The Best Of Our Knowledge: Recent Episodes
WAMC
Every day, faculty members at schools and universities throughout the world are making discoveries that shape our ways of thinking and redefine our understanding of today's knowledge-driven society. Since 1990, The Best of Our Knowledge has highlighted breakthroughs across disciplines and across the globe, putting you in touch with the men and women at the forefront of their fields. Each week this program examines some of the issues unique to college campuses, looks at the latest research, and invites commentary from experts and administrators from all levels of education.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
An analysis of small, prehistoric fossils found in sandstone is giving researchers new clues into the time before the explosion of complex life on Earth.
And we’ll visit high school students celebrating Lunar New Year, which is now being recognized in New York state schools.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring toxin with a big reputation.
But scientists say arsenic-contaminated waste could have a potential public benefit, including in advanced manufacturing. We’ll explore how an environmental challenge could become an economic opportunity.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
An analysis of pottery fragments from ancient Mesopotamia has revealed what may demonstrate a mathematical system developed before numbers.
And in the absence of federal funding, a proposal hopes to create a new hub for medical research.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
The culture and traditions of Ancient Egypt have long captivated history students. But one part its history may have been swept under the rug.
On today’s program, we’ll explore opium use in Ancient Egypt, and how the drug was used by people of all classes, including the pharaohs.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
A common lizard in the American west plays a unique game of rock, paper, scissors.
And your dog may be smarter than you think. A new study finds some dogs can learn by eavesdropping.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Scientists have discovered a distant planet that resembles a lemon.
And while studying a mysterious cloud of hot dust 70 light-years away, researchers have found an unusual star.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
On this episode, we’ll speak with a scientist who helped pinpoint a unique – and long theorized – form of matter.
And we’ll visit museum in upstate New York that organizers hope will inspire the next generation of firefighters.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
This week we’ll celebrate the best of The Best of Our Knowledge in 2025.
We’ll learn about a new color that humans normally can’t see, a project that created one of the most advanced maps of the brain, and research that uncovers truths to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
On this episode, we’ll learn how an endangered antelope was born to a mother of a separate species.
A new report from New York examines declining public school enrollment.
And lawmakers are celebrating the return of whole milk to the cafeteria.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
The Rapa Nui peoples of Easter Island have sculpted statues known as Moai for centuries.
These statues are likely familiar to you – giant stone heads with prominent figurative facial features.
We will learn all about how the Moai statues were transported by the Rapa Nui on the island to their places of display.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
The East African Savannah is known to be the cradle of humanity.
Now, researchers are presenting a different history of homo sapiens, theorizing they evolved all across the continent including in rainforests as early as 150,000 years ago.
[rerun]
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Imagine seeing something brighter than 10 trillion suns… seems impossible.
Well, scientists have detected a black hole flare that achieved this rare unbelievable brightness.
This sighting opens up the possibility of there being more flares of this magnitude.
We will learn all about this supermassive black hole flare.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Can you imagine early humans over 2 million years ago using tools, maybe not, but guess what they did!
Technology has been a major part in our evolution as humans and stone tools were some of the beginnings of what we recognize as modern technology.
We will explore a discovery of stone tools found in Kenya’s Turkana Basin to learn more about early technology and humans.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
There are about 600 venomous snake species worldwide and I hope you never run into one.
A new study looks into how some venomous snakes attack their prey.
Vipers, Elapids, and Colubrids all have different behaviors when striking and we will learn all about it.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
We learn about fossils of dinosaurs found in New Mexico that provides evidence that they were quite diverse and thriving before their extinction.
And we learn about a series of forums looking at what challenges rural schools are facing in New York State.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
The sun is the center of our solar system and our source of almost all energy.
The space probe Solar Orbiter has been able to identify the Sun’s dual engines for fast electrons, explosive flares and coronal mass ejections.
Being able to collect this data researchers have uncovered the key mysteries about these sun particles.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Ever thought about wanting to change the shape of your head, well peoples in Latin America did thousands of years ago.
This practice is called head binding and was done on newborns, when their heads are pliable, to have the desired form of being flat, round, or cone shaped.
We learn all about head binding and the cultural significance of it all.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Seahorses are some of the most unique and beautiful creatures in the ocean.
The Pygmy Seahorse is one of the most interesting looking and complex of them all.
They are only 1 inch big, and due to their size were not known to exist until about 50 years ago.
We will learn all about this tiny creature that comes from the depths of the ocean hidden in coral.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
A monster Molecular Cloud has been discovered in our galaxy that was not previously known to exist by a team of astronomers.
This cloud is made up of gas and dust and is about 200 light years long... whoa that is indeed a monster.
We will learn more about this cloud and what exactly it is and its functions.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Vampire Bats… not really an inviting name, but new research discovers that these bats have behaviors of cuddling, playing, sharing, and more.
And we also learn about an ancient voyage recreation that happened thousands of years ago across one of the strongest ocean currents in the world by a team of researchers.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
At Yellowstone National Park about 5,000 Migratory Bison roam and graze the grasslands.
In new research it hints that these Bison are actually helping the environment with their grazing habits.
This means that there are potential benefits to restoring Bison to an ecosystem.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
The Nation’s Report Card shows a drop in average scores for eighth graders in science and for 12th graders in math and reading.
And liberal arts colleges are going through a challenging time, but one private college in Massachusetts is "reimagining" education.
A common dragon fly has an ability to not only survive in polluted water, but thrive.
We’ll explore how one private college is developing a strategy to safely integrate artificial intelligence into instruction.
And a public college in Massachusetts is taking a big step to combat food insecurity on campus.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
Scientists are studying how the small, seemingly ordinary Zebrafish could one day help people restore their hearing.
And why knot? We’ll speak with a researcher who says knots and string tell stories of human history.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
Under President Donald Trump’s push to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School is providing advice to families who are concerned about their children during back-to-school season.
And an organization representing public school districts in New York has published a report to assist districts attract teachers during a national shortage.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
On this episode, we’ll learn about how one artist views and creates visual art through the use of artificial intelligence – and discuss the importance of AI literacy.
And American cities are sinking. We’ll learn how satellites are used to track shifting population centers.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
On this program, we’ll learn about curious orcas.
The Supreme Court has issued a decision could affect religious freedom in schools.
And we’ll speak with an artist whose medium of choice is Lego.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
It’s summertime and people are flocking to the beach.
On today’s program we will talk about sharks! We will uncover why they are misunderstood and all the important information about the “perceived ultra-predator.”
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
Researchers have revealed how an otherwise ordinary moth in Australia uses the stars to make an annual voyage.
And a coalition of teachers’ unions is suing the Trump administration over billions of dollars in frozen education aid.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
On this episode, we’ll speak with investigative journalist Mariah Blake.
Blake’s new book “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals” chronicles the decade-long fight for clean drinking water in the small community of Hoosick Falls, New York.
On this episode, we’ll learn how an introduced fish population in the Adirondacks has evolved to avoid capture. New research has revealed neurons tied to binge drinking. And we’ll spend time with historians working to bring back a centuries-old barn in the Berkshires.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
Unlocking a genetic mystery, scientists studying an unusual jellyfish-like creature have determined the animal to have multiple lineages.
A new report examines an adolescent literacy gap.
And we’ll visit a new museum dedicated to all things pinball.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
On this episode, we’ll learn how artificial intelligence is allowing scientists to understand brain function. A new algorithm illuminates the brain’s internal wiring. Researchers are gaining new insight into the brain’s reward system.
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
We’ll speak with one of a handful of winners of this year’s Dan David Prize. Hamilton College professor Mackenzie Cooley received the world’s largest history prize for her study of “bioprospecting.”
And we’ll speak with school administrators in New York about the state’s new ban on cell phones in schools.
New York’s governor has proposed free community college for adults retraining for careers in high-demand fields. We’ll speak with the chancellor of the state’s public college and university system about the idea.
A new lab at Western New England University is dedicated to studying “extended reality.”
And Marist College has officially rebranded as Marist University
Sea ice in the Southern Ocean is melting, leading to increased ocean heat loss and stronger storms. We’ll speak with a climate scientist to learn more.
And New York’s largest teachers’ union is backing a proposal to ban cell phones in classrooms across the state.
According to new research, stars similar to our own sun may produce superflares about once per century.
And after the death of American filmmaker David Lynch, we’ll speak with a film studies professor about how Lynch’s films impacted him and his students.
2024 was the hottest year on record. We’ll speak with a NASA climate scientist to learn more.
And a new study suggests evidence of water reserves deep underground on Mars.
On this episode, we’ll learn about how an increase in research spending over decades has changed NYU.
And we’ll speak with an international scholar in the area of therapy dogs in classrooms.
This week, we’ll celebrate the best of The Best of Our Knowledge in 2024.
We’ll visit a former pig barn that is serving as a temporary home to the largest collection of popular music in the world.
We’ll spend time at the intersection of music and evolutionary theory.
And we’ll learn how children’s ideas are brought to life in glass.
The Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York has expanded. Officials say new lab space will make the facility a national leader in cancer research.
And we’ll learn about a giant centipede with a talent for toxins.
On Christmas Eve, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make the closest approach to the sun ever. We’ll learn about the science behind the mission.
And the Fish and Wildlife Service wants to place the monarch butterfly on the Endangered Species List.
The biggest T. Rex to ever live may be bigger than previously thought.
Several Northeast communities experienced record dryness this fall.
And a private New York college is becoming a university.
The spongy moth caterpillar has been defoliating forests in the United States for more than a century. Now, a study hopes to learn how the invasive species is affecting populations of the tick that carries Lyme disease.
And we’ll visit the ancient sand dunes of a unique upstate New York landscape.
After 25 years of stumping scientists, a mysterious mollusk found drifting in the ocean off the coast of California, has been identified. We’ll learn more about this unusual animal.
And we’ll learn about how human practices can both contribute to and help prevent wildfires.
Award-winning screenwriter Jacob Krueger teaches students how they can become better screenwriters and travels to share his knowledge with writers of all sorts.
We’ll speak about beginning a writing career, avoiding writer's block, and adapting books for TV or film.
The solar cycle is in its maximum phase, causing the northern lights to recently be visible in lower latitudes. We’ll learn about the science of auroras.
And amid a drought in the northeast United States, we’ll learn about the causes and science behind wildfires.
A meteorite that struck the Earth more than 3 billion years ago might have acted like a giant “fertilizer bomb” for life on the Blue Planet.
We’ll learn about a new national study that may lead to a new affordable treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
And officials are celebrating a new national hub for semiconductor research.
Four years ago, Columbia University launched the Columbia Climate School. We’ll speak with Climate School Dean Dr. Jeffrey Shaman.
And a New York Congressman wants to place new restrictions on mobile sports betting. We’ll learn how sports betting affects student athletes
For more than a decade, glass artists at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center in southern Vermont have been challenged and inspired by the creativity of children. We’ll speak with an artist who is bringing drawings to life.
We’ll meet students in upstate New York who are celebrating the turning point of the American Revolution.
And we’ll catch up with an apple researcher in Western Massachusetts.
Guitarist and composer Gary Lucas breathes new life into a nearly century-old vampire film.
We’ll learn about how farmers create a seasonal corn maze.
And we’ll take a trip to the weight room.
What’s your favorite scary story? We’ll speak with Jeremy Dauber, author of American Scary. The book chronicles the history of horror in America.
And we’ll learn about how libraries are creating sensory-focused spaces.
With Americans divided over climate change, communicating the issue can be a daunting task. We’ll speak with a University of Buffalo researcher who says storytelling is the key to finding solutions for a warming climate.
And a Colgate University physics professor’s research on oysters could lead to advancements in the medical and construction industries.
As discussions over a state policy in New York to restrict cell phones in schools continue, we’ll speak with elementary school counselor about how students are affected by electronic devices.
And Hartwick College, a private liberal arts school in Oneonta, New York, rolls out a new “life balance” initiative.
Let’s face it, academic writing can be…boring.
We’ll speak with author Leonard Cassuto about his book, “Academic Writing as if Readers Matter.”
And we’ll catch up with a pair of college presidents.
Scientists are continuing their celestial search for dark matter from an underground facility in South Dakota.
We’ll visit a native plant farm in upstate New York.
And we’ll celebrate the return of Friday night lights at a new field in Massachusetts.
Peter Godfrey-Smith is a scuba diving philosopher, professor at the University of Sydney, and author. His new book, “Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World,” explores the riddle of life on this planet.
We’ll speak with Godfrey-Smith about his latest work.
A new course at Bennington College in Vermont seeks to examine challenges facing democracy. And we’ll learn about the longtime creative partnership between children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle and editor Ann Beneduce.
The cause of long COVID, where patients experience symptoms months after their initial illness, is a mystery. Now, a new study might bring scientists a step closer toward understanding the disease. And we’ll visit students who are learning STEAM concepts through cooking.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll have a conversation with Dr. Carl Safina, an ecologist and author of Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe.
The book tells the story of an orphaned owl who was cared for by Carl and his wife Patricia during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the large impact a little owl had on their lives.
Marine photographer Brian Skerry has traveled the globe, capturing dramatic and moving images of the ocean and the life it supports. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak about his latest work documenting change in the Gulf of Maine.
And we’ll have a conversation with Laura Homsey, author, illustrator, and creator of Petit Paper Stories.
For some, Scrabble is more than just a board game. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge we’ll attend a competitive Scrabble tournament.
We’ll learn about a high school graduate who has devoted himself to recording the stories of veterans.
And NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is marking two years of science operations.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll learn about the students and faculty at Stony Brook University who have created a resilience tool kit for student journalists.
And we’ll learn about a national initiative to expand local news coverage through academic partnerships.
The spring 2024 semester was marked by student protests across the country. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak with an organizer at Bard College, where administration officials reached an agreement with Pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
A new public authority is hoping to steer the future of a recently-closed college in Albany, New York.
And we’ll learn about a rare fern with a record-setting genome.
College textbooks can be a necessary part of coursework, but they’re often pricey. On this week's episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we'll hear about a new report examining automatic textbook billing practices.
And a new effort is seeking to assist college presidents in preparing students for civic life.
College textbooks can be a necessary part of coursework, but they’re often pricey. On this week's episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we'll hear about a new report examining automatic textbook billing practices.
And a new effort is seeking to assist college presidents in preparing students for civic life.
America is experiencing renewed efforts to ban books, pass so-called parents' rights legislation, and vilify teachers unions. We’ll speak with the authors of "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual," about who and what is putting schools at the center of the culture war.
New York education officials have unveiled a proposal that would transform the state’s graduation requirements.
Lucas Willard speaks with state Commissioner of Education Dr. Betty Rosa.
Research shows that college students are increasingly lonely. We’ll dive into a study that examines students’ mental health and how colleges and universities are fostering community and belonging.
And the use of artificial intelligence in writing scientific research has skyrocketed. But does it create accuracy concerns?
Research shows that college students are increasingly lonely. We’ll dive into a study that examines students’ mental health and how colleges and universities are fostering community and belonging.
And the use of artificial intelligence in writing scientific research has skyrocketed. But does it create accuracy concerns?
The rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has been rocky this year. We’ll dig into how the bumpy rollout could affect colleges and universities.
It’s been more than 6 years since the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Florida. We’ll speak with Parkland parent and school safety advocate Max Schachter.
And high school students in upstate New York are exploring careers in trucking.
Published in 1995, James W. Loewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me” continues to challenge the U.S. education system and everything we thought we knew about American history.
The book has now been adapted into a graphic novel. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge we’ll speak with illustrator and National Book Award-winning comics artist Nate Powell.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
For five centuries, the world has benefitted from the artistic and scientific contributions from Leonardo da Vinci. A touring exhibit brings the Renaissance polymath’s ideas to life.
We’ll go behind the scenes at America’s largest theater company for young people.
And it’s time for students preparing for college to fill out their federal student aid applications.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
Researchers are using artificial intelligence to listen in on the animal kingdom.
Periodical cicadas this spring are singing in enormous numbers across the United States. It’s reunion hundreds of years in the making.
And we’ll speak with young students who are exploring careers in education.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's bicentennial commencement will feature a special guest, brought to life with artificial intelligence technology.
Students at Union College blend traditional fine art with advanced technology.
And an indigenous student graduating from a South Dakota high school shares his ideas with an international audience.
The 2019 documentary Fantastic Fungi continues to mesmerize audiences with its time-lapse photography and perspectives on perhaps the most misunderstood kingdom of life. The film has been remastered and is now showing in theaters. We’ll speak with director Louie Schwartzberg.
And new research shows frogs are evolving faster than we thought.
The College of Saint Rose, a private four-year institution in Albany, New York, will close at the end of the spring semester. We’ll hear from students and faculty who are facing important decisions on their education and employment.
The documentary “Common Ground,” a follow-up to 2020’s “Kiss the Ground,” examines the U.S. agricultural system and the industrial threats to the nation’s farmland. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak with film co-director Josh Tickell.
And advanced 3D imaging is letting scientists examine and share museum specimens in a new way.
Hairy bodies. Compound eyes. Feather-like antenna. The perhaps misunderstood moth is in the limelight in the experimental documentary film, “The Night Visitors.” The movie provides a glimpse into a world many of us overlook. We’ll speak with filmmaker Michael Gitlin.
The April 8th solar eclipse will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for millions. We’ll meet students who are using balloons to study the celestial event.
