KGNU - How On Earth
680 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days ago - ★★★★★ - 20 ratingsThe KGNU Science Show
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Episodes
The Science of Exercise Recovery
February 05, 2019 21:04 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBAthlete’s Guide to Recovery (starts at 5:39): Colorado is riddled with athletes, many of them incessantly chasing the latest recovery products and services that will enhance their performance — from Gatorade and other ubiquitous sports-recovery drinks, to supplements, to compression boots, to cryochambers, to good old-fashioned massages. How solid is the solid the science behind the … Continue reading "The Science of Exercise Recovery"
Characterizing Microbial Communities
January 30, 2019 03:38 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBMicrobial communities are all around us: in our homes, gardens, oceans, even deep underground but their roles in the function of the biosphere are poorly understood. Today Beth spoke with Professor Noah Fierer, at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, who uses DNA to identify microbes in communities ranging from insect microbiomes to Antarctic soils. … Continue reading "Characterizing Microbial Communities"
Composting & Carbon Farming
January 22, 2019 21:09 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBWhy Compost? (start time: 7:01) Many of us may feel a little less guilty letting fruits and vegetables go bad, because we figure that this waste, thanks to curbside compost pickup, will be turned into nutritious food for crops, lawns or grasslands down the road. And landfills will spew less methane, a greenhouse gas far … Continue reading "Composting & Carbon Farming"
Wisdom of the Body
January 09, 2019 02:45 - 26 minutes - 24.2 MBAnimal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this myth. Their work shows that when given a choice of natural foods, livestock have an astoundingly refined palate. Like these animals, humans too, … Continue reading "Wisdom of the Body"
A Tale of Two Missions: OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons
December 26, 2018 00:44 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBOSIRIS-REx (starts at 1:00) In today’s first feature, we hear about OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s first mission to do a sample return from an asteroid. Our guest is Dr. Vicky Hamilton, a Staff Scientist at the Southwest Reserarch Institute’s Boulder office, and a member of that mission. She talks about the scientific goals of OSIRIS-REx, and how it … Continue reading "A Tale of Two Missions: OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons"
Soft Robotic Muscles
December 18, 2018 19:47 - 26 minutes - 24 MBSoft Robotic Muscles (WHOLE SHOW) Robotic Materials are going beyond gears and levers toward powerful components that are softer and more muscular. These materials may someday soon help build more human like prosthetic limbs for amputees. . . . or help a harvesting machine pluck ripe strawberries without squishing them. PhD students Nick Kellaris and Shane Mitchell are with CU Boulder’s … Continue reading "Soft Robotic Muscles"
Titan Talk with Sarah Hörst
December 15, 2018 07:00 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBHeadlines: Inheritance of mitochondrial DNA. Coffee and Parkinson’s disease. Sending your name and a message to the New Horizons spacecraft. Winds on Mars. Water on Asteroids. Feature: Titan (starts at 8:55) The solar system has so many different worlds that come in all shapes and sizes and histories, from boiling hot Mercury and Venus to icy Pluto and … Continue reading "Titan Talk with Sarah Hörst"
National Assessment on Climate Change
December 05, 2018 05:07 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBClimate Change (starts at 6:30) Volume II of the fourth National Assessment on Climate Change was released on the day after Thanksgiving. The findings are stark. It is already too late to prevent major long term effects of climate change. The scientific community has now turned to predicting and quantifying those effects and how human civilization … Continue reading "National Assessment on Climate Change"
Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn
November 28, 2018 02:03 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBNever Home Alone (starts at 4:26) In this week’s How on Earth, Beth interviews Professor Rob Dunn. In his recent book, Never Home Alone, he gives a sneak peak into the natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements. You can find out more … Continue reading "Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn"
Baking Soda for Autoimmune Disease // Crickets for the Gut
November 27, 2018 17:47 - 27 minutes - 51.3 MBBaking Soda for Autoimmune Disease (starts at 1:00) Georgia Medical College researcher Paul O’Connor reports that a small amount of baking soda in water, for two weeks, shifts the immune cell known as macrophage away from “attack” mode and more toward, “repair” mode. He says this research comes, in part, from studies involving the benefits of baking soda for people … Continue reading "Baking Soda for Autoimmune Disease // Crickets for the Gut"
Nature and Health
November 13, 2018 21:17 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBNature Rx (start time: 9:33): Nature is good for your health. Sounds obvious, but what does science tell us? A walk in the woods can help to calm your nervous system and spark novel ideas, and spending time in nature can reduce symptoms of PTSD or ADHD. Little is actually known about how nature offers healing … Continue reading "Nature and Health"
Living in a World of Thinking Machines
October 30, 2018 18:42 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBIt has been 50 years since the original 2001, A Space Odyssey, where movie viewers first heard Captain Powers asking, “Open the pod bay doors, HAL” and found HAL thought differently about whether that was a good idea. For most of that half-century, artificial intelligence still seemed a long way off, but in the last … Continue reading "Living in a World of Thinking Machines"
Front Range Fracking // Planet+Human Health
October 23, 2018 21:26 - 28 minutes - 25.6 MBToday’s show offers two features: Oil & Gas Impacts (start time: 1:05) Proposition 112, which would require oil and gas wells to be at least 2,500 feet from homes, schools, parks and other buildings, has highlighted mounting public concerns about the health, social and other impacts of extensive drilling along Colorado’s Front Range. Weld County is … Continue reading "Front Range Fracking // Planet+Human Health"
Ketotarian & Pledge Drive Show
October 17, 2018 14:08 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBThis week on How on Earth Beth interviews author Will Cole, functional medicine physician, about his new book, Ketotarian. He proposes a novel ketogenic diet, which has typically derived its high fat content from meat and dairy. The book describes the ketogenic approach and illustrates vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian alternatives. Also hear Beth and Chip … Continue reading "Ketotarian & Pledge Drive Show"
Regenerative Medicine #1: Primer
October 09, 2018 20:20 - 26 minutes - 24 MBRegenerative Medicine (start time: 7:30): We begin our series on regenerative medicine with a discussion of scientific advancements, promises, caveats, regulations, and challenges of regenerative medicine therapies for orthopedic applications, such as stem cell, prolo therapy and PRP (platlet-rich plasma) therapy. Together, these therapies aim to regenerate or replace injured, diseased, or defective cells, tissues, … Continue reading "Regenerative Medicine #1: Primer"
Eager Beavers
October 04, 2018 01:14 - 26 minutes - 30.2 MBBeth talks with author Ben Goldfarb about his new book, amusingly titled Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. You’ll gain a better understanding of beavers’ myriad skills, and want to restore beaver populations in our local environments. Spoiler alert, we’ll have copies of his book available during the pledge drive … Continue reading "Eager Beavers"
How Skin Begins // Dr. Dan
September 18, 2018 18:29 - 26 minutes - 29.8 MBBoulder researchers have discovered a key mechanism by which skin begins to develop in embryos, shedding light on the genetic roots of birth defects like cleft palate and paving the way for development of more functional skin grafts for burn victims. We bring you an interview with lead researchers, Associate Professor Rui Yi of CU … Continue reading "How Skin Begins // Dr. Dan"
Cricket Chorus // Foliage Science
September 11, 2018 22:34 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBThis week’s How On Earth features the following two segments: Late-summer Cricket Chorus (start time: 1:02) One of the most poetic sounds of the end of summer is …. no, not your kids kicking and screaming because summer is over. It’s the sound of crickets, katydids and other melodic insects “chirping” at night. Our focus here is Snowy … Continue reading "Cricket Chorus // Foliage Science"
Saving Summer: The National Wildlife Federation Report
September 05, 2018 03:28 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBThe National Wildlife Federation just released its report, Safeguarding Summer: From Climate Threats to Iconic Summer Experiences. This report chronicles the latest scientific findings on these trends and shows how we can engage on these issues to save our summers now and for future generations. This week Beth interviews the lead author, Frank Szillosi, about … Continue reading "Saving Summer: The National Wildlife Federation Report"
Email Anxiety // Food Waste
August 28, 2018 20:05 - 27 minutes - 31.8 MBThis week’s How On Earth offers two features: Work-Email Anxiety (start time: 7:58) If you’re wondering why you often feel anxious on Monday mornings, despite having spent time with your family and friends over the weekend, you might recall the amount of time you spent glued to your smart phone or laptop, checking email because you … Continue reading "Email Anxiety // Food Waste"
Low Carb & Lifespan//Down syndrome & Inflammation
August 22, 2018 03:10 - 28 minutes - 52.6 MBLow Carb Diets and Lifespan (starts 3:00) Dr. Ron Rosedale, MD, gives a “second opinion” about a widely publicized report in the prominent medical journal The Lancet. The Lancet report contends that low carb diets (40% carbs or less) shorten lifespan, and moderate carb diets (roughly 55% carbs) promote longer lifespans. The study is being hailed as proof for why people should “eat carbs in moderation.” But what if the … Continue reading "Low Carb & Lifespan//Down syndrome & Inflammation"
Aerogel as Clear as Glass//New Science Standards for Colorado Schools
August 15, 2018 18:55 - 27 minutes - 50.5 MBAerogel as Clear As Glass: (Starts 4:00) Most aerogels “windows” are kind of foggy looking. A CU-Boulder science team has created something better. It’s a liquid made from recycled plant material, a liquid that hardens into a gel that’s almost as light as air, almost as clear as glass, yet it can insulate against temperature changes. This “gel” is flexible … Continue reading "Aerogel as Clear as Glass//New Science Standards for Colorado Schools"
Dogs for Diabetics
August 07, 2018 23:11 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBDogs have an incredible sense of smell – it’s so good, people can train dogs to sniff our everything from illegal drugs and explosives to lost people and even computer “thumbnail” drives, that maybe someone is trying to sneak into a high security building so they can sneak out information. So how about dogs sniffing … Continue reading "Dogs for Diabetics"
Vascular Disease & Aging Part 2
August 01, 2018 01:17 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBThis week on How on Earth, Beth finishes up her interview with Professor Doug Seals, aging researcher. He explains the role of vascular damage in heart disease and how lifestyle choices such as exercise and diet can maintain healthy vasculature. In addition, he discusses some of his experiments in older humans with supplements and pharmacologic … Continue reading "Vascular Disease & Aging Part 2"
What’s Happening Inside Your Arteries?
July 25, 2018 01:32 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBThis week’s How on Earth guest, Dr Doug Seals, researches vascular aging. Several events occur as we age that conspire to damage blood vessels, culminating in what is popularly known as hardening of the arteries. But lifestyle modifications to exercise and diet can prevent and even reverse this trend. This week’s show gives background and … Continue reading "What’s Happening Inside Your Arteries?"
Wildfire Health Impacts // Detained Immigrant Children Suffer Medical Woes
July 17, 2018 20:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBWe offer two feature interviews on this week’s show: Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke (start time: 4:22) It’s peak wildfire season. Smoke from forest and grass fires contains particulates that can irritate eyes, throat and lungs — especially in children, the elderly, and people already suffering from asthma, allergies, heart disease. How On Earth host Susan … Continue reading "Wildfire Health Impacts // Detained Immigrant Children Suffer Medical Woes"
Science of Psychedelics
July 11, 2018 03:34 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBWe present another part of our interview with Michael Pollan about his book “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence”. It is an investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs, and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic … Continue reading "Science of Psychedelics"
What do Dogs Think?
July 03, 2018 23:49 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBThis week on How on Earth, Beth talks to author Dr Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus, CU Boulder. His new book has the wonderful title of Canine Confidential. If you enjoy dogs, dog parks, and watching them interact with each other and people, you’ll enjoy this book! Hosts: Beth Bennett and Gretchen Geibel Producer: Beth Bennett … Continue reading "What do Dogs Think?"
