KQED Science Video Podcast

Mike Forsberg, a nationally renowned photographer, conservationist, and author from Nebraska, spent four years traveling 100,000 miles across the Great Plains—from North Dakota to Texas—to create a portrait of under-appreciated species and habitats of what many consider "flyover country."

QUEST travels to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to meet Dr. Spurlock, an anatomist and forensic reconstruction artist who uses clay to re-construct the faces of ancient humans in order to show what they looked like when alive. She also sketches more recently deceased individuals using only their remains in order to help law enforcement solve crimes.

The invasive Asian carp has wreaked havoc in the Mississippi River system. The voracious plankton eaters have out-competed native fish and have become the dominant species in many locations. If the carp reach the Great Lakes, they pose a threat to its $7 billion fishery, so a battle against them is taking place on many fronts.

Within and along the waters of Lake Erie (one of the five Great Lakes), there is a daily struggle for survival between natives and unwelcomed invasive species.

The art and science of salt glaze pottery requires skills and techniques acquired over generations of trial and error. Ben Owen III combines his family’s experiential knowledge of ceramics and additional scientific knowledge to create and improve his unique works of art.

QUEST takes to the high seas with researcher Dirk Rosen to study the underwater world off the California coast. In recent years, the state has established a network of marine protected areas to help fragile habitats and struggling fish populations bounce back. But are they working?

In a dark lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, engineers and mathematicians are developing new burners and studying different flames in hopes of better understanding the power of fire and how to make the most efficient flame possible.

In California, more renewable energy comes from geothermal energy than solar and wind, combined. Today, a new technology known as Enhanced Geothermal Systems has the potential to extract even more heat and consequently energy to power steam turbines, but it's not without challenges.

Experts warn that an offshore quake powerful enough to kill thousands and discharge a tsunami could hit the West Coast anytime. QUEST Northwest talks with geologists and seismologists about cutting edge research in earthquake prediction, and what it would look like if the next "Big One" hits close to home.

Khalid Mosalam and his colleagues at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center's Shaking Table Laboratory are helping to make communities safer in an earthquake.