour of Mycotopia from 2021-04-06T19:49:01

On this week’s show, Beth talks with author Doug Bierend about his new book, In Search of Mycotopia. He introduces us to an incredible, essential, and often denigrated kingdom of life: the fungi. A...

Burn- A New Look at Our Metabolism from 2021-03-30T20:43:28

On today’s show, Beth talks to Herman Pontzer about his new book, Burn, a deep dive into how the human body evolved, and how our species’ deep past shapes our health and physiology. His writing inc...

from 2021-03-16T21:39:52

On today’s show, Beth talks to Dr. Brianna Stubbs. Brianna is the lead translational scientist at the Buck Institute, the world’s first research institute for the study of aging. As translational s...

The Alchemy of Us- How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another from 2021-03-11T23:15:28

This week on How on Earth we speak with Ainissa Ramirez, materials scientist and author of The Alchemy of Us:  How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another.   In this book, she examines eight inve...

Good Fat is Brown! from 2021-02-24T01:10:45

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Paul Cohen, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on obesity and metabolic disease. They spoke about his recent study highlighting the link betw...

Honeybees: Biology & Conservation from 2021-02-18T14:20:09

This week, Beth talks to Prof. Mike Breed, of the University of Colorado, about his longtime research on honeybees. The interview starts at about 6 min. They explore some fascinating aspects of bee...

Can Covid-19 Affect Your Mitochondria? from 2021-02-09T15:41:28

Beth talks with Steven Engle, Chief Executive Officer and Director of CohBar, Inc, a biotechnology company developing mitochondria-based therapeutics to treat chronic diseases and extend healthy li...

Tom Johnson – Aging & Healthspan & Dementia from 2021-01-26T15:00:01

  We speak with CU-Boulder Geneticist Tom Johnson about his ground-breaking research into the genetics of aging and ways to improve lifespan and healthspan.  We feature excerpts from Ariel Lavery’s...

Science On Stage from 2021-01-19T16:07:15

Sometimes it seems that science and art are completely different worlds but that has not always been the case. There is a long history of artistic scientists and scientific artists.  In this editio...

AKG & “Healthspan” — Gordon Lithgow from 2021-01-12T02:41:23

(Whole Show) Longer “healthspan”  might be why the most popular Non-COVID story in Science Magazine last year involved the body-building supplement alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), fed to middle-aged mic...

The Case for the Ketogenic Diet – A Talk with Gary Taubes from 2021-01-08T01:16:31

In today’s show, Beth talks with science writer and journalist Gary Taubes about his new, and more personal book (The Case for Keto) on his experience with the low-carb, high fat or ketogenic diet....

Recycling Lithium-ion Batteries from 2020-12-22T16:00:11

Our lives have been changed by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries which are everywhere: in our cell phones, cars, toys, power tools and grid energy storage. Indeed, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry wa...

Scratch & Sniff COVID Test // Ice Age BONE Fire from 2020-12-15T01:35:20

Scratch & Sniff COVID Test (starts 1:00) CU Scientist Dan Larremore explains how a smell test app might offer an affordable COVID screening that’s way more accurate than a temperature check.       ...

Covid Vaccine Update from 2020-12-09T15:38:13

This week on How on Earth, Beth gives an update on the efficacy, safety, and availability of the mRNA vaccines for the corona virus. You hear from Drs Tony Fauci, Michael Diamond, and Roger Seheult...

Octopus Wild from 2020-11-24T15:55:51

This week we review the hit movie “My Octopus Teacher,” the story about a man who goes diving in a kelp forest off the Western Cape of South Africa, and becomes acquainted with an octopus.   We rev...

CU COVID Testing Update // Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever & Climate Change from 2020-11-17T03:42:23

CU COVID TESTING UPDATE  (starts 1:00) We join CU Engineering Professor Cresten Mansfeldt as he and his students open a sewer manhole and do maintenance on their wastewater COVID early warning syst...

The Reindeer Chronicles: Stories of Environmental Regeneration from 2020-11-10T16:10:12

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews author Judith Schwartz. In her new book, the Reindeer Chronicles, she takes the reader on a tour of some of the most wounded places on earth, and stories ...

It’s All in Your Mouth: Exploring Holistic Dentistry from 2020-10-28T14:39:36

In this week’s show Beth talks to Dr. Dominik Nischwitz about his new book, It’s All in Your Mouth, to learn more about the relationship between our mouths and the rest of the body. Many European d...

Andrea Tilstra – Deaths of Despair – or not from 2020-10-20T03:18:09

CU-Boulder Sociologist Andrea Tilstra discusses how this decade’s reduction of lifespan in the US  ties closely with two factors 1) easier access to painkillers and opioids, and 2) the obesity epid...

Clean – The New Science of Skin from 2020-10-13T18:47:56

How clean is “clean”?  How do you get clean, and how important is it…could it actually be advantageous to your skin and general health to not try to get too clean?  We talk with medical doctor and ...

The Shale Revolution: Weld County’s Golden Goose- Part Two from 2020-10-06T23:55:42

In Part Two of the Shale Revolution, we look at the environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing, particularly the air quality along the Front Range.    We interview Detlev Helmig, a...

The Shale Revolution: Weld County’s Golden Goose- Part One from 2020-09-29T20:18

This week on How on Earth, we look at the shale industry, which has transformed this country in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago.    How did this happen?   Where do experts think the fr...

COVID-19 CU-BOULDER – OFF CAMPUS PARTIES – SUPERSPREADERS from 2020-09-15T08:19:56

In this final show in our four-part series on CU Boulder & COVID, we look at how CU Boulder Contact Tracing and CU data collection has revealed that the biggest spreader of COVID-19 on CU Boulder’s...

Testing wastewater for COVID-19 from 2020-09-08T06:02:09

PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN COVID-19 TESTS  (starts 1:00)  Beth Bennett reviews the years progress and challenges in COVID-19 Tests, including the latest tests at CU Boulder. CU UPDATE ON COVID-19 (...

Keeping Indoors COVID-Safe – CU Aerosol Experts Shelly Miller & Jose Luis Jimenez from 2020-09-01T04:23:43

Ultrafast COVID Test Update (starts 1:00)  Sara Sawyer’s ultrafast COVID saliva test might be an option sometime soon for allowing visits inside senior care facilities. CU COVID-READY DASHBOARD (st...

CU Boulder – COVID Test Innovations from 2020-08-25T03:39:27

CU Boulder has just opened up dorms and in-person classes.  The CU Boulder Covid Research Strategies Webinar presents innovative testing plans that include ultra-fast COVID tests from the Sara Sawy...

The Neuroscience of Pain from 2020-08-11T15:45:01

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition for millions of people worldwide.   But what role does our brain play in processing pain?    Cognitive neuroscientists are gaining a better understanding of...

COVID-19: The Evidence for Aerosol Transmission & Implications for Containment from 2020-08-05T01:58:06

This week How on Earth producer Beth Bennett spoke with Professor Jose Jimenez, a professor in the Chemistry Dept here at CU in Boulder. His research background for over two decades has focused on ...

Salmonella Biofilms — Inside of Us from 2020-07-28T06:01:15

Salmonella Biofilms — Inside of Us.  (starts 4:06) Foodborne Salmonella infections MIGHT pave the way for arthritis, Parkinson’s disease and even Alzheimer’s.  We talk with Aaron White, co-author o...

Formation of Pluto and Its Ocean from 2020-07-14T15:00:52

Five years ago today on July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft made the first reconnaissance of Pluto, collecting data that continue to be analyzed and provide surprises of this distant world. ...

New Method for Measuring CO2 from Fossil Fuels from 2020-07-08T01:25:36

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviewed Scott Lehman of the University of Colorado here in Boulder. Dr Lehman collaborated with a team at NOAA, to develop a novel technique to identify the CO2 ...

The Corral Bluffs’ Fossil Discovery: Earth’s Comeback Story from 2020-06-30T20:11:33

In this episode Angele Sjong interviews Tyler Lyson, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, about his team’s extraordinary fossil discovery at the Corral Bluffs. Wh...

Vaccine Update // General Anesthetic Poses Alcohol Abuse Risk for Kids from 2020-06-17T01:44:07

This week on How on Earth, Beth delves into the science of vaccination for the new corona virus and speaks with Dr David Werner of SUNY Binghamton about his research on the likelihood that general ...

The Nature of Science // Biology is Everywhere! from 2020-06-02T21:40:27

Today on How on Earth, Beth plays part of a 1964 lecture by Nobel laureate Richard Feynman in which he discusses how the scientific method actually works and the progressive, and therefore uncertai...

Carl Safina – Becoming Wild (Animal Culture) from 2020-05-26T01:29:37

Carl Safina – Becoming Wild:  How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace We talk with bestselling author Carl Safina about his new book, Becoming Wild, which features sper...

Do Masks Protect from Corona Virus // AgriSolar in Boulder from 2020-05-22T00:59:09

Beth and Angele discuss the pros and cons of mask wearing as protection against the novel corona virus. You can see the video on sneezing, as well as the various types of masks. Then, Angele talks ...

2020 Graduation Special from 2020-05-10T19:33:57

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a S...

Antibody Testing // Why is the FDA Cracking Down on Raw Milk Cheese? from 2020-04-30T01:40:41

This week on How on Earth, we speak with Professor Catherine Donnelly, of the University of Vermont, about her book, Ending the War on Artisan Cheese. She exposes the efforts of the corporate dairy...

Ron Rosedale – Leptin, IL-6 and Cytokine Storms (Extended Version) from 2020-04-14T04:43:36

Listen here to this extended version of the abridged interview with Ron Rosedale that broadcast on HowonEarthradio April 14, 2020.  Transcript is below. Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender TR...

Scientists Help a City Run COVID Tests // A Diet to Reduce Cytokine Storms from 2020-04-14T02:38:14

Berkeley Scientists help their city test for Covid 19 (Starts 1:00)   Fyodor Urnov of Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute explains why and how scientists anywhere can help their local communit...

Corona Virus: Therapies and Transmission from 2020-04-08T23:03:24

This week on How on Earth, we are still producing off site. Beth and Angele give an update on treatment and transmission of the corona virus and Shelley interviews CU Boulder scientists Anushree Ch...

CoVid19 Update // Beer Chemistry Redux from 2020-04-08T15:47:21

This week How on Earth adjusts to the restrictions imposed by the corona virus by replaying a previous feature on the chemistry of beer brewing. First Beth gives an overview of some proposed treatm...

COVID-19: ACE, Targeted Therapies, Old & New Medicines from 2020-04-07T15:05:22

This episode talks about research about COVID-19, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), and targeted therapies, and our feature is an interview with CU-Boulder scientists Anushree Chatterjee and Pra...

Miracle Brew (encore feature) // COVID-19 // Drying Towels from 2020-03-31T17:20:26

This week on How On Earth, we present an Encore Feature from January 2018 about the science and art of brewing beer with guest Pete Brown, author of Miracle Brew.  This episode also includes new he...

CoVid19 Update // Sleep and Your Immune System from 2020-03-25T01:43:54

This week on How On Earth, we produced the entire show out of the studio, explaining one brief glitch. Beth gives a short update on the way the corona virus infects cells and how this entry point c...

Peer Pressure can Influence Your Carbon Footprint // CoVid19 Update from 2020-03-18T02:16:43

This week on How on Earth we start with an update on the corona virus, focusing on treatments and vaccines. At 12 minutes, we begin our interview with Bob Frank, author of Under the Influence, Putt...

Ice Age Bone Fire // Backcountry Skiing & Wildlife from 2020-03-03T05:44:11

Backcountry Skiing & Wildlife (Starts 1:00) Margaret Hedderman reports on how off-trail use of wilderness areas is causing increasing harm to wildlife . . . and what to do instead. Ice Age Bone Fir...

Space Mining from 2020-03-01T21:33:04

Space Mining [starts at 9:20] Stars have been called “diamonds in the sky,” but there are other valuable and more accessible resources up there.  Asteroids might be the next gold rush, though for r...

Stem Cell Science // Decoding Science from 2020-02-12T04:20:50

Stem cell science v. hype (start time: 00:57) Clinics offering stem cell therapies and other forms of so-called regenerative medicine are cropping up in many states, including Colorado. Practitione...

The Science of Hearing and Hearing Aids from 2020-02-07T02:55:07

This week Beth and Angele talk with David Owen about his book, Volume Control, in which he explores the surprising science of hearing and the remarkable technologies that can help us hear better. I...

Who Pays for Climate Change? from 2020-01-23T03:18:35

This week, Beth and Angele speak with with Brenda Ekwurzel in the studio. Brenda is the director of climate science for the Union of Concerned Scientists. She was in Boulder for a panel on Air Qual...

Ketogenic Diet and Muscle and Memory from 2020-01-15T01:58

This week on How on Earth, we speak with Dr John Newman, geriatrician and geoscientist at the Buck Institute. He describes his recent research in mice, showing that both memory and muscle improve i...

Climate Watch // Extreme Conservation from 2020-01-07T21:02:53

Today’s show features the following interviews, by How On Earth’s Susan Moran and guest host Ted Wood. Audubon’s Climate Watch (start time: 4:03) Starting on Jan. 14, the Audubon Society will launc...

Top Stories of the Decade from 2020-01-01T22:38:14

This week on How on Earth, Angele and Beth distill some of the top science news of the past year and decade, ranging from the first image of a black hole, as seen here, to DNA sequencing of ancient...

Climate (COP25) Summit Review from 2019-12-17T18:55:35

COP25 Postmortem (start time: 3:35) Earlier this month many nation’s leaders, as well as scientists, environmental activists, companies and others gathered in Madrid for a two-week United Nations c...

Cognitive Brain Development in Adolescents, Part 2 from 2019-12-11T03:06:46

Four years ago Beth interviewed Professor Marie Banich, a neuroscience researcher at the University of Colorado here in Boulder. She had just received a major grant from NIH to characterize how bra...

Voyager Passes Heliopause//Xmas Bird Count from 2019-12-03T22:46:10

Voyager Passes Through the Heliopause   (Starts 1:00) LASP scientist Fran Bagenol explains how the over 40 year old Voyager Mission, that launched in the 1970s is still providing incredible surpris...

COP25 Global Climate Summit from 2019-11-19T19:39:58

COP25 & Climate Change (start time: 1:07): Next month (Dec. 2-13), the United Nations global climate change summit, known as COP25, will take place in Madrid. Many scientists, environmental nonprof...

Buzz: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers from 2019-11-05T16:00:55

BUZZ:  Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils and Adrenaline Junkies.    We speak with clinical psychologist and author, Ken Carter about his new book BUZZ, and high-sensation seekers who c...

Randall Munroe Explains “How To” from 2019-11-04T05:52:08

How To [starts at 4:30] Our guest for this episode is Randall Munroe, perhaps best known for his comic xkcd, and author of the books “What If” and “Thing Explainer”.  Randall has figured out how to...

Almost Human – Julius the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds (FULL INTERVIEW) from 2019-10-22T19:53:45

Almost Human – The Story of Julius, the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds (Extended Version) by Alfred Fidjestøl.  This is the full version of the interview.

Pledge Drive Show – Almost Human: The Story of Julius, the Chimpanzee from 2019-10-22T02:10:25

Almost Human:  The Story of Julius, the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds.  In this fall pledge drive show, we feature  Alfred Fidjestøl‘s new biography about one of Europe’s most famous chimpan...

At the Intersection of Science and Art with Jorge Perez-Gallego from 2019-10-11T03:20:41

We talk with University of Colorado Scholar in Residence Jorge Perez-Gallego about many non-traditional paths one might take after getting a science Ph.D. as well as CU’s Grand Challenge and the fa...