Junk Raft // The Green Reaper
June 30, 2018 20:59 - 27 minutes - 50.6 MBJunk Raft (starts 6:20) Marcus Eriksen discusses what can and cannot be done about the “plastic smog” of microscopic debris permeating the world’s ocean, from the state-sized floating islands of plastic in the Pacific, to the microscopic debris that sinks all the way down the the deepest parts of the Pacific, OR gets eaten and into … Continue reading "Junk Raft // The Green Reaper"
Mitochondria and Your Health
June 20, 2018 01:18 - 25 minutes - 22.9 MBThis week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Lee Know, author of Mitochondria and theFuture of Medicine. These amazing organelles, which allow complex life on Earth to exist, do more than “just” make ATP. Ask that isn’t enough! They are intimately involved in many aspects of health and disease. The good news is that … Continue reading "Mitochondria and Your Health"
How Food Affects Your Brain
June 14, 2018 01:13 - 26 minutes - 29.9 MBTwo epidemics sweeping the developed world are Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews Dr Steven Masley about his book, The Better Brain Solution in which he explores the connection between diet (and other lifestyle factors) and these diseases. Based on the results of numerous clinical trials he has … Continue reading "How Food Affects Your Brain"
Ocean Conservation: MPAs
June 05, 2018 18:29 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBThis week’s show brings you the following feature interview: Protecting Ocean Biodiversity (start time: 2:42) In honor of World Environment Day (today), World Oceans Day (Friday) the March for the Ocean (Saturday), and Capitol Hill Ocean Week (all week), we examine one of the biggest marine conservation tools: Marine Protected Areas. What’s working? What’s not, and … Continue reading "Ocean Conservation: MPAs"
Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind (with psychedelics)
June 01, 2018 03:32 - 27 minutes - 50.6 MBMichael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence. We speak with New York Times Bestselling science writer Michael Pollan about his new book that features LSD and magic mushrooms. Pollan will give a book talk in Denver this Thursday — at the Trinity Methodist … Continue reading "Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind (with psychedelics)"
Chasing New Horizons, continued
May 24, 2018 14:47 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBIn 2015, the New Horizons Spacecraft flew past Pluto. Because Pluto is so far away, it took nearly 10 years of travel for the spacecraft to reach that distant dwarf planet — and that was after a decade of work to get the spacecraft to the launch pad. Planetary scientists Alan Stern and David Grinspoon … Continue reading "Chasing New Horizons, continued"
Chasing New Horizons // GoldLab Symposium
May 15, 2018 15:00 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBChasing New Horizons (starts 1:00) brings the reader Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto to hear the details and meet the personalities behind building, launching, and flying this audacious mission. How on Earth’s Joel Parker (also an astrophysicist on the New Horizons mission) speaks with authors and fellow scientists Alan Stern and David Grinspoon. (Booktalks at Boulder Bookstore … Continue reading "Chasing New Horizons // GoldLab Symposium"
Chasing New Horizons – full extended interview
May 15, 2018 14:58 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBHere we provide the full interview by How on Earth’s Joel Parker of planetary scientists Dr. Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute) and Dr. David Grinspoon (Planetary Science Institute), about their new book: “Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto“. Their book describes the the story of Pluto and NASA’s New Horizons mission, bringing the … Continue reading "Chasing New Horizons – full extended interview"
2018 Graduation Special (part 2)
May 09, 2018 06:19 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBWith graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is the second of a two-part annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who will receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field. They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next. HyunJoo Oh – … Continue reading "2018 Graduation Special (part 2)"
2018 Graduation Special (part 1)
May 02, 2018 03:23 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBWith graduation season is upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is the first of a two-part annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists who will receive their Ph.D. in a STEM-related field. They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next. Oliver Paine … Continue reading "2018 Graduation Special (part 1)"
City Nature Challenge BioBlitz Citizen Science enhanced with iNaturalist
April 30, 2018 20:44 - 26 minutes - 30.2 MBAttention all Nature Lovers and Amateur Naturalists, Friday April 27th kicks of the City Nature Challenge, where Boulder will compete with 65 cities throughout the world to identify the most species within their area over a 4 day period. It’s a competition to identify biodiversity powered by the enthusiasm of citizen scientists. Chip Grandits speaks … Continue reading "City Nature Challenge BioBlitz Citizen Science enhanced with iNaturalist"
Cancer Biology // Oil&Gas Health Impacts
April 17, 2018 22:53 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBToday’s show offers two feature interviews: New Theory of How Cancer Evolves Inside Us (start time: 0:58): It is commonly known that cancer afflicts old people more than youth. Conventional wisdom has held we get cancer with age largely because we accumulate lots of genetic mutations over many years, and it’s the mutations that cause cancer. … Continue reading "Cancer Biology // Oil&Gas Health Impacts"
Astrobiology and the Anthropocene
April 10, 2018 17:16 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBAs part of the Conference of World Affairs, which is being held this week at the campus of the University of Colorado, Boulder, we are speaking today with astrophysicist Adam Frank. Frank is a professor at the University of Rochester, where he studies the final stages of evolution for stars like the sun. He is … Continue reading "Astrobiology and the Anthropocene"
Geoengineering the Climate
April 03, 2018 20:43 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBHacking the Planet (start time: 10:24): It’s tough to wrap one’s mind around just how monumental and consequential the problem of climate change is. So dire that scientist and engineers for years have been exploring ways to “hack” the planet–to manipulate the global climate system enough to significantly reduce planet-warming gases or increase the Earth’s ability … Continue reading "Geoengineering the Climate"
The Moral Arc – Extended Interview with Michael Shermer
April 02, 2018 15:40 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBShelley Schlender talks with renowned skeptic Michael Shermer about his new book, The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason lead humanity toward truth, justice and freedom. This is an extended version of the interview. (27 minutes)
MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Karen, PTSD Survivor
March 28, 2018 04:05 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBThis is an exended interview with a survivor of treatment resistant post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD. Karen says she is cured of her PTSD now, thanks to a treatment that includes lots of psychotherapy, plus three times when she took a dose of the psychoactive chemical, MDMA. MDMA is classed as a … Continue reading "MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Karen, PTSD Survivor"
MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Marcella Ot’Alora – Principal Investigator
March 28, 2018 03:50 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBThis is an extended interview with Marcella Ot’alora. Ot’alora is a Boulder psychotherapist, and the principal investigator for the Boulder branch of the FDA approved, nationwide studies of using MDMA in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD. MDMA is classed as a federally illegal drug. However the FDA has approved the … Continue reading "MDMA for PTSD – Extended Interview with Marcella Ot’Alora – Principal Investigator"
MDMA for PTSD – Psychiatrist Will Vanderveer
March 28, 2018 03:38 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBIn the years ahead, doctors across the U.S. might be prescribing a currently illegal drug as therapy for the hard-to-treat condition known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The new “medicine” would be MDMA, an ingredient in the party drug ecstasy. The treatment is showing success for many of the study participants (go here for an … Continue reading "MDMA for PTSD – Psychiatrist Will Vanderveer"
Enlightenment Now
March 20, 2018 18:50 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBYou may be among many who wistfully harken back to the “golden days” of the past. For some people the past does look rosier, or perhaps the present looks grim, but, according to Steven Pinker, a Harvard University cognitive psychologist, that “golden age” of the past is a reflection of faulty memory. We — most … Continue reading "Enlightenment Now"
Enlightenment Now // Pledge Drive Teaser
March 13, 2018 21:03 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBToday’s pledge-drive show features parts of our recent interview with Steven Pinker. Enlightenment Now: If you think the world, including the U.S., is falling apart, that the ideal of progress is as quaint as riding to work on a horse and carriage, you’re hardly alone. But you’re wrong, argues Harvard University cognitive scientist Steven Pinker in his … Continue reading "Enlightenment Now // Pledge Drive Teaser"
Urban Air Pollution: A new culprit
March 07, 2018 06:56 - 27 minutes - 31.3 MBIt’s the endless stream of tailpipes on the L.A. freeway which causes that unsightly smog, nagging cough and chronic respitory problems, right? Perhaps not any more, a new scientific study helps build the case that the major culprit may now be purchases made at the corner drug store or hardware store. Chip Grandits speaks with … Continue reading "Urban Air Pollution: A new culprit"
The Starmus Festival
February 27, 2018 21:44 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBWoodstock. Lallapalooza. Lilith Fair. Coachella. Burning Man. All famous music and art festivals. What about…science festivals? Perhaps a festival with all the “rock stars” of science and space exploration, and while you’re at it, throw in a few music rock stars as well? Well, that describes the Starmus Festival. Starmus is the brain child of Dr. Garik … Continue reading "The Starmus Festival"