Joel Parker – How On Earth

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"

Into The Unknown (starts at 9:05) What do we know about the universe, and how do we know we know it? Conversely, what do we know we don’t know, what don’t we know that we don’t know, and why not? To help us unravel these age-old philosophical questions in the context of current science, our … Continue reading "Into The Unknown (Part 2)"

Into The Unknown (starts at 7:57) What do we know about the universe, and how do we know we know it? Conversely, what do we know we don’t know, what don’t we know that we don’t know, and why not? To help us unravel these age-old philosophical questions in the context of current science, our … Continue reading "Into The Unknown (Part 1)"

This episode features Miles O’Brien, a science journalist who has been a correspondent for PBS News and CNN. He talks about his experience breaking in to science journalism, past and current science reporting, public and political views of science, the value of scientific research, and some particular stories including beavers, prostheses, and climate change research in … Continue read...

Climate change. Astronomy.  A canine astronaut. They intersect in our guest, astronomer and author Dr. Jeff Bennett. Among other things, we focus on climate change and policy – present and future. Dr. Bennett got his Ph. D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado, and he served two years as a Visiting Senior Scientist at NASA … Continue reading "Climate Change, Astronomy, Canin...

The history of astronomy has many stories of trying to understand our universe, and those stories are connected by a common thread: looking at the sky, whether with our eyes or with increasingly powerful telescopes.  The newest entry in this telescopic journey is the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Located in Chile, this observatory has … Continue reading "The Vera Rubin Observatory"

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 2 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who recently received their Ph. D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what … Continue reading "2025 Graduation Special (part 2)...

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 1 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who have or will soon receive their Masters or Ph. D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their … Continue reading "2025 Graduation Special (part 1)"

Our guest today is Dr. Simone Marchi, Institute Scientist in the Solar System Science & Exploration Division at the Boulder office of Southwest Research Institute. Dr. Marchi is the Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA’s Lucy mission.  Lucy will be the first space mission to explore a population of small bodies known as the Trojan asteroids, … Continue reading "The Lucy Mission"

Today is April Fools’ day, when jokes and pranks are played, sometimes among friends and family, sometimes on a more public scale.  But why is there such a day for culturally-accepted foolishness? To delve into the origins and history of April Fools’ Day, we talk with Dr. Angus Kress Gillespie, folklorist and professor of American … Continue reading "April Foolish Science"