Alzhieimer’s Drug Reverses Brain Damage Caused by Binge Drinking from 2019-10-02T01:50:53

Beth interviews neuroscientist and addiction researcher Scott Swartzwelder who talks about his research on reversing alcohol-induced brain damage in young rats. In past work, Professor Swartzwelder...

Amazon Burning — Jennifer Balch from 2019-09-24T20:14:25

Amazon Burning – (starts 3:15) CU Boulder Earth Lab Director Jennifer Balch explains how the burning of the tropical rain forests may destroy them, and ways to protect the forests and sustainable d...

Tackling Ozone Pollution from 2019-09-17T23:12:05

Tackling ozone pollution in Colorado (starts at 3:55): Cooler fall weather might soon bring back the bluebird skies we all love. But last year ozone levels in the Denver metropolitan area were high...

Lights Out Denver – Saving Birds and Energy from 2019-09-11T01:04:33

On this week’s show Beth speaks with Vicki Vargas-Madrid, Program Administrator for the Denver Lights Out Program. This program is part of the Denver Sustainability Office, which seeks to conserve ...

Creative (Climate) Communications from 2019-09-04T01:56:39

Creative (Climate) Communications [starts at 7:40] As a climate scientist Professor Max Boykoff is part of a community that has been persistently making the case that global warming is a serious pr...

Edible Bugs from 2019-08-28T22:18:42

Edible Bugs (Entire Program) When it comes to an animal that has high quality proteins and fats, plus a very small environmental footprint, there’s more bang to the bug.  We talk about, and taste, ...

Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone from 2019-08-13T22:21:30

GLEE (starts at 8:06) We just recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing.  After the Apollo missions, scientists have returned to the Moon with robotic missions because of t...

Marc Bubbs & The New Science of Athletic Performance from 2019-08-07T19:30:25

In this episode, Beth speaks with Dr Marc Bubbs, author of Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance, his book exploring the fundamentals of high performance. He offers science-based strategies...

Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us from 2019-07-30T21:48:25

  Slime:  How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us.  (Starts 00:00) We speak with science writer Ruth Kassinger about her acclaimed new book, which  Kirkus Review describes as “acces...

PUNCH-ing the Sun from 2019-07-02T19:14

The PUNCH mission (starts at 8:05) NASA’s new mission to study the Sun is called PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere).  In this episode of How on Earth we talk with solar physici...

Cancer, Immunity and the Future of a Cure from 2019-06-25T15:00:52

Despite all the advances in modern medical science, a diagnosis of Cancer often casts a pallor of hopelessness, for both the patient and the practitioner.  For many types the prognosis is often poo...

Yeast & Entropy from 2019-06-18T15:20:15

Yeast & Entropy  (starts 2:30) When yeast cells eat sugar and then give off ethanol, it helps us make yeast breads and beer.  But WHY would yeast work so hard to metabolize sugar, simply to spit ou...

Toxic Air’s Health Risks from 2019-06-12T03:31:53

Air Pollution, Possible Solutions (start time: 2:36) It is ubiquitous and essential to our life. It it is also the cause of some 7 million premature deaths around the world every year, ranking just...

Paternity Science from 2019-06-05T01:31:15

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Nara Milanich, author of Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father, and professor of history at Barnard College. For most of human history, paternity wa...

A Walking Life // MOSAIC Arctic Expedition from 2019-05-28T19:24:53

In the first feature (start time 1:00) KGNU’s Maeve Conran speaks with Antonia Malchik, author of A Walking Life.  This book  explores the relationship between walking and our humanity, how we have...

2019 Graduation Special from 2019-05-21T21:36:17

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. in a S...

Gold Lab Symposium 2019 from 2019-05-14T06:00:17

We speak with Larry Gold, founder of the Gold Lab Symposium that will take place at CU Boulder’s Muenzinger Auditorium this Friday and Saturday.  This year’s symposium will feature leading scientis...

Plastic Pollution & Solutions from 2019-05-07T20:39:11

Tackling Plastic Pollution (starts at 3:09):  It is, sadly, common for beachcombers around the world to see, along with clam shells and sand dollars, plastic bottles, bottle caps, cigaret filters a...

The Nuclear Option for Decarbonization from 2019-05-01T01:08:31

In this week’s show, Beth interviews Joshua Goldstein. He and co-author Steffan Qvist wrote eloquently about how nuclear energy can replace fossil fuels – a vital necessity in a rapidly warming wor...

Concussion Test // Pot & Pain Meds // Chords and Codons from 2019-04-16T03:15:39

  Concussion Test (Starts 1:00)  David Howell is chief researcher at Children’s Hospital Colorado.  Howell says the century old Romberg Balance Test can help evaluate how long a child will need the...

An Astronomical Journey with Michelle Thaller from 2019-04-09T17:17:23

This special edition of How on Earth is produced in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs.  Our guest a participants of the Conference: Dr. Michelle Thaller, assistant director of scienc...

Pesticides and Health Impacts from 2019-04-02T17:33:56

A Consumer’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce (starts  7:55) You may be wondering if you washed the strawberries, blueberries or kale that you had for breakfast this morning enough to rid them of res...

This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution from 2019-03-27T02:34:34

This View of Life (starts 6:56) In this episode of How on Earth, we talk with David Sloan Wilson, an evolutionary biologist with a special interest in human biocultural evolution. Dr. Wilson is Dis...

The Goodness Paradox – Full Interview from 2019-03-21T00:54:25

The Goodness Paradox (Starts 5:22): On this week’s show we play the full interview with Richard Wrangham, a primatologist at Harvard University, about his new book, The Goodness Paradox: The Strang...

The Goodness Paradox // Pledge Drive from 2019-03-13T04:04:59

The Goodness Paradox (Teaser): Today’s spring pledge-drive show features brief clips from a recent interview with Richard Wrangham, a primatologist at Harvard University, about his new book, The Go...

Tagging the Bugs that Carry Antibiotic Resistance from 2019-03-06T03:02:03

In this week’s show, Beth interviews Dr. Ivan Liachko, CEO and Co-Founder of Phase Genomics, a startup biotech company recently funded, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The compan...

MRI Improvement by Standardization from 2019-02-28T02:32:03

In this week’s show, Beth speaks with William Hollander, and Kevin Miller, of QalibreMD, a Boulder startup focused on transforming MRI technology. Traditional MRI scans can result in a large differ...

HOLOSCENES / Little Boxes: Science On a Sphere from 2019-02-12T22:13:41

Spend some time at the intersection of art, engineering and science; we’ll hear about the world premier of HOLOSCENES / Little Boxes February 20, 7:00 PM at Fiske Planetarium in Boulder. Get a glim...

The Science of Exercise Recovery from 2019-02-05T21:04:23

Athlete’s Guide to Recovery (starts at 5:39): Colorado is riddled with athletes, many of them incessantly chasing the latest recovery products and services that will enhance their performance — fro...

Characterizing Microbial Communities from 2019-01-30T03:38:15

Microbial communities are all around us: in our homes, gardens, oceans, even deep underground but their roles in the function of the biosphere are poorly understood. Today Beth spoke with Professor...

Composting & Carbon Farming from 2019-01-22T21:09:21

Why Compost? (start time: 7:01) Many of us may feel a little less guilty letting fruits and vegetables go bad, because we figure that this waste, thanks to curbside compost pickup, will be turned i...

Wisdom of the Body from 2019-01-09T02:45:14

Animal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this...

A Tale of Two Missions: OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons from 2018-12-26T00:44:28

OSIRIS-REx (starts at 1:00) In today’s first feature, we hear about OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s first mission to do a sample return from an asteroid.  Our guest is Dr. Vicky Hamilton, a Staff Scientist at t...

Soft Robotic Muscles from 2018-12-18T19:47:59

Soft Robotic Muscles (WHOLE SHOW)  Robotic Materials are going beyond gears and levers toward powerful components that are softer and more muscular.  These materials may someday soon help build mor...

Titan Talk with Sarah Hörst from 2018-12-15T07:00:03

Headlines: Inheritance of mitochondrial DNA.  Coffee and Parkinson’s disease. Sending your name and a message to the New Horizons spacecraft.  Winds on Mars.  Water on Asteroids. Feature: Titan (st...

National Assessment on Climate Change from 2018-12-05T05:07:23

Climate Change (starts at 6:30)  Volume II of the fourth National Assessment on Climate Change was released on the day after Thanksgiving. The findings are stark. It is already too late to prevent ...

Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn from 2018-11-28T02:03:06

Never Home Alone (starts at 4:26) In this week’s How on Earth, Beth interviews Professor Rob Dunn. In his recent book, Never Home Alone, he gives a sneak peak into the natural history of the wilder...

Baking Soda for Autoimmune Disease // Crickets for the Gut from 2018-11-27T17:47:33

Baking Soda for Autoimmune Disease (starts at 1:00)  Georgia Medical College researcher Paul O’Connor reports that a small amount of baking soda in water, for two weeks, shifts the immune cell know...

Nature and Health from 2018-11-13T21:17:50

Nature Rx (start time: 9:33): Nature is good for your health. Sounds obvious, but what does science tell us? A walk in the woods can help to calm your nervous system and spark novel ideas, and spen...

Living in a World of Thinking Machines from 2018-10-30T18:42:15

It has been 50 years since the original 2001, A Space Odyssey, where movie viewers first heard Captain Powers asking, “Open the pod bay doors, HAL” and found HAL thought differently about whether t...

Front Range Fracking // Planet+Human Health from 2018-10-23T21:26:10

Today’s show offers two features: Oil & Gas Impacts (start time: 1:05) Proposition 112, which would require oil and gas wells to be at least 2,500 feet from homes, schools, parks and other building...

Ketotarian & Pledge Drive Show from 2018-10-17T14:08:23

This week on How on Earth Beth interviews author Will Cole, functional medicine physician, about his new book, Ketotarian. He proposes a novel ketogenic diet, which has typically derived its high f...

Regenerative Medicine #1: Primer from 2018-10-09T20:20:45

Regenerative Medicine (start time: 7:30): We begin our series on regenerative medicine with a discussion of scientific advancements, promises, caveats, regulations, and challenges of regenerative m...

Eager Beavers from 2018-10-04T01:14:03

Beth talks with author Ben Goldfarb about his new book, amusingly titled Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. You’ll gain a better understanding of beavers’ myriad ski...

How Skin Begins // Dr. Dan from 2018-09-18T18:29:17

Boulder researchers have discovered a key mechanism by which skin begins to develop in embryos, shedding light on the genetic roots of birth defects like cleft palate and paving the way for develop...

Cricket Chorus // Foliage Science from 2018-09-11T22:34:42

This week’s How On Earth features the following two segments: Late-summer Cricket Chorus (start time: 1:02) One of the most poetic sounds of the end of summer is …. no, not your kids kicking and sc...

Saving Summer: The National Wildlife Federation Report from 2018-09-05T03:28:15

The National Wildlife Federation just released its report, Safeguarding Summer: From Climate Threats to Iconic Summer Experiences. This report chronicles the latest scientific findings on these tre...

Email Anxiety // Food Waste from 2018-08-28T20:05:29

This week’s How On Earth offers two features: Work-Email Anxiety (start time: 7:58) If you’re wondering why you often feel anxious on Monday mornings, despite having spent time with your family and...

Low Carb & Lifespan//Down syndrome & Inflammation from 2018-08-22T03:10:25

Low Carb Diets and Lifespan (starts 3:00) Dr. Ron Rosedale, MD, gives a “second opinion” about a widely publicized report in the prominent medical journal The Lancet.  The Lancet report contends th...

Aerogel as Clear as Glass//New Science Standards for Colorado Schools from 2018-08-15T18:55:08

Aerogel as Clear As Glass:  (Starts 4:00)   Most aerogels “windows” are kind of foggy looking.  A CU-Boulder science team has created something better.  It’s a liquid made from recycled plant mater...

Dogs for Diabetics from 2018-08-07T23:11:09

Dogs have an incredible sense of smell – it’s so good, people can train dogs to sniff our everything from illegal drugs and explosives to lost people and even computer “thumbnail” drives, that mayb...

Vascular Disease & Aging Part 2 from 2018-08-01T01:17:34

This week on How on Earth, Beth finishes up her interview with Professor Doug Seals, aging researcher. He explains the role of vascular damage in heart disease and how lifestyle choices such as exe...

What’s Happening Inside Your Arteries? from 2018-07-25T01:32:17

This week’s How on Earth guest, Dr Doug Seals, researches vascular aging. Several events occur as we age that conspire to damage blood vessels, culminating in what is popularly known as hardening o...

Wildfire Health Impacts // Detained Immigrant Children Suffer Medical Woes from 2018-07-17T20:00:55

We offer two feature interviews on this week’s show: Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke (start time: 4:22) It’s peak wildfire season. Smoke from forest and grass fires contains particulates that can ...

Science of Psychedelics from 2018-07-11T03:34:22

We present another part of our interview with Michael Pollan about his book “How to Change Your Mind:  What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depress...

What do Dogs Think? from 2018-07-03T23:49:56

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks to author Dr Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus, CU Boulder. His new book has the wonderful title of Canine Confidential. If you enjoy dogs, dog parks, and watchi...

Junk Raft // The Green Reaper from 2018-06-30T20:59:53

Junk Raft (starts 6:20) Marcus Eriksen discusses what can and cannot be done about the “plastic smog” of microscopic debris permeating the world’s ocean, from the state-sized floating islands of pl...

Mitochondria and Your Health from 2018-06-20T01:18:19

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Lee Know, author of Mitochondria and theFuture of Medicine. These amazing organelles, which allow complex life on Earth to exist, do more than “just” m...

How Food Affects Your Brain from 2018-06-14T01:13:23

Two epidemics sweeping the developed world are Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Steven Masley about his book, The Better Brain Solution in which...

Ocean Conservation: MPAs from 2018-06-05T18:29:07

This week’s show brings you the following feature interview: Protecting Ocean Biodiversity (start time: 2:42) In honor of World Environment Day (today), World Oceans Day (Friday) the March for the ...

Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind (with psychedelics) from 2018-06-01T03:32:20

Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.  We speak with New York Times Bestselli...

Chasing New Horizons, continued from 2018-05-24T14:47:35

In 2015, the New Horizons Spacecraft flew past Pluto. Because Pluto is so far away, it took nearly 10 years of travel for the spacecraft to reach that distant dwarf planet — and that was after a de...

Chasing New Horizons // GoldLab Symposium from 2018-05-15T15:00:47

Chasing New Horizons  (starts 1:00) brings the reader Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto to  hear the details and meet the personalities behind building, launching, and flying this audacious mi...

Chasing New Horizons – full extended interview from 2018-05-15T14:58:03

Here we provide the full interview by How on Earth’s Joel Parker of planetary scientists Dr. Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute) and Dr. David Grinspoon (Planetary Science Institute), about t...

2018 Graduation Special (part 2) from 2018-05-09T06:19

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is the second of a two-part annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who will receive their Ph.D...

2018 Graduation Special (part 1) from 2018-05-02T03:23:24

With graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is the first of a two-part annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who will receive their Ph.D....

City Nature Challenge BioBlitz Citizen Science enhanced with iNaturalist from 2018-04-30T20:44:36

Attention all Nature Lovers and Amateur Naturalists, Friday April 27th kicks of the City Nature Challenge, where Boulder will compete with 65 cities throughout the world to identify the most specie...

Cancer Biology // Oil&Gas Health Impacts from 2018-04-17T22:53:36

Today’s show offers two feature interviews: New Theory of How Cancer Evolves Inside Us (start time: 0:58): It is commonly known that cancer afflicts old people more than youth. Conventional wisdom ...

