KGNU - How On Earth

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 effort...

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 the...

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 cora...

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...

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...

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.

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 Hebebrand
Show Producer/Engineer: Shell...

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 nak...

Five years ago, Beth spoke with Dr Marc Bubbs about his best-selling hardcover book, PEAK: THE NEW SCIENCE OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE. Since then, Bubbs has been on the leading edge of new developments in the physiology and psychology of athletic performance. Bubbs helps athletes and other clients in Canada and England cope with metabolic diseases, Bubbs is also the performance nutritionist for the Canadian men’s national basketball team, In addition, he consults with teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB. On this week’s show, Beth talks to Marc about his revised edition of the book, just publ...

Into The Unknown (starts at 9:05) What do we know about the universe, and how do we know we know it? Conversely, what do we know we don’t know, what don’t we know that we don’t know, and why not?

To help us unravel these age-old philosophical questions in the context of current science, our guest is Dr. Kelsey Johnson, who received her PhD in astrophysics from the University of Colorado.  Dr. Johnson is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia, and the former president of the American Astronomical Society. She is...

Into The Unknown (starts at 7:57) What do we know about the universe, and how do we know we know it? Conversely, what do we know we don’t know, what don’t we know that we don’t know, and why not?

To help us unravel these age-old philosophical questions in the context of current science, our guest is Dr. Kelsey Johnson, who received her PhD in astrophysics from the University of Colorado.  Dr. Johnson is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia, and the former president of the American Astronomical Society. She is...

cicada
Credit: Tim McNary

Science & Songs of Katydids, Cicadas, etc. (start time: 3:08)  It’s the time of year to savor listening each night to the pulsating and clicking sounds of katydids, cicadas, crickets and other straight-winged insects, all crying out for a mate. Soon, with the first big frost, the songs, along with the arthropods themselves, will disappear. In this week’s show, a longtime arthropod expert, Tim McNary, talks with host Susan Moran about things like, who are these small yet very vocal insects? What’s their life cycle like? What body parts make those noises...

Courtesy: Patagonia Works

Helping Wild Animals Roam (start time: 3:29) Wild animals, whether  buffalos or bats,  need space to move around–not just to survive, but to forage,  reproduce, migrate, and generally thrive as a species.  But it’s getting increasingly difficult for so many species to do this, thanks to humans breaking up their habitats to build roads, fences, housing developments, croplands, etc. Of course, climate change, pesticides, and other stressors compound the problem. In this week’s (fall fund drive) show, host Susan Moran interviews Hillary Rosner, a local environmental journalist and University of Colorado Boulder assistant...

This episode features Miles O’Brien, a science journalist who has been a correspondent for PBS News and CNN. He talks about his experience breaking in to science journalism, past and current science reporting, public and political views of science, the value of scientific research, and some particular stories including beavers, prostheses, and climate change research in Antarctica. This feature is an interview by KBUT‘s Toni Todd and shared with us via Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

And we also have a report on the recent government claims about autism and use of acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Ty...

On this week’s How On Earth, Beth spoke with two cosmetic chemists, hosts of the podcast The Beauty Brains. We touched on some basic questions I have regarding some of the universe of products, such as shampoos, body lotions and sun screens. Beauty Brains Perry Romanowski and Valerie George, are both veteran cosmetic product developers who have worked on some of the most popular beauty products in the world. They’ve written dozens of science articles and books. Their book, Beginning Cosmetic Chemistry is used in several college programs. You can find transcripts of their podcast episodes on thei...

Menopause & HT (start time: 0:58)  It happens to every woman with a uterus who reaches midlife. Menopause is a major hormonal  transition that, although very challenging for some women, is natural, and (get this!) even  advantageous to civilization. Think grandmothers!  Yet menopause has been largely dismissed by the medical community. As a result,  too many women suffer through menopause in pain, shame,  and loneliness. In this week’s show, host Susan Moran  interviews Dr. Jen Gunter, a gynecologist and specialist in chronic pain medicine. She wrote the book  The Menopause Manifesto (2021), and she’s among a growing cadre of medical practitioner...