And what’s better than a sturdy pair of shoes? Horseshoes, that is. We’ll learn about a program that is educating future farriers.
From Mexico to Maine, the April 8th solar eclipse will carve a path of darkness across North America. We’ll learn how NASA is preparing to study the event.
And commercial interest in space is at an all-time high. We’ll learn more from the U.S. Office of Space Commerce.
What’s your favorite board game? We’ll explore the history of board games in America.
And we’ll visit an upstate New York woodworking shop that is opening its doors to the community.
In an age of smartphones and streaming, where physical media is disappearing, we’ll take a trip to the largest collection of popular music in the world – and meet the man who has dedicated most of his life to cataloguing recordings and historic materials.
And we’ll attend a groundbreaking for a new middle school in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: In a changing climate, researchers around the world are asking citizen scientists to use their smartphones to help monitor beach erosion and storm damage.
And we’ll find out why company Columbia Sportswear is currently displaying its logo on the moon.
Beyond teaching a life-saving skill, competitive swimming can forge life-long bonds. We’ll visit a club swim team in the Hudson Valley.
A college in Colorado offers a unique major in Adventure Education.
And a student research project at the University of West Florida is shining a light to help detect Alzheimer’s disease.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: A mild winter allows for an early prescribed fire. We’ll speak with acclaimed jazz trumpeter and music educator Sean Jones. And a push by public colleges and universities in New York aims to get more students involved in producing local news.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: Hamilton College has named its next president. We’ll speak with Steven Tepper, who is currently serving as a dean at Arizona State University.
And a new summer program aimed at helping middle and high school teachers incorporate lessons on ecology and climate change into their curriculums.
The theories of 19th Century evolutionists Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer changed how scientists view the world.
But one topic that seemed to stump both great thinkers was music. We’ll speak with music theorist and author Miriam Piilonen about her book, which lends a fresh eye to old ideas about music and evolution.
Following the resignation of former president Claudine Gay, Harvard University is at the center of the debate over free speech on college campuses. On this week's episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak with a member of a faculty organization defending the rights of students to protest violence against Palestinians. And we’ll speak with the supervisor of the Onondaga Nation Farm.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: Universities across New York state studying AI are banding together to unlock the potential of the technology to benefit public good. We’ll speak with a researcher who has been working to develop classroom curricula surrounding the rapidly advancing technology.
And 2023 was the warmest year on record. We’ll learn more from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
We’ll learn about the world’s most formidable creatures. National Geographic writer Jen Szymanski will speak with our Jody Cowan about her latest book for young readers, “Deadliest Animals on the Planet.”
And we’ll learn about ice yachts – the fastest craft on the planet at the turn of the 20th Century.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
We’ll have a conversation with Dr. Carl Safina, an ecologist and author of Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe. The book tells the story of an orphaned owl who was cared for by Carl and his wife Patricia during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the large impact a little owl had on their lives.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: The Israel-Hamas war has intensified debate over free speech on college campuses. And we’ll speak with an internationally-known advocate for human rights in the West Bank about how the war has affected learning and the natural environment.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: The Vermont State Colleges system, which is transforming into the Vermont State University, has selected a new chancellor. We’ll learn about an ancient Iranian tradition celebrated during the winter solstice. And the race is on to establish a national semiconductor technology center.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: Many educators will say teaching can be a thankless job. A new app aims to help the entire school community share praise. We’ll speak with the CEO of company HiLight. And with the College of Saint Rose set to close in June, a nearby college wants to help students continue their studies.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
The College of Saint Rose, a private liberal arts college in New York, recently announced it would close at the end of the academic year.
Education advocates brace for budget cuts in the nation’s largest public school system.
And varsity hockey players try a new version of their sport.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
President Biden in October issued an executive order on artificial intelligence. We’ll unpack the order meant to mitigate the risks of the technology.
A new fellowship aims to bring scientists and researchers into state government.
And an exhibit at Vassar College highlights the personal papers of a renowned 2oth Century poet.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
An invasive insect, the Emerald Ash Borer poses threats to America’s forests. A federally-supported study is using parasitoid wasps to control the arboreal pasts. And we’ll visit an environmental science professor in the field, as students collect trail cameras as part of a national study on mammal populations.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: We’ll join researchers collecting ticks during the fall peak of arachnid activity. After a smoky summer, wildfire smoke detectors have been installed across New York state. A championship basketball coach gears up for a fresh challenge. As more colleges and universities are making courses in STEM a priority, one university is also bolstering its efforts to help students retain their education in complex subjects. And officials in Burlington, Vermont recently energized a solar facility that will serve as a research and training facility for university students.
On this week's episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
We’ll attend a demonstration of an experimental instrument – one that when installed can take up an entire concert stage.
A new music school gives more than just guitar and piano lessons.
And we’ll visit a new community college lab that is training students for high-tech jobs.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge:
The home of Gilded Age writer Edith Wharton celebrates the supernatural. The largest donation ever made to one public university will support its efforts to improve literacy. And we’ll learn more about the New York Air National Guard’s mission to support research in Antarctica.
National Geographic scientist-photographer Anand Varma captures images of beautiful secrets hiding in plain sight. We’ll speak with Varma about his book “Invisible Wonders: Photographs of the Hidden World.”
And we’ll learn about a federally funded initiative that is researching urban forests.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, college campuses are reimagining student housing. Researchers at teaming up with astronauts aboard the International Space Station to find ways to cool electronic equipment more efficiently. And a university hosts a banned book read-out.
With a massive, multi-year expansion project finally completed, staff and educators at the Strong Museum of Play are eager to welcome new and returning crowds. After two college-in-prison programs in New York hosted by private universities collapsed earlier this year, Bard College will pick up the slack.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: A novelty high school steel drum band formed in the 1970s brought students around the world. Lawmakers in New York are celebrating record levels of state education funding. And with a chill in the air, we’ll explore the science as to why leaves change colors in the autumn.
A new poll shows that while Americans mostly see the value in a college degree, many don’t think colleges are doing a great job in educating students. We’ll speak with the professor behind a new academic program focused on accessible instruction. A high school is giving more students individualized learning programs. And new technology could aid school personnel and responders in an emergency.
Students are back on campus, and for first-year students, one of the most daunting tasks of settling into college life is moving everything into the dorm. A partnership between a public community college and a private four-year institution aims to assist refugees. And we’ll monitor milkweed for monarch butterflies.
It’s back to school season! On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll explore how educators prepare for the return of students to the classroom. A time capsule at West Point turns out to be a bit of a letdown. A Florida high school social studies teacher tours sites of the Holocaust in Europe. And the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is offering free community college to adults over age 25.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: Scientists have used artificial intelligence to decode brainwave patterns and reconstruct music – and rock band Pink Floyd is playing a part. In an age of increasing political polarization, a new initiative at Bard College aims to develop critical reading and writing skills through its new Center for Ethics and Writing. Massachusetts lawmakers want to prevent book bans at public libraries. And a museum and science center in New York is repatriating Indigenous remains that had been part of its collection.
The conservative takeover of a small liberal arts college in Florida has drawn eyes from across the country, as the state’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, runs for president.
A program in New York aims to get more school staffers connected with local farms.
And a U.S. Senator is pushing for student loan forgiveness for teachers.
The conservative takeover of a small liberal arts college in Florida has drawn eyes from across the country, as the state’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, runs for president.
A program in New York aims to get more school staffers connected with local farms.
And a U.S. Senator is pushing for student loan forgiveness for teachers.
The harvest season is here. We’ll learn about homesteading from planning to canning. New research suggests an old cancer treatment is effective in fighting tick-borne illness. And education officials in New York announce funding for mental health.
The harvest season is here. We’ll learn about homesteading from planning to canning. New research suggests an old cancer treatment is effective in fighting tick-borne illness. And education officials in New York announce funding for mental health.
NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge drew more than 3,000 submissions this year, but only about two dozen were selected as finalists. We’ll speak with two of the students recognized in the competition for their piece. And a new report examines gaps in teacher retention.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: A new museum explores the comedic history of the Borscht Belt in New York’s Catskill Mountains. A 101-year-old toy inventor will share stories about his ideas over a long career. And a recently-closed liberal arts college will welcome a new kind of class this fall.
On this week's The Best of Our Knowledge: The James Webb Space Telescope has been sending detailed glimpses of the universe to Earth for a year now. A bill in New York State government would require political campaigns disclose when they use artificial intelligence. A library in Springfield, Massachusetts has digitally archived school yearbooks. The Vermont State University system is now in operation.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll set sail! A Vermont science teacher is embarking on a mission to study the effects of climate change on New York’s Adirondack Park by sailing as many lakes as he can this summer. And a new smartphone app is informing property owners on Lake George on what they can do to protect water quality.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued decisions affecting student borrowers and admissions policies at colleges and universities. On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll discuss with experts the decisions that struck down President Biden’s student debt cancellation program and made it unlawful for colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in admissions.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute plans to become the first university in the world to house a new advanced quantum supercomputer; a young woman is named valedictorian of a private high school’s first co-ed graduating class; and newly passed legislation in New York aims to protect student government clubs.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: the pandemic exposed the connectivity gap at a time when more children are learning online. We’ll speak with U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona about a push by the White House expand broadband access; Students in Hudson, New York recently showcased their first forays into stop-motion animation; We'll visit the "Q-Bus," a mobile education station in Queensbury area; and a community college in upstate New York is planning a new workforce training center.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: the pandemic exposed the connectivity gap at a time when more children are learning online. We’ll speak with U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona about a push by the White House expand broadband access; Students in Hudson, New York recently showcased their first forays into stop-motion animation; We'll visit the "Q-Bus," a mobile education station in Queensbury area; and a community college in upstate New York is planning a new workforce training center.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak with John Flansburgh of rock band They Might Be Giants. John and co-founder John Linnell have been making records for more than 40 years, with several albums written to entertain and educate kids.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak with John Flansburgh of rock band They Might Be Giants. John and co-founder John Linnell have been making records for more than 40 years, with several albums written to entertain and educate kids.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: There is currently no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but researchers are continuing to study drugs that can improve the lives of people suffering from the disease. We’ll speak with neurologist Dr. Richard Holub about his latest research; And the school bus you remember riding to school will soon be no-longer. We’ll take a ride on a zero-emissions electric bus.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: students are participating in an oral history project to preserve the stories of the workers in an area known as Slate Valley; a wildlife rehabilitator in the Adirondacks is writing a series of books to get youth excited about nature and animals; a U.S. military installation in Virginia was renamed in honor of two pioneering Black Army officers; and the New York State Museum is examining American Revolution-era remains discovered in a construction site.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: a New York education policy is requiring school districts to remove Native American names, mascots, and imagery – with an exception for schools that have a standing relationship with a recognized tribe. We’ll speak with the superintendent of one such school district; and most students love a class field trip. How do teachers find new ways to teach outside the classroom?
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: the pandemic changed the way students learn, including the widespread adoption of remote learning. But how did the pandemic affect schooling that was already online? And one of the nation’s most powerful teachers’ unions has a new leader. We’ll speak with the new president of New York State United Teachers.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: a new study shows only 51 percent of college students complete their studies; drone soccer, a brand-new competitive sport, is sweeping the country; and a new study by the National Park Service shows forests in the eastern U.S. are at risk.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: a new lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seeks to accommodate students with different styles of learning; an online school based in the Bronx is graduating hip hop lyricists; and the Vermont State University system is reversing a plan to remove books from shelves and create digital libraries.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: Engineering students at the University at Albany show off their award-winning invention that aims to help workers with physical limitations succeed in their careers; and a NASA scientist discusses the agency’s fleet of satellites monitoring a changing Earth.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: PBS and NOVA month have released new films as part of an initiative to more effectively communicate climate change; preparations are underway for the April 2024 solar eclipse at one university that will be in the path of totality; and spring is here, and in colder climates, so are amphibians and reptiles.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: First Lady Jill Biden visited BETA Technologies, an emerging aerospace company in South Burlington, Vermont, as part of her Investing in America tour; Joshua Mirsky, manager of the Stage One Dispensary in New York prepares to open shop upstate; and a new study out of UMASS Amherst takes a closer look at Lyme disease.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge: students get the chance to meet with former U.S. House representatives as part of a program that brings Congress to campus; graduating high schoolers share their experiences with an early college learning program; and we’ll speak with SUNY New Paltz's Darrell Wheeler, who will be inaugurated this month.
How does U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack want to improve school meals programs? A national competition is welcoming submissions from student podcasters; and two schools in Albany, New York are adding programs to attract new applicants.
How does U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack want to improve school meals programs? A national competition is welcoming submissions from student podcasters; and two schools in Albany, New York are adding programs to attract new applicants.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: A new awareness campaign to find missing persons and solve cold cases is coming to a gas station near you; a new study measures the annual economic impact of hate crimes in the U.S.; students come together to hold a prayer service for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria; and a northern New York researcher looks for new ways to utilize beech trees.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: how do artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT fit into the future of higher education? A Manhattanville College English professor shares his thoughts and a poem; students rallied at the New York State capitol in Albany for free tuition; and an effort to repatriate Native American makes slow progress in Connecticut.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: how do artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT fit into the future of higher education? A Manhattanville College English professor shares his thoughts and a poem; students rallied at the New York State capitol in Albany for free tuition; and an effort to repatriate Native American makes slow progress in Connecticut.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: a new book aims to build an understanding of the U.S. immigration system by telling the stories of immigrant children through their creative expression; and we’ll learn what it takes to write and illustrate your own comic book.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: researchers are using microbes to create tiny nanowires – technology that could be used to “sniff out” disease; a new state-of-the-art cancer treatment is available to Vermont residents; and student advocates lobby for financial aid dollars in New York State.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: young learners at a New York charter school attend a pep-rally for Historically Black Colleges and Universities; a new tool aims to predict the routes of migratory birds; and as several New York public colleges change their official designation to “university,” we’ll speak with a university president about the change.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll meet a group of high school seniors who are running their own company before receiving their cap and gown.
Former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is preparing to become the next president of the NCAA.
And a plan to reimagine a college library in Vermont to all-digital system is getting pushback.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll learn how a hospital is partnering with a public library to give babies their first book. Although the name is often used, only three states in the country have true universal pre-kindergarten for young students. A new report examines pre-K in Vermont, Florida, and Oklahoma. With state budget negotiations underway in New York, advocates are seeking more funding for afterschool programs. And we’ll speak with the next president of Albany Law School, the country’s oldest independent school of law.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge…
Elementary and middle school students compete in a district-wide spelling bee in Schenectady, New York.
Online program Poem Renovation lets users explore poetry in a new way.
And independent Hyper Saturation Magazine digs into the cultural landscape of upstate New York.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge:
Students compete to advance in the FIRST Robotics Competition in Albany.
Bald eagles have made a comeback in New York’s Hudson Valley. We’ll learn about the Teatown Hudson River EagleFest.
Middle and high school students participate in a conference to address bias, bullying, and prejudice.
And some colleges in New York are changing their designations to “university.”
On this episode on The Best of Our Knowledge:
A series of winter nature walks is aimed at bringing upstate New York residents closer to native plants and animals.
We’ll learn about the importance of ants in the agricultural economy.
And Jody Cowan will speak with an artist who is drawing attention to the student debt crisis with a unique exhibit in western Massachusetts.
On this episode on The Best of Our Knowledge…
As Democrat Kathy Hochul begins her term as New York’s first elected female governor, local students share some of the inaugural spotlight. Our associate producer, Jody Cowan, will have more.
Bob Schneider of the New York State School Boards Association will provide analysis of Hochul’s education goals for 2023.
The upstate New York video game industry gets a powerup with state funding. And 2022 proved to be the sixth-warmest year on record in Massachusetts.
On this episode on The Best of Our Knowledge…
As COVID-19 restrictions ease, public school students are seeing the return of an exciting tradition – the school field trip. Jody Cowan will bring us more. The Peace Corps is sending its first deployment of volunteers around the world since the lockdown of 2020. Host Lucas Willard will speak with a recent graduate preparing for her two-year tour. And a storybook is helping young children affected by the war in Ukraine.
On this episode of the Best of Our Knowledge:
New York State is requiring school districts that utilize Native American imagery to change their nicknames and mascots. Jody Cowan will speak with school officials about how they’re preparing for the change.
Host Lucas Willard will speak with arborist Fred Breglia about finding what could be New York’s largest living tree.
And we’ll visit a new learning lab in Troy, New York.
On this episode, host Lucas Willard will speak with Katie Bisset, a survivor of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, about a tenth anniversary remembrance she recently organized at Siena College in Loudonville, New York.
We’ll also learn about an upcoming webinar series focused on addressing mental health in education.
Cazenovia College, a small private institution in Cazenovia, New York, announced on December 7th, 2022 that it would close after the spring 2023 semester.
As the college prepares for closure, we’ll speak with Cazenovia College President David Bergh and a third-year student about their upcoming last semester at the college.
On this episode, we’ll learn more about the Hudson Mural Project, an initiative now in its third year that encourage school age children and community residents to explore the concept of self and city.
In addition to speaking with a visual artist involved with the Hudson Mural Project, we’ll also listen to a sound poem produced as of the 2022 project.
On this episode, we’ll learn more about the Hudson Mural Project, an initiative now in its third year that encourage school age children and community residents to explore the concept of self and city.
In addition to speaking with a visual artist involved with the Hudson Mural Project, we’ll also listen to a sound poem produced as of the 2022 project.
On this episode, students at an upstate New York High School get a primer on international relations during a visit with U.S. and Korean officials.
Host Lucas Willard with Skidmore College astrophysicist Mary Odekon NASA’s Artemis program and the concept of retro-futurism.
And The Best of Our Knowledge’s Dave Lucas reports on the role machine learning could have in predicting the next pandemic.
On this episode, host Lucas Willard will visit the FLOCKArt mobile gallery at an upstate New York school to speak with the artists, teachers, and students that are bringing art to young learners in a new way.
And The Best of Our Knowledge's Jim Levulis will speak with staff at Fort Ticonderoga about the fort’s recent acquisition of thousands of historic artifacts.
On this episode, host Lucas Willard will speak with Cate Larsen, a geologist and science communicator based in upstate New York, about how social media can play a critical role in education.
And The Best of Our Knowledge's Ian Pickus will speak with scientist Lija Treibergs, who is embarking on a three-month trip to Antarctica. It’s all next on The Best of Our Knowledge.
On this episode, host Lucas Willard will speak with Cate Larsen, a geologist and science communicator based in upstate New York, about how social media can play a critical role in education.
And The Best of Our Knowledge's Ian Pickus will speak with scientist Lija Treibergs, who is embarking on a three-month trip to Antarctica. It’s all next on The Best of Our Knowledge.
On this episode of the Best of Our knowledge, we’ll attend naturalization ceremonies for new Americans – to hear from some of the country’s newest citizens and to speak with high school students who hosted a ceremony as part of their education on government.
And a $50 million endowment will support Bard College’s new Native American and Indigenous Studies program.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, host Lucas Willard will speak with Darren Reisberg, who was recently inaugurated as Hartwick College’s 11th president.
And The Best of Our Knowledge’s Jody Cowan will report on how some institutions are looking to connect graduating students with industry to address the labor shortage.
A new anthology of creative writings by incarcerated individuals in Northern New York, and in a seasonal project, an attempt pressing apple cider at home.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll learn more about a report from the Open Space Institute that examines how to make the great outdoors accessible to all. Host Lucas Willard speaks with OSI’s Kathy Mosher. We’ll explore New York State’s definition of a sound and basic education, with a report from WMHT’s Dan Clark. And we’ll have a taste test with potato chip historian Alan Richer.
From Amazon warehouses to the galleries of major cultural institutions, unionization has seemingly undergone a sort of revitalization during the pandemic.
The National Labor Relations Board reported a 57% increase in union election petitions between July 2021 and June 2022. Regardless of whether those votes are successful, the number points to the desire workers feel to assert power in their workplaces.
And at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago — the teaching arm of the Art Institute — full-time faculty voted to unionize in January. Staff at the museum did as well. It’s been followed by a push by lecturers and non-tenure-track professors to work toward the same goal.
Elena Ailes — assistant professor, adjunct in Contemporary Practices at SAIC and a member of the SAIC Faculty organizing committee — drops by The Best of Our Knowledge to explain the process they’ve undertaken, as well as what led to the unionization push.
Additional reading
“When the pandemic began, it became very clear the priority was nowhere near about protecting staff and giving us a living wage to survive,” Eala O’Sé, an AIC employee told Chicago-based journalist Mark Guarino.
When full-time instructors and museum staff organized earlier in 2022, assistant curator Erica Warren saw it as a “watershed moment.”
The uptick in unions is part of a pretty well-documented trend of culture workers organizing.
In a June story from Jacobin, a labor organizer said that “Three-quarters of all [SAIC] faculty are non-tenure-track.”
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud. Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
If the academy, gallery system and museums have the power to define and promote art, the countless works that are ignored make up an entire genre of their own.
Despite it being used for decades, “outsider art” as a term comes along with a potentially problematic scaffolding. It can be construed as dismissive, defining untrained practitioners as “the other.”
Art historian Colin Rhodes has tried to address that idea in his writing, teaching and research.
More than 20 years ago, he published “Outsider Art: Spontaneous Alternatives,” a book that worked to explore the unwieldy genre, while expanding its context and scope. A newly issued version of the book, “Outsider Art: Art Brut and its Affinities” again pushes ahead, adding information and insights from Rhodes gleaned during two decades of scholarship that have taken him across the world.
Additional reading
The first edition of Rhodes’ “Outsider Art” book was prompted by his desire “to write a short critical history of the field, as I saw it at the time, as well as introducing and exploring some of the problematics.”
Rhodes has written an array of reviews for The Burlington Magazine, an arts publication based in the UK.
In his own writing, the art historian’s asked some of the same questions that he responded to in this WAMC interview.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud. Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Whatever allure trees might hold, they also have scads of data stored within their trunks.
Daniel Griffin, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota, recently published “This 500-Year-Old Tree in California Has a Story to Tell.” In The New York Times piece, he explains how tree-ring research is conducted and what kind of historical climate data he’s been able to uncover in his work.
The droughts that Griffin and his cohort are angling to investigate, though, have also become an impediment to their regular research tactics.
“Years ago, we wouldn’t have hesitated to bring chainsaws to collect entire discs of tree trunks from fallen trees,” Griffin wrote in the Times. “But not last year. We would leave the fallen trees where they were. We could not chance an errant spark that could ignite a wildfire.”
Additional reading
On Here and Now, a show from Boston’s WBUR, Griffin explains some of the mysteries he and his team are working to address while continuing their research.
Others also have compared the current drought in the West to historical information — and done so by using tree-ring data.
In his Times piece, Griffin pinpoints a mega drought that ran between 1572 and 1600 and contextualizes the changes scientists are currently seeing in the Southwest.
Griffin and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota have created an open-source “ultra high resolution” database of digital tree-ring images.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knowledge@wamc.org
Jesús del Alamo, a professor in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, began studying semiconductors in the 1970s.
The field’s obviously developed significantly during his career and now touches on almost every facet of life in the 21st century. So, the United State’s manufacturing 10% of the world’s microchips seems like a curious position for the country to be in.
del Almo explains how we got here, why the CHIPS and Science Act could be a turning point, as well as what’s next for the industry.
Additional reading
del Alamo recently contributed research and writing to “Reasserting U.S. Leadership in Microelectronics,” which details challenges to the microelectronics industry in the States and what steps the country might take to correct course.
According to the BBC, the CHIPS act will invest $280 billion in “high tech manufacturing and scientific research amid fears the country is losing its technological edge to China.”
The plan includes $52 billion “to boost [U.S.] domestic semiconductor manufacturing,” The Verge reports.
Micron, a technology company, said that it’ll be investing $40 billion in manufacturing while making use of the new subsidies.
The Atlantic said the CHIPS Act will also impact climate science.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Jesús del Alamo, a professor in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, began studying semiconductors in the 1970s.
The field’s obviously developed significantly during his career and now touches on almost every facet of life in the 21st century. So, the United State’s manufacturing 10% of the world’s microchips seems like a curious position for the country to be in.
del Almo explains how we got here, why the CHIPS and Science Act could be a turning point, as well as what’s next for the industry.
Additional reading
del Alamo recently contributed research and writing to “Reasserting U.S. Leadership in Microelectronics,” which details challenges to the microelectronics industry in the States and what steps the country might take to correct course.
According to the BBC, the CHIPS act will invest $280 billion in “high tech manufacturing and scientific research amid fears the country is losing its technological edge to China.”
The plan includes $52 billion “to boost [U.S.] domestic semiconductor manufacturing,” The Verge reports.
Micron, a technology company, said that it’ll be investing $40 billion in manufacturing while making use of the new subsidies.
The Atlantic said the CHIPS Act will also impact climate science.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Xin Lan's work at the University of Colorado and as a research associate with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration focuses on methane.
Her research is interwoven with dozens of others as NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network tracks levels of the main culprits in climate change — carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide.
And while Lan’s work is centered on tracking methane in the atmosphere, she said to “avoid the worst impact of global warming, we should definitely do something on CO2, reduce the CO2 emissions. … . [Doing] things on methane is not going to help as much.”
Additional reading
NOAA’s The Global Monitoring Laboratory tracks the levels of atmospheric methane, as well as other greenhouse gasses. In April, the organization announced that “[a]tmospheric methane levels averaged … around 162% greater than pre-industrial levels.” It means that current levels are about “15% higher than the 1984-2006 period.”
The Annual Greenhouse Gas Index, another metric NOAA uses to gauge various gasses in the atmosphere, indicated that pollution trapped “49% more heat in the atmosphere in 2021 than [it] did in 1990, when the data first was collected."
Among the issues to consider when examining methods to combat climate change are leaky pipes.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit cofounded by Tim Ranzetta and Jessica Endlich, aims to help enlighten students around financial literacy — everything from budgeting to investing.