Astrobiology and the Anthropocene from 2018-04-10T17:16:17

As part of the Conference of World Affairs, which is being held this week at the campus of the University of Colorado, Boulder, we are speaking today with astrophysicist Adam Frank. Frank is a prof...

Geoengineering the Climate from 2018-04-03T20:43:24

Hacking the Planet (start time: 10:24): It’s tough to wrap one’s mind around just how monumental and consequential the problem of climate change is. So dire that scientist and engineers for years h...

The Moral Arc – Extended Interview with Michael Shermer from 2018-04-02T15:40:25

Shelley Schlender talks with renowned skeptic Michael Shermer about his new book, The Moral Arc:  How Science and Reason lead humanity toward truth, justice and freedom.  This is an extended versio...

MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Karen, PTSD Survivor from 2018-03-28T04:05:58

This is an exended interview with a survivor of treatment resistant post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.  Karen says she is cured of her PTSD now, thanks to a treatment that includes...

MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Marcella Ot’Alora – Principal Investigator from 2018-03-28T03:50:53

This is an extended interview with Marcella Ot’alora.  Ot’alora is a Boulder psychotherapist, and the principal investigator for the Boulder branch of the FDA approved, nationwide studies of using ...

MDMA for PTSD – Psychiatrist Will Vanderveer from 2018-03-28T03:38:40

In the years ahead, doctors across the U.S. might be prescribing a currently illegal drug as therapy for the hard-to-treat condition known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  The new “medici...

Enlightenment Now from 2018-03-20T18:50:49

You may be among many who wistfully harken back to the “golden days” of the past. For some people the past does look rosier, or perhaps the present looks grim, but, according to Steven Pinker, a Ha...

Enlightenment Now // Pledge Drive Teaser from 2018-03-13T21:03:39

Today’s pledge-drive show features parts of our recent interview with Steven Pinker. Enlightenment Now: If you think the world, including the U.S., is falling apart, that the ideal of progress is a...

Urban Air Pollution: A new culprit from 2018-03-07T06:56:28

It’s the endless stream of tailpipes on the L.A. freeway which  causes that unsightly smog, nagging cough and chronic respitory problems, right?  Perhaps not any more, a new scientific study helps ...

The Starmus Festival from 2018-02-27T21:44:47

Woodstock.  Lallapalooza. Lilith Fair.  Coachella.  Burning Man.  All famous music and art festivals.  What about…science festivals?  Perhaps a festival with all the “rock stars” of science and spa...

Spaceport Earth from 2018-02-25T18:50:40

Spaceport Earth. This week on How on Earth, we speak with Joe Pappalardo about his book “Spaceport Earth”. With the successes of Space-X and Blue Origin, private and commercial spaceflight is a fas...

Plastic Pollution in Ocean from 2018-02-13T23:13:42

In today’s show we offer two related features: Plastic Pollution in the Arctic, Green Chemistry  (start time: 7:48) Try to wrap your brain around this statistic: by mid-century the mass of plastic ...

The Longevity Diet from 2018-02-03T15:29:17

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute. Dr Longo has researched the fundamental mechanisms of aging in yeast, mice and humans using gene...

Science on Tap from 2018-01-23T21:53:09

Boulder, Colorado has a rich culture of science, as the home for serveral prestigious national laboratories, a thriving technology industry, the flagship campus of the University of Colorado and va...

Fragrance Free – Roger the Barber // Shelly Miller from 2018-01-16T16:00:55

Roger the Fragrance Free Barber (Starts 3:25)   Artificial fragrances in shampoos, colognes, lotions. deodorant, laundry detergent and more nearly led Roger the Barber, to give up his profession, d...

Miracle Brew – The Amazing Science (and Art) of Brewing Beer from 2018-01-12T02:54:21

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Pete Brown, author of Miracle Brew, the story of how beer is made of 4 seemingly simple components, but really from an amazing complexity of science and a...

2017 Look Back – 2018 Look Forward from 2018-01-06T19:02:12

For this end-of-the-year/start-of-the-year  How on Earth show, we look back to 2017 with clips from some of our features from the past year: selections about tracking methane leaks, ketogenic diets...

Keto for Cancer, part 2 from 2017-12-20T02:53:03

This week on How on Earth, Beth finishes the interview with Miriam Kalamian, author of Keto for Cancer. This encyclopedic volume lays out the groundwork for using a ketogenic diet to treat cancer. ...

Healthy . . . But Missing Gut Microbes from 2017-12-13T13:00:35

Healthy . . . But Missing Gut Microbes (Starts 3:25) Practically everyone on the planet now knows that animals have microbes in their guts. This is a new field of exploration, and top researchers e...

Ketogenic Diet for Treatment of Cancer//BBC Science in Action from 2017-12-06T01:45:44

This week on How on Earth, we started speaking with Miriam Kalamian, author of the newly released Keto for Cancer. The interview starts at 11? 30?, but unfortunately we lost the connection after on...

The Unnatural World from 2017-11-21T23:06:12

The Unnatural World (start time: 6:58): It’s an audacious topic for a book: the planet, and audacious individuals who are working to save — actually, to remake — human civilization and our home on ...

Lancet Countdown on Climate Change from 2017-11-15T04:22:02

Lancet Countdown on Climate Change (starts 3:45) Respectable science journals no longer debate whether human activity causes climate change, or even if it can be reversed to prevent human suffering...

Tamed and Untamed: Essays on the Animal Kingdom from 2017-11-08T02:33:15

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Sy Montgomery and Liz Thomas, co-authors of Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind: Some amazing stories of their experiences with animals...

Mutant Proteins // Future Technologies from 2017-10-24T16:52:17

Mutant Proteins and Protein Evolution (starts 4:42) CU School of Medicine professor David Pollock explains why he has devised a new way to identify and predict both the evolution of proteins and di...

Nuclear Tests and the Van Allen Belts from 2017-10-12T04:31:28

In 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, agreeing to not test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, underwater, or in outer space.  France co...

Antibiotics & Your Microbiome from 2017-10-05T02:47:31

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Martin Blaser of New York University who challenges the assumption that antibiotics are harmless drugs targeting only harmful pathogens. In his recent ...

Committed Warming from 2017-09-27T15:12:42

Much of current climate science research focuses on understanding how the climate is changing and what type of climate we will have in the near future. But to understand where the climate is going,...

The Cassini Mission to Saturn from 2017-09-19T22:03:30

The Cassini mission to Saturn launched 20 years ago, on October 15, 1997.  It took seven years to reach Saturn, and has been orbiting and intensely studying Saturn ever since…until last week when t...

Aging Research Part 2 from 2017-09-13T01:52:29

This week on How on Earth we speak with Simon Melov, a biochemist at the Buck Institute for Aging. Dr Melov studies various aspects of aging in worms, mice and humans. The aging field is replete wi...

Biofuels Tradeoffs from 2017-09-05T22:51:23

Biofuels Tradeoffs (start time: 8:27): In this week’s show David DeGennaro, an agriculture policy specialist with the National Wildlife Federation and author of a report called “Fueling Destruction...

Climate Change and Extinctions Following an Asteroid Impact from 2017-08-30T00:08:53

Climate Change and Extinctions Following an Asteroid Impact (starts at 8:45) It has been hypothesized that the dinosaurs were killed off by a large asteroid that struck the Earth. The details of ho...

Boulder Firestone Monorail // Regeneration & Eclipse photo-bombing from 2017-08-26T02:07:42

Sustainable Transportation is a major issue for the front range.  In that field a hot topic is PRT, which stands for Personal Rapid Transit system, a radical vision for creating a sustainable infra...

Stay Young – If You’re a Worm from 2017-08-16T01:54:45

This week on How on Earth, Beth spoke with Dr Gordon Lithgow, a researcher at the Buck Institute for Aging in California who studies aging in nematode worms. Stress actually keeps us young by activ...

Mortality Trends in America // Life Expectancy in America from 2017-08-14T03:16:06

This week on How on Earth we look at the scientific research into the lifespans of Americans. Mortality trends in America (start time 4:05): We speak with Andrea Tilstra, who co-authored a recent p...

Chasing Shadows – Stellar Occultations and the Outer Solar System from 2017-08-01T20:25:30

Chasing Shadows [starts at 9:40]  Astronomy is a science that depends on watching things happen in the universe that we don’t have control over: supernovae, formation of stars, orbits of planets, a...

Space Shield for Satellites // Virtual Colonoscopy from 2017-07-25T20:30:31

Space Shield for Satellites (starts 1:00)   An invisible radio wave pollution makes a “space shield” that protects orbiting satellites from Van Allen Belt radiation.  Dan Baker, head of CU-Boulder’...

The Alien Hunter & SETI from 2017-07-18T21:20:34

Today’s show offers the following feature: Extraterrestrial intelligence? (start time: 6:30): It’s mid-summer, a time when many of us like to spend leisurely time outside at night, gazing at the st...

Is Your Oral Microbiome Affected by Your Genes? from 2017-07-14T02:03:23

On the first day of the summer pledge drive, Beth interviews Dr Brittany Demmitt, a behavioral molecular geneticist. Her recent study used a powerful genetic tool, identical twins, to show that the...

The American Eclipse of 1878 from 2017-06-27T22:51:45

This August 21st, some parts of the Earth will be plunged into darkness in the middle of the day.  It will be a solar eclipse; the moon’s shadow will cross the United States from Oregon to South Ca...

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome // Renewables from 2017-06-21T04:19:13

We offer two feature interviews on today’s show. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (start time: 11:49)  Imagine spending years waking up so sore and fatigued many mornings that you can barely move. And trav...

Protecting Pollinators // Testing Drinking Water from 2017-06-13T17:20:23

We offer two features on today’s show: Protecting Pollinators (start time: 0:58): Hills, prairies and gardens are neon green and in full bloom. A pollinator’s paradise, at least it should be. Birds...

2017 Graduation Special (part 2) from 2017-06-06T18:28:10

With graduation season is upon us, or in many cases in the rearview mirror, today’s edition of How on Earth is the second of a two-part “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scie...

2017 Graduation Special (part 1) from 2017-05-30T19:01:22

With graduation season is upon us, or in many cases in the rearview mirror, today’s edition of How on Earth is the first of a two-part “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scien...

Treating Cancer Metabolically from 2017-05-24T13:28:31

In their upcoming book, A Metabolic Approach to Cancer, authors Dr Nasha Winters and Jess Kelley, describe new developments in individualized therapies for cancer, based on nutrition and personaliz...

Gold Lab Symposium // Marc Bekoff Animals Agenda from 2017-05-16T18:15:16

Gold Lab Symposium (starts 1:00) Scientist and Entrepreneur Larry Gold shares what to expect in science and health at the annual Gold Lab Symposium, taking place this weekend at CU Boulder.  This y...

A New Theory of Cancer from 2017-05-10T14:01:38

This week on How on Earth Beth interviews Travis Christofferson, author of Tripping over the Truth, in which he explores the history, and the human story that has led to the resurgence of Otto Warb...

500 Women Scientists // Tracking Methane Leaks with Google Street View Cars from 2017-04-18T17:57:04

500 Women Scientists (starts 3:01) Ecologist Jane Zelikova explains how an acquaintance while at CU-Boulder led to an open letter she co-authored with Kelly Ramirez about science . . . and this ult...

New Adventures in Astronomy with Gerrit Verschuur from 2017-04-12T23:16:24

Today’s How on Earth show is a special edition in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs panel entitled: “New Adventures in Astronomy”. Our guest is Gerrit Verschuur, a radio astronomer w...

Long Now Foundation in Colorado // Wild Boulder Citizen Science from 2017-04-04T20:06:08

The Long Now Foundation in Colorado (start time 5:02): People often measure “success” as fifteen minutes of fame, or a blockbuster financial quarter. This focus on short term results doesn’t always...

Health Impacts of Oil/Gas Drilling from 2017-03-28T19:17:46

Drilling’s Health Impacts (start time: 7:50): A pressing question on the minds of many Colorado residents, health experts, and others amidst a surge of oil and gas activity is this: Does living nea...

Your Baby’s Microbiome from 2017-03-28T13:34:33

Your Baby’s Microbiome (start time 6:13): This week on How on Earth Beth Bennett interviews Toni Harmon, author of Your Baby’s Microbiome, a look into the role the maternal micro biome plays before...

Nature Fix 2 // Case Against Sugar from 2017-03-16T01:52:53

The Nature Fix.  (starts 1:50)  In this spring pledge drive show, we revisit the science show interview about the benefits of getting out in nature. The Case Against Sugar. (starts 9:40) Best-selli...

Eclipse 2017 from 2017-03-03T19:11:40

Eclipse 2017 (start time 5:56): This summer America will experience its first total solar eclipse in almost 30 years. How on Earth’s Alejandro Soto speaks with Dr. Claire Raftery from the National ...

Of Wasps and Figs from 2017-02-22T06:04:10

Today’s feature has How on Earth’s Beth Bennett talking with Dr. Mike Shanahan, a biologist who has a degree in rainforest ecology.  He has lived in a national park in Borneo, bred endangered pengu...

The Nature Fix from 2017-02-14T20:19:57

Your Brain on Nature (start time: 5:49): You may think it’s a no-brainer: that nature is good for your mental and physical health. After all, a walk in the woods or even an urban park brightens you...

Citizen Science from 2017-02-07T21:42:53

Citizen Science (start time: 5:32): For those who would love to track birds and other creatures or to test drinking water quality in their community, for instance, but think it would require a degr...

Clinical Trials Test MDMA as PTSD Treatment from 2017-02-01T00:52:59

This week on How on Earth host Susan Moran interviews two investigators of FDA-approved clinical trials testing the efficacy and safety of the illegal drug MDMA — known in an altered form as Ecstas...

Secret Life of Fat from 2017-01-24T14:49:48

When Sylvia Tara had more trouble fitting into her skinny jeans than her friends, she decided to learn why she was prone to being fat.  Her new book is –  The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind...

American Gut Project from 2017-01-18T02:34:19

The American Gut project is the largest crowd-sourced project ever: to date, over 80.000 participants have contributed fecal, skin, or oral samples. The ambitious goal is to characterize the microb...

Earth in Human Hands – Shaping our Planet’s Future from 2017-01-11T00:37:57

Sometimes when we are having personal or health problems, it helps to get an outside perspective: talk to other friends who have experienced similar problems and how they dealt with them, and other...

Earth in Human Hands – extended interview from 2017-01-11T00:36:05

  This is the full interview with Dr. David Grinspoon, author of the book “Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet’s Future”.  Excerpts of this interview by Joel Parker aired on How on Earth on ou...

Forensic Plant Science: CSI for Real! from 2017-01-05T00:02:20

Beth interviews Drs Jane Bock (starts at 16:35) and David Norris (starts at 7:10), co-authors of Forensic Plant Science, the application of plant science to the resolution of legal questions. A pla...

2016 Retrospective from 2016-12-27T21:32:42

For this end-of-the-year How on Earth show, we look back to 2016 with clips from some of our features from the past year: selections from the Our Microbes, Ourselves series, research about Zika, gr...

Where is climate science research heading? from 2016-12-21T03:30:52

This week on How on Earth Beth interviews two NOAA scientists who study climate change. Joanie Kleypas is a marine ecologist who investigates how rising atmospheric carbon dioxide affects marine ec...

Biodiversity Matters // Scientists Implore Trump from 2016-12-16T04:37:14

This week’s show offers two features: Global Biodiversity (start time: 1:22): Scientists, NGOs and government representatives from nearly 200 countries have been gathering in Cancun, Mexico, for th...

Colonizing Mars? from 2016-12-08T03:42:15

This week, Alejandro speaks with Leonard David, a space journalist who has written a new book Mars – Our Future on the Red Planet. In his book he discusses the plans of both NASA and private compan...

Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets from 2016-11-29T20:02:29

Beyond Earth (start time 5:10) Many have dreamt of colonizing other planets. It’s been a staple of science fiction for decades. Most often, people imagine creating a colony of humans on Mars, where...

Regenerative Economics//Logicomix from 2016-11-22T16:41:46

Regenerative Economics (starts 3:20) Natural Capitalism Solutions leader, Hunter Lovins, will share an economic argument for why now’s the time for cleaner energy.  Lovins, who lives near Niwot, Co...

Max Boykoff – Global Climate Talks – Moving Ahead from 2016-11-15T18:26

Max Boykoff – Global Climate Talks – Moving Ahead With or Without US –  (entire show) While the world has held climate talks for 22 years (This is COP – Conference of the Parties — 22) and the Kyot...

Suggestible You: How Our Brain Tricks Us from 2016-11-08T18:24:16

The Science of Suggestibility (start time: 5:00) Scientists are learning more and more about how our expectations and beliefs influence how our bodies, including our neurochemistry, respond to pain...

I Contain Multitudes–Our Microbes, Ourselves from 2016-10-25T20:20:16

Multitudes of Microbes (start time: 3:38): You may find it unsettling to learn that our human cells make up only half of our bodies. The other half is a bunch of microbes (in the neighborhood of 40...

Pledge Drive//Interview with Ed Yong from 2016-10-19T01:46:17

This week’s pledge- drive show features a teaser introduction to Ed Yong’s new book I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life. We play segments from the interview that...

Denver Permaculture Guild//Ron Rosedale Explains Autophagy from 2016-10-06T23:59:15

Denver Permaculture Guild (starts 3:30) staff and board members explain the goal of permaculture and guild’s annual workshops program taking place this weekend.       Ron Rosedale, MD, Explains Aut...

The Rosetta Mission from 2016-09-27T17:52:41

Rosetta [feature starts at 5:27] The Rosetta Space Mission has been in flight for ever 12 years and will be ending with a dramatic crash this Friday morning around 10:40 UT (4:40 am Mountain time) ...

Alzheimer’s Reversal – Extended Interview with Dale Bredesen from 2016-09-20T15:02:31

This is an extended interview with Dale Bredesen, leader of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.  Bredesen has documented reversal of early Alzheimer’s in a small case study, largely through l...

Alzheimer’s Reversal: ApoE4.info and Dr. Dale Bredesen from 2016-09-20T15:01:40

Alzheimer’s Reversal (starts 2:20) The Alzheimer’s Association calls Alzheimer’s “the only disease among the top 10 causes of death in America that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.”  This...

Personalized Medicine from Genome Sequencing from 2016-09-15T12:15:26

This week, an interview with Howard Jacob, PhD, principal investigator and executive vice president for genomic medicine at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (starts at 5’30”)describing the p...

Gregory Benford – Science Fiction/Fact and Starshot from 2016-08-30T20:42:44

What are the qualities that make a good scientist? What are the qualities that make a good science fiction writer? Those skills do not necessarily overlap, but when they do, they not only can produ...

Methane Emissions From Natural Gas from 2016-08-23T19:34:18

Methane Madness (start time: 2:20)  More than a decade ago, scientists noted that the area where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet, known as Four Corners, appeared to be emitting a curiou...

Lessons From Flint’s Lead-In-Water Crisis from 2016-08-16T19:22:58

Tackling Lead Contamination: Flint and Beyond (start time: 6:27) When you pour yourself a glass of water from the tap, do wonder whether it’s truly clean and safe? How would you know for sure? Flin...

Zika Update from 2016-08-10T02:24:23

In headlines and 2 interviews with Zika researchers,Beth covers new material on this disturbing disease. CDC Chief of Virology, Dr Ann Power (start time 3’45”) and Dr Rushika Ferrara of CSU (start ...

The Keeling Curve//Electric Airplanes//Moth Parties from 2016-08-02T18:28:20

The Keeling Curve (starts 5:00) Friday, August 12th the Boulder Shambala Center hosts:  Living Beyond Hope And Fear:  Social Confidence And Climate Change.  One leader of the event is the daughter ...

Impacts of Fracking from 2016-07-27T04:32:38

In Colorado, a boom in methane development over the past few years has raised questions about whether the environmental impacts are outpacing scientists’ ability to measure them. Shelley Schlender ...

Exploring your DNA // Cellular Innards Revealed from 2016-07-20T20:54:47

This week on How on Earth we speak with 2 notables. NY Times columnist Carl Zimmer describes his exploration of his genome sequence, yes all 3 billion bases! See the series he has produced detailin...

Toward Sustainable Agriculture from 2016-07-13T00:32:31

Sustainable Agriculture (starts 3:06): We couldn’t feed the planet without nitrogen, a vital nutrient for crops. But most soils don’t produce enough of it to feed anywhere near our 7 billion-plus h...

Quantum Dot Antibiotics // Shrinking Ozone Hole from 2016-07-05T14:32:50

Quantum Dot Antibiotics (starts 1:00) This programmable antibiotic might keep pace with quickly evolving superbugs.  Unlike most drugs – it’s not derived from biological sources.  It’s a tiny versi...

Pollinators Matter // Denver BioLabs from 2016-06-28T20:45:14

Pollinators Matter (starts at 4:43): Now that backyard gardens are in full bloom it’s a good time to think about pollinators. Honeybees, butterflies, beetles and other pollinators depend on many fl...

Soccermatics // Pledge Drive Show from 2016-06-21T14:55:01

David Sumpter’s new book is Soccermatics–Mathematical Adventures in the Beautiful Game.  It’s about how the mathematical patterns of how to win at soccer — and much much more — like how a math algo...

Carbon Farming // Light Pollution from 2016-06-14T14:25:57

The Carbon Farming Solution – (Starts 2:13) Carbon Sequestration is the act of removing carbon from the air and putting it . . . somewhere else.  Kendra Krueger talks with author Eric Tunesmeier ab...

Diatoms: Ecology and Aesthetics from 2016-06-08T02:44:13

Beth interviews Dr Sarah Spaulding, of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research here in Boulder. Sarah studies microscopic single celled algae, creatures that photosynthesize but aren’t plants....

Cell Phones & Cancer // Narcotics Prolong Chronic Pain from 2016-06-01T03:43:49

Cell Phones & Cancer  (Starts 1:00) A $25 million study reports cell phone radiation boosted brain cancer in rats . . . and rats exposed to radiation lived longer.  Frank Barnes, CU-Boulder Disting...

Our Microbes, Ourselves: Soil Bacteria Treat Stress Disorders from 2016-05-24T22:45:30

Microbes and Stress Resilience (starts 5:13) If you’re worried that some dirt still clings to your skin under your fingernails after planting or weeding in the garden, fear not. In fact, the more y...

GoldLab Symposium: Standing Together—Health Care for Our Common Good from 2016-05-17T15:52:20

((Starts 00:00)) Today we speak with Larry Gold, founder of the GoldLab Symposium that brings scientists and thinkers from around the world to share their perspectives about health and healthcare. ...

2016 Graduation Special (part 2) from 2016-05-05T22:50:18

In this follow-up episode of our “Graduation Special” we talk with three more guests graduating with science Ph.D.’s from the University of Colorado in Boulder.  They join us to talk about their th...

2016 Graduation Special (part 1) from 2016-05-05T21:59:45

The graduation season is upon us and our guests in today’s show will be graduating with science Ph.D.’s from the University of Colorado in Boulder.  They join us to talk about their thesis research...

Foundations for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability // Quantified Self from 2016-05-04T20:51:46

(Starting at 6:30) FLOWS bridges social justice and environmental issues. FLOWS provides leadership training opportunities, green job skills, and free energy and water upgrades while building partn...

The Most Perfect Thing: A Bird’s Egg from 2016-04-19T23:02:21

((Starts 00:00)) We speak via Skype with Renowned English Ornithologist Tim Birkhead, about “The Most Perfect Thing.”  That’s the title of his new book.  It’s all about taking a scientific look ins...

A History of Water in Colorado’s Front Range from 2016-04-13T02:57:28

Host Beth Bennett interviews Bob Crifasi, author of A Land Made of Water (starts at 4’55”). Bob works in water management and planning and is an environmental scientist with over 25yr experience. H...

Across the Universe – You Can’t Get There From Here from 2016-04-05T22:09:15

This special edition of How on Earth is produced in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs.  Our guests are two of the participants of the Conference: astrobiologist Dr. David Grinspoon a...

Prairie Wildfire // Predicting Heat Waves // Mapping Nitrogen Pollution from 2016-03-30T04:14:17

Prairie Fire (start time: 0:57) Journalist and Megafire expert Michael Kodas discusses the raging Kansas prairie fire and how it compares to wildfires in Colorado. Pacific Temperatures Predict New ...

The Science of Mind Over Body from 2016-03-15T18:45:28

Mind+Body Science (start time: 4:52): If you’ve ever struggled  to decide whether to see a Western conventional doctor or an  “alternative” medical practitioner for ailments ranging from a compromi...

Pledge Drive: Mind-Body Science from 2016-03-08T20:23:06

In today’s spring pledge-drive show we play clips from an interview with  Jo Marchant, author of the new book Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body. (Stay tuned for the extended interv...

STEM Research // Sex in the Sea from 2016-02-24T02:54:42

Today’s show offers two features: High School STEM Stars (start time: 5:00): Developing polymers to reduce waste from biodiesel production. Using 3D printing to design ocean textures, such as fish ...

First Detection of Gravitational Waves from 2016-02-17T19:39:12

Interview with LIGO Scientist Dr. Matt Evans (6:22): The recent big news in physics was the announcement of the first direct detection of gravitational waves.  The detection was made by the LIGO pr...

How the Glucocorticoid Receptor can Treat Asthma, Cancer, and More from 2016-02-12T15:06:33

The Glucocorticoid Receptor (starts at 5:30): We interview Dr. Miles Pufall who studies the glucocorticoid receptor, a protein in cell membranes that is the target of drugs used to treat a variety ...

Winter Stars // Pollinators and Insecticides from 2016-02-02T21:12:01

Winter Stars (starts at 5:30).  We talk with Dave Sutherland, an interpretive naturalist with Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, about winter star-gazing.  This program is tied to an upcoming c...

Electric Car Road Trips // Renewable Energy Nation . . . in 15 Years from 2016-01-26T20:15:48

Electric Car Road Trips (starts 3:42): We go on a road trip with How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender to see how all-electric vehicles are exceeding “range anxiety” by driving coast to coast, all on el...

Using the Microbiome to Determine Time of Death from 2016-01-20T04:15:45

Using the Microbiome to Determine Time of Death (starts at 5:40): This week on How on Earth, we speak with Jessica Metcalf, an evolutionary biologist, who studies bacteria, specifically the microbi...

Hubble Space Telescope from 2016-01-18T06:12:39

Today’s show of How on Earth starts with headlines about dark matter, genetic mysteries, jealous monkeys, and polar bears.  We then present a short feature of BBC’s Science in Action about the Hubb...

Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics Extended Version from 2016-01-05T06:21:26

Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics EXTENDED VERSION.  This is the extended version of the fall 2015 talk by Hunter Lovins, recorded by Shelley Schlender. Lovins heads up Natural Capitalism Solu...

Our Microbes, Ourselves — Special Call-in Show from 2015-12-31T16:36:08

Our Microbes, Ourselves, Dec. 31, 2015: Roughly one hundred trillion bacteria are living, and gorging, in our gut–all the more so during the indulgent holidays. Microbes influence our health and we...

Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics for the Future of Humanity from 2015-12-29T16:00:34

Hunter Lovins – Regenerative Economics (Starts 2:42) One of the world’s leading voices for the environment is urging the world to work for even more than a sustainable economy.  She says it’s time ...

Climate Change and Cities from 2015-12-22T19:41:04

Climate Change and Cities (starts at 5:05)  Sea level rise, severe storms, heat waves – these are just a few of the challenges cities might be facing as the climate changes in the next few decades....

What You Can Do About Global Warming from 2015-12-17T00:44:36

What You Can Do About Global Warming (starts at 5:20): We interview Craig Hover, author of A World to Come Home To: Ending Global Warming in Our Lifetime. Craig is a licensed professional engineer ...

Beyond Cop21Paris: Climate Science & Policy from 2015-12-08T19:03:06

Today, Dec. 8, we offer the following feature: Changing Climate, Changing Policy (start time: 7:06): As political leaders are still hammering out an accord at the UN Climate Summit, or COP21, in Pa...

Grad School Science from 2015-11-27T15:57:23

What is graduate school and how does it differ from the undergraduate experience?  What drives people to go through another 4…5…6…or more years of school? Today’s show features some people who migh...

CUCafe // Math, Science, Intuition and CFS from 2015-11-17T23:53:16

Today we had a terrific show with two local guests.  First, Sarah McQuate, Post-Doc at the University of Colorado joins us to talk about CUCafe, a student run group committed to creating dialogues ...

Evolution of the Human-Horse Bond from 2015-11-10T22:51:04

In today’s show we offer the following feature: The Horse (starts at 6:25)  Next to our connection with dogs and cats, perhaps the deepest bond humans have developed over time is with horses.  In f...

Mighty Microbes in Our Gut & Soils from 2015-11-03T21:04:25

Mighty Microbes (start time: 5:45): Microbes – fungi and bacteria and probably viruses — are essential to life on Earth. They’re found in soil and water and inside the human gut. There’s a lot happ...

How the Brain Matures from 2015-11-01T15:38:11

Brains (starts at 4:35) This week on How on Earth we interview Professor Marie Banich, from the University of Colorado here in Boulder. Dr Banich uses cutting edge methodologies, particularly struc...

Carl Safina – Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel (part 2) from 2015-10-23T14:46:10

Beyond Words (starts 5:00) Last week, we brought you excerpts from an interview with MacArthur Genius Grant Award winner, scientist and naturalist, Carl Safina, about his ground-breaking book:  Bey...

Joel Parker & Space // Carl Safina – Beyond Words from 2015-10-14T21:29:23

Up Close and Personal – Astrophysicist Joel Parker (starts 3:00)  talks about why he volunteers to educate people about science and outer space. Beyond Words:  What Animals Think and Feel, by Carl ...

Are GMOs Environmentally-friendly? from 2015-10-07T02:18:48

GMOs (start time 5:35) An interview with Dr Sharon Collenge, an ecologist at the University of Colorado. Dr Collenge is an advocate of using new genetic technologies to make slight modifications to...

Rock Arch Stability // Neonicotinoids and Silent Spring from 2015-09-30T04:40:28

Rock Arch Stability (Starts 5:24) How on Earth’s Daniel Strain  talks to Jeffrey Moore, a geologist who studies the West’s iconic rock arches — and watches them for signs that they’re about to coll...

Neurobiology of Alcohol Abuse from 2015-09-16T02:27:23

This week on How on Earth, we speak with Dr Paula Hoffman, a neuropharmacologist – she’s scientist who studies what drugs do in the brain- who works on the genetics of alcohol and other drugs of ab...

Quantum Biology: Life on The Edge // Science and Art with Monica Aiello from 2015-09-15T17:46:06

Quantum Biology: Life on the Edge What do Enzymes and photosynthesis have in common?  Both are biological process that happen to rely on quantum mechanisims.  That’s right, particles tunnling throu...

Habitat Exchanges // More Frequent Wildfires from 2015-09-01T16:52:35

Habitat Exchanges (starts at 3:00):  The greater sage grouse is ruffling feathers all the way to Washington.  September 30th is the deadline for the US Fish & Wildlife Service to determine whether ...

Fingerprint Hand Gun // High Altitude Observatory from 2015-08-25T16:00:53

Fingerprint Hand Gun.  (starts at 5:45) How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender talks with Boulder teen scientist Kai Kloepfer, who is creating a “Smart Gun” that won him first prize in engineering at the...

