EpicEarth Podcast

If there's anyone who can tell us the truth about what's out there, it's this week's guest. Justin Crevier, a former diplomat for the State Department, regales us with his story of how typhoid got him interested in not only studying Earth analog processes (and having a blast with volcanoes), but also delving into a whole other world (literally) while studying dust devils on Mars! Hint: The Tasmanian Devil doesn't create them....​Justin really does take us on an epic journey around the Universe, as he describes dark matter, Einstein Crosses, and a whole host of amazing worldly facts! We can't think of a better episode to conclude our Epic Earth adventure on. His thoughts and advice will leave you curious for more, and that's the point.Now, go create your own EPIC adventure!- recorded December 2023

If you're intrigued, confused, or slightly bothered by the title of this episode, then you're going to want to listen to this week's guest! Meet Dr. Carina Minardi, a kick-butt, formally trained analytical chemist who made a major shift in her career by jumping out of the traditional lab environment and into starting her own organization, called STEM From. Among her many accomplishments, she is also on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Maker Mindz - which provides experimental kits to schools and other organizations to make STEM accessible and available to kids of all demographics. Carina humorously reminds us why doing a "bunny flop" is worth the spirit animal vibe, and how our inner child brings out the best indoor fort-building skills! And, of course, for all of our inner children, we talk a lot about Uranus....need we say more?

....but, let's not call the whole thing off!!

We cannot be more thrilled to introduce our guest this week! Sharon Backhouse is the Director of GeoTenerife, a UK and Spanish company that organizes field trips and training programs in the sunny Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are a topographically- and bio-diverse archipelago south of Spain, and west of Morocco. Apart from their stunning beauty, they also are the site of the 2021 La Palma eruption - a highly destructive eruption for many living on and touring the island. Join us as Sharon tells us how her journalistic background brought her into the world of volcano story-telling, and the many reasons why "getting the whole story" is facilitating what we know about and how to better prepare for volcanic eruptions. You won't want to miss this episode, as Sharon shares some explosive stories and reflections (not just about volcanoes)!

Join us this week as we interview Thomas Farrell, a PhD Geoscience student at Boise State. If you ever need to know the time...as in, deep time...then Thomas is the person to ask! Thomas literally floats through life (not figuratively...he's seriously one of the hardest working students we know!), as his research takes him on rafting adventures through the multi-colored, and fossil-ridden Grand Canyon. The aim of the game? To constrain processes affecting the environment 494 million years ago (during Cambrian times)! And the craziest part!?  He can do this by analyzing one of the tiniest components in rocks, a trace mineral known as zircon...honestly, it's mind-boggling how small the zircons are and the effort into getting a good-quality sample. When he's not literally conducting blasts from the past with his zealous zircon zapping, he's humbly humming over the passage of time.  So, hop in the raft, and hold tight as we take you on this stratigraphically Epic journey!

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-Recorded: Mar 2023

We think if sediment transport had a theme song, it would be Tina Turner's version of "Proud Mary"...you know, because all that sediment is "rolling on the river." See...we can make puns and jokes in literally any field of Geoscience...including river science.  Also, singing a song might be a little easier to digest than the impressive research areas of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics that this week's guest, Nicole Hucke, studies!  Nicole is an amazing PhD student from the University of Idaho who researches seasonal river fluxes and how snowmelt and summer monsoons affect sediment suspension and transport and river systems during high-flow events. She also teaches us that, just like elephants, rivers never forget! Join us as Nicole regales us with type-2 fun, but hilarious, tales from the field, including one Elk who thought her equipment was a toilet. We think it's safe to say, you'll be streaming this episode in more ways than one this week...don't forget to bring a towel!

Meet Nora Honkomp, a MS student in the Raptor Biology program at Boise State University - or as she likes to call herself, a "certified bird nerd". Join us as she elaborates on her research in the global change ecology of birds, more specifically, migratory raptors, whose seasonal migratory patterns may be changing due to changes in the climate and the environment. Nora also espouses citizen scientists and teaches us why community science is like the beneficial paparazzi of the bird world! (Yes, even the bird communities have their George Clooneys and Julia Roberts). There's no fowl play in this episode, only the reminder to look up to the skies more often. And we all know you'll be raven about this episode once you listen to it!

Did you know glaciers are a lot like checking accounts? There's a budget where adding snow and ice to them is positive, and there are all the expenditures in the billions of gallons of water that are lost from glaciers every year. That's how our next guest, Aman KC, describes his research in Kalaallit Nunaat, which we commonly refer to as Greenland. Join us as Aman tells us how remote sensing is used to study the fascinating, yet rapidly declining, tidewater glaciers along the periphery of this landmass. AND..., as if that's not "cool" enough, Aman also teaches us some Nepalese words that you can practice as well!  We don't know how Aman stays so cool in this warming world, but what we do know is you won't want to miss his Epic interview!

If you didn't already know, there's another side to studying volcanoes.  While most people think of the "big picture" aspects of volcanoes (like the lahars that Ashley studies) they don't often think of the small-scale aspects - which are JUST as important. Join us as we interview BSU Geoscience Ph.D. student, Jade Bowers, who uses petrology like a detective uses clues to understand a rare phenomenon - mafic magma that erupts explosively! Learn why studying the texture, mineralogy, and chemistry of the magma chamber can tell us A LOT about how and why a volcano erupts (or erupted in the past) in a particular manner. You won't want to miss this explosive episode.

Join us as we interview STEM enthusiast, Earth Science junkie, and one of the coolest people doing amazing outreach in the community, Mattie Honea. Mattie currently works in Boise State's COBE Career Services, but her background with the Discovery Center and Girl Scouts has provided EPIC STEM opportunities to hundreds of youth in the Boise area.  Mattie shares with us some of her favorite stories about teaching kids about coprolite (fossilized feces) and the opportunity to interact with Sue the T-Rex. Her tenacious and passionate personality to bring youth, especially girls, into STEM careers is infectious...and the outreach bug is definitely one you want to catch. Tune in to learn why!