KGNU - How On Earth

COP16: Hope & Hurdles (start time: 1:20)  On this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews two conservation biologists at Colorado State University — Chris Funk and Liba Pejchar. They both recently attended the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, which is still underway in Cali, Colombia, and they share their experiences, perspectives, and optimism from … Continue reading "COP16 Biod...

Wild, local mushrooms can break down deadwood into healthy soil, and they can do this surprisingly fast.  Used correctly, fungi are an emerging way to reduce the forest tinder that makes mega-wildfires more likely.   But there’s a wrong way and a right way to use mushrooms for mitigation  Our experts today will talk about the … Continue reading "Wildfire Mushrooms for Wildfire Mitigation"

CU Boulder Nobel Prize Winner Tom Cech discusses his new book, The Catalyst, RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets Tom Cech is our featured interview for the KGNU Fall Membership Drive.  Thank you to listeners who are contributing funds to help our volunteer powered, noncommercial, community radio station.  If you like what … Continue reading "CU Boulder Nobel Prize Winner Tom Cech &...

Beliefs, Perceptions, Decision-making (start time: 4:37)  For many people if feels like our society, and our beliefs, have never been as polarized as they are now. Indeed, we are living in a politically polarized society. But it’s not as unique, or as extreme, as many think. In this week’s show we look behind the curtain … Continue reading "Emotions, Beliefs, Politics"

Local Science/Nature Calendar (starts 1:00)  We share news about the Marshall Mesa Trailhead Closure to eliminate burning underground coal, CSU Professor Mark Easter talks about the Blue Plate Book Launch, THIS THURSDAY at Boulder’s Patagonia Store, and a Hiking Song:Vocal Improvisation in the Wild, NEXT THURSDAY October 9th. EIGHT-LEGGED WONDERS:  The Surprising Lives of Spiders … Continue readin...

The Blue Plate in a Red-hot World (start time: 7:46) While adding cream to your morning cup of coffee, or digesting the hamburger that you grilled last night, you might not have been asking yourself, What’s the carbon footprint of these ingredients and meals? Understandable. Our guest today, ecologist Mark Easter, however, has pondered this … Continue reading "The Carbon Footprint of Food"

Wolf Family Recaptured  (Starts 1:40)    Colorado Parks & Wildlife did not reply to our request for an update on the fate of Colorado’s newly captured wild wolf family.  CU Boulder Professor Marc Bekoff did, offering suggestions for how to improve human-wolf interactions under the voter mandate to reintroduce wolves to Colorado.  Go here for … Continue reading "Hoofbeats – Horses & Human History//...

This is an extended interview with CU Boulder Wildlife Expert Marc Bekoff about challenges and possibilities with Colorado Wolf Reintroduction.  For the broadcast interview, GO Here.  And here is an AI-generated written transcipt.    

In this week’s show Beth spoke with Marc Bekoff, well known and loved for his decades of research into animal behavior, emotion and cognition, about the new edition of his classic book, The Emotional Lives of Animals. Marc Bekoff is professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. For decades … Continue reading "The Emotional Lives of Animals"

SOLO:  Building a Remarkable Life of Your Own.  CU Boulder Professor, Behavioral Economist and book author Peter McGraw uses statistical data and personal anecdotes to explain the growing worldwide trend for adults to live “Solo.” (for Cat Ladies song, go here) Show Producer and Host: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Susan Moran      

When people talk about going to the Moon, it is often in terms of establishing a station there, or finding water, or doing science about the Moon such as studying moon rocks.  But we can do interesting science from the Moon that can’t be done on Earth, which is our topic today with guest Dr. … Continue reading "Science from The Moon"

On this week’s show Beth speaks with Joe Swanson and Laura Backus to discuss some of the invasive weeds that are plaguing Boulder County. Joe is the County Weed Coordinator for Boulder County Parks & Open Space. Joe has worked for over 17 years in rangeland and natural areas management and has been on the … Continue reading "Invasive Weed Management in Boulder County"

Animal Communication Science (start time: 2:57)  Whether you own a dog or horse, or have listened to dolphins, wolves, chimpanzees or other wild animals, you’ve probably wondered what they’re saying when they communicate vocally – and why do they communicate the way they do? Our guest, zoologist Arik Kershenbaum, explores recent scientific discoveries in animal vocal … Continue reading "Why Do Ani...