Gold King Spill, Mining Prospects from 2015-08-19T04:09:52

Science and Politics of Mining (start time: 6:49)  On August 5 an inactive mine named Gold King, which had been leaking toxins for years, spewed more than 3 million gallons of toxic sludge into a c...

Global Climate Models & Climate Change from 2015-08-13T02:30:13

Beth Bennett speaks with Claudia Tebaldi, a climate scientist at NCAR, about her work analyzing climate models to project climate change in the future. She addressed heat waves and local conditions...

Historical Analysis of Agriculture and Greenhouse Gases from 2015-08-05T23:24:12

When it comes to reducing greenhouses gases, every little bit helps, and that includes managing the greenhouse gases produced by how we grow our food.  Raising livestock and growing crops both gene...

Grazing the Niobrara // Savory Institute from 2015-07-28T14:51:58

Mooo-ving Cattle Near the Niobrara (starts 4:28) We talk with Steve Hicks, director of the USFW  Niobrara Wildlife Refuge complex near Valentine, Nebraska and join the Rocking Arrow Ranch on a catt...

Pluto Flyby // Case of the Rickety Cossack from 2015-07-15T03:11:29

Pluto Flyby  (start time 1:00): Joel Parker discusses the New Horizons mission from the command center live! Case of the Rickety Cossack (start time 25:00): Beth Bennett talks to Ian Tattersall abo...

Unprocessed Food // Bee Biodiversity from 2015-06-30T21:44:23

Real Food (start time 4:20): What we eat , and how we eat, is inextricably connected to our own health as well as the health of the planet.  Every decision we make—whether to bake a chocolate cake ...

Student Dust Counter reaches Pluto from 2015-06-23T18:49:34

(Main Feature Start Time 6:00) We talk with CU students, former students and their advisor about how a student built science instrument called the Student Dust Counter managed to travel billions of...

Fourth Phase of Water – Extended Interview from 2015-06-17T20:04:13

Here is an extended excerpt with Dr. Gerald Pollack, University of Washington professor of Bioengineering. We talk about what barriers exist for scientists in today’s community and a new resource f...

The Fourth Phase of Water from 2015-06-16T16:51:20

How On Earth reporter Kendra Krueger caught up with Gerald Pollack, Bioengineering professor from the University of Washington to talk about the physical chemistry of water.  The science of water h...

Aging//and not aging from 2015-06-09T23:40:17

We talk with Dr Thomas Johnson about his long standing interest in aging and how he used a nearly microscopic worm to investigate this process. Recently, he has transitioned into using mice to iden...

Einstein, Niels Bohr and Grandmothers…a Fairy Tale! from 2015-05-26T19:18:42

An educator and perfomer, Len Barron first developed a piece about Einsteina and Bohr as a one man show, but then decided to evolve the project by enlist the help of 8 grandmothers to tell the stor...

Birds v. Cats // Humor Science from 2015-05-19T22:25:11

Birds v. Cats (start time 4:35): Spring is in full bloom on Colorado’s Front Range. Robins and other birds wake us up before the crack of dawn with their choruses.  This is also a time when many ch...

Gold Lab Symposium//Mapping Pain in the Brain from 2015-05-12T19:56:39

  GOLD LAB SYMPOSIUM (start time: 4:26) We talk with Larry Gold, Founder of the Gold Lab Symposium, about this Friday/Saturday, free symposium at CU Boulder.  (check the website for previous talks,...

Sage Grouse Saga // Ocean Health from 2015-04-28T23:02:35

Sage Grouse Saga (start time: 4:04): One of the most spectacular and flamboyant rites of spring is, arguably, the mating ritual of a the greater sage grouse, a chicken-like bird with a long tail, w...

Are Ketones the Key? from 2015-04-23T02:54:42

Ketones (start time 6:40) A growing body of scientific research demonstrates health benefits for many people with a diet that’s lower in carbohydrates, and higher in fats.  In fact, some of this re...

Biomimicry: A New lens on Technology and Innovation from 2015-04-08T05:53:31

  Today’s special edition of How on Earth, brought to you in conjunction with this week’s Conference on World Affairs is a conversation on Biomimicy as a new lens to view science and technology wit...

Island On Fire: The Story of Laki from 2015-03-31T16:39:55

Island on Fire (04:45): In 1783, a crack opened up in the Earth, began to spew out lava and ash and poisonous gases, and didn’t stop for eight months. The volcano was Laki, one of many volcanoes in...

Polar Bears // Climate Scientists from 2015-03-24T18:21:44

Climate Scientists (starts at 1:00): Climate scientists (scientists in general)  tend to steer clear of speaking out as activists about concerns that are politically volatile.  But that’s changing....

Using Worms to Study Neurodegenerative Diseases from 2015-03-22T02:01:26

Nematode worms for studying Alzheimer’s (start time 4:57). Beth Bennett interviews Dr Chris Link from CU Boulder on his research into the genetic basis of Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, and other neurod...

Rust: The Longest War // The Moral Arc from 2015-03-10T21:09:50

On today’s spring pledge-drive show we offer segments of two feature interviews. See extended versions also below. Both books are available to those who pledge at least $60 to KGNU. Call 303.449.48...

The ATLAS Institute // Firefighters and Climate Change from 2015-02-25T19:14:15

ATLAS Institute Today we are joined in the studio with Mark Gross of the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society institute at CU and Alicia Gibb Director of The Blow Things Up Lab, one of the...

Ancestors in Our Genome from 2015-02-18T06:21:09

We speak with Eugene Harris, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Geology at Queensborough Community College – part of  the City University of New York – about his new book,  Ance...

War of the Whales: A True Story from 2015-02-11T05:41:40

War of the Whales: A True Story (starts at 3:35): In the early hours of March 15th, of the year 2000, a Cuvier beaked whale washed ashore a mere 100 feet from Ken Balcomb’s house on the island of A...

Arctic Frontiers // Wind Forecasting from 2015-02-04T04:36:49

Arctic Dispatch (starts at 2:18): There is no question that the Arctic is thawing faster than anywhere on the planet, except the western Antarctic Peninsula. But there are still so many unknowns re...

Other Rocky Planets are Common! from 2015-01-30T06:43:27

We talk with astronomer Travis Metcalfe about finding the oldest known planetary system in the Galaxy, and what it means about the formation of planets, the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, ...

Moonshine // Parkinson’s Network Exercise from 2015-01-20T19:57:27

The Science of Moonshine  (starts 3:55) We talk with a Boulder scientist who has a home still for making high-proof brandy from backyard apples.  It’s illegal to make your own liquor, even if you o...

The Rightful Place of Science: Disasters and Climate Change from 2015-01-14T05:35:56

The rightful place of science (starts at 6:22): In 2014, the world certainly saw more than a few costly weather disasters.  Flooding in India and Pakistan in September killed more than 600 people a...

Coral Climate Clues // Tropical Carbon Sink from 2015-01-07T05:14:05

On today’s show we offer three feature interviews, including a short opening interview. Alcohol and weight gain (starts at 3:34): Science journalist Jill Adams shares the latest science on the conn...

Red Meat & Mice // Loren Cordain – The Paleo Diet from 2014-12-30T18:49:36

“Sugar” in Red Meat – Cancer in Mice? (starts at 6:10) We talk with Ajit Varki, a researcher at the University of California in San Diego whose latest mouse studies  reveal a potential inflammatory...

Red Meat Sugar Glycans and Inflammation – Extended Version from 2014-12-30T18:42:56

I’m Shelley Schlender for How on Earth.  Up next is an extended interview with University of California in San Diego scientist Ajit Varki  about his team’s new mouse study that indicates that a “su...

Himalayan Glacial Lakes from 2014-12-24T02:12:25

Himalayan Glacial Lakes (starts at 5:20) Some scientists conduct their experiments in a laboratory — think clean white walls, artificial lighting, A.C. and a convenient coffee pot not far away. Not...

Weather Drones // The late Dr. Theo Colborn from 2014-12-17T16:29:14

Weather drones (start time 5:10) Brian Argrow, former professor and Associate Dean of engineering at CU Boulder, joins us in the studio to talk about the recent formation Unmanned Aircraft Systems ...

Want to Save the Amazon? Think Like an Ant. from 2014-12-08T17:00

The Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse places on earth, but it is currently at risk from oil development. Some of the park’s inhabitants, however, are trying to forge a m...

Animal Weapons – The Evolution of Battle (Doug Emlen) from 2014-12-02T20:44:32

We talk with biologist Douglas Emlen, who says that the evolution of animal weapons, in everything from dung beetles to saber tooth tigers, has him very worried about our HUMAN weapons (starts 4:20...

Green Chemistry (extended version) from 2014-11-25T21:53:09

Listen here for an extended conversation with John Warner about the difference between enthalpy and entropy and how it relates to our scientific world view.

Green Chemistry from 2014-11-25T05:56:39

There’s a lot of attention right now on creating environmentally friendly technology, non-toxic and sustainable manufacturing, but as Dr. John Warner explains it, it all has to start with the chemi...

Science of Booze // Rosetta Mission from 2014-11-19T05:53:42

Proof: The Science of Booze (starts at 8:09): Science journalist Adam Rogers, who claims to have taken a liking to single-malt whiskey when he reached drinking age, has immersed himself further int...

Frontrange Bioneers // Green Electricity or Green Money? from 2014-11-04T21:00:16

(4:00) Kendra talks with local organizers about the upcoming Front Range Bioneers conference             (11:20) Shelley talks with Tim Schoechle about his new position paper for the National Law a...

Gulp from 2014-10-29T05:06:59

Gulp [starts at 4:25] Bestselling author, Mary Roach has been billed as American’s funniest science writer.  In “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal” she takes readers on a journey through the...

Do Fathers Matter Pt. 2 // Mercury in Water from 2014-10-21T19:40:29

Do Fathers Matter? (start time: 3:07) If you’re a father or a son or daughter – which pretty much covers everyone – this interview should hit home.  Science journalist Paul Raeburn’s latest book — ...

Do Fathers Matter? from 2014-10-15T04:35:43

Do Fathers Matter? (start times: 9:55 and 20:58) Today’s How on Earth show is part of the KGNU fall membership pledge drive. During this show we preview an upcoming feature of the book: “Do Fathers...

Buddhist Geeks and The Future Earth Initiative from 2014-10-07T21:43:20

Vincent Horn and Buddhist Geeks (starts at 4:42): On October 16th the Buddhist Geek Conference comes to boulder.  Founder Vincent Horn speaks to us about how mindfulness, compassion and contemplati...

Living Planet Report // Finding Exoplanet Water from 2014-09-30T18:58:19

Living Planet Report (starts at 5:50): The environmental organization World Wildlife Fund just released its science-based biennial Living Planet Report.  It doesn’t paint a rosy picture overall; WW...

Facts and Faith: A Conversation with Katharine Hayhoe from 2014-09-23T03:14:34

Facts and Faith (starts at 4:30): Two weeks ago Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a professor of atmospheric science at Texas tech came to town to speak at Chautauqua.  As a scientist and a Christian, she advo...

Testing the Water from 2014-09-16T15:30:25

Testing the Water (Start time 3:30) What exactly is in our water—the stuff we drink, shower in and use to wash our vegetables? This is a question lots of Coloradans have started to ask in the last ...

The Meaning of Wilderness // The Ocean Is Us #5: Living Underwater from 2014-09-09T17:25:39

The Meaning of Wilderness (starts 4:30): Fifty years ago last week, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act. It was then, and remains today, one of the most significant pieces o...

Solar Flares — High-Tech Armageddon? from 2014-09-02T17:10:19

Recent headlines  warn that Coronal Mass Ejections, better known as Solar Flares, could trigger a high-tech Armageddon, disabling power and communication on a global scale, for months.  Today we ta...

The Ocean is Us #4: Sustainable Seafood from 2014-08-26T20:04:31

Sustainable Seafood: (start time 5:10) This is the fourth feature interview in The Ocean Is Us series, which explores how we in land-locked states are connected to the oceans and what’s at stake.  ...

The Ocean Is Us #3 : Marine Sanctuaries from 2014-08-19T15:28:57

Marine Sanctuaries (starts at 5:18) This is the third feature interview In the Ocean Is Us series, which explores how we in land-locked Colorado are connected to the oceans, why they matter so much...

Greenback Cutthroat Trout // Migraines from 2014-08-13T01:08:23

Greenback Cuttthroat Trout (starts at 6:06)  Colorado has always been a state of nature lovers, which is why, in the era of our great great grandfathers, citizens even designated an official state ...

A Tough Summer Vacation from 2014-08-07T02:51:57

A Tough Summer Vacation (start time 10:52) It’s summer! And although the town feels empty of students for many around here, some researchers may be feeling a sad little void this week as summer int...

Rosetta // Autism & the Microbiome from 2014-07-29T14:35:22

We talk with Joel Parker about his Denver Science Museum presentation.  Joel is a project leader for one of the scientific instruments on board the Rosetta space mission.  We also discuss new findi...

Earth-friendly Landscaping from 2014-07-23T17:33:29

Summer is a time to celebrate our bursting gardens. But you may be wondering why your neighbor’s garden seems to be attracting all the butterflies, honeybees and hummingbirds, while yours seems to ...

The Oso Landslide from 2014-07-22T16:39:25

Jim Pullen speaks with Dr. David Montgomery, Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington about the landslide that buried Oso, Washington, in March 2014. Host: Kendra Krueg...

The Ocean Is Us #2 : Endocrine Disruptors in Drinking Water from 2014-07-09T17:43:24

Endocrine Disruptors and Drinking Water (starts at 3:12) Today we continue our series called The Ocean is Us, which explores our  vital connection to the oceans. Alan Vajda, an environmental endocr...

Astronomy Through the Ages from 2014-07-01T16:04:45

Astronomy Through the Ages (starts at 4:10): If I ask you to close your eyes and imagine an astronomer, what do you see? Maybe you think of a lone figure hunched all night over the eyepiece of a te...

The Ocean Is Us #1 : Teens4Oceans – Marine Science Education from 2014-06-26T16:49:01

Teens4Oceans (starts at 9:15): Today, we’re kicking off a series of interviews on the show called The Ocean Is Us. We’ll explore how all of us living in land-locked Colorado are connected to the oc...

Caffeine and Athletics from 2014-06-17T15:48:43

Caffeine and Athletics (starts at 4:35): Chances are you’ve already had a cup of coffee this morning or, if you are like me, it was a cup of tea. Or maybe, if you are truly hedonistic, you started ...

Hope On Earth from 2014-06-10T19:23:15

Hope On Earth (starts 7:08): Few people have thought as critically and deeply about the state of Earth and our role on it than Paul Ehrlich. Over the course of several decades, the Stanford Univers...

Wireless Dawn or Electronic Silent Spring? from 2014-06-04T04:10:02

(1:00) Cell Phone Radiation – Headphones please?  Chris Farnsworth uses a microwave meter to measure cell phone radiation, to urges people to at least use headphones with a mobile phone. (7:50) CU ...

Wireless Technology – Extended Version of Interview with Frank Barnes and Katie Singer from 2014-06-03T14:48:10

CU-Boulder Electrical Engineering Emeritus Professor Frank Barnes is the past president of the BioElectroMagnetics Society.  He recently chaired a National Research Council panel on research priori...

Massive Stars from 2014-05-27T22:37:21

Massive stars (start time 6:45)  Dr. Emily Levesque is an astronomer who studies big stars, distant stars,  exploding stars, and truly weird stars called Thorne–?ytkow objects. All of these topics ...

Colorado’s Science Fair Stars // Rosetta Comet Mission from 2014-05-20T17:19:34

Colorado’s Science Fair Stars (starts at 3:18) As the end of the school year approaches for high school students, it’s a good time to celebrate the achievements and passion of students in Colorado ...

