KGNU - How On Earth

Today is April Fools’ day, when jokes and pranks are played, sometimes among friends and family, sometimes on a more public scale.  But why is there such a day for culturally-accepted foolishness? To ...

NEPA rollbacks, environmental impacts (start time: 6:25) Amidst a flurry of moves by the Trump administration to roll back environmental regulations, last month a White House agency proposed a rule to...

On this week’s show, Beth talks with Brianne Barker, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of Undergraduate Research at Drew University. Dr Barker studies innate immune responses – these are the...

We speak with Environmental Scientist Alan Townsend about his new book, This Ordinary Stardust: A Scientist’s Path from Grief to Wonder.  It chronicles what happened when his family received two unthi...

On today’s show, Beth speaks with two experts on animal behavior and training about the wolf reintroduction project in Colorado – wins and losses. Mary Angilly is an advocate for force-free, evidence-...

            The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets     CU Boulder Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist Tom Cech says that RNA has long been the biochemical backup singer that slaves...

Tackling CH4 emissions from landfills (start time: 5:59) Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, and its emissions have been rising recently in the U.S.  The largest source of methane emissions...

On today’s show, Beth speaks with CU scientist Christopher Lowry. Dr. Lowry’s research program at CU Boulder focuses on understanding stress-related physiology and behavior with an emphasis on the mic...

Tackling Cement’s Huge Carbon Footprint (start time: 0:58)  It’s hard to imagine modern society without a key material that so many structures depend on–cement. Think of our houses, apartment and offi...

CU Boulder Criminologist David Pyrooz explains the science of understanding gang violence.  He shares why immigrant gangs such as Tren de Aragua catch so much media attention, even though they represe...

Today on How on Earth, Beth speaks with Professor Vincent Racaniello of the Columbia University Medical Center. He has been studying viruses, particularly the polio virus, for over 40 years. Professor...

Tackling “forever chemicals” in tap water (start time: 6:11): In this week’s science show we discuss the scientific findings and societal implications of a new study showing of dangerous PFAS (per- an...

In today’s show Beth reviews the latest data on the opiate epidemic in Boulder. You’ll hear from a pharmacologist who studies substance abuse, a DEA agent who oversees the task force on fentanyl, and ...

  We share the How on Earth team’s picks for of science stories of 2024: Tom Cech Talks RNA (starts at 1:56) Avian Flu (starts at 9:33) Artificial Intelligence (starts at 13:13) Colorado, the Quantum ...

Ibogaine (starts 1:00) The New York Times just featured Ibogaine for PTSD.  We revisit a discussion of Ibogaine with Boulder Trauma Therapist Andrew Linares.     Ice Cores (starts 10:00) The National ...

On today’s show Beth plays portions of a chat (full version here; actual talk starts at 1 minute in) she had with Katy Bowman who is a nationally-known biomechanist, author, and movement educator. The...

If you listened to Beth’s chat with author Katy Bowman about her book (Your Perfect Movement Plan) – complete with some audience questions – and want to hear more, here is the full hour plus session. ...

Tackling Plastic Pollution (start time: 3:50) In this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews science journalists Fionna Samuels, an assistant editor at Chemical & Engineering News, a publication  of...

Field Report (starts 1:00) We join Boulder naturalists Steve Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman on a Christmas Bird Count as Boulder’s winter water saunas. Xmas Bird Count’s Bill Schmoker (starts 4:28) Boul...

Cocoa Flavonoids  (starts 1:00) Could a cozy cup of cocoa help with holiday stress?  Nutrition Scientist Catarina Rendeiro explains how chocolate can provide anti-inflammatory flavanoids, but MOST do ...

World Climate Talks (Starts 1:00)  CU Boulder Director of Environmental Journalism Tom Yulsman gives an update on COP29 United Nations 29th Conference on Climate Change, in this hottest year on record...

Today on How on Earth, Beth speaks with Dr Jon Samet, former dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and Professor of Epidemiology and Occupational and Environmental Health. Dr. Samet has served ...

Today’s show features NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, which launched on October 14th, 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket, setting the spacecraft on its 10-year journey to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa.  Eur...

COP16: Hope & Hurdles (start time: 1:20)  On this week’s show, host Susan Moran interviews two conservation biologists at Colorado State University — Chris Funk and Liba Pejchar. They both recently at...

Wild, local mushrooms can break down deadwood into healthy soil, and they can do this surprisingly fast.  Used correctly, fungi are an emerging way to reduce the forest tinder that makes mega-wildfire...

