Nature and Science Podcast

Send us Fan Mail AI, there is nothing artificial about it.  And that's the danger. Dr. J. Craig Wheeler is a renowned astrophysicist and professor of astronomy at the University of Texas. Unlike futurists, he applies the rigors of physics to the question of how technology affects humanity, making him a unique voice and thoughtful counterpoint. He was one of the original signators on the infam...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is all about How A Biochemical Chain Reaction Saved Millions of Lives It spawned technology that has revolutionized everything from ancestry research to tools that have improved the criminal justice system and helped to set many innocent people free.  Known as PCR, or the polymerase chain reaction, Dr. Henry Erlich is here to tell us how he and his colleagues discover...

Send us Fan Mail In the episode we explore why human beings sometimes behave irrationally.  We discuss the irrationality of the middle east conflict, doctor patient decision making, self deception and a lot more with Dr. Dan Ariely. Dan Ariely ( Hebrew : דן אריאלי; born April 29, 1967) is an Israeli-American professor and author. He serves as a James B. Duke Professor of psychology and behavioral...

Send us Fan Mail Genetics can tell us a great deal about our ancestry and so can newspapers, oral histories, an public records.  Together they tell a story about who we are as human beings.  Mica L. Anders joins us on this episode to help us understand how ancestry research is done.  She is the history detective you never knew you needed. With over 20 years in genealogy, she's made it her mis...

Send us Fan Mail Caring for stroke survivors at home can be challenging.  Dr. Kenneth Monaghan, PhD, is a renowned expert in stroke rehabilitation with over 32 years of clinical, academic, and research experience in Ireland. As a lecturer in health science and director of the Neuroplasticity Research Group at Atlantic Technological University, he is at the forefront of developing innovative physic...

Send us Fan Mail The unseen world is uncovered and presented to us by Dr. Steve Gschmeissner.  From tardigrades, viruses, pollen, human sperm and diatoms, Dr. Gschmeissner has used the scanning electron microscope to photograph them all.  On this episode of A Journey Through Nature and Science you will experience the beauty and wonder of these images.  His electron micrograph images have been used...

Send us Fan Mail Daniel Tausan believes that you control your health.  If you understand some basic principles about the importance of sleep, fasting, mental attitude and nutrition you can lead a long and healthy life. Daniel Tausan holds a graduate degree from the University of British Columbia in Stem Cell Biology with a Bachelor of Science in General Biology. He worked in research in the molecu...

Send us Fan Mail Medicine and Miracles are explored in this episode.  Dr. Erica is a doctor detective who finds simple solutions to common maladies that other doctors can't seem to help with.  Here search for spirit, purpose and meaning in life led to her current life of service.  She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with patients from across the US. She has lived in many different countries whi...

Send us Fan Mail This episode will explore the effort to keep Big Bend National Park Wild.  Our guest is Bob Krumenaker.  Bob is a former National Park Service superintendent.  Over his thirty year career Bob managed several parks, including The Everglades, Apostle Islands, and Big Bend National Park.  It was at Big Bend that Bob truly found his calling as he worked for years with conservationists...

Send us Fan Mail Photography changed the lives of National Park Service employees, Dom Nessi and Michael Brown.  In this episode of  @donaldmurphy8843 Journey Through Nature and Science these two world class photographers discuss the difference between "taking" a photography and "making" a photograph as espoused by the famous black and white photographer @Ansel Adams.  You will...

Send us Fan Mail The National Parks Foundation was founded in 1967 to support the unmet needs of our national parks.  Recently, an anonymous donor donated $40 million for employee housing at Yellowstone National Park.  This was the result of the tireless effort of Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation and his team. As President and Chief Executive Officer of the National...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode we will have a conversation with Dr. Bron Taylor.  Bron has written a compelling book, Dark Green Religion: Nature, Spirituality, and The Planetary Future.  Bron Taylor's scholarly work engages the quest for environmentally sustainable societies.  We will explore a wide range of groups-radical environmental activists, lifestyle-focused bioregionalists, surfers...