Currently, about 8 states have guaranteed at least some sort of financial literacy classes in their public school curriculum. But Ranzetta sees an opportunity to expand that further, a goal he said Next Gen can help fully realize with the curriculum it’s developed.
Additional reading Ranzetta and his organization see the proliferation of personal finance classes in schools on the horizon. And in an April interview with CNBC, the organization’s cofounder said, “When you start seeing Ohio and Florida as states that’ve already crossed the finish line, it’s shown other large states that this is possible.”
He’s also realized that “attitudes to money are shaped by your unique experiences.” And to create curriculum that addresses those individual issues, Next Gen Personal Finance takes into account the vast array of experiences that make up the public school population.
Twenty-six percent of Americans in a 2018 survey answered a question correctly regarding the correlation of interest rates and bond prices. That points toward, Ranzetta said, a financial literacy problem in the U.S.
He’s also got opinions on Gamestop, Robinhood and meme stocks.
End notes Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud.
Peanuts led journalist and essayist Jori Lewis to a larger story about Senegal, slavery, commerce and religion.
“Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation and a Crop That Changed History,” her first book, follows the legume’s history in the West African nation from it’s initial importation from South America to the peanut’s place in defining the agricultural landscape for several hundred years. The same kind of longtail historical perspective, though, has found Lewis writing other kinds of nonfiction on topics as diverse as the baobab tree and building in and around Dakar.
Additional reading
A review of Lewis’ book, "How the peanut trade prolonged slavery," lauds the writer’s work in tracking down elders who continue to pass along oral histories.
Another review, "'Slaves for Peanuts' gets to the troubling roots of a beloved snack," points out that the trading of commodities and people “didn’t just coexist; they were intertwined.”
In “The Future of Mud,” a recently published story in The Atlantic, Lewis takes a look at the building boom in Senegal, examining historical modes of construction that offer advantages over concrete buildings that can point to an owner’s financial success.
"The Eternal Tree," an essay in Emergence Magazine, is Lewis’ meditation on the baobab tree, both a signifier of change and beauty to the writer, as well as an inspiration for a range of other culture makers, including Orchestra Baobab.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Science, politics and the natural world all collide in the writing of Ryan Tucker Jones.
“Red Leviathan: The Secret History of Soviet Whaling,” his latest book, delves into the Soviet Union’s problematic industry to explain how it functioned internally and what its repercussions were internationally.
It somehow leads to Greenpeace, a better scientific understanding of whales and the moment when humans realized we could make an entire species disappear. The book might even explain how Jones' upbringing on the west coast resulted in a life in academia and his connection to this curious oceanic saga around whales.
Additional reading
Slate published an excerpt of “Red Leviathan” in June and titled it “The Soviet Union Killed an Appalling Number of Whales. I Wanted to Know Why.”
The University of Oregon history professor touches on this a bit with “Red Leviathan,” but he’s written a few times on hippies and their impact on the public understanding of nature.
And here’s a bit of info on Jones’ earlier book, “Empire of Extinction Russians and the North Pacific's Strange Beasts of the Sea, 1741-1867.” It’s something of a precursor to “Red Leviathan.”
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Keep up with his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
The past few years have resulted in seismic disruptions of society, from economic and political schisms to changes in interpersonal relationships. Teaching has changed, too.
Madeline Will, an Education Week reporter, has been covering everything from teacher satisfaction to staff shortages and the racial makeup of teachers in public schools. Some of those pieces have been pretty somber, but the work documenting a profession in flux is endlessly important.
Additional reading
“Teachers are caught in the crossfire of a political and cultural conflict In the Culture Wars,” Will writes in “Teachers Are Being Treated Like ‘Enemies’”
There aren’t a bunch of positive findings in a recent survey of educators, according to a story where Will summarizes the results.
Regardless of some of the disparaging news around teaching, “I think that the pandemic has shown us the critical importance of teachers,” said Heather Peske, who as of March became president of The National Council on Teacher Quality.
Will also recently has reported on educators’ wages, job satisfaction and teacher shortages, among a variety of other topics.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Follow his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Almost two million people are incarcerated in United States’ prisons and jails, according to a March report by the Prison Policy Initiative. And while there are issues to examine about why that many individuals are incarcerated, programs to offer educational opportunities to people in prison are gaining attention.
Malika Kidd is program director of workforce development with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry in Cleveland. And one of her programs, Chopping for Change, has connected scores of women with educational opportunities that have helped prepare them to find meaningful employment after being released from prison. The program’s been successful to the point that a parallel men’s tract is being started, according to Kidd.
Additional media
In “Second Chances are Real — Let’s Make Sure More Students Get Them,” an essay by Kidd, the program director her own experience in the carceral system, as well as the success of Chopping for Change.
A Cleveland TV station profiles Tye Delisle, a woman who engaged with the Chopping for Change program while incarcerated.
Another station speaks to Natasha Bell, who also went through the Chopping for change program.
End notes
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Follow his latest work on Soundcloud.
Follow the show on Twitter and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.
Matt Richtel is an author and reporter at The New York Times, who’s been pretty busy of late.
“The Inner Pandemic,” an examination of American teens' mental health spread across a series of articles reported with pathos and a stunning depth, has been rolling out during the past few months at the Times. It covers a range of social and physical changes this generation’s currently dealing with.
But Richtel’s also recently published a book called “Inspired: Understanding Creativity (A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul” where he interrogates the spark of creation.
Additional reading on teens' mental health
The numbers cited in “Hundreds of Suicidal Teens Sleep in Emergency Rooms. Every Night.” do a lot of work in explaining how unprepared doctors and professionals have been in navigating changes to teen mental health during the past decade.The story of a town in Kentucky's detailed in a piece by Richtel called “Teens in Distress Are Swamping Pediatricians.” It’s a snapshot of a doctor's life who has shifted their focus to better serve children in their area.
As a supplement to “The Inner Pandemic” series, Richtel put together “How to Help Teens Struggling With Mental Health,” which details resources around finding help, care and how to talk to teens who might need assistance.
If you or someone you know is or could be contemplating suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255; for Spanish speakers, call (888) 628-9454; and for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, call (800) 799-4889. The Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting "HOME" to 741741.
End notes
Follow the show on Twitter at @TBOOKnowledge and let us know what you think about our interviews by sending an email to knolwedge@wamc.org.Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Follow his latest work on Soundcloud.
Jason Korb, the principal architect and namesake of Korb + Associates Architects, makes an interesting distinction about mass timber buildings, structures that largely eschew concrete and steel in lieu of wooden workarounds.
It’s not that mass timber buildings are a new discovery; we’re just rediscovering them.
For Ascent, a 25-story apartment complex slated for completion in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in August, it took “1,150 vertical timber columns, 1,320 horizontal beams and 1,273 horizontal deck pieces … held together by 645,000 metal fasteners” to realize the project. And in just a few weeks, it’s set to be the tallest mass timber building in the world.
At a time when it’s become increasingly difficult to deny climate change, almost every facet of human life is being scrutinized to help position the world for the least amount of damage from a changing planet. There’s still steel and concrete used as a base in these newest mass timber buildings, but the rate, cost and focus on renewable building materials could help make the approach a piece of the climate-solution puzzle.
The 25-story building, when it's completed at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave., could serve as an accelerator, building off the almost-realized projects in Portland and Chicago that just didn’t quite make it.
Korb joins The Best of Our Knowledge to chat about the trajectory of his work, Ascent’s construction, changing building codes and Mjøstårnet — an 18-story mass timber building in Norway.
Pertinent links
Korb + Associates homepage
World's tallest wooden building might soon join Milwaukee skyline
Wooden Skyscrapers Are on the Rise
The race to build wooden skyscrapers
Transforming trees into skyscrapers
PEN America, a nonprofit focused on free speech and expression through the written word that was founded in 1922, has been at the forefront of the debate over censorship through decades and shifting public sentiment.
Some well-known and highly regarded books ran up on trouble during the 20th century, including works like Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But a more recent debate around what should be present in public school libraries has turned from protecting students from questionable language and moved to shielding readers from the realities around them.
It’s fair to question how old a student should be before accessing information on some topics. But there are school districts — according to Jonathan Friedman, PEN’s director of free expression and education — that have dispensed with processes to review books in libraries.
Among other issues with this most recent spate of book challenges, Friedman sees attention focused upon authors from marginalized communities. And he joins The Best of Our Knowledge to explain how this all might impact not just free speech, but public education as a whole.
Our theme music, this and every week, is a track called “Musical Chairs” by Los Angeles producer Omid. Follow his latest work on Soundcloud.
