Cool Science Radio

Dr. Dennis Charney discusses his new book, "Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges." He shares the rapidly emerging scientific research behind what makes some of us able to navigate trauma more effectively than others. (0:59)Then, Natural History Museum of Utah’s Tylor Birthisel joins the program. Tylor is the lab manager and fossil preparatory at NHMU. He shares his delight in the discovery of new dinosaurs and talks up the Behind the Scenes event at the Natural History Museum of Utah on November 11 & 12. (25:21)

Park City based Monterey Technologies talks about their latest work in Human Engineering, Mission Planning, and Systems Engineering. (1:12)Then, the University of Utah’s PIVOT Center and their mission to connect the research and discoveries at the university with investors and entrepreneurs is featured. (30:00)

Science Journalist Tom Ireland joins to discuss "The Good Virus: The Amazing Story and Forgotten Promise of the Phage." Don’t miss this story about the virus that heals. (1:15) Then, in a rare interview about fiction, Cool Science Radio talks with debut novelist Isa Arsén about her book "Shoot the Moon," a historical fiction novel about mid-century women in science. (27:24)

Astrophysicist and Night Sky Ambassador Tyler Nordgren shares tips and information on viewing the 2023 annular eclipse. It is closer to Park City than you might think. (1:02)Then, join in the hunt for meteorites in Antarctica with Jim Karner, Research Associate Professor of Geology and Geophysics, at the University of Utah, where he and his team endure the harsh Antarctic conditions in the hopes of finding one of these rare cosmic visitors. (26:46)

Author and one of Britain’s premier naturalists Stephen Moss discusses the “10 Birds That Changed the World.” (1:05)Then, author Maria Smilios discusses some unlikely lifesavers from the early 1900’s in her new book, “The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis.” (24:44)

Cool Science Radio talks with Dinosaur National Monument Paleontologist, ReBecca Hunt-Foster, about the fascinating history and discoveries at the monument’s quarry, located in eastern Utah. Can you imagine being on horseback and spotting a massive dinosaur bone jutting out of the ground? (0:56)Then, Pratt Rogers, Assistant Professor of Mining Engineering at the University of Utah, talks about Rare Earth Minerals and the extraction process. We need them, but how can we remove them from the earth in the best way possible? (26:49)

Writer Keith Houston explores the rise and reign of an oft-overlooked invention that is the entertaining story of the pocket calculator in his new book, "Empire of the Sum." Then, Ken Golden, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at the University of Utah, talks about the importance of STEM careers in the U.S. to meet the needs of our climate and the economy.

Katrina Kmak and Elissa Aten from PC Reads joins to talk about the science of reading and how this basic human skill can have a positive effect on our minds, especially young minds. (1:03)John Wells talks with Dr. Jason Dworkin, project scientist for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission about the asteroid sample that returns to Earth on September 24. It is landing in Utah’s west desert. (27:33)

Carl Skylling of Skytrac, a Utah based ski lift company, shares new advancements in ski lifts and the local company’s niche. (0:48)Then, music director of Songwriting with Soldiers, Jay Clementi, talks about the songwriting circles with veterans and how this changes their lives and can rewire the brain. (26:12)

The Ig Nobel awards celebrate the improbable science, the research that makes us laugh and then think, and the under-acknowledged discoveries that are recognized as what they truly are – REAL science. Marc Abrahams, founder and master of ceremonies, tells us about the 33rd First Annual Ig Nobel ceremony. (0:56)Ben Stanger discusses his book "From One Cell: A Journey into Life’s Origins and the Future of Medicine," and the history, science, and wonder of life’s most basic, and essential element – the cell. (26:01)