Planet Watch Radio Podcast Jordan Goodman

Astrophysicist Martin Gaskell discusses—at virtually the same time as its publication to the word—what has been called the "greatest astronomical discovery of all time." The conversation ranges from science to intriguing notes on spirituality. Dr. Gaskell is a professor of astronomy at the University of California Santa Cruz.







An Infrared View of the M81 Galaxy | NASACredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech







Dr. Gaskell shares fascinating insights about Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, the Nobel Prize, Mars Exploration, going back to the Moon, the Origins of the Universe, and the relationship between science and spirituality.









With a Ph.D., 1981, University of California, Santa Cruz andPostdoctoral fellow (1981-1983), University of Cambridge, Dr. Gaskell is currently a researcher and lecturer in Astronomy & Astrophysics at UCSC.









His primary research interests are in theoretical and observational studies of what happens around the most bizarre objects in the universe: supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies.  As matter spirals into these black holes, it produces a tremendous release of energy as what is called an "active galactic nucleus" or AGN for short.







AGNs are the most powerful energy sources in the universe (more powerful than an entire galaxy of stars).  Because they are so luminous they can be seen far away —back to the early days of the formation of galaxies when the universe was young.







Much of Gaskell's work involves collaboration with other researchers around the world. "I like to work at the interface of theory and observation.  My research involves observations with giant telescopes on the ground, satellites in space, computer simulations, and sometimes just good old fashioned pencil and paper."

Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project Executive Director Ben Harris talks about the importance of salmonids—salmon and trout— in maintaining the ecological health of ocean and land.







Harris explains how and why Pacific salmon populations have drastically declined, and describes efforts underway to help native Monterey Bay populations of Coho and Steelhead recover from the brink of extinction. He also discusses why farmed salmon should be "off the table" and how food choices we make at the market can affect not only the fate of the fish, but also the health of the oceans and our own well-being.







Harris pursued his life-long interest in fish by earning his B.S. in Fisheries Biology from Humboldt State University in California and then an M.S. in Fisheries Resources from his native West Virginia University. One of his goals as the Executive Director of MBSTP is to bring back the much-loved Salmon and Trout Education Project.

On this episode of Planet Watch, an inspiring and uplifting interview with Lynne Cherry, the originator, producer and director of  Young Voices for the Planet films. Lynne talks about her current film project and also discusses the mental health considerations involved in educating the young about climate change and environmental crisis.



Young Voices for the Planet, a film series, features youth working to limit climate change and its impacts in their communities and around the planet. The films document inspiring success stories of youth speaking out, creating solutions, challenging decision-makers, informing their communities, and catalyzing change. The engaging films, which feature diverse students from elementary to high school age taking on a variety of projects to reduce the carbon footprint of their homes, schools and communities, are available to students and teachers. The films are supported by standards-aligned, interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum. "The Young Voices for the Planet movies allow your young voices to be heard. Seeing what other young people have done and are doing will inspire you to action!"







Lynne is author/illustrator of 30 award-winning children’s books including her popular and beloved rain forest classic, The Great Kapok Tree and her environmental history A River Ran Wild. Lynne received her BA from Tyler School of Art; a Masters in History at Yale University. She has had artist-in-residencies at Princeton University, the Smithsonian Institution and Cornell University and science-writing fellowships from the Marine Biological Lab and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She was a winner of a Metcalf Fellowship and the Brandwein Prize. Her academic writings include a chapter in “Written in Water” published by National Geographic Books, a chapter “Kids Can Save Forests” in “Treetops At Risk” edited by Dr. Margaret Lowman (Springer) and a chapter “Teaching Climate Change With Hope and Solutions: Lessons from a Film Project” in the book “Education in Times of Environmental Crisis.” (Routledge, 2016)

Nuclear Winter, first described by Drs. Brian Toon, Rich Turco, Tom Ackerman, James Pollack, and Carl Sagan ("TTAPS")   equates the plume of smoke from a comet impact that covered Earth causing the great extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago with the global winter that could extinct most life on Earth in the event of a Nuclear War. Understanding what the scientists told them of the threat of Nuclear Winter led to Reagan and Gorbachev to initiate a nuclear non-proliferation treaty process that has been followed by every US president since, until Trump. In his recent TedTalk Dr Toon  renews those warnings, that nuclear weapon detonation will cause massive atmospheric darkening from world-wide smoke and fires, resulting in the annihilation of much of the life on Earth.



Dr. Toon, currently an Atmospheric and Oceanic a researcher at University of Colorado, was a lead atmospheric chemist on the NASA Ozone Hole research, which led to perhaps the most impressive example to date of human cooperation—the Montreal Protocol Banning Substances that Deplete the Ozone. Since the treaty was signed in 1987 by nearly every country on the planet, the international treaty to phase out ozone depleting chemicals has been carefully monitored. In this episode of Planet Watch, Dr. Toon reports on the progress to date on repairing the Ozone Hole.



Air Date: November 4, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080



meeting of Montreal Protocol working group



 

Life on Mars? Dr. Jr. R. Skok of the SETI Institute discusses Current and Upcoming Exploration and Research on MARS

Dr. Skok, explorer and planetary scientist with SETI, earned his B.S. at Cornell University and his Ph.D. from  Brown in Geological Sciences. In the spring of 2017, he took part in an international scientific expedition to study the El Tatio geyser field in the Chilean Andes.



Dr. Skok has been studying deposits from hot spring and geyser systems throughout the world that closely resemble those on Mars, in order to understand what they mean for habitats and preservation of life here on Earth. Based on this work, Dr. Skok and his colleagues at SETI and NASA are planning future expeditions to search for life on Mars.



The evolution of life on Mars could be relevant to Climate Change studies on Planet Earth.



On this episode of Planet Watch, JR also talks about his Made of Mars project and his experiences exploring caves around the planet.







For more on current Mars research see previous Planet Watch episodes with Dr. Chris McKay and Dr. Carol Stoker.



Air Date: October 21, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  (IPCC) 2018 predicts far more dire and rapidly escalating consequences of Climate Change than any IPCC analysis thus far, and calls for a historically unprecedented  transformation of the world economy to avert the worst of the damage.



Dr. Kristie Ebi



Dr. Natalie M. Mahowald



Two of the IPCC's authors, Dr. Nathalie Mehowald of Cornell and Dr. Kristie Ebi of University of Washington, share their thoughts on the report, the problem, and possible solutions.



Air Date: October 14, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080