KGNU - How On Earth

We feature an interview with astronomer and author Dr. Emily Levesque about her book, The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers.  In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Levesque about the history and future of astronomy.  We hear about how astronomical observing at some of the premier telescopes in the world has changed over the decades, and we get a preview of what the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory has in store for the next generation of astronomers. Host, Producer, Engineer: Joel Parker Listen to the show:

We feature an interview with astronomer and author Dr. Emily Levesque about her book, The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers.  In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Levesque about how one becomes an astronomer and what a typical – and sometimes not so typical – night’s work is like at an observatory with highly sophisticated scientific instruments in very remote and difficult locations. Host, Producer, Engineer: Joel Parker Listen to the show:

Nature’s Songs and Cries (start time: 0:59) In this week’s show David George Haskell, a biologist at the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tenn., talks with How On Earth’s Susan Moran about his newly published book, Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction. The book is at once a meditation and an urgent call to action. Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Susan Moran Listen to the show here:

On this week’s show  – part of the annual KGNU Spring Fund Drive – we play excerpts of an upcoming interview with astronomer and author Dr. Emily Levesque about her book, The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers. The book is a modern history of observational astronomy, and shares an inside look at the lives and stories of astronomers past, present, and possible future. Thanks to independent publisher Source Books for offering several copies to KGNU to help with the fund drive, and to those listeners who donated and received copies of the book. Hosts: Joel Parker, Susan Moran Headlines: Benita Lee, Beth Bennett Show Producer & Engineer: Joel Parker Executive producer: Susan Moran Listen to the show:

In this week’s show Beth talks to author Annabel Streets. Her book 52 WAYS TO WALK, takes you week by week, through a smorgasbord of walks in silence, rain, mud, or wind, as well as sunshine, scents and birdsong. She explains exactly how our bodies and minds benefit from a wide mix of terrain and styles of walking. She also details when to set out alone and when to share a walk with others, and the best walking techniques for women, children, the elderly and the time-pressed. And, she presents a cornucopia of science underpinning the many physical, emotional and cognitive benefits you can reap by doing walking. Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show Producer: Beth Bennett Headlines: Joel Parker and Shelley Schlender Listen to the Show:

GIF of Avalanche starting to slide ((CLICK on IMAGE to see the slide)) — from Colorado Avalanche Information Center We speak with Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, about the new study he has coauthored with Spencer Logan, a chief researcher at the center who alsoversees the Avalanche Accident database for the United States.    Their new study is available now.  It’s titled, Education and Experience Levels of People Involved in Avalanches during the 2019-2020 Colorado Avalanche Season.  It will be published soon, in greater detail, in The Avalanche Review. For those looking for videos from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, here is the snowmobile accident posted at the CAIC Avalanche Information Center YouTube CHANNEL.   Weekly forecasts are also on this site. Host/Producer:   Shelley Schlender Music From:   Prince Avalanche and Snowfall by The Halo Benders Executive producer:   Susan Moran

University of Plymouth Sustainability Hub showing external green wall in full bloom. Long COVID  (starts 1:00) National Jewish in Denver shares research about how COVID sometimes affects the powerhouses inside our cells, the mitochondria. Green Walls (starts 3:54) are a beautiful way to cover indoor and outdoor walls with living plants.  It’s a popular feature for ultra-modern buildings.  Researchers in England report that green walls on older, conventional buildings can reduce heating costs inside the building.   Marshall Fire Research Drone (photo by Stacie Johnson) Drones at the Marshall Fire (starts 10:42) are helping local researchers from around the country collect field data about the recent wildfire disaster that destroyed 1,000 homes.  The scientists hope their findings will help the communities recover.  REGISTER HERE for the February 17th, 2 PM, virtual presentation of their findings. Volunteering to Get COVID.  (starts 21:22) in the name of science has produced results that are varied and sometimes surprising. Hosts:   Benita Lee & Stacie Johnson Producers:    Benita Lee, Stacie Johnson and Shelley Schlender Additional Contributions:   Beth Bennett, National Jewish Hospital Executive producer:   Susan Moran

Heartbreak in Our  Bodies: (start time: 6:58) This week on How On Earth, host Susan Moran talks with science journalist Florence Williams about her newly published book, Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey, in which she goes on a quest to understand why, and how, the heartbreak she felt when her marriage fell apart was wreaking havoc on her body. The book, and this interview, also explore various methods of healing and the science behind them. Host: Susan Moran Engineer: Rossana Long Headline contributors: Beth Bennett, Shelley Schlender Play the audio here:

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks to 2 climate scientists about their (very different) fields, and how climate change can play into local disasters, especially the recent fires that devastated the Front Range towns outside Boulder. Twila Moon is a glaciologist turned climate scientist who researches the effects of ice sheet melt on climate. Her TED talk conveys this message clearly. Brian Buma is Associate Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of Colorado at Denver. He studies landscape ecology and is especially interested in natural disasters, like the recent Marshall fire. You can hear Shannon Young, KGNU’s station manager talk to Brian about his recent book here. Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

(Image courtesy of Wiki images) In this episode, we celebrate the show’s 30th Anniversary with Dave Atkins and Jeff Orrey, How on Earth’s original  hosts. We’ll play some excerpts from the pilot January 14, 1992 episode and update the science from a 2022 perspective.  Subjects range from Chinook winds and Colorado fires, finding exoplanets, the history of Hubble telescope, Halley’s Comet and blood pressure. Hosts:   Jill Sjong, Beth Bennett, Dave Atkins, Jeff Orrey Producer:    Jill Sjong Additional Contributions:   Joel Parker, Beth Bennett Executive producer:   Beth Bennett Listen to the show: