How On Earth
How On Earth is a 25-minute news magazine about science, environment, technology, and more. The show is produced by volunteers at KGNU community radio in the Boulder-Denver area. We collect fascinating science headlines from around the world, produce features about the exciting research being done in our region, and interview the many accomplished scientists that make Colorado their home. How On Earth is also broadcast live at 8:35am (Mountain Time) every Tuesday morning in the Boulder-Denver area on KGNU: 88.5 FM / 1390 AM / Streaming on KGNU.org
Kyle Datta – Energy Security, War & Renewable Energy
from Kyle Datta’s presentation at the Gold Lab Symposium
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,” reduce the rise of global warming.
For Datta’s full speech, which he presented with videos at the 2026 Gold Lab Symposium, go here.
Host/Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
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, and he hopes you will, too. In this week’s How On Earth, host Susan Moran interviews Ryan Huling about his just-published debut book, The Hidden Nations of Animals: A Grand Tour of Earth’s Wild Civilizations. The book is part travel and nature writing, part cartography, part exploration of sophisticated communication and movement p...
Climate Change: Perils and Progress
Tromso, Norway
Photo credit: Tom Yulsman
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, How can I wake up and do something to help solve, not just contribute to, the climate crisis? The film helped form the modern climate movement, following the environmental movement of the 1970s. Two decades later, despite a rise in public awareness of and concern about the impacts of melting sea ice, and intensifying droughts, wildfires and hurricanes, the Trump ad...
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 unsung heroism of female astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. Silent Sky runs April 22 – June 7th at Boulder’s Dairy Arts Center
Gold Lab Symposium (starts 6:26) Thursday and Friday, this all day health and science symposium shares dialogues with Nobel Prize Winners, Indigenous Knowledge Holders, Computational Scientists and more, at CU-Boulder’s Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building Register On Line. for live sessions or r...
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 healthy aging. In his book, Choose Better, Live Better, he outlines 9 avenues one can address for extending health span i.e. the portion of one’s life spent in good health with the ability to live and function independently.
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contribution: Shelley Schlender
Engineer: Abby...
The Loneliness Epidemic – CSU Researcher Natalie Pennington
Friendship Researcher Natalie Pennington
The Loneliness Epidemic – Social media fuels extra risk. Especially vulnerable are people undergoing transitions . . . such as college students, who today share what can lead loneliness and how to heal from it. CU-Boulder senior Lorraine Healey also talks with Colorado State University “Friendship Researcher” Natalie Pennington about why times of transition can trigger loneliness but also be important times for growth.
Hosts: Mac Hebebrand, Benita Lee and Lorraine Healey
Show Producers: Lorraine Healey and Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Additional Music by Lynn Patrick
Forest as Superorganism: What it means to Clearcut.
On this week’s How on Earth, Beth speaks with Suzanne Simard, professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia, about her book, WHEN THE FOREST BREATHES, both a call to action, and a journey into the heart of British Columbia’s old growth forests and the indigenous communities that live there, and her efforts to unite them to ensure the health of these vital ecosystems.Also: an allergist’s take on why this year’s seasonal allergies are worse than normal.
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Listen to the show:
Buy Now Pay Later – Enticement or Addiction?
Buy Now Pay Later – is this lending service simply enticing, or is it addictive? For the GenZ 20 somethings that are its biggest users, is Buy Now Pay Later a danger or a deal? CU Boulder student and Howonearth volunteer Juliana Krigsman speaks with students about this, plus Adam Brown – director of New Schools Center for Global Mental Health, Renee Shannon Hickey – Mindful Creation Counseling in Colorado, and Harvard Business Economics Researcher Justin Katz.
Hosts: Joel Parker
Show Producers: Juliana Krigsman and Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Women’s Health Pt. III: Menopause & the Brain
Estrogen on the brain
Credit: Mosconi Lab
The Brain on Menopause (start time: 01:24) In this week’s show, we offer the finale of our three-part series on menopause and women’s health. We focus on a most precious organ: the brain. And we discuss how hormones such as estrogen and cortisol affect brain health; on how
A Brain Circuit That Switches Acute to Chronic Pain
On this week’s How on Earth, Beth talks with neuroscientist and chronic pain researcher Jayson Ball. He recently completed a study of a novel brain circuit involved in generating chronic pain. Since finishing his graduate studies at CU Boulder, he has moved to Neuralink, a biotech start up focused on implantable brain devices with the goal of someday alleviating chronic pain through this new technology.
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender and Abby O’Brien
Engineer: Abby O’Brien
Listen to the show:
