In The NOCO

It wasn’t that long ago that some doctors would use lobotomies as a treatment for mental illness, or insomnia, or severe headaches. That wouldn’t happen now – but modern medicine has made some weird, often tragic turns to get to where it is now.   Similarly, our modern roadways are designed with what amounts to junk science, according to author Wesley Marshall . He says it’s time for a wake-up cal...

A unique retelling of the holiday classic ‘The Nutcracker’ explores the history and cultural importance of Denver's Five Points neighborhood.    The Five Points Nutcracker replaces the story’s traditional characters with significant figures from Denver’s African American community. Five Points was once known as the “ Harlem of the West. ”   Duke Ellington’s jazz version of the music is the backbon...

Eye doctors today perform surgeries that would have seemed unthinkable a century or two ago. They can remove cataracts, correct someone’s vision with Lasik surgery, or do a cornea transplant to relieve pain or restore someone’s sight.  But one procedure they can’t do at the moment is a full eye transplant for vision restoration. And that prevents doctors from treating some more serious eye conditi...

When it comes time to decorate for the holidays, for many people a beautiful Christmas tree is the most essential piece.    And some people simply don’t want to let their Christmas tree go. So, they bring a live potted tree into their home, and then move it to their yard after the holidays to enjoy for years to come.    If that sounds like your kind of Christmas, our guest today has some tips to m...

The ingredients you select when you cook dinner can make a huge difference in your household’s carbon emissions.   Mark Easter explores that idea in his book The Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Chaos , He’s a retired ecologist in Fort Collins who studies the carbon footprint of the food we eat.  His book walks readers through the typical ingredients of a home cooked dinner. Then, Mark...

Tim McKay is a Denver artist who fills colorful, sprawling canvases with geometric figures . His paintings can span 12 feet or larger. But a year ago, a diagnosis threatened to disrupt his career. Doctors told him he had Parkinson’ s disease – a condition that would slowly take away his ability to use his muscles.   McKay responded by making art that reflects how the disease is changing his abilit...

Picture this: It's a summer day. You’re on a ship on the Arctic Ocean. You scan the horizon... and you don’t see any sea ice on the surface of the water.   For much of our history, this would be a surreal scenario. The Earth’s northernmost region is typically covered in sea ice and snow year-round.  But a University of Colorado researcher says that vision is going to become a reality. And the firs...

Forty years ago, a Denver radio talk show host named Alan Berg was assassinated. He was shot in his driveway by members of a militant, white supremacist group known as The Order. The group was active in the early 1980s, and one of their goals was to spark revolution against the American government.  A new movie tells that story, and explores the FBI investigation into the group. The movie, called...

Columbus B. Hill was a pivotal figure in Colorado’s culinary history. He was a Black man originally from Missouri – and he was possibly the most popular barbecue chef in Denver in the late 1800s. His food was so good that it was served to thousands of people at official functions at the state Capitol.   But even among hardcore barbecue fans, very few people know his name. And his legacy wasn’t alw...

Your social media use may affect your career prospects more than you think.  If you’ve been job hunting recently, you know what to do on LinkedIn:. You keep things professional and probably not too controversial.   But a University of Colorado researcher says what you do on other platforms – like Facebook or X or BlueSky – might matter more than you think. Jason Thatcher has been studying how hiri...

Every December, Santa Claus literally does the impossible: He delivers presents all over the world with a team of flying reindeer. So when someone becomes a stand-in for Santa at your local mall, or work party, those are big boots to fill.   But as it turns out, being Santa is a teachable skill.  Susen Mesco founded Professional Santa Claus School in Denver in 1983. She says more than 5,000 Santas...

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And many of us are dreading the moment when someone brings up politics at the dinner table.    Family members might want to debate how Harris performed as a candidate or the merits of who Trump picked for his cabinet. Or a hundred other post-election topics that might make you feel a little bit less than thankful to be with your family on Thursday.   Natali...

