In The NoCo

Jeff Kagan and Paige Doughty have been wearing rainbow-colored socks while performing songs about nature and science in front of kids in Boulder for more than 20 years.  

Their performances get kids rolling, crawling, and acting out animal moves while they sing fun, catchy lyrics about concepts like decomposition and photosynthesis.   

The duo, which performs under the name Jeff and Paige, recently announced that they are adapting their live performances for a TV show called Rainbow Socks. The show is aimed for PBS distribution later this year.  

Jeff and Paige joined Erin O'Toole to talk about what they hope to bring to their upcoming TV show, and how they became children’s entertainers in the first place.  

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Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
 
Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Somewhere in the vast reaches of the universe, there may be an Earth-like planet that could be a second home for humanity.  

Although that may sound like science fiction, astronomers at the University of Colorado Boulder are part of a new project designed to help find that planet. And their efforts will soon get a major boost, as researchers from CU Boulder, in collaboration with NASA, prepare for a new space telescope to come online.  

The telescope, called the Habitable Worlds Observatory, is expected to launch in the 2030s.   

Kevin France is a professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences at CU, and was recently appointed to the project. He spoke with Erin O’Toole about how this new observatory could help us reimagine our place in the universe. 

Also: Check out our recent conversation about Breckenridge becoming Colorado’s latest dark sky community. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
 
Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

In 1978, three men from Boulder set out a journey to make the first-ever crossing of Colorado on skis.   

The three amateur skiers – Alex Drummond, John King, and Peter Vanderwall – carved a continuous line across the state, covering 490 miles of rugged, snowy backcountry from Durango to northeast of Fort Collins.   

A new documentary, Moving Line, tells the story of their remarkable trek. Ahead of an appearance at the Breckenridge Film Festival next week, director Cameron Wyatt joined Erin O’Toole to talk about their journey, and the lasting impact it had on Colorado's outdoor recreation community.  

Moving Line will also be shown in Salida on Sept. 13. Find screenings at the film’s website. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
 
Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

It's a painful moment for the team at KUNC and The Colorado Sound.  

In recent months we've talked about how federal cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting could hurt local member stations like KUNC. 

In July, that became a reality when Congress clawed back more than a billion dollars in money from the public broadcasting system. And this week, station leaders announced 10 staff members had been laid off from KUNC and The Colorado Sound due to a budget shortfall. That’s about a quarter of the total staff.  

Today we're talking to KUNC's President and CEO Tammy Terwelp about the cuts and what they mean for our community in Northern Colorado.  

Check out our recent interview with Democratic Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper about the battle over public media funding. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
 
Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Colorado's Rocky Mountains have always drawn tourists. But for Black Americans in the 1920s and 30s, segregation and discrimination severely restricted where they could travel and take a vacation.  

Which is why, in 1922, Lincoln Hills emerged as a mountain resort created by and for African Americans. It sits near Rollinsville, northwest of Denver, and was the largest resort of its kind west of the Mississippi River. It drew visitors from all over the country until the 1960s. 

And it offered a rare opportunity for Black Americans to feel safe and welcome in the outdoors, during a time when access to such spaces was often limited because of racial discrimination. 

History Colorado in Denver recently unveiled a newly expanded exhibit called Lincoln Hills: Mountain Sanctuary. It features photographs, displays of recreational clothing, and recently collected oral histories.  

Erin O’Toole spoke with Acoma Gaither, History Colorado’s assistant curator of Black history, in June to learn more about what made Lincoln Hills so important. We’re listening back to that conversation today. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
 
Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Visitors from around the globe head to Breckenridge for hiking in the summer, and skiing and snowboarding in the winter.
 
And soon, they might also visit to take in the town’s crystal-clear views of the night sky.
 
Breckenridge recently became the first ski resort town in Colorado to become a certified dark sky community. The designation comes from DarkSky International, which pushes to limit light pollution. Small towns like Paonia and Westcliffe, and remote national parks like Great Sand Dunes, already have the DarkSky seal of approval.

But how does a busy resort like Breckenridge cut down on light pollution? And are ski resorts the next frontier for the dark sky movement?

To find out, Erin O’Toole talked with Rachel Cohen of the Mountain West News Bureau, which KUNC is a part of. Rachel recently published a story about the growth of dark sky communities in Colorado. 

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

In the depths of the ocean, miles beneath the surface, unusual new technology developed by Colorado researchers could soon help scientists make discoveries.  

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are harnessing the unique abilities of jellyfish to act as underwater explorers in places humans can't easily go – like the Mariana Trench, 7 miles below sea level. 

Nicole Xu is an assistant professor in CU Boulder’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. She implants tiny devices into live jellyfish that allow scientists to steer them toward remote areas of the ocean.  

She spoke with Erin O'Toole about how her work aims to change how we explore and study the deep sea, and how she hopes these “cyborg jellyfish” will inspire the next generation of underwater robotics.  

Check out our recent conversation with insect experts at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster about their work to restore firefly populations to Colorado.  

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
 
Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

When the Colorado River makes headlines these days, it's usually in reference to drought. And what lower water levels mean for the 40 million people in the Southwest U.S. who depend on the river. 

A new documentary screening in theaters around Colorado looks at those issues from a different perspective. It's a portrait of the plants and animals that rely on the river’s water as it winds its way across the region.  

Ben Masters directed the documentary, “The American Southwest,” which opens today at several theaters around Colorado. Ben collaborated on the film with several tribal groups in the region.  

He joined Erin O’Tool to talk about the images he captured and why he wanted to make the film. 

Learn more about the Sept. 29 conversation in Fort Collins between KUNC reporter Alex Hager and Natives Outdoors founder and scholar Len Necefer, who was a producer on the film.  

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

More people in Colorado are turning their backyards into coops and runs for chickens. According to The Denver Post, people are finding satisfaction in raising their own broods – especially as egg prices remain high. 

Paul Fleischer leads an introductory class to backyard chicken keeping at Fleischer Family Farm in Lakewood. The class addresses everything from how to build your own coops to how to keep your birds healthy. Paul says fall is a great time to start planning for your spring brood. 

He joined Erin O’Toole to talk through some of the basics and told her that he and his wife started their farming career with a few of their own backyard chickens.

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Gardening in Colorado takes work.  

You prepare the soil, choose what you want to plant, and lay out a design. Then once things start to grow, there’s all that weeding, pruning and manicuring – most of which is trickier given the Front Range’s tough soil and fickle climate.  

Or – you could just grab a few random seed packets, sprinkle them over a patch of bare ground, and sit back and wait for those wildflowers to explode in a riot of color. 

That's the idea behind a new trend that's taking over social media called chaos gardening. 

Chaos gardens appeal to folks who want to embrace the joy of gardening without all that sweat equity. Proponents say it's also a no-fuss way to create habitat for pollinators. 

But is chaos gardening really as simple as garden TikTok or Instagram makes it look?  

Deryn Davidson, a sustainable landscape specialist with CSU Extension, recently wrote about the trend. She told Erin O’Toole that fall is a great time to plant your own chaos garden, as long as you’re willing to put at least minimal effort into it. 

Deryn also shared some recommendations for flowers that should thrive and attract pollinators to a Front Range chaos garden.  

Check out our recent conversation with Deryn about how state law supports homeowners who want to incorporate water-efficient plants into their landscaping without pushback from their HOA. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
 
Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.