Send us Fan Mail Jon Jarvis, former director of the U.S. National Park Service and his brother Destry have written a compelling book, National Parks Forever: Fifty Years of Fighting and a Case for Independence.  In the book they argue the case for making the National Park Service an independent agency, similar to the Smithsonian Institution.  In this episode you will hear about their combined 90 y...

Send us Fan Mail This episode continues our discussion on America's national parks.  Joining to talk about the work of the National Park Conservation Association(NPCA) is Emily Douce. Emily is the NPCA Deputy Vice President for Government Affairs. Emily Douce helps manage the government affairs department and advocates for additional funding for national parks, both through appropriations and...

Send us Fan Mail Park advocate, Audrey Peterman is back to discuss to continuing lack of adequate funding for America's national park and what can be done about it.  With inadequate funding spawning low morale, the NPS is ranked as one of the least favorable places to work according to a report in National Parks Traveler .  In this podcast we will discuss root causes and possible solutions. h...

Send us Fan Mail With competing ideas of how to interpret the meaning of quantum mechanics, physics is in crisis. Can an ancient concept known as the One, rescue physics. From Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation to the Many Worlds theory put forward by Hugh Everett, to the seemingly intractable problem of quantum gravity the challenges facing physics threaten to tear down the very foundation of...

Send us Fan Mail The revolution in science that is transforming our understanding of extinct life may also lead to Unravelling The Secret Of Life With Ancient Biomolecules. We used to think of fossils as being composed of nothing but rock and minerals, all molecular traces of life having vanished long ago. We were wrong. Remnants of Ancient Life reveals how the new science of ancient biomolecules—...

Send us Fan Mail California was on the world stage recently helping to save the earth's biodiversity at the international biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada. The countries agreed to protect 30% of the earth's biodiversity by the year 2030. Leading the United States is the state of California, which has put forward an ambition plan called, Pathways to 30x30. California Governor Newso...

Send us Fan Mail For decades environmental groups, Non Government Organizations and scores of government agencies have been managing the threats to biodiversity. We often hear of the projects to save the elephants or the pandas and now huge projects seek to clean the ocean from millions of tons of plastic pollution. However there are many projects small and large that we don’t hear about. Work is...

Send us Fan Mail Earth's biodiversity is in danger of collapse.  According to the campaign for nature, "The natural world is disappearing at an unprecedented rate. The loss of nature poses a grave threat to our clean air and drinking water, the survival of wildlife, the prosperity of communities, and nature’s ability to protect us from natural disasters, future pandemics, and other inten...

Send us Fan Mail The Third Millennium Alliance has accepted the challenge of Protecting & Restoring The Most Endangered Rainforest On Earth. Ryan Lynch is the executive director of the Third Millennium Alliance (TMA). Ryan is joining on the podcast to discuss this challenge. TMA began when conservationists Isabel, Jerry, and Bryan met in South America during the first years of the new millenni...

Send us Fan Mail Mysterious Petroglyphs At Pohnpaid May Reveal The Secrets Of Life. While residing on the small Pacific island of Pohnpei in the 1990s, Carole Nervig discovered that a recent brush fire had exposed hundreds of previously unknown petroglyphs carved on gigantic boulders. This portion of the megalithic site called Pohnpaid was unknown even to Pohnpei’s state historic preservation offi...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Ruth Gotian is the Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology and former Assistant Dean of Mentoring. She will join us to discuss the question, are high achievers really successful. Dr. Gotian is also Executive Director of the Mentoring Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine. She has been hailed by the journal Nature and Columbia University as an...

Send us Fan Mail The story of the hope and heartbreak of Angel Island Immigration Station is artfully and solemnly told by the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation ( AIISF ). The Foundation raises awareness of the experience of Immigration into America through the Pacific. AIISF collects and preserves the rich stories and personal journeys of thousands of immigrants. It shares them with vis...

Send us Fan Mail Amist world turmoil the human struggle to find spirit, purpose and meaning for a life of peace, health and wellness continues. Deep within the core our beings we all question why we are here. We want to know what does it all mean. We seek to know our purpose on this planet. Cosmologists search the heavens for answers. How did life begin? What is our purpose in the grand scheme of...