A Journey Through Nature and Science
49 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago -Our podcast we explore nature and science by following the personal journeys of individuals who have dedicated their lives to nature and science. We talk with theoretical physicists, park rangers, conservation biologists and anyone who loves nature and science.
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Episodes
Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and The Planetary Future
April 12, 2024 04:00 - 1 hour - 50.2 MBOn 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, New Agers involved in "ecopsychology," and groups that hold scientific narratives as sacred.
Ditch The Politics and Make NPS An Independent Agency
April 05, 2024 04:00 - 1 hour - 46.9 MBJon 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 years of working to protect national parks and secure the resources necessary to effectively manage the parks. T...
Title: "The National Park Conservation Association: Over a Century of Advocacy."
March 29, 2024 04:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBThis 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 supplementary sources.
Our National Parks In Jeopardy, Again.
March 22, 2024 04:00 - 35 minutes - 24.2 MBPark 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.
Physics Is In Crisis: "The One" To The Rescue?
April 09, 2023 14:00 - 56 minutes - 39 MBWith 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 the science. In an attempt to save physics from itself, Heinrich Päs has written a compelling book, The One, that off...
Unravelling The Secret Of Life With Ancient Biomolecules
January 30, 2023 14:00 - 59 minutes - 40.6 MBThe 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—pigments, proteins, and DNA that once functioned in living organisms tens of millions of years ago—is opening a ...
California Is On The World Stage Saving The Earth's Biodiversity
January 15, 2023 13:00 - 40 minutes - 27.7 MBCalifornia 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 Newsom’s Executive Order N-82-20 establishes a goal of conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. The Gov...
Managing The Threats To Biodiversity
October 02, 2022 13:00 - 44 minutes - 30.4 MBFor 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 quietly being done on the ground to save whole ecosystems or to protect one last remaining plant or animal. Here...
Earth's Biodiversity Is In Danger of Collapse
September 03, 2022 13:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBEarth'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 intensifying impacts of climate change. The twin crises of climate change and the rapid loss of biodiversity threaten the very ...
Protecting & Restoring The Most Endangered Rainforest On Earth
August 23, 2022 20:00 - 50 minutes - 34.7 MBThe 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 millennium. They were three idealists in their late 20s facing the prospects of a biosphere headed toward collapse. Together...
Mysterious Petroglyphs At Pohnpaid May Reveal The Secrets Of Life
August 14, 2022 21:00 - 41 minutes - 28.7 MBMysterious 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 officer. The petroglyphs were unlike others from Oceania, so Nervig began investigating and comparing them with petro...
Are High Achievers Really Successful
April 10, 2022 16:00 - 36 minutes - 25.1 MBDr. 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 expert in mentorship and leadership development. In 2021, she was selected as one of 30 people worldwide to be na...
The Hope, Heartbreak and Inspiration of Angel Island Immigration Station
March 20, 2022 21:00 - 37 minutes - 25.7 MBThe 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 visitors and everyone living in America through education initiatives and public programs. The Angel Island Immigratio...
The Human Struggle To Find Spirit, Purpose and Meaning
March 07, 2022 11:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBAmist 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 things. Physicists at CERN probe subatomic particles in an attempt to peel back the skin of the metaphorical oni...
A Grueling 50 Rounds of Golf Scores Big For Clean Water
February 26, 2022 15:00 - 34 minutes - 23.4 MBDespite millions of dollars spent on well meaning efforts access to clean water is still a problem for millions. That has not deterred Phillips from giving it another effort. Phillips played 50 rounds of golf in 50 states in just 50 days. Why is clean water important? It makes people healthier by eliminating water borne diseases and promoting better sanitation. Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Between 2 to 5 million people d...
Rewards and Dangers of Cave Diving Exploration
January 22, 2022 13:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBCave diver, Brian Starnes joins us to talk about his experiences with the rewards and dangers of cave diving exploration in caves all over the world. Brian was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed his cave diver training in 2014 and is now on the way to becoming a Full Cave Instructor. What does it mean to be a "full cave instructor"? Join to find out. Brian started technical diving at Protec Sardinia in 2017 and has continued to develop in technical diving ever since. He has l...