Gold Lab // National Climate Assessment from 2014-05-13T19:23:06

For our May 13th show we offer two features: Gold Lab Symposium (starts at 3:42): Biotech entrepreneur Larry Gold, a CU Boulder professor at the BioFrontiers Institute, talks with How On Earth’s Sh...

Hacking Happiness from 2014-05-06T16:00:30

You drive to Starbucks with your cell phone in your pocket, go online, read your favorite newspaper, share an interesting book review on Facebook and then go and order the bestseller from Amazon. I...

Baseball Vision // Emerald Ash Borer from 2014-04-30T04:10:51

Today, April 29th, we offer two features: Baseball Vision (starts at 5:42): The major league baseball season is now in full “swing.” Fans may  take it for granted that these professional athletes a...

NASA Visit // IPCC Report from 2014-04-25T05:25:52

Earth Day gives us plenty of reason to reflect on the state of the planet and the impact we humans have had on it. This week’s show featured Dr. Linda Mearns, a senior scientist at the National Cen...

Space Dust from 2014-04-15T16:30:45

Dr. Mihaly Horanyi and his colleagues at the University of Colorado are on the brink of watching an instrument they developed crash into the moon. It’s okay—it’s designed to. In the meantime, the i...

Space Dust – Extended Version from 2014-04-15T15:00:14

For the patient and interested listener, here’s more of How On Earth host Beth Bartel’s conversation about space dust with University of Colorado’s Mihaly Horanyi. We talk about why we should colon...

Conquering the Energy Crisis from 2014-04-10T19:54:40

Welcome to this special edition of How on Earth.  This week, the 66th annual Conference of World Affairs is happening on the campus of CU-Boulder, and today’s show is one of the events.  The speake...

Quantum Computers from 2014-04-01T23:29:55

Quantum Computers [starts at 7:05] Dr. David Wineland has worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, for 38 years. In 2012, he shared the Nobel Prize in Phys...

1964 Alaska Earthquake // Neuroscience of Dying from 2014-03-25T23:11:35

1964 Alaska Earthquake (start time 04:37) This week 50 years ago, in 1964, the Beatles were huge, Alaska had only been a state for a mere five years, and the theory of plate tectonics was in toddle...

1964 Alaska Earthquake – Extended Version from 2014-03-25T23:00:53

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. To commemorate the quake, we’re posting this extended version of the interview we broadcast on March 25, 2014, with Dr. Mike We...

Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You from 2014-03-18T19:34:12

Welcome to the Spring Pledge Drive edition of How On Earth. I’m this quarter’s Executive Producer, Jim Pullen. We, the How On Earth team, encourage you to take a different take on the world, to exa...

Plants in Space // Relativity from 2014-03-11T19:48:24

Plants in Space (start time 04:36) What would you miss if you were to spend an extended time in space—driving a car? Going to the movies? Hiking? Playing with your dog? Gravity, maybe? Or maybe som...

Beringia // Dolphins & Climate Change // The Ogallala Road from 2014-03-04T20:39:51

Beringia (start time 0:55). We present an excerpt of  Shelly Schlender’s  interview with University of Colorado scientist John Hoffecker, lead author of a recent paper in Science magazine about the...

How Native Americans Came to Be – Extended Version – Beringia from 2014-03-04T03:09:43

I’m Shelley Schlender for How on Earth.  Here’s an extended version of an interview about how Native Americans came to be.  It’s about a CU-Boulder study that appeared in Science Magazine in Februa...

Tracing Methane’s Source in Drinking Water // Safe Place for Captive Wolves from 2014-02-25T19:26:02

Methane in Drinking Water (start time 05:36) Flaming water faucets were infamously exposed in the documentaries Gasland and Gasland 2. The water isn’t catching fire–methane in the water is. People ...

Molecular Gastronomy from 2014-02-18T18:45:23

Welcome to a special Radio Nibbles version of How On Earth. Nibbles’ (and pie aficionado) John Lehndorff, chef Ian Kleinman and How On Earth’s Jim Pullen set to work making and eating high-tech del...

CO2 from the Amazon // US Smokestacks from 2014-02-11T21:44:17

Amazon CO2 (start time 04:37) The Amazon basin contains the largest tropical rainforest on the planet. It’s been critical not only for its beauty and biodiversity but also for its ability to store ...

Arctic Thaw // Methane Study // Bonobo Conservation from 2014-02-06T13:42:20

Today’s show offers three features: Arctic Dispatch: (start time: 1:02) Co-host Susan Moran returns from Tromso, Norway, with a dispatch from the Arctic Frontiers conference, which addressed the hu...

Newton’s Football // Strontium Clock from 2014-01-28T19:13:32

Newton’s Football (start time 5:45)  This Sunday the Denver Broncos face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, so we thought we’d bring you a scientific perspective on the game of football. How o...

Rosetta Wakes Up // Jelly Sandwich Earth // Hospital Acquired Infections // Microbes Reduce Autism in Mice from 2014-01-21T18:41:56

Outsourcing Pollution (01:08) What’s sent to China comes back to the good old U S of A. Arctic Frontiers (02:03) How on Earth’s  Susan Moran flies to Norway Conference Wake Up, Rosetta!   (3:00) As...

Quitting smoking//Smoke and children’s health from 2014-01-14T23:30:55

Quitting smoking (start time 4:39) 50 years ago, the U.S. Surgeon General began a campaign against cigarettes that has saved million of lives. Cohost Jim Pullen talks with Dr. Amy Lukowski about pr...

2013 Was a Good Year, in Science! from 2013-12-31T02:44:02

The team considers noteworthy science on the last day of 2013. What’s worth mentioning? Too many people, too much carbon, and way too much fun in astronomy! Biology and Health (start time 00:56). T...

Fairy Science // Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count from 2013-12-25T00:31:47

We offer two features on this Christmas Eve How On Earth. Fairies in 19th century science education (start time: 3:52): Victorian educators used the magical world to teach young children about scie...

Fireproofing Mountain Homes // Winter Solstice from 2013-12-18T00:04:53

Fireproofing Mountain Homes (starts at 3:20) We discuss a new study from the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana.  It warns that  thinning forests may help prevent property damage ...

Big Game, Warm World // Hour of Code from 2013-12-11T01:56:25

Big Game and Climate Change (start time 5:00) Last week, the National Resource Council released some serious warnings about climate change, saying its impacts could be abrupt and surprising. But as...

Tesla // Octopus! from 2013-12-03T18:19:12

Feature 1 – Tesla (start time 5:30) Nicola Tesla is one of the iconic figures of the early electrical age. He invented AC motor technology still used today in your DVD player and also polyphase AC ...

Engineering for Kids // Antarctica’s Ross Sea from 2013-11-27T05:28:53

On Tuesday, Nov. 26, How On Earth brings you two features: Feature #1: (start time 5:53) STEM, as you may well know, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Many math and scien...

Carnegie Professor of the Year // Measuring Oil and Gas Air Pollution from 2013-11-19T19:31:15

Feature 1 – Carnegie Professor of the Year (start time 5:40):  Join the KGNU How On Earth team and CU physicist and Carnegie Teacher of the Year Dr. Steve Pollock to learn about the pain and pleasu...

The Sports Gene // These Shining Lives from 2013-11-18T01:26:12

THE SPORTS GENE:  Running has become a great elite sport, thanks in part to the amazing sprinters from Jamaica  and the long distance runners from the African equator.  How much is all that running...

Salt Lake City’s Drier Future // Spruce Beetle Outbreak from 2013-11-06T06:20:15

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, How On Earth brings you one short report and two features: Feature 1 – Salt Lake City’s Drier Future (start time 4:25): Guests Laura Briefer and Tim Bardsley talk with How On Ea...

Flood Winners & Losers // 100 Year Starship Symposium from 2013-10-29T23:56:11

Feature 1 – Flood Winners & Losers : Last month’s deluge cut canyons, real and felt, through many of our lives, but nature helps us remember that floods can build too. In this feature, How on Earth...

Antarctica Research // The Cancer Chronicles from 2013-10-22T20:49:06

We offer two features on the Tuesday, Oct. 22, show: Feature 1 – Antarctica Research (start time 4:15): Diane McKnight, a professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering at the Univ...

The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance from 2013-10-18T14:44:13

In this pledge drive show for KGNU, we feature an interview with David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene.  Through his new book, Epstein looks straight at a debate that’s as old as physical compet...

Plight of Bees // Climate and Flood from 2013-10-09T17:12:36

Feature 1: (start time: 03:45) Our first guest is Boulder beekeeper Tom Theobald. He talks about the current state of the bee crisis and what, if anything, the EPA is doing to address concerns that...

IPCC Assessment Report 5 from 2013-10-02T00:42:49

On Friday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, better known as the IPCC, released the first bit of its Fifth Assessment Report, a volume with a plain name that may have a large influence...

Monarch Migration // Better Batteries from 2013-09-24T17:11:24

Feature #1: (start time 4:45) As we unpack our coats and boots from storage boxes, so are insects, in their own way, planning for a seasonal change.  Monarch butterflies in our neighborhood, east o...

Boulder Science Festival // Insect Chorus Songs from 2013-09-10T01:55:51

Headlines:  CU Scientists explore ways to combat methicillin-resistant staff infections; Yale survey indicates Coloradans concerned about climate change; Denver and Boulder Cafe Sci’s begin for fal...

Wildfires & Water Reservoirs // Comet ISON from 2013-09-04T21:45:24

For the Sept. 3rd How On Earth show we offer two features: Wildfires Threaten Water Supplies: (start time 5:45) The wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park is now the fourth-largest i...

Noise Pollution from 2013-08-27T17:00:08

Noise Pollution (starts at 6:15) –  How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender talks with research scientist Larry Finegold about noise pollution and about a workshop being held today in Denver about Noise M...

Kepler’s Prospects // Oncofertility from 2013-08-21T04:24:44

For the August 20 How On Earth show we offer two features: Kepler Spacecraft’s Uncertain Future: (start time 5:48) Are we alone in the cosmos? Are there other planets out there, and could some of t...

Copper Might Promote Alzheimer’s – Extended Version from 2013-08-20T19:34:46

  I’m Shelley Schlender.  This is an extended interview from the report we broadcast on August 20th, 2013, about a new study from the University of Rochester that indicates that too much of an esse...

Court Orders NRC to Decide on Yucca Mountain Permit from 2013-08-18T02:13:08

On Tuesday, August 13th, the US Court of Appeals-DC Circuit ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to evaluate the application for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. Dr. Bill Alley and...

Too Hot To Touch from 2013-08-14T03:10:16

Today we’re joined by Dr. William Alley and Rosemarie Alley to learn about the nuclear waste crisis in the United States. Bill Alley, a distinguished hydrologist, was in charge of the USGS’s water ...

Smoke Free Casinos Reduce 911 Calls // Mirrors and Water = Hydrogen Fuel from 2013-08-06T19:36:26

Smoke Free Casinos Reduce 911 Calls (starts at 2:41) Colorado’s ban on smoking up at Central City and Black Hawk casinos has not only reduced second hand smoke.  It’s reduced the number of 911 call...

Buzz Aldrin’s Vision for Space//The Bees Needs from 2013-08-01T02:39:06

Buzz Aldrin’s Vision for Space Exploration (starts at 6:14) Dr. Buzz Aldrin advocates that the United States should not enter a space-race to the moon against the Chinese, or a race to Mars against...

Fecal Microbial Transplant for C. Diff Colitis from 2013-07-24T03:52:08

We bring you two recent science releases involving Colorado scientists.  One features bumblebees and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.  The second looks at new tick-born disease from Missou...

World Listening Day from 2013-07-21T13:57:45

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 ...

End of Night – Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light from 2013-07-17T04:38:30

The world is awash with artificial lights – so much so that most of us never experience the night sky like our ancestors did. So what?  Does it matter?  Is it simply an inevitable and acceptable re...

Good & Bad Calories // PhD Comics from 2013-07-09T17:01:57

Good & Bad Calories (starts at 4:50) Ever since the 1970s, the rise of obesity in the United States has an epidemic. Researchers around the world are trying desperately to figure out why so many of...

The Voodoo Doll Task // Drones for Climate Science from 2013-06-26T04:33:25

The Voodoo Doll Task – (begins 5:30) Scientists have few ways to accurately measure agression.  How on Earth’s Garth Sundem talks with University of Kentucky psychology professor, Nathan DeWall, ab...

China’s environmental impact // 100 Year Starship from 2013-06-18T18:16:07

Today, June 18, we offer two features interviews: Feature #1 – China’s Environmental Impact (start time  4:46): China’s meteoric economic rise is causing harmful side effects, ranging from choking ...

Bird collisions and wind energy policy from 2013-06-10T13:15:28

  One to two million additional bird deaths per year. Wind is the most rapidly growing energy source in the US, but are environmental protections keeping pace? Tuesday on How On Earth, Kelly Fuller...

Cancer Drug Delivery // Mars’ Radiation Risks from 2013-06-04T21:10:54

Enjoy the two features we offer today, June 4: Feature #1 (start time 5:36):  Cancer drugs are much more targeted than they were many years ago.  But researchers are still trying to find a way to d...

Oh Thank You Canada: Lessons from the North on Growing Industrial Hemp from 2013-05-27T22:53:29

(starts at 08:19) At (high? no, not this plant) noon on Tuesday, Governor John Hickenlooper will sign a bill that will legalize growing industrial hemp in Colorado. But it’s been 70 years since hem...

Palm oil and rainforest devastation from 2013-05-21T20:07:52

(start time: 07:23) We talk with Lindsey Allen, the Executive Director of the Rainforest Action Network, about the destruction of rainforest from the proliferation of palm oil plantations. Hosts: J...

Larry Gold – Gold Lab Symposium from 2013-05-15T04:01:22

We talk with Larry Gold about this year’s Gold Lab Symposium at CU-Boulder.  It features, “The Biological and Social Evolution of Healthcare: Rube Goldberg and Time.  Friday, May 17th – Saturday, M...

Brain Trust // Drought from 2013-05-07T22:59:13

Brain Trust (starts at 4:23)  When you are trying to make a decision about something important or having a disagreement with someone, don’t you sometimes wish you had a scientist with you – a world...

Dr. David Wineland and the human side of winning the Nobel Prize from 2013-05-01T15:35:43

Today on How On Earth, KGNU’s award-winning science show, we continue our discussion with Boulder’s Dr. David Wineland about the human side of winning the Nobel Prize. The National Institute of Sta...

Mapping Pain in the Brain – CU Scientist Tor Wager from 2013-04-23T16:36:48

Headlines: Climate Change Accelerates Changing Climate Zones – CU-Boulder and CIRES Scientist Irina Mahlstein (starts at 1:00) Family Dogs Harber Family Microbes – CU Boulder Scientist Rob Knight (...

Conference on World Affairs Special with SETI’s Seth Shostak from 2013-04-09T17:44:23

Welcome to a special episode of How On Earth with Dr. Seth Shostak, the Senior Astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute. We’ve been listening for their tell-tale signal ...

Everything died under a broiling sky from 2013-04-04T22:57:57

Extinction at the K-Pg boundary 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 vaporize...

The Universe Within // De-Extinction from 2013-04-03T02:59:28

The Universe Within (starts at 4:40) Within each and every one of us is the history of life on this planet, the planet itself and the entire universe.  This is the theme of a new book “The Universe...

Tom’s River // Making Primitive Fire from 2013-03-27T14:23:12

Tom’s River (starts at 5:03) Susan Moran interviews Dan Fagin, author of the new book Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation.  You’ve likely heard of the chemical contamination of Love Canal ...

