CSU's The Audit

CSU toxicologist Brad Reisfeld talks about how to keep your holiday meal leftovers from turning into a recipe for food poisoning. It all comes down to timing, temperature and a healthy dose of common sense. 

In this encore episode, CSU history professor Ann Little talks about our fascination with the early North American witch trials and what a modern-day witch hunt could look like.

Can watching horror movies make us more empathetic? CSU film researchers Scott Diffrient and Riana Slyter talk about the benefits of horror, as well as the history of the genre, how it’s evolving and why so many of us love to be scared.

Every Halloween, millions of jack-o-lanterns brighten porches across America. But what happens after the holiday ends is much more trick than treat. Roughly 1 billion pounds of pumpkins are discarded in U.S. landfills each year, where they emit 83 million pounds of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. But what many people see as disposable seasonal décor may actually be an overlooked environmental re...

CSU communication studies researchers Kari Anderson and Nick Marx discuss the growing overlap between popular culture and politics, exploring how politicians increasingly reach voters through podcasts, influencers, social media and other cultural spaces, while also addressing concerns about AI-generated political content, misinformation and online echo chambers. 

Each fall, thousands of Oklahoma brown tarantulas emerge from their burrows in southern Colorado and set off on a remarkable journey known as the "mate-gration." But in recent years, visitors and researchers have noticed something troubling: there are fewer spiders making the trek.  Habitat loss, climate change and drought are putting pressure on tarantula populations across the state. At the same...

There are lots of different types of friends. Best friends, work friends. Facebook friends, even frenemies. Each has an important role in our lives that has been shown to impact our mental and physical health. Now the American Friendship Project, a program co-led by Colorado State University communication studies researcher Natalie Pennington, provides one of the most complete looks at this highly...

Despite its landlocked location, Colorado State University is well known all along the Atlantic coast for its seasonal hurricane forecasts. Each spring, these forecasts predict the total amount and potential strength of storms for the upcoming hurricane season. The forecasts were first developed and shared by pioneering atmospheric science researcher William Gray, and are frequently used by media,...

Comedians have been joking about politics for probably as long as there have been politicians. But in the past few years, there's been a noticeable shift in political comedy.    No longer just a spotlight for the Democrats, more and more conservatives are getting in on the act, too, from the rise of comic and podcaster Joe Rogan to Fox's answer to “The Daily Show,” "Gutfeld," right-wing conservati...

The increased awareness of the potential dangers of an undetected concussion means that, from the NFL to Little League, the conversation has shifted from “shake it off” to following a clear diagnostic criterion before returning an athlete to play following a potential concussion. But there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to traumatic brain injuries, particularly around the long-term effe...

Entomologist and CSU Bug Zoo Director Maia Holmes discusses that age-old question: Why did the tarantula cross the road?

We talk with Michael Bartolo, senior research scientist emeritus at CSU's Arkansas Valley Research Center and the man behind one of Pueblo's hottest crops. 

Researchers with CSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Lori Catalano and Scott Curry talk about why now is the time to leave your lawn in favor of beige-er pastures that are anything but boring.

In this encore episode, CSU researcher and former wildland firefighter Camille Stevens-Rumann talks about why forests aren't bouncing back after wildfires like they used to, as well as one unique (and slightly controversial) solution.

CSU atmospheric chemist Delphine Farmer talks about how air pollutants such as wildfire smoke, cleaning products and stoves make their way into your home, and how you can strike a balance between refreshing your indoor air and protecting your health. 

Every summer, the news features stories of tourists being injured – or narrowly escaping injury – during wildlife encounters. More often than not, experts say these run-ins could have easily been avoided. In this encore episode, Katie Abrams talks about her research into social marketing and communications strategies that aim to protect tourists AND wildlife. 

Yosemite National Park welcomes more than 4 million visitors each year, but those visits come at a steep environmental cost. National parks historian Michael Childers discusses the park's long history of overcrowding, the recent decision to end its reservation system and what the record-breaking crowds expected this season could mean for Yosemite’s future.

Most people have experienced déjà vu at one time or another, that eerie feeling that you've been in a situation before when you know that you haven't. But what is déjà vu? And why does it happen? In this encore episode, CSU memory researcher Anne Cleary explains the phenomenon. 

Researchers with CSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Lori Catalano and Scott Curry talk about why now is the time to leave your lawn in favor of beige-er pastures that are anything but boring.

On Wednesday, House Bill 1031 was signed into Colorado law making it a deceptive trade practice to market fruits and vegetables as "Colorado-grown" if the products were produced elsewhere. Violators of the law could be fined fines up to $20,000. In this encore episode of The Audit podcast, Colorado State University ag economist Dawn Thilmany talks about why the Colorado label is so critical to bot...

CSU archaeologist Robert Madden talks about his groundbreaking research revealing that dice and games of chance have been a central part of Native American culture for millennia. And they were about a lot more than fun and games.

CSU atmospheric chemist Delphine Farmer talks about indoor air pollutants such as cleaning products, smoke and stoves, and how you can strike a balance between refreshing your home and protecting your health. 

Why aren't forests bouncing back after wildfires like they used to? CSU researcher and former wildland firefighter Camille Stevens-Rumann talks about the problem, as well as one unique (and slightly controversial) solution.

CSU's Hamed Qahri-Saremi talks about how artificial intelligence is not only rapidly transforming the way we interact with information, but also reshaping democratic processes, challenging public trust in institutions and even influencing human empathy.

CSU Avenir Museum Curator Paula Alaszkiewicz explores the surprising roles of the humble pocket throughout history, from its connection to the women’s suffrage movement to its use as a litmus test for economic trends.