To celebrate Juneteenth we tell the story of plant biologist Beronda Montgomery. When she sat down to write what became a personal memoir mixed with a botanical history of African Americans, she found her research as a PhD lab scientist had brought her squarely into the world of social science as well. From her studies of how plants respond to light during p ... Show More
Jun 26
When the Forest Breathes with Suzanne Simard, Ocean Monitoring Restored, Fighting Fracking in Colombia and more.
Forest ecologist Suzanne Simard has shown through her research that the biggest and oldest ‘Mother Trees’ in the forest anchor networks of social connection among the trees, and indeed the whole forest ecosystem. Her latest book is When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience ... Show More
52m 14s
Jun 19
How Flowers Made Our World, A Cemetery Buzzing with Bees, El Niño Is Here, and more.
Lush peonies, delicate hydrangeas, and vibrant roses burst into bloom in early summer, filling gardens and parks with color and fragrance. But flowers are more than their beauty. They’re some of the oldest beings on Earth, and they played a large role in shaping the natural world ... Show More
51m 52s
Jun 5
Trump Cuts Ocean Monitoring, Ancient Greek Sites Rich in Biodiversity, Seeking Environmental Justice in Papua New Guinea, and more.
The National Science Foundation has announced it will begin removing most of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a collection of roughly 900 instruments in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that gathers fixed-point data on temperature, carbon dioxide levels, and more. The move is p ... Show More
51m 52s
Aug 2023
Hawai’i Wildfires, Blue-Fin Tuna Science, Maine’s New Lithium Deposit. August 11, 2023, Part 1
<p>We have a new podcast! It’s called <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/new-science-friday-podcast-universe-of-art/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri" target="_blank">Universe Of Art</a>, and it’s all about artists who use science to bring their ... Show More
45m 11s
May 2024
John J. Berger, "Solving the Climate Crisis: Frontline Reports from the Race to Save the Earth" (Seven Stories Press, 2023)
Solving the Climate Crisis: Frontline Reports from the Race to Save the Earth (Seven Stories Press, 2023) is a hopeful and critical resource that makes a convincing and detailed case that there is a path forward to save our environment. Illustrating the power of committed individ ... Show More
47m 47s
Apr 2024
‘Til the landslide brings it down
When officials commissioned a set of updated hazard maps for Juneau, Alaska, they thought the information would help save lives and spur new development. Instead, the new maps drew public outcry from people who woke up to discover their homes were at risk of being wiped out by la ... Show More
33m 24s
Sep 2024
News update: Sea level rise, Mexico's "green" president, Ivory Coast's chocolate crisis
<p>The United Nations has just published a worrying new report about the rate of sea level rise in the Pacific. BBC climate reporter Esme Stallard talks us through the details. </p><p>Plus, Mexico is preparing for the inauguration of an environmental scientist as its new presiden ... Show More
26m 26s
Apr 2024
One Thing: Coral Reefs, Cooked: A Climate Change Case Study
Two top scientific bodies recently announced that coral reefs around the world are experiencing a mass bleaching event for just the fourth time. It comes amid surging ocean temperatures over the past year, which has been the warmest on record. In this episode, we examine how a nu ... Show More
18m 7s