Pertinent links
Banned in the USA: Rising school book bans threaten free expression and student’s First Amendment rights
These are books school systems don’t want you to read, and why
The next book ban: States aim to limit titles students can search for
Nashville debuts limited-edition ‘I read banned books’ library card
How the age-appropriate debate is altering curriculum in Tennessee and nationwide
From the consternation over books in public school libraries — which will be the focus of next week’s episode of The Best of Our Knowledge — to claims of censorship in academia, debate over free speech has begun cropping up everywhere in American life.
During March 2021, the Academic Freedom Alliance was founded to “defend faculty members’ freedom of thought and expression in their work as researchers and writers or in their lives as citizens, within established ethical and legal bounds,” as well as to “raise funds to support litigation for faculty whose academic freedom is threatened.”
Dr. Lucas Morel, the John K. Boardman Jr. professor of politics and head of the department at Washington & Lee University, joined AFA as a member of its academic committee when the group was founded.
Though Morel’s publishing largely has been focused on Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Ellison, he offers a close reading of founding documents and the Revolutionary period. He also holds some strong opinions about the veracity of The 1619 Project.
More than anything, though, Morel voices a specific point of view when it comes to any sort of discussion: “When you form an opinion, make it a fair fight,” he said.
This week, Morel joins The Best of Our Knowledge to chat about AFA and its work, as well as the lens through which history is being taught today.
A few clarifications ahead of the show.
Morel notes that during 2020, a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Rochester, New York, was pulled down, while pointing toward the hypocrisy of uprisings around the country that summer. There’s an assumption made that the people or group of people responsible for the monument’s destruction are tied to left-wing politics and were spurred to action following the killing of George Floyd. The Douglass statue actually had been vandalized several times; the first incident was back in 2018. To date, no one’s taken credit for the 2020 defacement, and Rochester police haven’t made arrests.
There’s also a moment when Morel, while discussing divisions among Americans, mentions abortions and a recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion touching on the subject. He said that until recently, the medical procedure was accessible “up until the actual birth.” Most states where abortion is still accessible have a cut-off point based on fetal viability, which doesn’t actually have a strict definition. But in most cases — apart from situations where the mother’s health is in danger — abortion restrictions begin at or near the beginning of the third trimester.
Pertinent links
Lucas Morel at Washington & Lee University
Academic Freedom Foundation
“Why Lee should remain a namesake of my university”
Fighting for Free Speech on Campus: A Conversation with Lucas Morel
“America wasn’t founded on white supremacy”
“What Sean Wilentz gets wrong About Sen. Tom Cotton and the American Founding”
The history of psychedelics, and mind and mood altering substances in the United States is a complicated one, rife with bizarre turns and at least a dash of bigotry.
Though psychedelics have been intertwined with hippie culture and, to some degree, perceived to be largely focused on recreational uses, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies aims to set the science of these substances firmly in the medical arena.
Rick Doblin, who founded the nonprofit organization back in 1986, perceived opportunities around these substances for therapeutic use and spiritual growth. And while psychedelics — psilocybin, an active ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” and MDMA, a substance used in ecstasy, specifically — have been touted as treatments for depression and other mental-health ailments, FDA trials seemingly still are a few years away from completion.
That leaves a lot of questions to be answered in the interim: Is access going to be equitable?; who benefits from the commodification of these substances?; and what does the coexistence of the medical and underground marketplace look like?
Ismail Ali, the director of policy and advocacy for MAPS, joins The Best of Our Knowledge to explain the legal and regulatory framework that psychedelic research is working within, and how that applies not just to the medical profession, but to people seeking care.
Pertinent links
"Announcing MAPS’ values and principles"
“The legal landscape of the psychedelic ecosystem”
“Practical and ethical considerations for psychedelic therapy and integration practices”
“Ethical concerns about psilocybin intellectual property”
“UC Berkeley launches new center for psychedelic science and education”
Terri Lyne Carrington has been playing and recording music in the company of rarified jazz talent for more than 40 years. A part of that career has been working in education, and beginning in 2005, the drummer began teaching private lessons at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 2017, Carrington founded the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, a program at the distinguished school premised on dismantling a patriarchal system that’s disenfranchised female and nonbinary performers. The first instructor hired was pianist Kris Davis, who became associate program director of creative development. At the time, Davis, an innovative improviser and bandleader, already had been at work providing a platform for unique performers through her nonprofit Pyroclastic Records.
Both players have maintained rigorous touring and recording schedules, despite increasing academic duties.
The drummer released Waiting Game alongside her ensemble Social Science in 2019, and earned a Grammy nomination for the effort. That same year, Davis released Diatom Ribbons through her own imprint; the album featured contributions by Carrington, as well as a wide swath of top-tier talent that otherwise might not have been gathered together on a single recording.
In their discussion with The Best of Our Knowledge, both performers acknowledge inroads to some sort of parity in jazz and note that their students seem more open minded than members of previous generations. That said, there’s still work to be done.
Pertinent links
Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice homepage
Terri Lyne Carrintgon’s homepage
Kris Davis’ homepage
Pyroclastic Records
There’s a spot atop California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains where research on snowpack and drought began more than 70 years ago.
At one point, there were several labs up and running in the area. Now, just one associated with the University of California Berkeley and helmed by Dr. Andrew Schwartz is collecting information on the intertwined topics. And recently, the researcher penned an essay titled “I’m a Scientist in California. Here’s What Worries Me Most About Drought.,” which ran in the New York Times. In the piece, Schwartz deciphers data from the past winter and spring, while laying out various futures for the West.
There are connections to be made between snowpack and the increasingly devastating fire season in California. But also a knotty relationship among flooding, changes in the landscape and inhabitability.
“Land surfaces, snow melt patterns and the climate have all changed since many of these models were developed, which means they’re missing crucial pieces of today’s water puzzle,” Schwartz wrote in the Times piece, while discussing how assessments and planning today could be falling short.
He advocates for large-scale investment in research, so that population centers in “water-scarce” areas remain inhabitable. But Schwartz also figures that at this point, “[r]ather than investing in body armor, we’ve been hoping that the trigger won’t be pulled.” It’s a perspective he discusses on this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge.
Pertinent links
“I’m a Scientist in California. Here’s What Worries Me Most About Drought.”
Central Sierra Snow Lab homepage
“New era of research at snow lab reveals similarities to an unlikely place”
“California's Sierra Nevada sees record snowfall. It needs even more”
“Sierra snowpack worsens, falls to lowest level in 7 years”
During the past few years, comedians seemingly have become cultural avatars, their performances garnering coverage in news outlets and their perspectives becoming political sign posts. But before anyone ends up headlining a tour or hosting a late-night show, they’ve likely done time on much smaller stages, playing to single-digit crowds.
There are endless avenues through which performers attain some sort of cultural relevance, but in Chicago, an educational system’s been set up that encompasses a handful of theaters and colleges.
Among those teaching the craft of comedy is Jeff Griggs, a theater and improv veteran, who’s worked at Second City and Improv Olympic (two of the most venerated improv and sketch theaters in the country). His place on staff at both Depaul University and Columbia College also makes his perspective a unique one, spanning higher education and stages that dot the Windy City.
On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, Griggs helps explain some important concepts that underpin improv comedy, as well as how different teachers might offer unique approaches to the craft. But this all begs the question: Can you teach comedy?
Pertinent links
Life's a Funny Scene interview
"Guru: My Days with Del Close"
Columbia College Chicago Comedy Studies website
Jeff Griggs at Second City
Jeff Griggs on Instagram
Jeff Griggs on Twitter
During his 2020 campaign, President Joe Biden had an eye on student-loan debt relief.
While there hasn’t been large-scale forgiveness, Biden has continued the pause on repayments that the Trump administration began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; it’s latest iteration is set to expire on Aug. 31. But as 45 million Americans carry more than $1.7 billion in debt, calls for wiping out a portion of it have grown more regular, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren advocating for $50,000 per person to be cleared. Biden, during his campaign, cited $10,000 as a possible number.
Further complicating the discussion are forgiveness programs that borrowers have been enrolled in for decades. An NPR story reported by Cory Turner indicated that loan servicers “weren't uniformly tracking borrowers’ progress toward loan cancellation, and some weren't tracking their progress at all.”
Mike Pierce worked on the student debt issue while at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and now serves as executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. The nonprofit organization aims to conduct research on the issue that leads to fair and transparent conduct on the part of the loan industry. He joins The Best of Our Knowledge to discuss the economic impact of student loans, what Turner’s reporting might mean for reforms of the loan system and why he first became interested in the topic.
