KGNU - How On Earth

Poking the Squid –  Good Reads calls author and illustrator Perrin Roosevelt Ireland’s new book a brilliantly funny, beautifully illustrated graphic nonfiction book that shatters our puritanical and binary notions of nature.. Hosts/Producers/Engineers: Shelley Schlender, Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

Parenting Across the Animal Kingdom (start time: 5:02) As humans, we tend to think that we raise our children with more care than any other animal on the planet. After all, human kids depend on their parents on average for much longer than do those of any other species. But are we really so unique … Continue reading "Childrearing Tips (and Cautionary Tales) From the Animal Kingdom"

Global conflicts are revealing vulnerabilities in the global reliance on imported fossil fuels and centralized power.  Energy Analyst Kyle Datta says energy security needs may speed the adoption of renewables and “as a side effect,” reduce the rise of global warming. For Datta’s full speech, which he presented with videos at the 2026 Gold Lab … Continue reading "Kyle Datta – Energy Security, War &...

Complex Animal Networks (start time: 7:17) As humans, we’re all familiar with, as we live in and are members of, nations. But most of us don’t think of non-human species, be they tiny ants or beavers or bears,  in this context. But Ryan Huling does, and he hopes you will, too. In this week’s How … Continue reading "Hidden Nations of Animals"

Climate Change & Action: From the Arctic to Colorado (start time: 2:33) Twenty years ago the Academy-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth was released in theaters nationwide. It sparked millions of people to ask themselves, How can I wake up and do something to help solve, not just contribute to,  the climate crisis?  The film helped … Continue reading "Climate Change: Perils and Progress"

Protest It, Respect It, Defend  It, Use It (starts 1:00) Friday at Denver Patagonia and Saturday at Boulder Patagonia environmental activists Annie Leonard and André Carothers discuss their new book Silent Sky (starts 2:00) Viva Theater celebrates the unsung heroism of female astronomer Henrietta Leavitt.  Silent Sky runs April 22 – June 7th at Boulder’s … Continue reading "Silent Sky // Gold Lab...

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth speaks with author, psychologist, and aging explorer Alan Carpenter to discuss the paradigm shift on aging he espouses. Following a life changing accident, he turned his life around by diving into the science of healthy aging. In his book, Choose Better, Live Better, he outlines 9 avenues one … Continue reading "A Longer Healthier Life"

The Loneliness Epidemic – Social media fuels extra risk.  Especially vulnerable are people undergoing transitions . . . such as college students, who today share what can lead loneliness and how to heal from it.  CU-Boulder senior Lorraine Healey also talks with Colorado State University “Friendship Researcher” Natalie Pennington about why times of transition can … Continue reading "The Loneliness...

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth speaks with Suzanne Simard, professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia, about her book, WHEN THE FOREST BREATHES, both a call to action, and a journey into the heart of British Columbia’s old growth forests and the indigenous communities that live there, and her efforts to … Continue reading "Forest as Superorganism: What it means to Clearcut."

Buy Now Pay Later – is this lending service simply enticing, or is it addictive?  For the GenZ 20 somethings that are its biggest users, is Buy Now Pay Later a danger or a deal?  CU Boulder student and Howonearth volunteer Juliana Krigsman  speaks with students about this, plus Adam Brown – director of New … Continue reading "Buy Now Pay Later – Enticement or Addiction?"

The Brain on Menopause (start time: 01:24) In this week’s show, we offer the finale of our three-part series on menopause and women’s health. We focus on a most precious organ: the brain. And we discuss how  hormones such as estrogen and cortisol affect brain health; on how experiencing stress during childhood can intensify perimenopause … Continue reading "Women’s Health Pt. III: Menopause & the...

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth talks with neuroscientist and chronic pain researcher Jayson Ball. He recently completed a study of a novel brain circuit involved in generating chronic pain. Since finishing his graduate studies at CU Boulder, he has moved to Neuralink, a biotech start up focused on implantable brain devices with the … Continue reading "A Brain Circuit That Switches Acute to Chro...

Preserving prairie dog+raptor ecosystem (start time: 5:03)  Spring has just begun, even if winter hardly visited Colorado. On the plains, prairie dog colonies seem to be in full swing.  However, populations of these keystone species have plummeted, as the grasslands they and raptor predators rely on are being fragmented by urban development, as well as … Continue reading "Conserving Imperiled Prai...