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth describes recent developments in defunding NIH research and CDC limits on vaccine availability; then digs into vaccine safety and development with global vaccine expert, Dr Dr Kawsar Talaat. Dr Talaat is a physician who is board certified in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and whose research focuses on vaccines. She has worked on clinical trials for a variety of vaccines, including influenza, malaria, Ebola, and several gut bacteria. Currently, Dr. Talaat oversees COVID-19 vaccine trials in adults and children, and is Johns Hopkins Principal Investigator for the CDC Clinical Immunization Sa...

Climate change. Astronomy.  A canine astronaut. They intersect in our guest, astronomer and author Dr. Jeff Bennett. Among other things, we focus on climate change and policy – present and future.

Dr. Bennett got his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado, and he served two years as a Visiting Senior Scientist at NASA Headquarters, where he was the first scientist hired within a science division specifically to leverage science missions for education. As an author, Dr. Bennett has written college textbooks in astronomy, mathematics, statistics, and astrobiology, and a freely available, interactive digital textbook about Ear...

US Critical Earth Metals “Hiding in Plain Sight”  (starts 1:00)  Colorado School of Mines has just published a new study that indicates the US has enough critical earth metals to stop importing them from other countries . . . if we develop the capacity.

Bill McKibben – Here Comes the Sun:  A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization.  (starts 3:15) Celebrated environmental journalist and activist Bill McKibben will be part of a nationwide “Sun Day” day of action September 21st, celebrating the power of clean energy..  McKibben will be in Boulder  Tuesday, September 23rd for a book talk at 6:30 pm at Un...

On this week’s show we replay an interview from two years ago with author John Valliant on his then-newly released book, Fire Weather, the story – and much more- of the groundbreaking wildfire that devastated the oil sands capital city of Fort McMurray in Alberta. Given the current outbreaks of Colorado wildfires, getting bigger and harder to contain each year, Valiant’s message of the changing nature of these horrifying disasters is ever more pertinent. Also, headlines on the evolving nature of science in another changing climate of federal oversight.

Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer:Beth B...

Waleed Abdalati
photo credit: CIRES

Standing Up for Science (start time: 6:39)  Since President Trump began his second term in January, his administration has been on a rapid-fire campaign to slash federal funding for scientific research, particularly in the fields of climate and earth systems science. Colorado is feeling the pain.  President Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 includes steep cuts in funding to NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which funds and manages research on wildfires, extreme heat waves, floods, and much more. NOAA contributes a huge amount to Colorado’s economy, and its re...

The history of astronomy has many stories of trying to understand our universe, and those stories are connected by a common thread: looking at the sky, whether with our eyes or with increasingly powerful telescopes.  The newest entry in this telescopic journey is the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Located in Chile, this observatory has an audacious goal: to repeatedly observe the entire sky visible from its location every few nights, with a project called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

To talk about the Vera Rubin observatory and its science goals, our guest today is D...

Erythritol – A common sugar substitute

A Common Sugar Substitute Increases Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke.  (starts 11:00)  CU-Boulder Integrative Physiologist Chris DeSouza explains his recent study that shows why the commonly used artificial sweetener, Erythritol, may be increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

50 Years of Open Space!  (Starts 1:00)  Boulder County Parks and Open Space staff members share how local citizen activists helped protect natural lands in and around Boulder.  This is an excerpt from the podcast series, Voices of Open Space.

Hosts:  Shelley Schlender and Beth Bennett

Show Producer: Shelley S...

On this week’s show Beth speaks with computational biologist Justine Debelius about the role of the microbiome. We first discussed a study she was involved in recently that identified how changes in colon cancer tumors can affect survival. Then, she described a large collaborative project she is currently working on to identify factors influencing the development of the microbiome in children and how that affects them later in life.

Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Susan Moran & Joel Parker

Listen to the show:

At a protest outside NOAA in Boulder. Credit: Susan Moran

Tackling Climate Change and Science Cutbacks (start time: 7:03) In this week’s show we discuss the ongoing barrage of executive orders by the Trump administration; and the impacts of defunding of federal agencies, scientific research and scientists focusing on climate change and the environment. We also explore how the legal and political landscape, including pushback against the administration’s actions, are shifting. How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews Marc Alessi, a climate scientist at the nonprofit organization Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS); and Delta Merner, a geog...

Teens are in Crisis – Some people warn that Cell Phones are to blame.  But Colorado Native and Pulitzer prize winner Matt Richtel says our tech can be a useful tool, IF we better understand the purpose of adolescence,   That’s the focus of Richtel’s brand new book – How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Susan Moran

C Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Merlin Bird ID App (starts 1:00) Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman explore the benefits of the Merlin smartphone app, along with its sometimes hilarious mistakes.

Eric Defonso – c Highplainssnowgoose.com

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (Start 5:48) Crew Leader Eric DeFonso explains how the Conservancy’s Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions Program 

In this week’s science show Beth talks with genome biologist Ed Chuong of CU Boulder’s innovation incubator, the Biofrontiers Institute. Ed takes us for a whirlwind tour of the evolutionary history of these viral invaders of our genome, and some examples of how they can simultaneously be friend and foe. Teaser, did you realize that the genes that allow the formation of the placenta, the organ that nourishes human (and other mammal) fetuses, came from viruses!

Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Engineer: Jackie Sedley

Listen to the show:

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 2 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who recently received their Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next.

Chloe Long – Aerospace Engineering
Topic: Data-Driven Asteroid Tour Design

Amin Taziny – Aerospace Engineering
Topic: Multiscale Continuum-kinetic Modeling of Ionic Emission in Electrospray Thrusters

photo of intermediate macular degeneration c National Institutes of Health

We talk with scientists who report that a common weight loss/diabetes drug known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist (Wegovy, Ozempic for instance) is associated with an increased risk of blindness.  The study was published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology, about a form of blindness known as “wet” macular degeneration.   The scientists we talk with today are Marko Popovic and Reut Shor.  We also refer to a different, unrelated study, underway, to evaluate a ketogenic diet and eye health, specifically, whether or not a...

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth talks with author and science journalist Liz Kalaugher, about her new book, The Elephant in the room:How to Stop Making Ourselves and Other Animals Sick. Think about it this way: When new diseases spread, news reports often focus on wildlife culprits–rodents, monkeys and mpox; bats and COVID-19; waterfowl and avian flu; or mosquitoes and Zika. But, as Liz points out, we see it often works the other way around–humans have caused diseases in other animals countless times, through travel and transport, the changes we impose on our environment, and gl...

Scientists speak out for science (start time: 1:00) The Trump administration has been on a dizzying streak of slashing federal funding for scientific research, and firing thousands of federal scientists. Among the casualties is the National Weather Service, which supplies critical data from air balloons and climate models to develop weather forecasts. Many cities and agencies use these data to warn the public when extreme weather, such as a hurricane, is approaching. This crisis has prompted some climate scientists and meteorologists to organize a marathon five-day event, starting May 28, to educate the public about how vital their work is to...

Arvind Panjabi releasing a banded grasshopper sparrow in Chihuahua state, Mexico. Photo credit: Sujata Gupta

Birds: Risk and Resilience (start time: 5:55)  What speaks of Spring more than the songs of American robins, yellow warblers, spotted towhees and other birds in the early morning? As we relish in these avians choruses, it’s also an important time to examine why bird populations in North America have, by and large, been plummeting in recent decades, due to multiple stressors, including climate change and habitat destruction. At the same time, some  conservation efforts (including bipartisan legislation) on the federal, state and...

Nelson Trujillo – Boulder Heart

This is an extended version of our interview with Boulder Cardiologist Nelson Trujillo.  For the broadcast version, go here.

Producer:  Shelley Schlender

This is Shelley Schlender’s extended interview of Larry Gold, founder of the GoldLab Symposium.   For the broadcast version, go here.

Producer:  Shelley Schlender

Larry Gold

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 1 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who have or will soon receive their Masters or Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next.

Renee Spear – Aerospace Engineering
Topic: Collision-Free Spacecraft Trajectory Design in Multi-Body Systems

Gautam Kavuri – Physics
Topic: Wringing the Bell: Implementations of Cryptographic Protocols Based on Bell Non...

Sweet in Tooth and Claw (start time: 0:59)  Since the 1800s, science has been obsessed with the notion, stemming from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection, that only the “fittest” can survive and pass on their strong genes. As in, it’s a ruthless, violent world. And today, we humans find ourselves mired in a hyper-polarized society fixated on competition, disruption, and “If you win, I lose” thinking. A good time to take a look at a different way of living together–how a “kinder, gentler” approach also helps species evolve.  In this week’s show, Susan Moran interviews journa...

Alexander Kramida – NIST Atomic Spectroscopy Group – phote from NIST

Federal cutbacks have led the National Institute of Standards and Technology to shut down a long-running, highly prized information center used by scientists around the world, for projects ranging from searching for exoplanets, to making better microchips, to detecting atomic missiles.   Atomic Spectroscopy Database Manager Alexander Kramida explains the purpose of the Atomic Spectroscopy Group, the impact of losing it, and what’s next, now that federal budget cuts mean NIST is shutting it down.

For a Transcript, go here.

Host & Show Producer: Shelley Schlend...

image credit: NASA

Our guest today is Dr. Simone Marchi, Institute Scientist in the Solar System Science & Exploration Division at the Boulder office of Southwest Research Institute. Dr. Marchi is the Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA’s Lucy mission.  Lucy will be the first space mission to explore a population of small bodies known as the Trojan asteroids, which orbit out at the distance of Jupiter. Lucy has two “practice” flybys of main belt asteroids: Dinkinesh in November 2023, and Donaldjohanson coming up in just a few days on April 20, 2025.

Producer and Host: Joel Parker

Liste...

Poisoning the Well (starts 2:00)  Boulder science writer Sharon Udasin discusses her new book,  Poisoning the Well:  How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America.  The book chronicles how these chemicals have ended up in our soil , drinking water, our bloodstreams . . . including in Colorado.  She also explains what we can do about these sometimes useful, but far too often, health-endangering chemicals.

Sharon will speak April 8th at the Boulder Bookstore.

Other events discussed in this show are the CU-Boulder Conference on World Affairs and the Dinosaur Ridge Raptorthon

Special thanks to Simon Rober...

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 delve into the origins and history of April Fools’ Day, we talk with Dr. Angus Kress Gillespie, folklorist and professor of American studies at Rutgers University.

(Image credit: Zurijeta | Shutterstock.com)

You might find it shocking that scientists have a sense of humor, so we also talk with, Dr. Mike Lund from the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the Infrared Processing & Analysis Cente...

oil and gas rig Image courtesy of USGS

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 rescind a landmark law meant to protect wildlife, their habitat, and human  communities from unchecked development, and to ensure that the public has a say in projects ranging from oil and gas drilling to wind and solar farms.  The rule, if it goes into effect, would mean that the White House Council on Environmental Quality would no longer enforce how...

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 initial, non-specific actions taken by the immune system – to fight off retroviruses such as HIV (the AIDS virus). We discuss the measles virus, how it gets into cells, travels through the body to cause its many symptoms, which can be long-lasting and even lethal, and its frightening ability to wipe out, or erase, much of the accumulated memory of the immune system to previous infections. For an even deeper...

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 unthinkable, catastrophic diagnoses: his 4-year-old daughter and his brilliant scientist wife developed unrelated, life-threatening forms of brain cancer. As he witnessed his young daughter fight during the courageous final months of her mother’s life, Townsend – a lifelong scientist – was indelibly altered.

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Hosts: Joel Parker and Shelley Schlender
Engineer: Joel Parker

Listen to the show:

Source: patrice schoefolt / PexelsOn 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-based training in dogs and other animals. For decades Marc Bekoff has researched animal behavior, cognitive ethology (the study of animal minds), behavioral ecology, and compassionate conservation, and he has written extensively on human-animal interactions and animal protection.They have collaborated on essays involving problems faced by both wolves and humans in reintroduction projects. In this episode, they discuss some interesting and innovative solutions.

Ex...

Tom Cech’s New Book

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 away in the shadows of the diva.  In his new book, The Catalyst, Cech puts RNA in the spotlight, along with dazzling and determined scientists who’ve been helping us learn more about RNA.

Show Host/Producer: Shelley Schlender
Engineer: Jackie Sedley
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

Landfill photo credit: iStock

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 is oil and gas production, followed by livestock farming. The third largest source of methane emissions is landfills.  Food scraps, yard debris, paper and cardboard products and other carbon-based detritus that pile up in landfills release methane and other chemicals as they decompose in the soil. As part of the state’s goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions, the Colorado Department of Publ...

