Biden Promises a Climate-Centered Presidency (0:30)

Guest: Brigham Daniels, Professor of Law, Brigham Young University

President-elect Joe Biden has promised to put the US back in the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office. But meeting the requirements of that agreement will require a major reduction in carbon emissions from all aspects of America’s economy, and Biden may not have the votes in Congress to get big climate change laws passed. There’s a lot the President can do without Congress, though–and President-elect Biden’s approach to climate change is shaping up to be even more aggressive than his former boss President Obama. 

 

Why the World Loves Dolly Parton (and Really Needs Her Now) (21:15)

Guest: Sarah Smarsh, Author of New York Times Bestselling Memoir “Heartland” and “She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs”

There’s a petition–with tens of thousands of signatures–calling on the state of Tennessee to take down all of its Confederate monuments and replace them with a “true Tennessee hero, Dolly Parton.” Not so long ago, Dolly Parton was best known to many people as the punchline of jokes about her body. Today she’s regarded as a living saint in her home region of Appalachia. Young music stars clamor to collaborate with her. Back in 2016, Dolly packed arenas on her latest world tour. It was at one of those shows that author Sarah Smarsh looked around the audience and decided she needed to take a closer look at why Dolly is so popular right now.

 

How Humans Are Altering Life on Earth (52:21)

Guest: Helen Pilcher, Science and Comedy Writer, Author of “Life Changing: How Humans are Altering Life on Earth”

We just can’t help ourselves, really. Humans are pushing the evolution of living species into overdrive. Some of it is deliberate–like domesticating animals and modifying the genetics of plants. Some of it is accidental–like how our presence and pollution are prompting species to mate that wouldn’t have normally. Ever seen a Pizzly Bear? It’s a hybrid Polar/Grizzly. Not all of our influence on nature is bad, though. Humans are starting to use this power to bring species back from the brink of extinction. (Originally aired on June 25, 2020).

 

Studying Cockroaches and Snakes to Help Robots (1:31:13)

Guest: Chen Li, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Principal Investigator of the Terradynamics Lab, Johns Hopkins University

Robots can do a lot of amazing things, but unfortunately, they’re pretty limited in movement. Your robot vacuum can’t climb up the couch to clean it, and a self-driving car can’t move over rubble to assist in a search and rescue operation. To make that happen someday, a team at Johns Hopkins University is studying cockroaches and snakes. (Originally aired June 25, 2020).