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KGNU - How On Earth

The KGNU Science Show

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Avg 26 min
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Tuesday · 27 min
Replaceable You: The Science of Growing Body Parts
The Quest to Replace Human Body Parts (start time: 3:06) In this week’s pledge-drive show, science writer Mary Roach discusses her latest book, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, which was recently released in paperback (W.W. Norton & Co.).
September 29 · 28 min
Youth+Adult Climate Engagement
From Climate Week to Societal Climate Engagement (start time: 1:22) Last week tens of thousands of people from environmental nonprofit organizations, private companies, academia and other sectors came together in New York City for Climate Week NYC,
September 22 · 27 min
Symbiosis – Maybe We Are All Living Together
In this week’s show, Beth speaks with author and evolutionary biologist, Rowan Hooper, discussing the themes and examples of symbiosis from his current book, Togetherness: Symbiosis and the Hidden Story of Life’s Greatest Collaborations.
September 15 · 27 min
Measuring War: Aaron Clauset
CU Boulder Computer Scientist Aaron Clauset says military leaders frequently underestimate the ultimate length and size of a war. Clauset offers a new way to measure wars, not just by counting deaths at a war’s end – his research shows how death rate...
September 8 · 26 min
How Megafires are Transforming Conifer Forests
Forests Vanishing in Wake of Megafires (start time: 7:55) Increasingly large and hot wildfires are turning many conifer-dominated forests in the western U.S.and Canada into shrublands or grasslands, largely by making it impossible for ponderosa and ot...
September 1 · 26 min
Screens & Tech Safety . . . in Schools
Teaching through screens is part of getting kids ready for the digital world. But when do tech and screens help students and when do they get in the way? CU-Boulder Journalism Student Juliana Krigsman explores these questions with teachers,
August 25 · 26 min
Moving Beyond Climate “Hushing”
Climate “hushing” (start time: 5:41) Since President Trump began his second term as president in January, 2025, his administration, at a dizzying pace, has attacked climate change as a Democratic elite “hoax” and gutted federal funding for climate-rela...
August 18 · 27 min
Take a Pause – With Jillian
In her new book, The Power of the Pause: 90 Seconds to Calm, Reset, and Reconnect, Jillian Pransky teaches readers how a brief 90-second break can help regulate the nervous system and stop automatic, reactive habits. Today,
August 11 · 24 min
Operation Music – Why or Why Not?
A heart attack forced Boulder community leader and journalist Sam Fuqua to need emergency care. While being wheeled into the operating room, Sam hoped to soothe his anxiety by hearing some favorite music. His hope had scientific merit.
August 5 · 24 min
Colorado River // Ghostbots
Colorado River Water (starts 1:00) Steep cuts are ahead in the use of Colorado River water by Arizona and California. But what about Colorado? For answers, we talk with CU-Boulder’s Doug Kenney, water law expert and chair of the Colorado River Pro...
July 26 · 28 min
Just What is Wilderness?
What is a wilderness, really? Here in the US we think of it as undeveloped land, put aside to appreciate its beauty and remoteness. In other lands and cultures, wilderness is a powerful, ancient concept, at the intersection of landscape, philosophy,
July 21 · 27 min
Eat Your Garden!
Gardens are popping up everywhere, from community plots to elementary school yards to vertical plantings. A unique approach proposed by award winning British landscaper, Harry Holding, is integrating the edible aspect of vegetable gardens with the esth...
July 14 · 27 min
Plastics: Health Risks & Solutions
Microplastics: Health Concerns, Solutions (start time: 6:02) The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a new rule related to monitoring 30 unregulated chemicals in drinking water that could pose human health risks.
July 8 · 27 min
Poking the Squid – What We Can Learn from Animal Sex
Poking the Squid – Good Reads calls author and illustrator Perrin Roosevelt Ireland’s new book a brilliantly funny, beautifully illustrated graphic nonfiction book that shatters our puritanical and binary notions of nature..
June 30 · 26 min
Childrearing Tips (and Cautionary Tales) From the Animal Kingdom
Parenting Across the Animal Kingdom (start time: 5:02) As humans, we tend to think that we raise our children with more care than any other animal on the planet. After all, human kids depend on their parents on average for much longer than do those of ...
June 9 · 26 min
Kyle Datta – Energy Security, War & Renewable Energy
Global conflicts are revealing vulnerabilities in the global reliance on imported fossil fuels and centralized power. Energy Analyst Kyle Datta says energy security needs may speed the adoption of renewables and “as a side effect,
June 2 · 26 min
Hidden Nations of Animals
Complex Animal Networks (start time: 7:17) As humans, we’re all familiar with, as we live in and are members of, nations. But most of us don’t think of non-human species, be they tiny ants or beavers or bears, in this context. But Ryan Huling does,
May 19 · 26 min
Climate Change: Perils and Progress
Climate Change & Action: From the Arctic to Colorado (start time: 2:33) Twenty years ago the Academy-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth was released in theaters nationwide. It sparked millions of people to ask themselves,
May 12 · 26 min
Silent Sky // Gold Lab Symposium
Protest It, Respect It, Defend It, Use It (starts 1:00) Friday at Denver Patagonia and Saturday at Boulder Patagonia environmental activists Annie Leonard and André Carothers discuss their new book Silent Sky (starts 2:00) Viva Theater celebrates the ...
May 5 · 26 min
A Longer Healthier Life
On this week’s How on Earth, Beth speaks with author, psychologist, and aging explorer Alan Carpenter to discuss the paradigm shift on aging he espouses. Following a life changing accident, he turned his life around by diving into the science of health...

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