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 microbiome-gut-brain axis. He describes his recent finding that exposure to a harmless soil bacterium protects mice from the weight gain and inflammation stemming from a diet much like the average American one, that is, high in fat and sugar. You can also hear about another CU Boulder group’s recent finding on the protective role that being in ‘greenspaces’ can provide.

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Produ...

Concrete mixer truck

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 office buildings, hospitals, parking lots, bridges, and, increasingly,  massive data centers of big-tech companies. But that societal glue of sorts comes with a big climate price tag.  Cement production accounts for more than 7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s way less than the amount from coal and oil & gas production, but  roughly double the emissions  from aviation. So, finding ways to reduce the...

Gang Violence in Aurora last summer

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 represent only a small part of national gang violence.  Pyrooz also shares what drives gangs, ways to reduce gang violence, and his personal work with the City of Aurora Project SAVE  (SAVE is short for “Stand Against Violence Every Day.)

Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer/Engineer:  Shelley Schlender

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 Racaniello is passionate about teaching virology to the World. His virology lectures can be found on YouTube. He blogs and produces the podcast ‘This Week in Virology’. We cover the history of the different polio vaccines and why the oral vaccine has contributed to the resurgence of the disease in underdeveloped populations in for example, Africa, and recently, Gaza. But it’s popping up here, in the developed nations also...

Credit: USEPA

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- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in treated wastewater that ends up in the drinking water of more than 20 million Americans. We also explore the public health risks of these  cancer-causing and otherwise toxic compounds–found in so many consumer products, including water-resistant clothing–and what’s being done on the national, state and local fronts to protect source water and our health. Listen to host Susan Moran’s inter...

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 our state senator who discusses legislation at the state level, as well as a story on a novel, implantable device to monitor for overdoses and autonomously inject the antidote – naloxone.

Executive Producers: Joel Parker and Shelley Schlender
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Benita Lee
Engineer: Jackie Sedley

Listen to the show:

cc NOAA Science Graphic

We share the How on Earth team’s picks for of science stories of 2024:

Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker
Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender, Beth Bennett

Listen to the show:

Eboga Plant – Source of Ibogaine

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.

Stored Ice Cores

Ice Cores (starts 10:00) The National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility in Lakewood houses thousands of ice cores collected from around the world.  Ellen Mahoney takes us there for a first person look.

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. They spoke at the Boulder Bookstore, where Katy discussed her new book, My Perfect Movement Plan. Bowman combines big-picture lessons on biomechanics, kinesiology, physiology, and natural human movement with simple and practical solutions and exercises to get all your body parts moving better. Her ‘Movement is Nutrition’ approach addresses the need of our bodies for a wide variety of daily movements in order to work well. Buildi...

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. (Actual conversation starts about 2 minutes into the file.)

Listen now:

Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium

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 the American Chemical Society; and Priyanka Runwal, an associate editor at C&EN. Along with  other colleagues, they wrote cover articles in the November 28th issue of C&EN on the sources and impacts of plastic pollution. Indeed, plastics, mostly made from fossil fuels, are wreaking havoc on our environment and potentially our bodies. Although it’s still unclear precisely how much our bodies are accumu...

Spotted Towhee

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) Boulder’s Annual Xmas Bird Count is Sunday December 15th.  Bill Schmoker is the organizer of this Count, which is one of the longest-running and largest in the nation.  He explains how it’s done, and why it’s important to the science of bird ecology.

Host: Benita Lee
Show Producers: Elena Klaver/Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Ruth Carol Cushma...

Dark Hot Cocoa  (Taylor Wolfram)

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 not.  And there’s a way to tell.

CU Boulder Scientist June Gruber

Science of Happiness (starts 10:33) CU Boulder Neuro-psychologist June Gruber explains the Science of Happiness, her Positive Emotion and Psychopathology Lab, how keeping a gratitude journal can benefit health . . . and plans for Thanksgiving.   Gruber’s class on the Science of Happiness gets rave reviews.

...

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, and threats to shut down NOAA.

Methane Leaks, Trump and the EDF (starts 4:10) EDF — Environmental Defense Fund’s Rosalie Winn, explains why reducing methane leaks is crucial, and what to do if many federal environmental protections against methane leaks or air pollution go away.

Executive Producer/Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Tom Yulsman, Joel Parker
Engineer: Jackie Sedley

Listen to the s...

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 05: U.S. President Donald Trump and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, hold a press briefing with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force on April 5, 2020 in Washington, DC. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation that all Americans should wear masks or cloth face coverings in public settings. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)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...

image from NASA/JPL-Caltech

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.  Europa Clipper carries nine instruments to study this ocean world covered by an ice shell to determine if there are places in the watery depths below the surface that could support life.  The mission’s goals are to study ice shell, the sub-surface ocean, and the moon’s composition and geology.  Our guest is Dr. Bonnie Buratti, a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Pr...

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 attended the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, which is still underway in Cali, Colombia, and they share their experiences, perspectives, and optimism from the global gathering.  Nearly 200 nations are attending the summit to negotiate targets aimed at slowing the alarming decline in plant and animal species and critical habitats around the world. The outcomes of the talks could determine the roadmap for the future of the planet (despite the fact t...

WIldfire Mushroom c Coldfire Project

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-wildfires more likely.   But there’s a wrong way and a right way to use mushrooms for mitigation  Our experts today will talk about the ways that are safe for the environment, and the results.

Our experts today are Jeff Ravage of the Coldfire Project and Zach Hedstrom of Boulder Mushroom .  They describe efforts underway to use mushrooms to break d...

Nobel Laureate and CU Boulder researcher Tom Cech. (Photo by Glenn Asakawa/University of Colorado)

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.  Thank you to listeners who are contributing funds to help our volunteer powered, noncommercial, community radio station.  If you like what you hear and want to aid our efforts, please donate securely on line at  KGNU.org.

If you would like to join our t...

Image credit: Brown University

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 politically polarized society. But it’s not as unique, or as extreme, as many think. In this week’s show we look behind the curtain of our beliefs and behaviors, and we discuss how emotions, far more than reason, determine our decision-making, including how we vote.
How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews Leaf Van Boven, a psychology professor at CU Boulde...

Boulder Colorado Nature Hikes

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 Launch, THIS THURSDAY at Boulder’s Patagonia Store, and a Hiking Song:Vocal Improvisation in the Wild, NEXT THURSDAY October 9th.

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, What’s the carbon footprint of these ingredients and meals? Understandable. Our guest today, ecologist Mark Easter, however, has pondered this question intensely for many years, when he grocery shops, plans his next meal, and researches. Easter is a so-called greenhouse gas accountant, one who measures the sources and sinks of GHG emissions from agricultural practices.
It’s a vexing and critical calculus. After all...

Colorado Parks & Wildlife Wolf Release

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 Bekoff did, offering suggestions for how to improve human-wolf interactions under the voter mandate to reintroduce wolves to Colorado.  Go here for a transcript and extended interview with Marc Bekoff.  Go here to see the “Kill Permit” Colorado Parks & Wildlife denied to the rancher who lives near the wolf family’s den.

HOOF  BEATS.  How Horses Shaped Human History. (Starts ) We spea...

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 AI-generated written transcipt.

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 Lives of Animals. Marc Bekoff is professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. For decades he has studied animal behavior, cognitive ethology (the study of animal minds), behavioral ecology, and written extensively on human-animal interactions and animal protection. He centers his work and writing around compassionate conservation, namely the principle of, “First do no harm” and the life of eve...

Peter McGraw

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 trend for adults to live “Solo.”

(for Cat Ladies song, go here)

Show Producer and Host: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Susan Moran

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 interesting science from the Moon that can’t be done on Earth, which is our topic today with guest Dr. Jack Burns, Professor Emeritus in the University of Colorado Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences and Department of Physics.  We talk about doing radio astronomy with instruments on the Moon such as ROLSES, LuSEE-Night, and FarView.

Show Producer and Host: Joel Park...

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 & Open Space. Joe has worked for over 17 years in rangeland and natural areas management and has been on the forefront of Boulder County Parks & Open Space natural areas invasive weed management program. Laura is a local ecologist with several decades of experience and concern in the same area. The efforts they describe are helping to restore the ecology and ecosystem function in our incredibly di...

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 when they communicate vocally – and why do they communicate the way they do? Our guest, zoologist Arik Kershenbaum, explores recent scientific discoveries in animal vocal communication in his new book Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication (Penguin Press). His exploration of wolves howling, dolphins whistling, gibbons warbling, and far more, poses more questions than answers about the natural world, including our place in it. In this wee...