In this fire prone season, we talk with experts about an ancient building technique that might reduce the chance that a building’s going to burn. Unfired, compressed earth blocks are a building material that involves clay, sand and lime.  Our guests are architect-engineer Lisa Morey and one of her clients, Matteo Rabescini, who had such … Continue reading "Fire Resistant Homes"

Wildfire smoke has marred the Front Range in recent weeks, due to Megafires that are likely to become more frequent.  And more smoke is likely. Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (Starts 00:00) Beth Bennett speaks with author John Vaillant about the Canadian firestorm that forced 100,000 people to run for their … Continue reading "Wildfires & Smokey Skies"

Clever Chickadees on the Front Range (start time: 4:20) Many of us wake up these days to a chorus of songbirds, including mountain and black-capped chickadees. Host Susan Moran interviews Scott Taylor, an ecologist at CU Boulder and director of the Mountain Research Station near the Continental Divide, about a multi-year study, the Boulder Chickadee … Continue reading "Curious Patterns of Chickade...

On this week’s How on Earth we’re airing a show produced by Science Moab‘s Peggy Hodgkins. She speaks with Professor Kari Veblen, who is currently a professor of rangeland ecology at Utah State University. Her research focuses on the ecology and management of rangelands, including questions related to restoration, plant community dynamics, grazing and unraveling … Continue reading "Rangeland Resto...

In this episode, we talk with journalist and author Rebecca Boyle about her book Our Moon – How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are. We discuss how the Moon impacts all aspects of our lives including the creation of life. It is a key component to philosophy and … Continue reading "Our Moon"

Making “Compostable” Products Truly Compostable (start time: 0:56)  You’ve probably wracked your brain at some point trying to figure out whether the compostable-labelled clamshell or the green-tinted plastic cup you got at a restaurant is truly compostable.  Many products contain misleading and outright false claims, leaving consumers confused about how to do good by the … Continue reading "“Comp...

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with author and cheesemaker extraordinaire and author, David Asher, about his book Milk Into Cheese: The Foundations of Natural Cheesemaking. The science and art of cheese. David Asher has a long career as an educator, activist, and celebrated natural cheesemaker. In our conversation, you’ll hear about the … Continue reading "The Ins and Outs of Cheese"

Matt Johnson of Namaste Solar and Stu Cummings of Go Electric Colorado  share climate friendly ways to keep your home power going, even if power from your utility suddenly goes out.  It’s a discussion spurred by April’s massive power outages, when Xcel Energy Colorado abruptly shut off power to over 150,000 Denver Metro homes, citing … Continue reading "Green Power for when the Power Goes Out"

Composting for Human, Soil and Climate Health  (start time: 4:39) It’s late spring, when many people are out gardening, planting vegetables, and spreading compost on the soil to give those veggies a leg up. Composting also benefits the planet.  If dumped into landfills, organic waste breaks down and releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more … Continue reading "The Dirt on Composting"

On this week’s show, Beth speaks with Jennifer Ackerman, about her new book, What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds. In a writing career spanning over three decades, Jennifer has covered many aspects of science and nature but recently has focused on birds. In the book she regales the … Continue reading "Why a Parliament of Owls?"

This week on How on Earth, we revisit bees and pollination biology. Beth spoke with Professor Michael Breed about honeybees and other pollinators. These insects provide crucial service to our agricultural systems by pollinating flowers whose seeds and fruit produce our foods. But many of us ignore or take them for granted. The Colorado State … Continue reading "Bees and Other Bugs"

Birds of Spring, Habitat Preservation (start time: 3:08)  It’s springtime, when many of us are woken up at the crack of dawn by a chorus of chickadees or other songbirds outside. To celebrate these emblems of spring, and World Migratory Bird Day (May 18), How On Earth’s Susan Moran interviews two bird/nature experts about the state … Continue reading "Birds & Habitat Preservation"