How The Humble Beaver Shaped A Continent
The American beaver, Castor canadensis, nearly didn’t survive European colonialism in the United States. Prized for its dense, lustrous fur, and also sought after for the oil from its tail glands, the species was killed by the tens of thousands, year after year, until conservation efforts in the late 19th century turn ... Show More
Yesterday
Managing The Risks Of Spaceflight, 40 Years After Challenger
Forty years ago this week, the space shuttle Challenger exploded in flight, 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral. All seven crew members were killed. In the months that followed, the tragedy was traced to a failed O-ring in one of the shuttle’s rocket boosters. Now, with ... Show More
18m 21s
Jan 26
How A Mutation Made This Year’s Flu Season So Bad
A rogue strain of flu, subclade K, has sickened more than 19 million people in the US so far this season. And the flu shot hasn’t offered that much protection. What’s going on with this superflustorm?Joining Host Flora Lichtman with some answers is Jennifer Duchon, a pediatric in ... Show More
12m 27s
Jan 23
Tracking The Toxic Fallout Of The LA Fires
This time last year, Los Angeles was on fire, and more than 16,000 homes and buildings burned to the ground. Cars, batteries, solar panels, insulation, and cleaning supplies went up in flames, releasing chemicals like lead, benzene, and asbestos into giant smoke plumes that wafte ... Show More
17m 28s
Dec 2023
John Perlin, "The Forest Journey: The Story of Trees and Civilization" (Patagonia, 2023)
A Foundational Conservation Story Revived.
Ancient writers observed that forests always recede as civilizations develop and grow. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that before civilization began, “even the pine tree stood on its own very hills” but when civilization took over, “the ... Show More
28m 27s