One of the most unusual stories in recent memory about Colorado’s oil and gas industry popped up in the town of Erie. It was actually about what happens underneath Erie.     A company wanted to access some underground oil and gas located beneath the town. But Erie has more than 30,000 residents. So putting a fracking operation in the middle of neighborhoods and schools wasn’t going to be very popu...

In 2024, chatbots are part of ordinary life. They pop up on your screen while you’re checking your bank account or making an online purchase.   But a few years from now it may be just as easy to have a conversation with a chatbot who recreates a dead loved one.  That’s the idea behind a kind of technology called a generative ghost.  Jed Brubaker is associate professor at the University of Colorado...

It may not feel like it right now, but winter is coming. And before it arrives...  it’s time to think about extra care and nurturing for your trees.  Because on Colorado’s Front Range, the coldest season can be especially tough on the trees in our yards. Damage can take many forms: Sun scald, dry roots, or cracks in the bark from extreme temperature swings.   Fortunately, there’s hope. The tree sp...

Millions of kids in the US will suffer a concussion during childhood, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Concussions are brain injuries that cause headaches and dizziness and nausea. And it can take weeks to fully recover.     In recent years doctors have changed the way they treat them. Instead of avoiding activity, doctors now recommend light physical...

If you’ve spent even a little time outdoors in Colorado, you’ve most likely heard the song of the mountain chickadee. These adorable, chubby little birds are commonly found in higher-elevation forests in the Rocky Mountains.  And they have a close relative – the black-capped chickadee, which tends to live at lower elevations. But in areas like Boulder County, the habitats of these two types of chi...

Of all the responses to the results of last week’s presidential election, one of the most unusual involves something called the 4B movement.     It calls for women to cut off or limit their contact with men. That includes dating, marriage, childbirth – and physical affections.    The 4B movement started a few years ago in South Korea, but gained attention on social media in the U.S. after Election...

Researchers have proposed a plan to transform high rise office spaces into living spaces to reduce the housing shortage in the Denver metro area. Denver is one of many American cities with a tight housing market and a glut of unused office space.  A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the architecture firm Gensler calls for converting high rise offices to shared residential spaces simila...

The Hayman Fire burned through a huge swath of forest southwest of Denver in 2002. It left behind a massive burn scar. Workers quickly replanted thousands of trees to reestablish the forest.   But more than two decades later, large areas of the Hayman burn scar still resemble a moonscape, with some scraggly young trees here and there.   Burn scars that take decades to heal are becoming a fact of l...

A $20 boiler maintenance fee. A $60 fee to drive your garbage to the dump. A $1 monthly pest maintenance fee.  And a $6 fee to add up those other fees.  These are actual charges billed to renters by landlords in Denver, according to a recent article by the Denver Post. The fees are tacked onto a tenant’s monthly bill on top of their rent.     Critics call them junk fees – and say they usually aren...

The Patton Veterans Project is a traveling film workshop designed to give veterans who may be suffering from PTSD or depression a communal space to process their trauma.   Vets who participate learn a “narrative therapy” approach to dealing with emotional trauma. Over three days, the vets create a short film about their personal story.   The Patton Veterans Project was created by Benjamin Patton,...

Tired of hearing about the election? And thinking about the election? We get it.    But before we move on, let’s walk through a few notable decisions that Colorado voters considered this week. Like whether we should ban the hunting of mountain lions and other big cats. And whether sales of guns and ammunition should help pay for mental health services. And a measure that would have transformed how...

All eyes were on the Presidential election Tuesday night: Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris.  But there were plenty of important Colorado issues on the ballot, too. Like what the state constitution says about same sex marriage, who should review judges in ethics cases and whether the right to an abortion should be protected.  KUNC’s politics and elections reporter Lucas Brady Woods spoke with ITN’s E...

It's Election Day in Colorado. And along with who wins or loses, something that a lot of people are thinking about today is election security.   After all, elections are complicated: Millions of Colorado voters will fill out and turn in their ballots. And county election officials will gather and tally them – quickly.    On top of that, some recent headlines have called Colorado’s election systems...