Access To Clean Water Remains A Problem For Millions
July 26, 2021 15:00 - 33 minutes - 23.1 MBDespite millions of dollars spent on well meaning efforts access to clean water is still a problem for millions. That has not deterred 64 year old Clay Phillips from giving another effort. Philips plans to play 50 rounds of golf in 50 states in just 50 days. Why is clean water important? It makes people healthier by eliminating water borne diseases and promoting better sanitation. Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Between 2 to ...
Shades of Grey Plays Music For The Ages
July 18, 2021 21:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBShades of Grey plays music for the ages and for all ages. A group of retired expats living in the small hamlet of Cotacachi, Ecuador, high in the Andes Mountains, formed the band out of a life long love for music and, get this, a love for each other. The four band members met six years ago. Two of its members, husband and wife, Bobby and Becca Vines, were in the audience when they heard Joel Kaplan, playing solo and started singing along. Not long after the two had teamed up with Joel and la...
The Great Outdoors Is What Makes America Great
June 13, 2021 14:00 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MBThe great outdoors is what makes America great and Our guest, Derrick Crandall, who served as President and CEO of the American Recreation Coalition from 1981 to 2019 has proven that . He was also the executive vice president of The Recreation Roundtable. As Counselor to the National Park Hospitality Association. Mr. Crandall directs that organization’s staff efforts. He is Chairman of the Board of The Corps Network and also serves as Co-Chair of the Coalition for Recreational Trails. He w...
Mysteries of Easter Island Continue To Boggle The Mind
June 06, 2021 04:00 - 49 minutes - 33.9 MBThe Mysteries of Easter Island continue to boggle the mind. The islanders, however, prefer to call it by its Polynesian name, Rapa Nui or Te Pito o Te Tahiti. The mystery is rooted in the iconic stone statues called moai. People continue to wonder how the statues were made and who made them. Even though archeologists have answered some questions, mysteries still remain. For example, no one really knows how the statues were moved from the quarry where they were made to locations throughou...
Cyber Criminals And State Sponsored Cyber Warfare: Civilization's Greatest Threats
March 15, 2021 13:00 - 50 minutes - 34.6 MBHas Your Personal Life Has Been Compromised By Cyber Criminals? Is it too late to secure your personal data? And what about state sponsored cyber warfare? Has the threat of a nuclear holocaust been replaced by the threat of destruction of our way of life by cyber warfare. Cyber security expert, Dom Nessi, will attempt to answer these questions as we explore the world of cyber security. In December the most brutal cyber attack against U.S. government agencies and business occured. It was the...
We Need To Be Saved From Ourselves To Make Covid19 Vaccines Effective
January 31, 2021 18:00 - 35 minutes - 24.2 MBWith all of the promise of a covid 19 vaccine it appears we need to be saved from ourselves, to make Covid19 vaccines effective. Doctor Y Bruce Lee is a writer, journalist, professor, systems modeler, computational and digital health expert, and entrepreneur. He will attempt to to explain why many health care workers refuse to get vaccinated and why there seems to be disagreements among health care workers about how effective the vaccines will ultimately be. You can also go to our website to...
Do Police Belong On Public High School Campuses
December 25, 2020 18:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBIn many public high schools all across America police are present on campus. This has led many criminal justice reform advocates to ask, do police belong on public high school campuses? Many also believe that police, often called resource officers, on high school campuses has led to the school to prison pipeline. Why? Because minor offenses on high school campuses sometimes lead to arrests and criminal records for students. Add to this the fact that the majority of arrests are of students th...
