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Season 4 Episodes
Episode #23 -
Eyes to the Sky
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 the 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!
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-Recorded: Jan 2023
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Episode #26 -
The Many Facets of Volcanic Eruptions: The True Beauty and the Beast
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)!
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-Recorded: Mar 2023
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Look at these EPIC resources:
If you, or anyone you know is struggling with academic bullying, or would like more information on how to get involved in making academic spaces more inclusive and safer for all, please visit the Academic Parity Movement website at:
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As part of their ongoing research, Geotenerife produced a documentary on the 2021 La Palma eruption called Lava Bombs, which is available on Amazon and ITunes. But, of course, in order to entice you to watch it, we're linking you to the trailer.
Geotenerife's open access and publicly available research allows everyone (not just scientists) to see the real impacts of volcanic eruptions...from every angle - whether that's scientific, political, emergency and crisis personnel, or community- and individual impacts.
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For more information regarding the Geotenerife program or to learn more about their VolcanoStories, please visit:
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Episode #28 -
What Do Analytical Chemistry and Uranus Have in Common?
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?
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- recorded November 2023
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Episode will be uploaded to platforms in 2024.
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For more information about the STEM From organization, and to get in touch with Carina, please visit:
https://www.stemfrom.org/
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Episode #24 -
Rolling on the River
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 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!
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-Recorded: Feb 2023
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Episode #25 -
Blast from the Raft
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
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Episode #27 -
You Say Tomatoes, and I Say....Climate Change
....but, let's not call the whole thing off!!
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Why the title? Well, there's a saying in Tasmania that states "Never plant your tomatoes before Show Day" (which is the 4th Saturday in October). But, according to Edward Doddridge - a research associate in physical oceanography at the University of Tasmania - it turns out that with warmer and longer summers globally (which means, they are starting earlier), those in Tasmania can actually now plant tomatoes on average 18 days earlier than in the 1900s!
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It isn't just Tasmania that is seeing seasonal effects of climate change, however. Changes are happening globally and impacting everyone - from the wine industry, to wildfire fighters, to residents in Tornado Alley and Hurricane/Cyclone paths. It can be a scary and daunting outlook for the future. BUT, we have three of the most amazing women on the show this week to help alleviate some of the climate woes, and make sure we all stay on track to help planet Earth keep providing!
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Meet:
Jen Pierce - a Professor of Geosciences at Boise State University, whose research tackles climate education, wildfires and climate change, soils and carbon sequestration in the critical zone, and feedbacks among hydrological, biological, and geological systems.
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Jenny Wolf - an education coordinator for the City of Boise's WaterShed Water and Climate Change Education Center. She spends her time developing outreach, curriculum, educator training, and communication products around local climate change impacts. She is an organizer for the City of Boise's Youth Climate Action Council and enjoys finding interdisciplinary ways to connect Idahoans to climate change.
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Deb Roman - works as an Integrative Medicine Family Physician in Boise and is deeply concerned about the detrimental impact of the wildfires, poor air quality and other consequences of climate change on the health and well-being of the people who live in Idaho. In response, she has worked with a committed group of healthcare and education professionals to create the Compassionate Communities, an inter-generational healthcare movement focused on rekindling cooperative responsibility for the health of our communities, advancing health equity and inspiring compassionate action.
Join us as we all three of these brilliant minds delve into the problems and solutions to Climate Change and what the broader impacts will be for us in the future.
SOME OF THE INITIATIVES TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE IN IDAHO:
In 2025, a Statewide Strategic Planning Summit will be held to meaningfully engage a diverse and committed group of stakeholders to collectively and compassionately address the short and long term climate-related health concerns of our friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues in Idaho communities.
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE, OR HEARING ABOUT WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED??
Contact us on FB or IG and let us know what type of information or projects you're wanting to or already participate in!
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- Recorded May 2023​
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“Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.”
— Greta Thunberg
Episode #29 -
The Truth is Out There
If there's anyone who can tell us the truth about what's out there, it's this week's guest. Justin Crevier, an ex-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 Tazmanian 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.
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Now, go create your own EPIC adventure!
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- Coming Soon
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- recorded December 2023
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Episode will be uploaded to platforms in 2024.
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