CU Boulder Nobel Prize Winner Tom Cech discusses his new book, The Catalyst, RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets Tom Cech is our featured interview for the KGNU Fall Membership Drive.  ...

Beliefs, Perceptions, Decision-making (start time: 4:37)  For many people if feels like our society, and our beliefs, have never been as polarized as they are now. Indeed, we are living in a political...

Local Science/Nature Calendar (starts 1:00)  We share news about the Marshall Mesa Trailhead Closure to eliminate burning underground coal, CSU Professor Mark Easter talks about the Blue Plate Book La...

The Blue Plate in a Red-hot World (start time: 7:46) While adding cream to your morning cup of coffee, or digesting the hamburger that you grilled last night, you might not have been asking yourself, ...

Wolf Family Recaptured  (Starts 1:40)    Colorado Parks & Wildlife did not reply to our request for an update on the fate of Colorado’s newly captured wild wolf family.  CU Boulder Professor Marc Beko...

This is an extended interview with CU Boulder Wildlife Expert Marc Bekoff about challenges and possibilities with Colorado Wolf Reintroduction.  For the broadcast interview, GO Here.  And here is an A...

In this week’s show Beth spoke with Marc Bekoff, well known and loved for his decades of research into animal behavior, emotion and cognition, about the new edition of his classic book, The Emotional ...

SOLO:  Building a Remarkable Life of Your Own.  CU Boulder Professor, Behavioral Economist and book author Peter McGraw uses statistical data and personal anecdotes to explain the growing worldwide tr...

When people talk about going to the Moon, it is often in terms of establishing a station there, or finding water, or doing science about the Moon such as studying moon rocks.  But we can do interestin...

On this week’s show Beth speaks with Joe Swanson and Laura Backus to discuss some of the invasive weeds that are plaguing Boulder County. Joe is the County Weed Coordinator for Boulder County Parks & ...

Animal Communication Science (start time: 2:57)  Whether you own a dog or horse, or have listened to dolphins, wolves, chimpanzees or other wild animals, you’ve probably wondered what they’re saying w...

In this fire prone season, we talk with experts about an ancient building technique that might reduce the chance that a building’s going to burn. Unfired, compressed earth blocks are a building materi...

Wildfire smoke has marred the Front Range in recent weeks, due to Megafires that are likely to become more frequent.  And more smoke is likely. Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (Starts 0...

Clever Chickadees on the Front Range (start time: 4:20) Many of us wake up these days to a chorus of songbirds, including mountain and black-capped chickadees. Host Susan Moran interviews Scott Taylor...

On this week’s How on Earth we’re airing a show produced by Science Moab‘s Peggy Hodgkins. She speaks with Professor Kari Veblen, who is currently a professor of rangeland ecology at Utah State Univer...

In this episode, we talk with journalist and author Rebecca Boyle about her book Our Moon – How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are. We discuss...

Making “Compostable” Products Truly Compostable (start time: 0:56)  You’ve probably wracked your brain at some point trying to figure out whether the compostable-labelled clamshell or the green-tinted...

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with author and cheesemaker extraordinaire and author, David Asher, about his book Milk Into Cheese: The Foundations of Natural Cheesemaking. The science and art ...

Matt Johnson of Namaste Solar and Stu Cummings of Go Electric Colorado  share climate friendly ways to keep your home power going, even if power from your utility suddenly goes out.  It’s a discussion...

Composting for Human, Soil and Climate Health  (start time: 4:39) It’s late spring, when many people are out gardening, planting vegetables, and spreading compost on the soil to give those veggies a l...

On this week’s show, Beth speaks with Jennifer Ackerman, about her new book, What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds. In a writing career spanning over three decades, Je...

This week on How on Earth, we revisit bees and pollination biology. Beth spoke with Professor Michael Breed about honeybees and other pollinators. These insects provide crucial service to our agricult...

Birds of Spring, Habitat Preservation (start time: 3:08)  It’s springtime, when many of us are woken up at the crack of dawn by a chorus of chickadees or other songbirds outside. To celebrate these em...

Gold Lab Symposium on Science and Health.  (starts 6:40) Boulder scientist and entrepreneur, Larry Gold, shares a sneak preview of this year’s Gold Lab Symposium at CU-Boulder Muenzinger Auditorium th...

  Rising Voices Changing Coasts – Indigenuity Science leader Daniel Wildcat, talks about the Rising Voices/Changing Coasts symposium taking place this week Boulder.  The symposium connects Indigenous ...