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 material that involves clay, sand and lime.  Our guests are architect-engineer Lisa Morey and one of her clients, Matteo Rabescini, who had such a home built in Superior, Colorado after the 2021 Marshall fire.  You can read more at Colorado Earth/Nova Terra, Heart of A Building, and Lisa Morey’s substack.

Hosts: Esther Frost, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Shelley Schlender, Joel Parker
Engine...

credit: Maeve Conran. The Flatirons in Boulder shrouded in wildfire smoke on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an air quality alert due to particle pollution and ozone levels.

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 00:00) Beth Bennett speaks with author John Vaillant about the Canadian firestorm that forced 100,000 people to run for their lives . . . and why firestorms like this are becoming m...

Photo credit: Jeff Mitton

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, an ecologist at CU Boulder and director of the Mountain Research Station near the Continental Divide, about a multi-year study, the Boulder Chickadee Study, in which the Taylor Lab team is learning about the interbreeding and food-storing behaviors of these two closely related species.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive...

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 University. Her research focuses on the ecology and management of rangelands, including questions related to restoration, plant community dynamics, grazing and unraveling livestock vs. wildlife effects on their environment. Her research takes place predominantly on multi-use rangelands that are managed simultaneously for livestock production and wildlife conservation. She works closely with both public and private land managers, as well as interdisciplinary teams of scient...

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 how the Moon impacts all aspects of our lives including the creation of life. It is a key component to philosophy and religion, culture and agriculture, art and science, sense of time, and sense of our place in the universe.

Producer/Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Susan Moran

Listen to the show here:

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 plastic cup you got at a restaurant is truly compostable.  Many products contain misleading and outright false claims, leaving consumers confused about how to do good by the planet.  Indeed, tons of food and yard waste, as well as organic food-packaging products, end up in landfills, where they decompose under anaerobic conditions and generate methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent, if shorter-lasting, than carbon dioxide. Organic waste from landfills and wastewater is the th...

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 of cheese.
David Asher has a long career as an educator, activist, and celebrated natural cheesemaker. In our conversation, you’ll hear about the cultures and processes underlying the making of some cheeses, the role of agricultural practices in making cheese, the biological evolution of cheese, and the transformation of milk into cheese through fermentation. Also an update on Long Covid – possible causes and treatments.

Ex...

c Wiki Media from Olympus Digital Camera

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 spurred by April’s massive power outages, when Xcel Energy Colorado abruptly shut off power to over 150,000 Denver Metro homes, citing concerns that downed power lines might spark a wildfire.

Hosts: Shelley Schlender, Esther Frost
Producer: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender

Photo credit: CU Boulder

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 leg up. Composting also benefits the planet.  If dumped into landfills, organic waste breaks down and releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent, if shorter-lasting, than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Municipal solid waste landfills are a major source of methane emissions. On this week’s show, host Susan Moran talks with two experts about the climate, ecolog...

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, Jennifer has covered many aspects of science and nature but recently has focused on birds. In the book she regales the reader with the amazing adaptations of owls to their predatory lifestyle, and visits to many field biologists studying these avian hunters. You can see the fantastic photography of owl flight as captured by the BBC here.

Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender Duration: 00:26:51

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 agricultural systems by pollinating flowers whose seeds and fruit produce our foods. But many of us ignore or take them for granted. The Colorado State University Extension Service offers a lot of information on local pollinators.
You’ll also hear about the once-in-200-years event occurring when 13 and 17-year cicadas emerge this month.

Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Engineer: Sam Fuqua

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 emblems of spring, and World Migratory Bird Day (May 18), How On Earth’s Susan Moran interviews two bird/nature experts about the state of affairs for the North America bird population , including threats to their survival, efforts to preserve their habitats, and how we humans can get outside and appreciate the natural world while helping to give birds, insects and other wildlife a leg up.  Terri S...

Gold Lab Foundation 2024 Illustration

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 this Thursday and Friday.  This year’s symposium focuses on Pain, Culture and Intelligence.

The symposium includes discussion of the paper, Organ aging signatures in the plasma proteome track health and disease

CU-Wizards (starts 1:00) and the upcoming show with CU-Boulder Nobel Prize Winner Eric Cornell

Scott Falci – Denver Neurosurgeon (starts 2:45) and the quest to solve suicidal pain in people w...

Dr. Danile Wildcat c Indian Leader

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 Leaders with climate scientists to solve pressing climate and environmental challenges..

Science Moab – Our “sister science program” features two Native American students, who tap the wisdom of Western scientists and Native American elders as they explore desert biocrusts and how to clean up uranium mines.  Go here for the full interview.

Executive & Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Esther Fros...

Seahorses (starts 4:10) Science Writer Till Hein explains his new book, The Curious World of Seahorses:  The Life and Lore of a Marine Marvel.

Also in this episode, we share this week’s DomeFest West at CU-Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium (starts 2:00).  And we share congratulations to three new CU-Boulder members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. (starts 1:00)

Executive Producer & Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Esther Franke, Joel Parker

In this week’s show, Beth speaks with rewilder Derek Gow about his new book, Hunt for the Shadow Wolf, in which he explores the mythology, mystery and history of wolves in Europe, and their speckled history with our species.

Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Esther Franke, Joel Parker
Engineer: Sam Fuqua

Listen to the show:

Dr. Christopher Kerr

The Science of Deathbed Visions  Many people have visions and dreams as they near the end of their life in which they reunite with loved ones who have gone before them. What can science tell us about these mysterious and common experiences? And how do they affect those who have them? These are questions that Chris Kerr, a hospice physician and neurobiologist, set out to answer  through research decades after he witnessed his dying father having one when Kerr was an adolescent.  Dr. Kerr, is the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Hos...

Corban Tillemann Dick c Maybell Quantum

Colorado – The Quantum State:  We speak with Corban Tillemann-Dick about how Colorado has emerged as a world leader in Quantum Technologies.  Tillemann-Dick will speak at CU-Boulder’s Conference on World Affairs, Thursday, 10:30, at the UMC Central Ballroom.  Tillemann-Dick heads up Elevate Quantum, a consortium of over 85 quantum-focused organizations in Colorado and the Mountain West.   He’s also the founder and a CEO of the Denver company, Maybell Quantum.  It’s named after the tiny town of Maybell, Colorado, which  holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Colorado – Min...

In this episode of How on Earth, we talk about the upcoming 2024 April 8th solar eclipse.  Our guests are science writer David Baron, author of American Eclipse, and Dr. Doug Duncan, served as Director of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium.

Show Producer and Host: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender

Listen to the show:

Lake Mead’s water level
Credit: Research Gate

Colorado River: Promise and Peril  (start time: 6:28)  For more than two decades the Colorado River has been shrinking, afflicted by climate change-induced drought, population growth, and water politics. Some 40 million people living in seven states, and 30 tribes, depend on the river.  The Upper Basin — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico– have been at odds with Lower Basin states – California, Nevada and Arizona — over who should do more to cut back on water use.  Meanwhile, here in Colorado, cities and towns on the Front Range have been clashing with those on the We...

This is the third and final episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting.

Habitable Worlds Observatory (starts at 5:15) Dr. Megan Ansdell, Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in the Astrophysics Division and the Planetary Science Division, talks about the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a proposed mission for a large ultraviolet, optical, infrared space telescope.

iStock/dane_mark

Impostor Phenomenon (starts at 14:28) Jennifer Bates, a licensed clinical social worker, the Broadening Participation Program manager at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and the project lead...

Peter McGraw cc Glenn J. Asakawa
Copyright: University of Colorado

In this Spring Pledge Drive show, we talk with CU-Boulder professor and behavioral economist Peter McGraw about his new book, Solo:  Building a Remarkable Life of your own.  The book is also available through KGNU for listeners who give a donation to support this non-commercial, community radio station.

Executive Producer: Joel Parker
Show Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender
Hosts: Shelley  Schlender/Susan Moran

This is the second episode of a series where we hear about recent research presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 meeting.

Credit: ESO/Igor Chekalin

3D Astronomy (starts at 3:08) Dr. Nicole Karnath, Research Scientist, at Space Science Institute, talks about using the Hubble Space Telescope and the airborne SOFIA telescope to explore the wondrous 3D world of protostellar shocks.

AI in Astrophysics (starts at 17:38) Dr. Megan Ansdell, Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in the Astrophysics Division and the Planetary Science Division, talks about using artificial intelligence and machine learning in astrophysics r...