KGNU - How On Earth

Today on How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee. His first book, The Emperor of All Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011. His new book, The Song of the Cell, explores our radical new ability to manipulate cells. Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and … Continue reading "Song of the Cell: Siddhartha Mukherjee’s New Book"

Clean Water Act, Then and Now (start time: 3:38): Two weeks ago was the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.  The landmark law set out to clean up the nation’s lakes, rivers and streams, and to safeguard the water supply for humans throughout the country. While there’s been some progress since the act was … Continue reading "Clean Water Act 50 years later"

Starting this week, the FDA has approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids.  In light of that, in today’s edition of How on Earth, we play an Encore Feature from February 2020 of an interview we did with David Owen about his book, Volume Control, in which he explores the surprising science of hearing and the … Continue reading "Hearing & Hearing Aids"

We talk with author Kristin Ohlson about her recent book: “Sweet in Tooth and Claw”.  In it, Ohlson examines cooperative relationships found in the natural world and in human civilization. She says this view is missing from many of our cultural and scientific narratives because of a tendency to apply Darwin’s idea of survival of … Continue reading "Sweet in Tooth and Claw // Fund Drive Show"

Pollution Impacts on Gut Microbiome (starts at 1:00) The Environmental Protection Agency has downgraded the air quality in the Denver Metro and Northern Front Range area to “severe” nonattainment for ground level ozone.  Shannon Young talks with Dr. Tanya Alderete (University of Colorado Integrative Physiology Department) about a recent study showing how air pollution may also affect the … Continu...

Today’s show features: Employing Beavers (start time: 11:12):  Some consider them pests. Others praise them as saviors of the environment. Whatever your impression of these furry swimming rodents, beavers are gaining more proponents for their ability to make landscapes, and thus humans, more resilient to climate change. Through their dams and lodges, beavers raise water levels, … Continue reading...

On today’s show Beth talks to Prof Michael Breed about honeybees. Sure, there is a little on their decline which is concerning to all of us, but we focus on many remarkable aspects of their biology. If you want to go deeper, you can visit Mike’s website or the book he mentions in the interview. … Continue reading "The Amazing…Honeybee!"

Nature Wants Us to be Fat:  The Surprising Science Behind Why we Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent and Reverse it.  University of Colorado Medical School Professor Rick Johnson shares why he thinks eating lots of fructose sugars can trigger a Survival Switch that helps bears put on weight before they hibernate . . … Continue reading "Nature Wants Us to Be Fat – Rick Johnson MD"

This is an extended version of the interview with Rick Johnson, author of Nature Wants Us to Be Fat.   LISTEN HERE TRANSCRIPT BELOW: RICK JOHNSON [00:00:00] My name is Richard Johnson. I’m a professor of medicine here at the University of Colorado. SHELLEY [00:00:04] In fact, you direct the Department of Hypertension, or have … Continue reading "Nature Wants Us To Be Fat – Extended Version"

ON this week’s show, Beth talks with Carole Hooven about her new book: “T – The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us”. She demonstrates that the hormone acts in concert with genes and culture to produce a vast variety of male and female behavior. And, crucially, the fact that many sex … Continue reading "Testosterone – Bane or Benefit?"

Colorado River Basin Crisis Pt. II (start time: 6:19): This week’s How On Earth show focuses on the implications and future prospects after the federal government in June ordered the seven Western states that rely on the river to come up with a plan to save trillions of gallons of water from the shrinking river) … Continue reading "Colorado River Basin Crisis: Pt. II"

In this week’s How on Earth, we look at 3 aspects of climate change: its role in disease incidence and transmission; some effects of the new climate change legislation; and how ‘micro-forests’ can mitigate temperature and water loss. The latter comes from an interview with author Hannah Lewis and her book Mini-Forest Revolution, in which … Continue reading "What’s New in Climate?"

DNA Superconductors (Starts 1:00) Scientists are harnessing DNA to make electronic components at the nano-scale. Western Rewilding Network (Starts 3:50) Researchers at Oregon State University are urging the U.S. to set aside 500,000 square kilometers for a Western Rewilding Network that would include wolves and beavers as part of ecosystem restoration.  Their research appears today … Continue read...

Colorado Cafe Sci (starts 1:00)  happens monthly, in Denver. Alcohol and Alcoholism Recent News (starts 2:49) We look at recent science about alcohol consumption, including a study that indicates as little as 3 glasses of wine a week is associated with buildups of iron in the brain — a risk factor for brain disease, increased … Continue reading "Alcohol, Brain Damage & Genetics"

This week on How On Earth: Colorado River Basin Crisis (start time: 5:31–scroll down for arrow) The Colorado River is the life blood for about 40 million inhabitants. And it’s in dire straights. The river’s two reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are at historically low levels, due primarily to climate change and overuse. The water-supply crisis is … Continue reading "Colorado River Basin Crisi...

We continue our look at the new Expose, Salmon Wars, the Dark Underbelly of our Favorite Fish, by checking out an alternative – LAND-Based Farmed Salmon. Chef Sheila Lucero –  (starts 2:25) We TASTE land-based salmon, with Coloraado’s award-winning, national expert on sustainable fish and member of Seafood Watch BlueRibbon Task Force,  Jax Fish House … Continue reading "Salmon Wars Part 2: Farm-Ra...

Salmon Wars:  A Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent and a former private investigator dive deep into the murky waters of the international salmon farming industry in this just-published expose.       HostProducer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

This week on How on Earth, Beth speaks with author and planetary geologist Dr. Simon Morden. In his book, The Red Planet, he presents a tantalizing vision of our nearest neighbour, its dramatic history, and astonishing present.   Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennet Additional Contributions: Joel Parker & Shelley Schlender Listen to … Continue reading "All About Mars"

Birds and Dopamine (starts 1:00) If bird songs help a bird fall in love, does it get even better with a dose of dopamine?       Nature Wants us to be Fat (starts 13:56) CU-Medical School professor and researcher Richard Johnson discusses his latest book, Nature Wants Us to Be Fat. The Surprising Science … Continue reading "Birds and Dopamine // Nature Wants Us To Fat"

Pre-dawn Summer Solstice Hike (Starts 1:00) We head out before 5:30 AM, to visit the NCAR Burn site, with Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones, Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman   Hobbit Like Hominoids — Still Here?  (Starts 12:06) Anthropologist Gregory Forth discusses his book, Between Ape and Human – On the Trail of a Hidden … Continue reading "Summer Solstice Hike // On the Trail of a Hidden Homi...

Today’s show features headline news about new methods for detecting skin cancer and using “frequency comb” lasers to sniff out even the faintest traces of methane leaks.  And then we have an encore presentation of How on Earth features about “Engineering Happiness” and a black holes. Hosts: Joel Parker, Susan Moran, Beth Bartel Producer: Joel … Continue reading "Skin Cancer // Methane Leaks // Eng...

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Seven Hussey about his recent book, Understanding the Heart: Surprising Insights into the Evolutionary Origins of Heart Disease—and Why It Matters. Following his early (34 years old) heart attack, he delved into alternative therapies to heal his heart. In the book he lays out a … Continue reading "Keeping Your Heart Healthy – Off the Western Medicine T...

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 2 of our annual “Graduation Special” (you can listen to Part 1). Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph. D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what … Continue reading "2022 Graduation Special (part 2)"

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 1 of our annual “Graduation Special” (you can listen to Part 2). Our guests in the studio today are scientists who have or will soon receive their Ph. D. in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what … Continue reading "2022 Graduation Special (part 1)"

Gold Lab Symposium and DeepMind’s Alpha Fold  (starts 1:00) We continue our discussion with Boulder scientist and entrepreneur, Larry Gold, about the Gold Lab Symposium on the science of Health, taking place this Thursday and Friday.  You can sign up here. Off-Target Drug Effect (starts 5:48 – ends at 10:00)  A local Boulder man recounts … Continue reading "Gold Lab Symposium and DeepMind/Alphafol...