KGNU - How On Earth

Tabernath Iboga Plant – courtesy Marco Schmidt, Wiki Commons Ibogaine for Traumatic Brain Injury – The Science journal Nature has published a small case study about Special Forces veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injury . . . they report good results from one single dose of the illegal psychedelic Ibogaine . . . with careful supervision. Andrew Linares – Boulder Therapist Ibogaine – Huberman Lab discussion with Nolan Williams (Starts 3:45)  Stanford scientists discuss therapeutic use of Ibogaine. Ibogaine – Boulder Therapist Andrew Linares  (Starts 7:00) shares his experiences working with special forces veterans who are taking Ibogaine at a clinic in Mexico, where it is a legal drug. Lynx – from Endangered Species.org Lynx Habitat battle this Wednesday (starts 1:00) Denver’s US 10th District Court of Appeals will hear a case about U.S. Forest Service plans for environmental rollbacks in southern Colorado’s Rio Grande National Forest.  They plan to log beetle-killed trees -which may disrupt old growth forest that the endangered lynx needs.  Environmentalists are pushing for more study about the impact of these plans. Ibogaine Song by Lord Ekomy Ndong Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley SchlenderExecutive Producer: Joel ParkerContributors: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

On this week’s show, we focus on the ongoing challenge of climate change. In addition to headlines about this issue, we replay an interview with author John Vaillant, who has written extensively about the natural world over his long career. In his new book, Fire Weather:A True Story from a Hotter World, he explores the phenomena of fire, the wildland urban interface, and climate change in the context of a precedent-shattering combustion in a modern city.This colossal wildfire in Alberta in 2016 almost consumed a city of nearly 100,000. In the process the fire blew up expectations and responses to wild fires. Vaillant gives an in depth exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind along with personal stories of loss and bravery on the front lines of this horrifying event. Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer: Beth Bennett Additional contribution: Susan Moran Listen to the show:

cc NOAA Science Graphic   We share the How on Earth team’s picks for of science stories of 2023: Superconductor Hopes And Failures (starts at 1:47) New Weight Loss Drugs (starts at 5:56) Hot Temperatures (starts at 9:27) Asteroid Autumn (starts at 12:29) Bird Population Decline (starts at 16:51) Sickle Cell Disease Treatment (starts at 22:29) Executive Producer: Joel Parker Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender, Beth Bennett, Susan Moran Listen to the show:

Photo credit: National Science Foundation STEM ed accessibility (start time: 2:03): It’s challenging enough learning science, technology, engineering and math when you can clearly see the physical models or images of neurons on a screen.  So, imagine the hurdles faced by students who are blind or otherwise visually impaired? In this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews two chemists who are working on making STEM education  more accessible to people with visual and other impairments, and on making learning more interactive for everyone.  Dr. Hoby Wedler is an organic chemist, a sensory expert, and a product development consultant based in Petaluma, Calif. Blind since birth, he works with many companies in the food and beverage industries.  And he founded and directed a nonprofit organization that for several years led chemistry camps for blind or visually impaired students. Dr. Brett Fiedler is a physical chemist with the University of Colorado Boulder’s PhET Interactive Simulations project. The team has been researching and designing new multimodal features for interactive science simulations. Host & Show Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Alexis Kenyon Executive Producer: Susan Moran Listen to the show here:

On this week’s show, Beth speaks with Dr Afton Hassett, psychologist and pain researcher about her book, Chronic Pain Reset: 30 Days of Activities, Practices, and Skills to Help You Thrive. Not just a guide for evaluating pain and its triggers, her book offers straightforward and often fun strategies to move past chronic pain. Dr. Hassett is Associate Professor and Director of Pain and Opioid Research in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan, and a principal investigator at the Chronic Pain & Fatigue Research Center there. Her book and research explore the key role that your brain plays in processing pain and how small, simple actions can make profound changes in how you experience chronic pain. Chronic Pain Reset is written for people with chronic pain and those who care for them. Executive Producer: Susan Moran Show Producer:Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

Climate Change & COP28 (start time: 1:30) A major global climate conference is taking place now in Dubai, amidst a year of record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods and more around the world.  COP28 is short for the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The aim of the conference is to have nations address climate change by pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions (and actually following through), investing more in clean energy, and having richer nations help fund climate-adaptation measures in developing countries and especially vulnerable communities. Our guests today are Dr. Alice Alpert, a senior scientist at Environmental Defense Fund who previously served on the U.S. delegation to some COP conferences; and science journalist Tom Yulsman, who directs the Center for Environmental Journalism at CU Boulder. Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker Producer & Executive Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Joel Parker Listen to the show here:

Bald Eagle Nest – Photo by Mia Hock Soccer Headers and Brain Damage (starts 1:00) New research about long term effects of soccer heading — the practice of hitting a soccer ball with the head, indicates a brain damage risk, even without “official” concussions. Teen Raptor Survey (starts 3:00) Naturalists Steve Jones and Elena Klaver lead the Boulder Teen Naturalists on a survey of wintering raptors.   Another event coming up, for bird lovers, is the Audubon Xmas Bird Count. Gaia Theory for the 21st Century  (starts 11:30)   Martin Ogle explains Gaia Theory, Model and Metaphor for the 21st Century.  He’s presenting this Thursday at the Lafayette Public Library. Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Susan Moran Contributors: Benita Lee

Merriam’s turkey, courtesy of Flickr user “Fool-On-The-Hill.” In addition to recent news about possible therapies to restore lost sense of smell due to COVID, we do a deep dive into the How on Earth archives to bring you some still-relevant stories from past Thanksgiving episodes: Start with some happiness (2015 Nov 24) A main course wild turkeys in North America… (2011 Nov 22) …and wild turkeys close to home (2021 Nov 23) A dessert of strawberry-flavored fungi (2021 Nov 23) Host/Producer/Engineer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Susan Moran Contributors: Shelley Schlender, Beth Bartel, Benita Lee, Stacie Johnson Listen to the show here:

The Power of Poop (start time: 5:41)  This potent byproduct of our digestive system holds the promise of being a big part of the solution to several public health and environmental challenges of our time, such as drinking water scarcity and degraded cropland. In this week’s show, How On Earth’s Susan Moran interviews Dr. Bryn Nelson, a science writer and former microbiologist. His debut book, called Flush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure, recently appeared in paperback. Host/Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Alexis Kenyon Executive Producer: Susan Moran Listen to the show here:

Pampas (Swainson’s) Hawk – cc Stephen R. Jones Bird Feather Fossils  (starts 1:00)  give new evidence about what we know, and don’t know, about how flying feathers evolved. Boulder Naturalist Steve Jones  talks about the movement to stop naming birds after people. (starts 2:30) Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Susan Moran Headline contributors: Beth Bennett