CSU's The Audit

CSU toxicologist Brad Reisfeld talks about how to keep your holiday meal leftovers from turning into a recipe for food poisoning. It all comes down to timing, temperature and a healthy dose of common sense. 

In this encore episode, CSU history professor Ann Little talks about our fascination with the early North American witch trials and what a modern-day witch hunt could look like.

Can watching horror movies make us more empathetic? CSU film researchers Scott Diffrient and Riana Slyter talk about the benefits of horror, as well as the history of the genre, how it’s evolving and why so many of us love to be scared.

Every Halloween, millions of jack-o'-lanterns brighten porches across America. But what happens after the holiday ends is much more trick than treat. Roughly 1 billion pounds of pumpkins are discarded in U.S. landfills each year, where they emit 83 million pounds of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. But what many people see as disposable seasonal décor may actually be an overlooked environmental resource. 

Addy Elliott, a senior instructor for the College of Agricultural Science’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and Environmental Engineering Professor Sybil Sharvelle explore the surprising environmental impact behind Halloween pumpkins and the practical alternatives to the landfill.

What do "Love Island" and the midterm elections have in common? More than you might think. CSU communication studies researchers Kari Anderson and Nick Marx discuss the growing overlap between popular culture and politics, exploring how politicians increasingly reach voters through podcasts, influencers, social media and other cultural spaces, while also addressing concerns about AI-generated political content, misinformation and online echo chambers. 

Each fall, thousands of Oklahoma brown tarantulas emerge from their burrows in southern Colorado and set off on a remarkable journey known as the "mate-gration." But in recent years, visitors and researchers have noticed something troubling: there are fewer spiders making the trek. 

Habitat loss, climate change and drought are putting pressure on tarantula populations across the state. At the same time, tarantulas and other wildlife are becoming targets in a global illegal trade that reaches far beyond Colorado. From brightly colored spiders sought by collectors to endangered species smuggled across continents, wildlife trafficking has become one of the world's largest illicit markets. 

In this episode, CSU entomologist Maia Holmes, along with John Macdonald and Rowan Hilend from the College of Business, will discuss Colorado's tarantulas, the surprising and strange ways wildlife is trafficked around the world, and what researchers, communities, consumers and law enforcement can do to help protect vulnerable species before they disappear for good. 

There are lots of different types of friends. Best friends, work friends. Facebook friends, even frenemies. Each has an important role in our lives that has been shown to impact our mental and physical health.

Now the American Friendship Project, a program co-led by Colorado State University communication studies researcher Natalie Pennington, provides one of the most complete looks at this highly critical — but rarely studied — relationship. In the face of the so-called "loneliness epidemic," Pennington talks about the reality of our relationships, how we view friendship and how we can stay better connected.

Despite its landlocked location, Colorado State University is well known all along the Atlantic coast for its seasonal hurricane forecasts. Each spring, these forecasts predict the total amount and potential strength of storms for the upcoming hurricane season.
The forecasts were first developed and shared by pioneering atmospheric science researcher William Gray, and are frequently used by media, officials and community leaders to inform the public and make planning decisions. Today, Gray’s former grad student Phil Klotzbach leads the effort to inform communities up and down the East Coast of the dangers the upcoming season presents. 

In this encore episode, Klotzbach talks about the increase in hurricane activity and destructiveness over the years, what we can expect in terms of size and scale for future hurricane seasons, and just exactly how CSU came to be a hurricane hub.

Comedians have been joking about politics for probably as long as there have been politicians. But in the past few years, there's been a noticeable shift in political comedy. 

No longer just a spotlight for the Democrats, more and more conservatives are getting in on the act, too, from the rise of comic and podcaster Joe Rogan to Fox's answer to “The Daily Show,” "Gutfeld," right-wing conservative comedy is on the rise. Colorado State University Associate Professor Nick Marx researches media industries and American politics and culture and is the coauthor of the book "That's Not Funny How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them." Marx recently sat down with The Audit to talk about this cultural shift and what it could mean for comedy and for politics.

The increased awareness of the potential dangers of an undetected concussion means that, from the NFL to Little League, the conversation has shifted from “shake it off” to following a clear diagnostic criterion before returning an athlete to play following a potential concussion. But there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to traumatic brain injuries, particularly around the long-term effects. CSU BRAINSTORM Lab Director Jaclyn Stephens talks about the short and long-term impacts of concussions, what we’re learning about the recovery process, and the surprising exercise that might play a key role in rewiring the brain.