Neil Shubin -The Universe Within from 2013-03-19T19:45:41

In this spring pledge drive show, How on Earth’s Chip Grandits talks with Neil Shubin, author of the new book, The Universe Within:  Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets and People.  We...

Facing the Wave // Pandora’s Lunchbox from 2013-03-12T18:18:20

Facing the Wave (starts at 04:50) Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that rocked and partially devoured the northeastern coast of Japan. Although pr...

Facing the Wave – extended interview with Gretel Ehrlich from 2013-03-12T16:24:41

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 T?hoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

We Are the Martians from 2013-03-05T19:42

(Start time 5:15) “The Men of Earth came to Mars. They came because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy or unhappy, because they felt like Pilgrims or did not feel like Pilgrims. ...

Parallel Universes from 2013-02-26T17:33:29

The concept of a parallel universe, a universe remarkably like our own but with some subtle difference, has been the staple of science fiction stories for years.  But it is an idea that is seriousl...

Parallel Universes – extended interview with Brian Greene from 2013-02-26T17:29:45

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

Bright Meteor // Dark Matter from 2013-02-20T00:21:02

Russian Meteor (starts at 4:28) Just a few days ago on February 15th,  a large meteor broke up in the skies over Russia, creating an air blast and sonic boom, which caused damage to buildings that ...

U.S. Climate Report // Antarctics Sounds from 2013-02-13T05:00:29

  Feature #1 (starts 05:25): A sweeping new report on the state of climate change and its current and future impacts in the United States was recently released in draft form. It’s called the Nation...

Dr. David Wineland from 2013-02-07T16:57:23

Today on How On Earth, KGNU’s award-winning science show, we sit down with Boulder’s Dr. David Wineland and chat about his Nobel-prize-winning research. The NIST scientist shared the 2012 physics a...

Visindi Circus//Life on Other Planets from 2013-01-29T20:53:28

  Headlines: Ice Core Studies How Flu Multiplies Wednesday’s Mini-STEM school features Diana Tomback.  Her topic will be: Evolution and the Origin of Life. Features: (5:20 into the show) Shelley Sc...

Gut Microbes and Autoimmune Disease // What’s in YOUR Gut? The American Gut Project from 2013-01-22T06:19:40

  Headlines: New CU Studies on GroundLevel Ozone, with NOAA’s Sam Oltmans, CU researcher Daven Henze and NASA’s Kevin Bowman Good Cholesterol, Bad Cholesterol and “Ugly” Cholesterol Tonight’s Denve...

Haitian Seismologists//Changing Antarctic Climate from 2013-01-15T22:09:55

Feature #1: (start time: 06:03) On January 12, 2010, just over three years ago, a magnitude 7 earthquake shook Haiti, taking more than 200,000 lives and displacing an estimated 2 million. Still tod...

Medical Marijuana and Traffic Accidents//Ron Rosedale Critiques Body Mass Index Study from 2013-01-09T02:14:27

HEADLINES: Diabetes Drug Metformin – University of Pennsylvania Researcher Morris Birnbaum reports in Nature that Metformin blocks a hormone that tells the liver to melt muscle to make more blood s...

Metformin Lowers Blood Sugars by Blocking the Hormone Glucagon – Extended Interview with Morris Birnbaum from 2013-01-09T02:11:04

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.

New Study on BMI (Body Mass Index) and Longevity – Critique by Dr. Ron Rosedale – Extended Interview from 2013-01-09T02:00:44

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.

Medical Marijuana and Reduced Traffic Fatalities – Extended Interview with Mark Anderson from 2013-01-09T01:55:01

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

Marijuana and Pot as Substitutions – Extended Interview with Ben Crost from 2013-01-08T18:30:04

This is an extended interview from the January 8th, 2013 HowonEarth.

State Climatologist // Water Contamination from 2012-12-19T04:31:55

Feature #1: (start time 5:09)  Did you know that Colorado, and for that matter most states, have their own “state climatologist” – an expert who keeps tabs on the changing climate and its impacts i...

Robert Arentz – Asteroid Impact Hazards & Ball Aerospace from 2012-12-12T04:31:18

Main Feature (starts at 5:25). We talk with Dr. Robert Arentz from Ball Aerospace in Boulder about what’s new and interesting at Ball and in space missions in general including asteroid impact haza...

The Fat Switch – Richard Johnson MD from 2012-12-04T18:35:31

Headlines:   Chemicals that make drinking water cleaner, might increase allergies to food Rumors run amok about “historic” Mars Mission press conference West Nile Virus, Lyme’s disease, and Dengue ...

The American Gut – What’s in YOUR Gut? from 2012-11-27T22:44:02

We share three new findings that include contributions from Colorado scientists:  1.  Diane McKnight coauthors study about Bacteria that thrive in a frigid hell-hole – the pitch-dark, super-salty, ...

Bernie Krause from 2012-11-25T19:46:08

Today on How On Earth we speak with Dr. Bernie Krause about how soundscapes can help us understand the health of ecosystems. Dr. Krause has been recording the whole sounds of nature all over the wo...

Clean Tech Nation//Feedback in Climate Models from 2012-11-18T23:12:05

Clean Tech Nation (start time: 4:57): Over the last few years renewable electricity generation has doubled, thanks in part to President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package. In fact, many clean technologi...

The Dust Bowl / Population Growth from 2012-11-06T23:53:29

Feature #1: The Dust Bowl (start time 6:53) As bad as the drought has been recently in Colorado and other states, it pales in comparison to the nearly 10-year-long drought of the 1930s. Its unrelen...

Stopping Cancer in its Tracks – Telomerase Receptor Inhibition from 2012-11-06T19:00:58

Last month, CU Nobel Prize Winner Tom Cech (Check) and colleagues announced a breakthrough in their quest to stop cancer.  It involves an enzyme known as telomerase (tell-AH-mer-aze), which helps c...

The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson from 2012-10-30T18:43:36

The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson (start time 6:20). The book Silent Spring, published in 1962, is widely credited for setting the stage for the modern environmental movement. Its author, Rachel...

CU Multidisciplinary Oil Production Study from 2012-10-24T02:47:17

How can we best live with natural gas development? A University of Colorado team has just been awarded an NSF grant to tackle the problem. Here to chat with us about the study is Dr. Joe Ryan, the ...

Pledge Drive Show//Genetic-mutant Paganini from 2012-10-20T20:11:32

This is our 2012 Fall Pledge Drive Show and our subject is Genes Gone Bad, or do you have to be a genetic-mutant superhuman to play Paganini? Helping us answer that question is Boulder’s own and wo...

Boulder Nobel Science Winner//Searching for Sister Earth from 2012-10-10T00:37:45

We talk with Travis Metcalfe, of Boulder’s Space Science Institute, where he is searching for Sister Earth and also part of the Blue Dot Project.  As for why, the past two decades have witnessed ac...

Neanderthals//Antarctica from 2012-10-02T16:14:24

Feature #1: Neanderthals (start time: 6:01) Our Neanderthal ancestors have long been maligned as rather dim-witted cave-dwellers. But they may have been brighter — and more colorful — more like us,...

Big Waves // Omega 3 Fatty Acids from 2012-09-25T19:24:39

Big Waves (start time 4:39):  When does one plus one not equal two? When waves behave non-linearly, according to CU researchers Mark Ablowitz and Douglas Baldwin.  The two have been researching how...

Colorado Drought // A More Perfect Heaven from 2012-09-18T22:02:07

Colorado Drought Conference (start time 4:35): Experts are meeting at a conference in Denver this week to discuss the implications of prolonged drought conditions here in Colorado. How On Earth’ Su...

Higgs-Boson: What is all the excitement about? from 2012-09-12T16:42:10

We’ll talk about the World of a tiny particle called the Higgs-Boson, with CU Physicist Uriel Nauenberg.  Nauenberg also speaks tonight at the Boulder Cafe Scientifique. Hosts: Joel Parker and Ted ...

The Idea Factory – Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation from 2012-09-04T20:41:23

Bell Labs thrived from the 1920s to the 1980s, when it was most innovative and productive institution of the twentieth century. Long before America’s brightest scientific minds began migrating west...

Public health risks of BPA from 2012-08-21T17:45:49

(start time: 5:50). We Coloradoans pride ourselves on our healthy habits — eating right, exercising, and paying attention to what’s in the food we eat. Yet many of the things we use everyday, like ...

Planetary Sciences Budget // Curiosity’s RAD from 2012-08-15T00:36:16

Curiosity’s RAD (start time 7:14). To design a successful manned mission to Mars, we’ll have to know a lot about the radiation environment between the Earth and Mars and on the planet’s surface. Th...

Beer Can Science from 2012-08-07T16:43:33

Beer Can Science (start time 6:50) If you’re a beer drinker, you’ve probably noticed that there are a lot of cans on liquor store shelves these days. Here in Colorado, and elsewhere, more and more ...

Volcanoes & the Atmosphere // Traffic in Beijing from 2012-08-01T04:03:52

Volcanoes & the Atmosphere (start time 6:17): We’ve known for a long time that volcanic particles and gases can travel around the world, often affecting climate.  The 1815 eruption of the Indonesia...

Global Weirdness // Institute for Social and Environmental Transition from 2012-07-25T00:46:55

We feel it when we step into the heat outside; something weird is up with the climate. . Not only is it hot, we’re weathering a drought of historic proportions. That drought has set the stage for c...

Immortality – Science vs Sci Fi from 2012-07-17T16:00:07

We talk with CU-Boulder’s Tom Johnson and NYT Bestselling author, James Rollins about Rollins’ new book, Bloodline.  We also look at immortality, longevity, and aging, comparing the science and the...

James Rollins – Bloodline (SciFi book about immortality) from 2012-07-17T03:36:43

This is an extended version of the radio broadcast of the interview with James Rollins about his new book, Bloodline.  In it, we look at the issues of science versus fiction, and technologies that ...

Tom Johnson – Extended Version from 2012-07-17T03:32:08

This is an extended version of the broadcast interview with CU-Boulder’s Tom Johnson.  In this interview, Johnson talks about his pioneering work discovering the first “longevity gene” known as AGE...

Geologic Carbon Sequestration // Clean Technology from 2012-07-11T01:40:22

Geologic Carbon Sequestration (Start time 4:53): As carbon dioxide emissions continue to skyrocket, researchers are scrambling to find reliable ways to curb emissions of the most persistent greenho...

Mountain Wildfires from 2012-07-03T23:33:41

With record high temperatures along with record low snowpack, the Colorado Front Range has been ravaged by increasingly expensive wildfires.  For today’s show, How on Earth brings in two fire exper...

Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History from 2012-06-26T22:20:01

In this special summer pledge drive show, the How On Earth science team shares reasons why they volunteer to bring you science.  And we share a conversation with Florence Williams, a local author a...

Engineering Happiness // The Effects of Black Holes from 2012-06-19T19:06:28

Engineering Happiness (start time 05:09): You may think the key to happiness lies in money, or love, or more vacation days.  But what it really comes down to is math — a mathematical formula, actua...

Dr. Paul Lightsey from 2012-06-12T16:57:42

Dr. Paul Lightsey and JWST (start time: 5:55). Paul Lightsey, mission system engineer for the James Webb Space Telescope, joins us to share his intimate knowledge of the telescope’s optical element...

Potable water//Electric vehicle infrastructure from 2012-06-08T16:06:23

Potable Water (start time 5:31). Here on the Front Range, the last three months have been the driest on record. Usually, we get about 8 inches of rain through this time period. This year, it’s more...

Distributed Energy // Pluto’s Occultation from 2012-05-29T19:11:15

In today’s How On Earth we have two features: Distributed Energy (start time 5:46): Enjoying the twinkling stars without nighttime light pollution is a luxury for many of us. We can flick on the sw...

Thorium // Space Weather from 2012-05-23T05:19:53

Thorium (start time 4:54). It sits at the bottom of the periodic table of elements, among its fellow radioactive substances, including uranium and plutonium.  It’s called Thorium, named for the Nor...

Why Calories Count//Boulder Gold Lab Symposium from 2012-05-15T18:58:33

Why Calories Count (start time 7:10). More than a billion people in the world suffer from too few of them. About the same number suffer from too many. We’re talking about calories. They’re vital to...

Proteomics and the Search for a Wellness Chip from 2012-05-08T21:06:09

What if you could find out about dozens of diseases, all at once, from just one tube of your blood?  It might happen soon, with proteomics and the search for wellness chip.   In this episode, we ta...

Climate engineering // Jamie Williams from 2012-05-01T23:58:59

Jamie Williams (start time  5:40). Today on How On Earth we speak with Jamie Williams about land conservation. It’s safe to say that Williams should take credit for large swaths of land in the West...

Ron Krauss: Saturated Fat and Red Meat? It Depends from 2012-04-24T20:42:58

We look at the health effects of saturated fat and red meat with one of the world’s leading scientists in the field – Ron Krauss.  His recent studies show that replacing saturated fat with carbohyd...

Communicating with dolphins from 2012-04-18T02:14:35

Dolphins are intelligent and communicative creatures within their own species and with the other animals native to their waters. Still, a hundred million years of evolutionary history and pressures...

Kinetic Sculptures Refocus the Human Perspective from 2012-04-10T18:19:14

Jeff Lieberman is a jack of all science trades, and many non-science trades too, actually.  He is a mechanical engineer, a design consultant, a photographer, composer and kinetic sculptor. He hosts...

Bees and Pesticides // Radiometers and Weather from 2012-04-03T19:58:41

Bees and Pesticides (start at 6:40). Two studies published last week in the journal Science (here and here) make a strong case for beekeepers who worry that a new class of pesticides called “neonic...

Pesticides, Bees and Niwot Honey Farm’s Tom Theobald [extended version] from 2012-03-30T07:00:49

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 ...

The Science of Habit Formation from 2012-03-28T04:55:31

The Power of Habit: If you’re like most of us you’ve tried over and over again to break a bad habit —  be it procrastinating, gorging on chocolate chip cookies every night, or watching TV rather th...

The Science of Habit Formation [extended version] from 2012-03-27T16:50:05

This is the extended version of the interview by How On Earth host Susan Moran of New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg, author of a new book titled The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Lif...

The Accelerating Expansion of The Universe // Pine Bark Beetles from 2012-03-20T18:30:19

The Accelerating Expansion of The Universe (start at 5:11).   Have you ever had the feeling that things are moving faster and faster these days?  Well, maybe it’s not your imagination.  Proof that ...

Pine Bark Beetles – Extended Interview with Jeff Mitton and Scott Ferrenberg from 2012-03-19T22:35:41

Fukushima Anniversary: global impacts one year later from 2012-03-14T04:40:13

Fukushima’s impacts a year later: In today’s show we offer a full-length feature (start at 4:57) to mark the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster — the worse ...

The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess from 2012-03-06T19:08:55

For our annual Spring Pledge Drive, we feature a book about race, religion and DNA.  The book is The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess, by Jeff Wheelwright.   It’s a story about a beautiful yo...

Fukushima Cleanup // Space Debris from 2012-02-29T05:26:28

Today, Feb. 28, we feature two interviews. Fukashima Cleanup (start at 7:23).  A daunting and ongoing cleanup task is that of removing radioactively contaminated material from Japan’s Fukushima Dai...

Fukushima Cleanup [extended version] from 2012-02-28T01:47:19

This is an extended version of an interview the KGNU Science show, How on Earth broadcast on February 28th, 2012 about radiation clean-up efforts for Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power plant.   This i...

Leaky Natural Gas Wells // Measuring Glaciers and Ice Caps from 2012-02-21T22:48:23

Leaky Natural Gas Wells (start time 6:22).   We speak with Greg Frost, a scientist from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), about a...

