KGNU - How On Earth

Renee Good — footage filmed by ICE agent who fatally shot her a moment later. We speak with experts about how artificial intelligence combined with Police Body Camera footage improved professionalism in the Aurora Colorado Police Department.  Guests include Anthony Tassone, CEO of Truleo and Ian Adams, Criminologist at the University of South Carolina and co-author of a new study about this tech in the journal Criminology We also discuss with these experts the difference between professionalism in law enforcement, and the fatal shooting by ICE agents of Renee Good in Minneapolis. Hosts: Jack Armstrong, Lorraine Healy Show Producer/Engineer Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

Black-footed ferret Photo credit: Richard Reading Protecting Wolves, ferrets, prairie dogs, vultures, etc. (start time: 3:39) How effective are Colorado’s efforts to preserve vulnerable species – wolves, black-footed ferrets, bears, prairie dogs and others? And what ingredients make it possible, including throughout the U.S. and the world, for wild animals and humans to get along when their homes overlap? Today How On Earth host Susan Moran continues her conversation with our guest from last week, wildlife ecologist Dr. Richard Reading, Chair of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, about Colorado’s most recent Wildlife Action Plan, and about other efforts to protect vulnerable species, ranging from butterflies to vultures.  Dr. Reading is also  Vice President of Science and Conservation at the Butterfly Pavilion. If you missed our Pt. I conversation with Rich Reading last week, click here. Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker Show Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show here:

Credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wolves, bears, prairie dogs and more (start time: 7:12) A couple of months ago, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife agency released a plan to support biodiversity and guide how the state conserves some of the state’s most vulnerable species and habitats. Everything from iconic bears, wolves and prairie dogs, to tiny humble invertebrates and even plants. The 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan ( the first in 10 years ) has been met with  both praise and crticism. And it raises big evergreen questions, such as, How can we humans thrive while allowing for other species to thrive in their native homes? And how to manage differing, often opposing, human perspectives? After all, some animals (take wolves) are deemed a nuisance to some people while a treasure to others. In this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Richard Reading, a wildlife ecologist who serves as chair of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. He is also Vice President of Science and Conservation at the Butterfly Pavilion. His research has focused on conserving grassland and arid ecosystems, ranging from the Great Plains of North America, to the steppes and deserts of Mongolia. Some volunteer opportunities in wildlife conservation in Colorado: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Butterfly Pavilion Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker Show Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Joel Parker Headline Contributors: Beth Bennett, Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show here:

In this week’s show Beth speaks with science writer, educator, and scientist Dr. Lisa Gardiner about her recent book Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival. Lisa studied the fossil remains of ancient coral reefs, which also suffered from environmental challenges. In our conversation, you’ll hear about how the past shapes the present, and future, of these amazing invertebrates that are keystones in ocean ecosystems. Her book describes the risks the current environment pose to these amazing organisms and the ecosystems they create, but also much much more of the significance and elegance of the corals and the reefs. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

Credit: Harper The Force of Wind (start time: 7:10)  For those living here on Colorado’s Front Range, you’ve likely had close encounters with wind — whether you’ve witnessed in fear branches snapping off trees in a windstorm, or simply looked up to marvel at the UFO-like lenticular cloud formations created by fast westerly winds. Love it or hate it, wind is one of the most powerful, yet overlooked, forces that shape our world. In this week’s show, host Susan Moran, along with cohost Joel Parker, interview Simon Winchester about his just-published, book,   The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind. Mr. Winchester has written many books, including the New York Times best-seller The Professor and the Madman, as well as Knowing What We Know, and The Perfectionists. His new book explores how wind has influenced everything from the outcomes of war battles, to the advancement of renewable electricity, to the disappearance of several inches of precious top soil across the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl. Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker Show Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Joel Parker Contributors: Beth Bennett, Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show here:

On today’s show, Beth speaks with award-winning science writer Jennifer Frazer about her upcoming book: The Slime Mold’s Guide to World Domination: A Natural Mystery. The book is a funny natural history of slime molds that’s also a mystery that asks: how can a giant crawling cell possibly be intelligent?” Jennifer has degrees in biology and plant pathology from Cornell University and in science writing from MIT, AND has blogged about the natural history of neglected organisms for nine years for Scientific American. Get ready for an eye-opening visit to the peculiar world of slime molds, not the creepy crawly things you may expect. Also, delightful dialog from the new crop of interning journalists, our Earhtlings! Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennett and Shelley Schlender Additional Contributions: Benita Lee and Mac Hebebrand Listen to the Show:

Elizabeth Holley cc Colorado School of Mines Critical Earth Minerals  Hiding in Plain Site – Colorado School of Mines professor Elizabeth Holley shares  how the US could break its dependency on critical earth mineral imports, and lead the world in environmentally safe ways to do it. Show Producer/Host/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

Todd Bandhauer with heat pump – cc CSU Great Steam . . . from a Heat Pump (starts 1:00)  Time Magazine named CSU Engineer Todd Bandhauer one of 2025’s top climate innovators.   His heat pump makes steam better than fossil fuel steam boilers.  Interview thanks to Rocky Mountain Community Radio and Aspen Public Radio. Max Boykoff at COP30 cc CU-Boulder CU-Boulder at COP30 Climate Conference  (Starts 7:05) CU Boulder’s Max Boykoff attended the world climate conference –the first in 30 years without an official US delegation .  He describes China filling the vacuum left by the US , and also oil and gas lobbyists attending “Blue Zone” talks where indigenous groups – who often are suffering the worst effects of climate change, being banned.  For the CU-Boulder report Go here. Show Producer/Host/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

Dust Storm in Texas in the 1930s Dustbowl Days Today (starts 5:00)  Colorado State University grasslands scientist Melinda Smith explains the study she conducted with the grassroots help of nearly 200 scientists around the world. Their research indicates grasslands are vulnerable to Megadroughts, which climate change is making more common.  Just 4 years of drought in a row may trigger Dust Bowls on the scale of the Midwestern dustbowls of the 1930s.  Smith explains why and what can be done to save regions around the world from dustbowls. Hosts: Abby O’Brien, Lorraine Healy, Mac HebebrandShow Producer/Engineer: Shelley SchlenderExecutive Producer: Beth Bennett

The physiology of deciduous trees (start time: 11:09) For many people living in places with four distinct seasons, such as here in Colorado, a favorite pastime at this midpoint in autumn is watching the faded leaves fall from their branches, and listening to the crackling sound while raking up the dried leaves. In this week’s How On Earth show, we explore questions like, Why do the leaves of aspen, ash and other deciduous trees “change” color in the fall?  (Spoiler alert: They actually reveal their true colors.) Why do they shed their leaves every fall? And what happens to the naked trees in the winter? Host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Stephanie Mayer, a senior instructor emerita in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder. -Resources for winter watering: Colorado State University Extension Denver Botanic Garden -Resources for citizen science opportunities: The National Phenology Network Host/ Show Producer: Susan Moran Cohost/Engineer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Headline Contributors: Lorraine Healy, Max Hebebrand, Shelley Schlender Listen to the show here: