No More Snow?

Guest: Brian McInerney, Senior Hydrologist, National Weather Service Forecast Office, Salt Lake City, Utah

Skiing as we know it is going to look very different, where it exists at all, in 20 years. To understand why, you need to understand the powerful rivers of water in the sky that move moisture around the world. Global warming means that more of that moisture falls as rain, and not snow. But it's not too late to capture some of that heat that's in the atmosphere. 

Listeners from Abroad Make Thanksgiving Their Own

How listeners have adopted and adapted this very American holiday.

Thanksgiving Has Always Been Evolving

Guest: Michael Wise, Associate Professor, History, University of North Texas, and editor, "Food and Foodways" book series, University of Arkansas Press

No one knows exactly what the first Thanksgiving looked like—but experts can make a pretty good guess, and they say it looked nothing like our feasts today. But that's okay, because Thanksgiving has always been an evolving holiday. 

More Thanksgiving Musings from Listeners Abroad

The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

Guest: Chris Semtner, Curator, Edgar Allan Poe Museum, Richmond, Virginia

With the death of Edgar Allan Poe, author of the haunting poem “The Raven,” a practically unsolvable detective mystery began.

Microbots, Move Out! (originally aired June 14, 2019)

Guest: Eric Diller, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Lead, Microrobotics Labratory, University of Toronto

Innovation in tiny robot technology has resulted in microbots the size of a pinhead; they are remarkable for their minisculity (which could possibly allow them to move through tiny passageways in the human body), their ease of construction, and their precise maneuverability.

Video Effects Transform Movie-Making

Guest: Eran Dinur, Emmy Award winning visual effects supervisor, author, artist and teacher

Visual effects are a valuable addition to any filmmaker’s toolbox and are used so often you likely don't even notice. But they've transformed the movie-making and movie-watching experience.