KGNU - How On Earth

Covid19 Vaccine This week on How on Earth, Beth gives an update on the efficacy, safety, and availability of the mRNA vaccines for the corona virus. You hear from Drs Tony Fauci, Michael Diamond, and Roger Seheult. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Sam Fuqua Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

Craig Foster with his octopus teacher This week we review the hit movie “My Octopus Teacher,” the story about a man who goes diving in a kelp forest off the Western Cape of South Africa, and becomes acquainted with an octopus.   We review the movie with Roger Hanlon, a diving biologist, cephalopod expert and senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA.   We discuss the octopus’ elaborate camouflage and complex behavior.  We’ll get some answers to our octopus questions:   Do they dream?   Do they play?   Use tools?   Are octopuses a second form of intelligent life on earth? You can learn more about the South African sea forest at the Sea Change Project.  You can learn more about octopuses at Roger Hanlon’s research. Host & Producer:   Jill Sjong Executive Producer:  Beth Bennett Engineer:   Sam Fuqua Listen to the show:

Inside a Manhole – photo credit BIOBOT CU COVID TESTING UPDATE  (starts 1:00) We join CU Engineering Professor Cresten Mansfeldt as he and his students open a sewer manhole and do maintenance on their wastewater COVID early warning system.  We also get an update on COVID status at CU Boulder.     Brown Dog Ticks ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER & CLIMATE CHANGE (starts 11:15) Brown dog ticks that carry Rocky Mountain Spotted fever usually bite dogs.  But they prefer to bite people over dogs when temperature rise to 100 degrees.  UC-Davis scientist Laura Backus explains her new study and its implications in a time of climate change.   Host: Shelley Schlender Producer:Shelley Schlender Engineer:Sam Fuqua Additional contribution: Music from Lynn Patrick Executive Producer:Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

Reindeer Chronicles This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews author Judith Schwartz. In her new book, the Reindeer Chronicles, she takes the reader on a tour of some of the most wounded places on earth, and stories of how a passionate group of eco-restorers is leading the way to their revitalization. This optimistic book describes solutions to seemingly intractable problems that can restore local water, carbon, nutrient, and energy cycles. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Sam Fuqua Additional contribution: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

Holistic DentistryIn this week’s show Beth talks to Dr. Dominik Nischwitz about his new book, It’s All in Your Mouth, to learn more about the relationship between our mouths and the rest of the body. Many European dentists have practiced holistic dentistry for decades. The practice is now becoming more common in the US. This idea is that many common chronic conditions—obesity, inflammation, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and cancer, among others—often have their origins in the mouth. And by treating the mouth, the body too can benefit. To learn more, you can follow the links above or check out Dr Dom’s Instagram feed. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Maeve Conran Additional Contributions: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the Show:

CU-Boulder Sociologist Andrea Tilstra discusses how this decade’s reduction of lifespan in the US  ties closely with two factors 1) easier access to painkillers and opioids, and 2) the obesity epidemic and the related health problems that come with it.  Tilstra also explains the quesitons a social scientist/demographer asks when examining the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 Boulder County local tracking of the pandemic, and the human factors to consider as people face the stresses of social distancing and trying to stay connected. Producer and Host:   Shelley Schlender Engineer:   Maeve Conran Executive Producer:   Jill Sjong Additional Contributions:  Music from Lynn Patrick Listen to the show:

How clean is “clean”?  How do you get clean, and how important is it…could it actually be advantageous to your skin and general health to not try to get too clean?  We talk with medical doctor and author Dr. James Hamblin about his new book “Clean:  The New Science Of Skin“. Hosts: Chip Grandits, Joel Parker Executive Producer: Jill Sjong Show Producer and Engineer: Joel Parker Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender Listen to the Show:

Left: Image courtesy of EcoNation, NZ. Right: Map of active oil and natural gas wells in Colorado. In Part Two of the Shale Revolution, we look at the environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing, particularly the air quality along the Front Range.    We interview Detlev Helmig, an atmospheric scientist, who monitors the air quality along the front range.    We also discuss why well setbacks are such a contentious issue in Colorado. Producer and Host:   Jill Sjong Engineer:   Maeve Conran Executive Producer:   Jill Sjong Listen to the show:

Left: Image courtesy of EcoNation, NZ. Right: Map of active oil and natural gas wells in Colorado. This week on How on Earth, we look at the shale industry, which has transformed this country in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago.    How did this happen?   Where do experts think the fracking industry might be going?     In this two-part series, we consider why Wall Street and environmentalists are becoming strange new allies. We interview Paula Noonan from Colorado Watch, the platform for tracking Colorado Legislature.   We also listen to excerpts from Bethany McLean, author of Saudi America:   the Truth about Fracking and how it’s Changing the World. Host/Producer:     Jill Sjong Engineer:   Maeve Conran Executive Producer:   Susan Moran Listen to the show:

In this final show in our four-part series on CU Boulder & COVID, we look at how CU Boulder Contact Tracing and CU data collection has revealed that the biggest spreader of COVID-19 on CU Boulder’s campus is students “socializing” in risky ways, particularly in off-campus parties at sororities, fraternities and large student apartment buildings on “The Hill” near CU Boulder.  In contrast, attending in-person classes on CU is not a spreader of COVID-19, and neither are the residential halls.  This show features news from the CU Chancellor’s office about a stronger call to reduce the spread, the leader of CU Contact Tracing Matthew McQueen, and Boulder County Spokesperson Chana Goussetis, explaining Boulder County Covid Data.   Producer:  Shelley Schlender Additional Contributions: Angele Sjong Engineer: Maeve Conran