How Do The Miracles of Jesus Compare To Scientific Discoveries
December 13, 2020 05:00 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MBAlmost a decade ago the Higgs Boson, once referred to as the God Particle, was discovered at CERN. In this podcast we ask one of the leading researchers at CERN, Dr. Aaron Dominguez, How do the miracles of Jesus compare to scientific discoveries? We pose this question to Dr. Dominguez because as a professor at The Catholic University of America he believes science and religion should co-exist and compliment each other. Aaron Dominguez is the provost and an ordinary professor of physics at T...
GTP-3 Artificial Intelligence's New Mind
November 19, 2020 15:00 - 57 minutes - 39.4 MBIs GTP-3 Artificial Intelligence's new mind? Dr. Jared Kaplan is a theoretical physicist who has been recently working on Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), which is an autoregressive language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text. We all use a limited version when we ask google a question or when google auto corrects our email. However, this text generator is millions of times more powerful. It can write poetry, complete legal documents and write computer code....
GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence's New Mind
November 19, 2020 15:00 - 57 minutes - 39.4 MBIs GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence's new mind? Dr. Jared Kaplan is a theoretical physicist who has been recently working on Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), which is an autoregressive language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text. We all use a limited version when we ask google a question or when google auto corrects our email. However, this text generator is millions of times more powerful. It can write poetry, complete legal documents and write computer code....
Will A Corona Virus Vaccine Give You Your Life Back?
October 10, 2020 20:00 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MBWill a vaccination give you your life back? Doctor Y Bruce Lee is a writer, journalist, professor, systems modeler, computational and digital health expert, and entrepreneur. He will attempt to answer this question and more. He has over two decades of experience developing mathematical and computational models. The models assist a wide range of decision makers in health and public health. Currently, he is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the City University of New York (CUN...
A Conversation About Golf Social Justice And Race
October 06, 2020 12:00 - 46 minutes - 31.9 MBIn this week's episode we will have a conversation about Golf, social justice and race, and their strained relationship over the years. In this week's podcast we are joined by Michael Williams. Michael is a golf journalist. Michael has interviewed many of the legends of golf including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player and many others. During last year's US Open at Pebble Beach Michael was confronted with golf's ugly relationship with race during a sponsor event. How he handled it is ...
National Parks Traveler Founder Kurt Repanshek
September 22, 2020 02:00 - 38 minutes - 26.6 MBNational Parks Traveler founder and editor-in-chief, Kurt Repanshek will discuss the destructive behavior in national parks caused by the Covid19 virus and other topics about our National Parks. Kurt is the founder and editor-in-chief of National Parks Traveler, the No. 1-ranked, editorially independent nonprofit media organization that provides daily news, feature, and commentary coverage of national parks and protected areas. Traveler's journalists work to inform the general public of env...
People Who Are Hard of Hearing The Invisible Disability
September 08, 2020 02:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBWith the sounds of her native Brooklyn, New York in the background Accessibility advocate Janice Lintz tells her story of how she has used eternal vigilance to make sure the hard of hearing has access to information that everyone else has. She is a passionate and accomplished consultant/advocate across the hearing advocacy and related political spectrum. She effects change and implements creative solutions across organizational and geographic boundaries. Janice is the “go-to” person on matt...
Hard of Hearing The Invisible Disability
September 08, 2020 02:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBWith the sounds of her native Brooklyn, New York in the background Accessibility advocate Janice Lintz tells her story of how she has used eternal vigilance to make sure the hard of hearing has access to information that everyone else has. She is a passionate and accomplished consultant/advocate across the hearing advocacy and related political spectrum. She effects change and implements creative solutions across organizational and geographic boundaries. Janice is the “go-to” person on matt...
Conservation Biologist Jim Tolisano
September 01, 2020 04:00 - 43 minutes - 30 MBConservation Biologist Jim Tolisano has worked on nature conservation projects in more than 50 countries, ranging widely and wildly through such experiences as Grizzly Bear conservation work in Colorado, to forest conservation work with remote communities in Papua New Guinea, chimpanzee conservation work with Jane Goodall’s Institute in West Africa, nature-based business development with Afro-Ecuadorian communities in Ecuador, national park developments in Sri Lanka, wolf conservation in rur...
Latino Outdoors' José González
August 23, 2020 04:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBLatino Outdoors' José González is an experienced educator in formal and informal education settings with an array of associated interests in the arts, education, conservation, and the environment. He has broad experience as a K-12 public education teacher, environmental education advisor, outdoor education instructor and coordinator, and university adjunct faculty. He received his B.A at the University of California, Davis, and his M.S at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resource...
National Parks Advocate Audrey Peterman
August 16, 2020 04:00 - 35 minutes - 24.4 MBNational Parks Advocate Audrey Peterman is President and Co-founder of Earthwise Productions, Inc., and in 2014 co-launched the Diverse Environmental Leaders Speakers Bureau. Earthwise Productions focuses on connecting the public lands system and the American public. Audrey will share how her life was transformed by a mystical experience at Acadia National Park. She talks about her commitment to raise awareness of national parks in diverse communities. As an advocate for National Parks Au...
Horse Guided Empowerment
August 02, 2020 20:00 - 44 minutes - 30.7 MBChristina Marz shares her experience treating pandemic anxiety with horse guided empowerment. Christina is a systemic family counselor, certified trauma specialist and the founder of Horse Guided Empowerment, a method for holistic therapy with a herd of horses. She teaches the method all over the world and has certified practitioners in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Christina lives with her three homeschooled sons and a herd of horses in Cotacachi Ecuador and while she focuses ...
Environmental Writer Paul Rogers
July 20, 2020 18:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBPaul Rogers, award winning environmental journalist, will join us and share stories about his experiences as an environmental journalist and science writer. Paul writes about energy, water policy, environmental justice, parks and other environmental issues. He was a member of the Mercury News Pulitzer Prize winning team that covered the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1990. His most recent article is about the Great American Outdoors Act. The act would provide nearly a billion dollars for outdoo...
Yosemite Ranger Shelton Johnson
July 14, 2020 04:00 - 42 minutes - 28.9 MBYosemite Ranger, Shelton Johnson, shares his stories as a Buffalo Soldier re-enactor. In addition, Shelton will talk about his experience hosting Oprah Winfrey and a group of her friends on their first camping experience at Yosemite. Shelton's experience as a four year old standing in the Bavarian Alps planted the seed leading to him becoming a ranger. He talks about his historical novel, Gloryland, which tells the story of Buffalo Soldier Elijah Yancy. Shelton Johnson starred in the Ke...
Life Is A Story We Tell Ourselves Trailer
July 05, 2020 14:00 - 2 minutes - 1.81 MBOur new trailer highlights up coming podcasts. We interview Yosemite Ranger and Buffalo Soldier Re-enactor, Shelton Johnson. Shelton was featured on the Ken Burns documentary on National Parks. Next up will be award winning environmental journalist, Paul Rogers. Later in August former National Park Service director Jon Jarvis and his daughter will join us to tell stories about their adventurers. Give a listen to our new trailer and learn more about the podcast.
New Trailer
July 05, 2020 14:00 - 2 minutes - 1.81 MBOur new trailer highlights up coming podcasts. We interview Yosemite Ranger and Buffalo Soldier Re-enactor, Shelton Johnson. Shelton was featured on the Ken Burns documentary on National Parks. Next up will be award winning environmental journalist, Paul Rogers. Later in August former National Park Service director Jon Jarvis and his daughter will join us to tell stories about their adventurers. Give a listen to our new trailer and learn more about the podcast.
Policing and American Racism
June 30, 2020 01:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBHost Don Murphy and his co-host Anna Murphy explore stories about policing and American racism. They also tackle the confederate flag problem. Joining Don on the podcast are former California State Park Ranger Peace Officers, Steve Treanor and Rich Rojas. Steve and Rich share their stories as police officers highlighting the differences between police officers as guardians versus warriors. They describe the need for police reform. Don concludes with a story of how policing and American ...
Father's Day Remembrance
June 21, 2020 03:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBOn this Father's Day remembrance, host Don Murphy and his co-host daughter, Anna reminisce and share stories about their father daughter adventures. From the time she was a seven years old Anna helped her father with constructions projects and the two of them often went shopping together. Anna even invited her father to help shop for her prom dress, which began a life long adventure of father/daughter shopping. Don also shares a story of taking Anna at age 4 months to the white mountains ...
Alphonzo Wesson Twenty-six Time Emmy Award Winning Director and Master Storyteller
June 16, 2020 04:00 - 37 minutes - 25.9 MBAlphonzo, known to his friends as Zo, will share stories with us about directing giant entertainment personalties like Oprah Winfrey; and a life changing encounter with famed photographer and director, Gordon Parks. Zo tells some personal anecdotal stories about Oprah and how a movie based on an Ian Fleming novel, no not James Bond, but Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, influenced his young life and set him on the path to become one of America’s leading African American Film makers. This episode, ...
Stories Of My Father And The Universe
June 09, 2020 05:00 - 10 minutes - 7.57 MBStories that my father told us as children could be both comical and terrifying. However, the stories that fascinated me the most were true stories about the sun the moon and the stars. I would often ask my father unending questions about the wonders that I saw all around me. In the 1950's, long before Bill Nye the Science Guy or Neil deGrasse Tyson, my father seemed to have all the answers. Years later I wondered how a country preacher could know so much about science. In this episode ...
Children's Day Special - A Tale Of A Girl and Her Dog
May 29, 2020 00:00 - 14 minutes - 9.88 MBOn June 1, over 50 countries will celebrate Children's Day. We would like to honor our children with this special episode about the love between a girl and her puppy. The story will be read in Spanish and English. Our theme music will be played by two of Don Murphy's grandchildren, 10 year old Teigan on cello and 14 year old Eldridge on violin. It will be an episode you will want to share with your children and grandchildren.
Van Gogh and Kissing Cousins
May 26, 2020 05:00 - 13 minutes - 8.99 MBAfter reading a biography of Vincent Van Gogh and learning of his unrequited love for one of his cousins, Kee Vos Stricker, our storyteller recalls the deep and painful love he had for one of his cousins that was revealed during a Tom Thumb Wedding. In part two of the episode Don Murphy tells the story of Baby and Boo, two family friends who his parents help migrate from the piney woods of Louisiana to Southern California. You will hear about the infamous Angola Penitentiary and dark tales...
Take a Hike
May 19, 2020 05:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBIn our third episode we begin with the story of a tyrannical school lunchtime monitor and what happened when once again the devil got into our storyteller and he ended up insulting the faculty showoff. We conclude our storytelling with an epic hike taken by Don Murphy, former ranger and director of California State Parks and his family along the John Muir Trail shortly after his father died. Don concludes this episode by discussing E.O. Wilson's book, Biophilia, and how it describes in par...
The Little League Last Out
May 12, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutes - 6.1 MBIn this episode we share two stories from my father's journal. The first story is about Little League Baseball and what happens in the bottom of the last inning in the last game of the season. My father's team had lost every game. This was their last chance to salvage one win and avoid the disgrace of winless season. You don't want to miss what happens when my father throws the last pitch of the game. Our second story is about a spirit-filled choir member who the spirit almost carried...
The Little League Last Out
May 12, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutes - 6.1 MBIn this episode we share two stories from my father's journal. The first story is about Little League Baseball and what happens in the bottom of the last inning in the last game of the season. My father's team had lost every game. This was their last chance to salvage one win and avoid the disgrace of winless season. You don't want to miss what happens when my father throws the last pitch of the game. Our second story is about a spirit-filled choir member who the spirit almost carried...
A Mother’s Day Culinary Calamity
May 05, 2020 03:00 - 12 minutes - 8.96 MBOur debut podcast shares the hilarious story of what happened when our storyteller’s mother attempted to bake a chocolate layer cake. The second story is about what happens when our host’s senior prom turned into a protest for social justice.