The Power of Precarity of Pollinators (start time: 8:01) This extremely warm winter in Colorado has delivered early spring blooms, and thus early appearances of some pollinators. In this week’s show we explore the world of pollinators, such as such as butterflies, bees, moths, hummingbirds and certain flies. Pollinators are responsible for roughly one third … Continue reading "Pollinator Power & P...

How big is the universe – not just in the scale of  distance but also the scale of time?  What do those…astronomical…scales mean about us humans on Earth and how can we understand and measure such vast expanses? In this episode, our guest, astronomer and author Dr. Jeff Bennett, helps us wrap our minds around … Continue reading "The Scale of the Universe"

On this week’s How on Earth, we hear from a climate scientist about the implications of our changing weather patterns for winter recreation. It’s a warm, dry winter, throughout the Rocky Mountain West and elsewhere in the country, the weather has been a mixed bag. Dr. Elizabeth Burakowski, a Research Faculty member in the Institute … Continue reading "Winter Recreation in a Warmer World"

We hear an interview aired by our sister community radio station’s, Science MOAB. Ecologist Brooke Osborne talks about how dryland ecosystems – such as the grasslands east of Boulder – influence the whole planet. Dryands cover 40% of the earth; they support a third of the planet’s humans, and while their roots store lots of … Continue reading "What do Grasslands Have to do with Climate Change?"

Truths & Tips About Women’s Heart Health (start time: 7:33)  February is American Hearth Month, a nationwide observation  spotlighting cardiovascular disease, and a call for all of us to take care of our hearts.  Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country, for both men and women, and for most racial and … Continue reading "Women’s Health Pt. II: Heart Health"

New Rules of Women’s Health (start time: 6:26) If you’re female, you may have come of age reading the landmark feminist health book Our Bodies, Ourselves. Originally published in the 1970s, it yielded several revised editions up to 2011. Well, get ready for an even more comprehensive tome. It’s called The New Rules of Women’s … Continue reading "Women’s Health Pt. I: Menopause, etc."

On today’s science show we hear from vaccine researchers Rochelle Walensky and Angela Ulrich, and physician/scientist Peyton Thompson, about the safety and efficacy of the hepatitis B vaccine. This is one of 6 that have been removed from the list of recommended childhood vaccines by the CDC. You’ll hear about the history of the vaccine … Continue reading "Hepatitis B Vaccination: Just the Facts"

Water your trees!  This warm, dry winter means urban trees need extra water to stay healthy.  City of Boulder foresters Patrick LaPhilliph and Andrew Holt, and City of Longmont forester Brett Stadsvold share how and why the cities waters trees once a month during dry winter months, how citizens can properly water winter trees, and resources … Continue reading "Water Your Winter Trees"

We speak with experts about how artificial intelligence combined with Police Body Camera footage improved professionalism in the Aurora Colorado Police Department.  Guests include Anthony Tassone, CEO of Truleo and Ian Adams, Criminologist at the University of South Carolina and co-author of a new study about this tech in the journal Criminology We also discuss … Continue reading "Improving Law En...

Protecting Wolves, ferrets, prairie dogs, vultures, etc. (start time: 3:39) How effective are Colorado’s efforts to preserve vulnerable species – wolves, black-footed ferrets, bears, prairie dogs and others? And what ingredients make it possible, including throughout the U.S. and the world, for wild animals and humans to get along when their homes overlap? Today How … Continue reading "Colorado’s...

Wolves, bears, prairie dogs and more (start time: 7:12) A couple of months ago, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife agency released a plan to support biodiversity and guide how the state conserves some of the state’s most vulnerable species and habitats. Everything from iconic bears, wolves and prairie dogs, to tiny humble invertebrates and even … Continue reading "Colorado’s Wildlife Action plan: Pt....

In this week’s show Beth speaks with science writer, educator, and scientist Dr. Lisa Gardiner about her recent book Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival. Lisa studied the fossil remains of ancient coral reefs, which also suffered from environmental challenges. In our conversation, you’ll hear about how the past shapes the present, … Continue reading "Coral: Past, Present, Futur...