Leaky Natural Gas Wells [extended version] from 2012-02-21T02:34:31

  This is an extended version of the KGNU Science Show, How on Earth.  It features Greg Frost, a scientist with the University of Colorado at Boulder and with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmosph...

Boulder Robotics // Compassion from 2012-02-14T16:00:27

  Boulder is for Robotics (start time 4:00). “It starts really with the fact that a lot of robotics materials, sensors and manufacturing are here in Colorado.” Boulder as a hub for robotics? You be...

Snowshoe Hare // Cubelets Robotics from 2012-02-07T17:04:12

Snowshoe Hare Faces Uncertain Future (start time 6:35). They don’t get much cuter than bunnies. One of the cutest of them all is the snowshoe hare. It’s elusive, and well camouflaged, so you may we...

Algae oil omega-3 // Little Ice Age from 2012-02-01T05:13:26

Algae Oil Omega-3 (start time 5:28).  Omega-3 dietary supplements are all the rage. Many studies claim that this family of fatty acids benefits your brain, heart and vision, among other things. A n...

Underwater Volcanoes // Sleep from 2012-01-24T22:10:12

Underwater Volcanoes (start time 5:45). Most of our planet’s volcanoes are out of sight, and largely out of mind. Hidden under sometimes thousands of feet of water, volcanoes on the sea floor bubbl...

20th Anniversary Science Show from 2012-01-17T17:17:29

We celebrate 20 years of How on Earth, featuring the 1st ever KGNU science show, 20 years ago, including Bucky Balls, Electromagnetic Radiation and Cows, Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, and along...

The first KGNU science show (Jan 1992) from 2012-01-16T17:45:28

Here is the ORIGINAL KGNU science show, broadcast 20 years ago in January 1992.  For our science show on January 17, 2012, we’ll feature excerpts from this show, along with interviews with two of t...

Nicotine Patches // Restoring the Desert from 2012-01-10T18:52:33

Do nicotine patches really help you stop smoking?  Shelley Schlender interviews a scientist who says they don’t.  Lois Biener and her colleagues at the University of Massachusetts and Harvard Unive...

Nicotine Patches Don’t Work [extended version] from 2012-01-10T15:00:17

This is an extended version of the interview with researchers at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts, which indicates that out in the real world, people who use nicotine replacement therapy...

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth from 2012-01-03T14:26:43

  We hear about a book called Logicomix, featuring Christos Papidimitriou, who is one of the world’s leaders on computational complexity theory, and what happens when he consents to be interviewed ...

Clean Water Struggles // 2011’s Big Sci-Enviro-Tech Stories from 2011-12-27T20:10:44

Mining retention pond in Colorado. Image courtesy of the EPA. Clean Water Struggles. Co-host Susan Moran interviews journalist Judith Lewis Mernit about how small rural communities in the West are ...

Holiday Sci & Tech Gifts // Eating Your Heart Out? from 2011-12-20T05:23:23

  We take a look at favorite holiday sci-tech gifts, including the SparkFun Inventor’s Kit, Logicomix, Manga Guide to Electricity, Lego Mindstorms,  a fun new novelty for anyone on your list – gian...

Incentives for Renewable Energy//Climate Change and Biodiversity from 2011-12-13T17:39:10

In last month’s election, Boulder voters gave the go-ahead for the city to move forward on municipalizing the electrical utility.  The chief motivation for that decision was to put more renewable e...

Future of Electric Vehicles//Diet and Acne from 2011-12-06T17:55:56

Jim Motavalli joins us by phone from his home in Fairfield, Connecticut.  Jim is the author of a new book titled “High Voltage: The Fast Track to Plug In the Auto Industry” and helped us sort out s...

Of Math and Wizards from 2011-11-29T23:39:37

One often hears people state “I’m not good at math” or that they don’t like math because it they don’t think it has any relevance to their day-to-day life (other than, maybe, to balance a checkbook...

Wild Turkeys // Light Pollution from 2011-11-22T20:33:20

In celebration of Thanksgiving, Beth Bartel interviews Stan Baker of the National Wild Turkey Federation about wild turkeys in Colorado. You may be surprised at the story of the wild turkey in Nort...

Water Crisis // Maker Movement from 2011-11-15T17:20:20

Susan Moran has a telephone interview with Cynthia Barnett.   Cynthia is a journalist and author of Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis.” She calls the U.S. one of the most “water-wast...

Colorado & Oceans // Nitrogen & Snails from 2011-11-09T04:04:43

Feature #1 (time mark 5:30)  When people think of Colorado, they usually don’t think about “oceans”.  After all, Colorado doesn’t have much of a coastline these days, though it was definitely had o...

Urban Parks // Pythons and Heart Disease from 2011-11-02T04:30:45

Today, November 1, we offer two features. Feature #1: Co-host Susan Moran interviews Jonathan Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, who discusses NPS’ quest to lure more people to urban pa...

National Parks: Extended interview with Jonathan Jarvis from 2011-11-02T02:42:43

National Perspective on Municipalization//Science of Fall Colors from 2011-10-25T16:07:49

Tom McKinnon and Peter Asmus of Pike Research discuss electrical utility municipalization from a national perspective.  Peter adds an interesting statistic — the photovoltaic industry already has c...

Extended Interview: Richard Dawkins, The Magic of Reality from 2011-10-18T18:11:56

On today’s pledge drive show we played excerpts from an interview with evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins about his new book, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True. Th...

Post-Wild Nature//LED Lighting from 2011-10-11T16:52:12

Nature means something different to everyone. It’s a towering old-growth redwood forest to some.  Deep silent canyons to others. And urban community gardens to others. Defining what is “pristine na...

Wildfire Science from 2011-10-05T02:55:06

  October is Wildfire Awareness Month, so on today’s show we look back at the Fourmile Canyon wildfire and hear from local researchers about some of the scientific opportunities that the fire affor...

We Breathe Microbes with Noah Fierer from 2011-09-30T04:41:50

We explore the world microbes, and how they’re everywhere, and how the University of Colorado at Boulder has scientists such as Noah Fierer who are trying to track all those microbes down and figur...

Pine Beetle Kill // Plight of Sharks from 2011-09-14T04:07:24

Feature #1: If you live on the Front Range, or just about anywhere else in Colorado, you don’t have to go far to notice huge swaths of rusty brown that have replaced green conifer forests. By now, ...

Plight of Sharks – Extended Interview with Juliet Eilperin from 2011-09-13T16:00:12

Wind Energy from 2011-09-07T05:11:21

In today’s show take a look at the future of wind energy. We have with us in the studio Sandy Butterfield. Sandy is the CEO and co-founder of Boulder Wind Power. Prior to his starting this venture,...

GMOs & Health: The Loss of Small Farms and the Rise of Immune Disorders from 2011-08-30T22:20:03

We look at the strange rise in autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma, with experts from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center and with National Jewish Health Immunlogist Andy Liu  in ...

GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Andy Liu – National Jewish Health from 2011-08-30T22:17:47

GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Stefano Guandalini – Celiac Disease Center from 2011-08-30T22:16:18

GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Carol Shilson, Celiac Disease Center from 2011-08-30T22:15:34

GMOs and Health – Extended Interview with Charles Benbrook, The Organic Center from 2011-08-30T21:45:32

Nitrogen pollution // Electric vehicles from 2011-08-24T05:09:29

On today’s show we offer two interview features. Feature #1: Last week the Environmental Protection Agency published a seminal report about nitrogen, which is an enormous environmental and public h...

Pluto’s Moons // Wildlife Preservation from 2011-08-16T21:13:03

Feature #1: Last month, astronomers working on the Hubble Space Telescope announced the discovery of another, fourth moon around Pluto; this moon is so small that it could fit easily inside Boulder...

Extended interview with Alan Stern from 2011-08-16T14:45:21

On today’s show we featured an interview with Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, who is principal investigator on NASA’s New Horizons mission. He told us about a fourth, tiny moon orbi...

Lean Deli Meat vs A Big Fat Steak . . . and Water in Outer Space from 2011-08-09T23:46:36

We talk with one of the nation’s leading nutrition scientists  . . . whose opinions about food and health might not be popular with the American Salt Institute . . . OR with the USDA.  Dariush Moza...

Janos Perczel – Invisibility Cloak (Extended Version) from 2011-08-09T23:38:59

This podcast provides extended version of our interview with Janos Perczel about his new Invisibility Cloak. Background: An undergraduate  at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland has overcome ...

Harvard Epidemiologist Dariush Mozaffarian on Salt (extended version) from 2011-08-09T16:02:47

Here’s an extended version of Shelley Schlender’s interview with Dariush Mozaffarian on Salt.  Note that in the interview, Shelley asks Dr. Mozaffarian to comment on some of the assertions made in ...

Tech aspects of Boulder utility municipalization from 2011-08-02T01:05:28

In November Boulder will be asking the voters to approve the conversion of the electrical utility from one run by Xcel Energy to one run by the city.  While there are many, many political issues as...

Music producer Tom Wasinger comments on HOE theme song entries from 2011-07-26T19:16:22

  Grammy Award-winning music producer Tom Wasinger comments on the entries to the How on Earth theme song contest.  Give us comments on your favorite theme song here.  The winner will be announced ...

Green Tech Author // NCAR Climate Scientist from 2011-07-20T04:41:57

This week’s How On Earth offers two features: Co-host Susan Moran interviews Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor for The Atlantic magazine and author of the new book, Powering the Dream: The History a...

Ocean Acidification // Citizen Science from 2011-07-13T05:05:47

      Feature #1: Many problems plague the oceans and the fish and other species that inhabit them: overfishing, pollution, and much more. But perhaps the greatest threat to sea life – and possibly...

Science Education, Evolution & Creationism from 2011-06-28T17:49:20

At its most basic level, science can be considered as non-political or at least politically neutral: science is dedicated to the collection of facts and interpreting them to help us understand the ...

Beekeeping in Troubled Times from 2011-06-22T04:05:42

This week on How On Earth co-host Susan Moran interviews Hannah Nordhaus, Boulder-based author of the new book, The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Feed America. Nordh...

Cell Phone Safety from 2011-06-14T21:54:53

The World Health Organization has officially listed cells phones as a possible carcinogen. One expert who’s not surprised at the designation is University of Colorado, distinguished professor Frank...

Cell Phone Safety – Extended Version from 2011-06-14T15:00:17

  Here is the extended version of the interview with CU Electrical Engineering Professor Frank Barnes about cell phone safety.  

Cavemen Stayed Local while Women Left Home from 2011-06-07T20:03:15

We talk with Sandi Copeland, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at CU, about this story: Two million years ago, two-legged apes roamed the African landscape. Many of these ancient hominins,  lived i...

Colorado river crisis // “The Believing Brain” from 2011-06-01T05:05:07

This week co-host Susan Moran speaks with Dr. Doug Kenney, director of the Western Water Policy Program at the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado,  Boulder’s law school. Ken...

Moonwalking with Einstein (Part 2) // Brain Evolution from 2011-05-24T20:06:42

We present the second part of Joel Parker’s interview of Joshua Foer, author of the book “Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything” (the full interview can be found ...

The Future of Space Flight: Alan Stern & Elon Musk from 2011-05-17T07:00:27

We share excerpts from a talk about the Future of Spaceflight, presented at CU-Boulder in April, featuring Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute and Elon Musk of Space X. Producer: Shelley...

Gold Lab Symposium & Fat for Stronger Muscles from 2011-05-10T20:18:13

We learn about new research that indicates that the combination of exercise plus eating high cholesterol foods may help build lean body mass, even in older adults. What’s more, eating high choleste...

Climate-health link//Smart grid from 2011-05-03T18:15:05

On this How On Earth show we explore how climate change is taking a toll on human health, and then how “smart grid” technology can help reduce the carbon footprint of electrical power generation.  ...

Virtual power plants//Wildfires and climate change from 2011-04-26T16:48:55

Tom McKinnon interviews, via phone, Peter Asmus of Pike Research about Virtual Power Plants.  This emerging information technology may help to integrate more renewable power onto the gird.  And eve...

Natural Gas Boom//BP Oil Spill’s Human Toll from 2011-04-20T15:23:07

We discuss the environmental and human costs of natural gas drilling practices, and then the human toll of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico one year after the disaster. On natural gas drillin...

Extended interview with Anjali Bhatara from 2011-04-12T16:27:44

Here’s a longer version of my interview with Anjali Bhatara, which aired on today’s program. Dr. Bhatara is with the Laboratory of the Psychology of Perception at the University of Paris, where she...

Theme Song Contest // Science of Music from 2011-04-12T16:05:32

Today we announce a contest to find new theme music for How On Earth! Our current theme has served us well for more than 20 years, but we feel it’s time to change our tune. We’re looking to local m...

Pseudoscience // Conservation from 2011-04-06T04:46:05

Welcome to a special edition of How on Earth, done in conjunction with the Conference on World Affairs, which is being held this week on the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus.  Our two guests...

Ocean thermal energy//Climate and drought in the Rockies from 2011-03-29T22:19:23

Our live guests are consultant Dr. Robert Cohen and CU scientist Kristen Averyt.  Dr. Cohen discusses ocean thermal energy — a method to harvest some of the almost limitless solar energy captured d...

Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Reactor Accident from 2011-03-22T18:09:14

In-studio guests Jeff King, Director of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Program at the Colorado School of Mines, and Len Ackland, Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the U...

Moonwalking with Einstein // Pledge Drive Show from 2011-03-16T20:03:33

In this Spring Pledge Drive Show, we share an update on the crisis in Japan from Kathleen Tierney of CU-Boulder’s Natural Hazards  Center, and then Joel Parker interviews Joshua Foer, author of the...

Scientific Citizen Astronauts // Scientific Performance Art from 2011-03-08T22:56:11

This week on How On Earth, we talk with two Boulder researchers, Dan Durda and Cathy Olkin, who are training to become “scientist astronauts” on some of the first suborbital space flights provided ...

Colorado Growth Model is Replacing CSAPs // Boulder Valley Science Fair from 2011-03-02T01:53:43

In honor of KGNU’s Kid’s Week, we go to the Boulder County Science Fair with How on Earth’s Tom McKinnon.  In turns out three of the five students Tom interviewed before the judging began ended up ...

Bioastronautics at CU Bioserve // Boulder County EnergySmart energy efficiency service from 2011-02-22T18:39:04

Ted Burnham inteviews CU PhD student Christine Fanchiang on her role in helping the BioServe  program prepare experiments for a ride on the Space Shuttle. Tom McKinnon talks to Beth Beckel, an Ener...

CU Medical Professor Shares Love of Science from 2011-02-15T19:10:33

This week we’ll feature CU Medical School Immunologist John Cohen, who has just received the American Association for the Advancement of Science top award for promoting public understanding of Scie...

Front range water / Kepler planet-hunter from 2011-02-08T23:41:23

Our two features for this week’s show:  Susan Moran interviewed Joel Smith, principal at Stratus Consulting in Boulder, who has been helping the city adapt to climate change—in particular, by smart...

From Jars to the Stars / Plants moving uphill from 2011-01-25T21:46:46

Our guest this week is Todd Neff, who was a science reporter for Boulder’s Daily Camera newspaper and is author of a new book, From Jars to the Stars: How Ball Came to Build a Comet-Hunting Machine...

Earthquakes & corruption / Astrology shake-up from 2011-01-18T22:40:20

This week on How On Earth, University of Colorado earth scientist Roger Bilham joins us in the studio to talk about his latest study, which shows a correlation between the prevalence of corruption ...

MAVEN: Mission to Mars // Communicating geophysics from 2011-01-11T22:51:44

On this week’s How On Earth, we’re joined by the University of Colorado’s Bruce Jakosky, principle investigator on the MAVEN satellite mission that will investigate Mars’ upper atmosphere. NASA gra...