Pertinent links
The Student Borrower Protection Center homepage
“Student loan borrowers will get help after an NPR report and years of complaints”
“Biden administration gives more borrowers chance of debt cancellation”
“U.S. forgives 40,000 student loans, provides aid to 3.6 million more”
Climate change, shrinking wildlife habitats, rising sea levels, and vanishing species. These are big, important ideas that deserve a proper exploration—just the type of revealing journey you will experience in "The Atlas of a Changing Climate." It’s the work of Brian Buma, an assistant professor of Quantitative Biology at the University of Colorado. Dr. Buma is also an affiliate professor at the University of Alaska. His explorations and wanderings around the globe have been featured in National Geographic.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with life in a warming sea.
Photo: Timber Press.
When Bill Schutt writes a book, it tends to get messy, at least his non-fiction books. His first was called “Dark Banquet” which dealt with vampire bats and other creatures who feed on blood. To follow that up he wrote “Cannibalism – A Perfectly Natural History” which dealt with…well I think you know what that dealt with. Now he is back with a volume that every living creature can identify with. It’s called “Pump – A Natural History of the Heart." Bill Schutt is a zoologist, Emeritus Professor of Biology at LIU Post, and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute about a foot and a half higher with the brain.
Photo: Workman Publishing.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex. It is a beloved part of American culture. But its founder, a British scientist named James Smithson, never once set foot on American soil. So, who would do that? Steven Turner tried to find out. Turner is the author of the book “The Science of James Smithson – Discoveries from the Smithsonian Founder." While researching Smithon’s science he also learned a lot about Smithson’s personality. Steven Turner is a historian of science and curator emeritus of physical sciences at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Also, we’ll also meet an unlikely scholar and spend an Academic Minute on brain-based learning.
Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Books.
Even families that have great communication skills sometimes need a little help. Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, it’s time to talk puberty.
We’ll also take another look at finding your dream job, and spend an Academic Minute with George Washington, manly man. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge/2022-04-14/1647-you-berty
Pregnancy means big changes for a woman and her health. Pregnancy during a pandemic threw out all the rules. Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, what science knows and is still learning about COVID and maternity. We’ll also take another look at caring for trans students health, and spend an Academic Minute with your brain on Zoom. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge/2022-04-07/1646-the-science-of-pregnancy-during-covid
Springtime means the weather gets warmer, the birds start singing a bit louder, and high school seniors around the U.S. are getting their college acceptance, or non-acceptance letters. Each year around this time, The Princeton Review releases its survey of incoming college students. Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear about the hopes and fears of new college students and their families. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge/2022-03-31/1645-college-hopes-and-college-fears
For many people getting back to nature means planting a garden, and that’s actually a really good place to start. Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, saving the planet, one garden at a time. Learn more by visiting: https://passthepistil.com/
Then, more than two-million American students live with a wounded or ill veteran. Many help with the veteran's care. And those young caregivers often suffer with stress, social isolation, and less parental involvement with their lives. A new study is trying to understand their experiences. This story was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans. Funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with LGBTQ mental health. The Best Of Our Knowledge
Scientists and Alzheimer’s disease have been doing battle for decades and so far, the disease has been winning. But there are strides being made for earlier and non-invasive ways to detect the condition. Now there is new technology ready for clinical testing that could provide that elusive biomarker. The research on the device was spearheaded by Dr. James Arruda, a professor of Psychology at the University of West Florida. We'll talk about this new technology. wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge
Being an adolescent comes with temptations, frustrations and a ton of mixed messages. So going it alone shouldn’t really be an option.
This week on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll talk about the importance of having that one trusted adult.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with faculty helping students succeed.
After school programs around the country are having the same issue as a lot of business: finding enough qualified staff members. This was a problem even before the pandemic, but a new survey from the Afterschool Alliance shows 87% of afterschool programs are concerned about finding and keeping staff, and more than half have had to put interested families on waiting lists. This week on The Best Of Our Knowledge, a discussion on the current state of after school programs.
From TV, podcasts and video games to countless social media platforms, young people are constantly bombarded with media all day long. How much of that do they actually understand, and at what age should we start teaching them? According to the nonprofit organization Media Literacy Now, media literacy should be taught in K – 12 all over the country. We'll talk about their new policy paper.
One reason we need younger people to learn about media literacy is that younger people are spending a lot more time in front of screens. That’s the topic of this week’s Academic Minute.
What makes you happy? It’s a question that has an unlimited number of answers. But the real question should probably be what makes you happier? That’s the one that Randye Kaye asks in her new book called “Happier Made Simple - Choose Your Words, Change Your Life." In the book she asks questions and offers some guidance not to find total happiness…but to find ways to find a bit of happier. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge/2022-02-24/1640-happier-made-simple
When Betsy Ross designed that flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes, everyone at the time knew there was a lot more land out there and there would likely be additions coming. However, at the time, there was already a functioning 14th colony on the Gulf Coast and it had changed hands between Spain and Great Britain a few times…with France in there around the edges. Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we open up our own history class and take another look at West Florida, the forgotten 14th colony.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with some transgender history.
Teachers are getting burned out and leaving the profession in droves. A new survey released this month from the National Education Association illustrates this problem with hard data.
Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll talk about the problem with the leader of the nation’s largest teacher’s union.
Then, you can throw away your number 2 pencils, the SAT is going online. The College Board recently announced that the test will transition to an all-digital format in a few years. We'll discuss the change with the editor-in-chief of the Princeton Review.
We’ll also hear about new medical training for the military, and spend an Academic Minute being a good team player.
With extending the child tax credit still a big topic on the news, a report from an ongoing clinical trial suggests that children of mothers who get regular cash assistance have enhanced brain development…and the more cash the better.
Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear from one of the study’s authors.
We’ll also explore college student mental health as they return to in-person classes, and spend an Academic Minute with an out of the box mental health treatment.
At-home testing for infectious diseases is a hot topic. The President has authorized the purchase of millions of at-home COVID-19 tests for Americans, but at-home testing is not new. At home tests for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are already available, although they are a bit controversial. A number of questions remain regarding at-home test accuracy and ability to impact patient outcomes and public health while protecting patient privacy. Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll have a discussion with two laboratory scientists about the good, the bad, and the "we don't quite know yet" of at home testing. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge
Let’s get this part out of the way first: yes, Dr. Mark Vonnegut is Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s son. And today we are going to talk about a new book that he has written. But this isn’t the great American novel, this is the story of his 40 years as a pediatrician. In those years he has seen massive changes in the American medical system, both good and bad. The name of the book is “The Heart of Caring – A Life in Pediatrics”. Dr. Vonnegut is still a practicing pediatrician living in Milton, Massachusetts.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with the importance of pre-natal care. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge/2022-01-20/1635-a-life-in-pediatrics
When Apollo 11 landing on the moon they indeed stepped where no man has gone before. But once they got there, they didn’t go far.
Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll learn about the development of the lunar rover, and how that opened up the later Apollo missions with lunar road trips.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with some wicked questions. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge/2022-01-13/1634-revisiting-lunar-road-trips
A few weeks back we spoke about the murder of Emmett Till and what it meant to the civil rights movement. But history tends to repeat itself. Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, a story about a lesser known casualty of the Jim Crow south. https://www.wamc.org/show/the-best-of-our-knowledge/2022-01-06/1633-the-forgotten-story-of-clinton-melton
On our last episode of the year we usually look back at some of the coolest people we met over the year. This year, three of those people were all on the same segment. This week on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll revisit our social worker roundtable.
Every year around this time we look back at some of our favorite stories of the year. There were an awful lot to choose from this time around, so the choice came down to what we could fit in this half hour.
Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear about the job you get as opposed to the job you want, find out about the history of teaching machines, and spend an Academic Minute out in the dark edge of the universe.
Photo courtesy of MIT Press.
The MyStory Griot Project at the University of West Florida draws from the oral and written practices of sharing stories. A griot is a storyteller. In West African tradition, the griot is the one who bears the history of the village. The project invites students from the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities or CASSH, as well as faculty and staff from the college’s various disciplines to share their stories based on race, ethnicity and diversity. The university is currently looking ahead to the spring semester and asking members of their campus community to share their personal stories. Today, we are going to highlight an earlier entry. It’s a story of “Desegregation in the South” — and one earth-shattering day in history — submitted by Dr. Steve Brown, the Dean of CASSH.
We'll also explore variants of a virus and how they are detected, hear how a New England college is helping students keep their summer earnings, and spend an Academic Minute exploring the madness of a writer's mind.
Photo courtesy of University of West Florida.
If you make a list of the most important names in American culture in the latter half of the 20th Century, Stephen Sondheim has to be right near the top. When he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, President Obama said “Put simply, Stephen reinvented the American musical.” Sondheim passed away on November 26 at the age of 91. Back in April, Bob Barrett spoke about the composer with Rick Pender, author of “The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia." Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, let’s listen again to our conversation about one of America's great composers. We also spend an Academic Minute in a community forest.
You see the signs everywhere. Now hiring, help wanted, sign-on bonus…it looks like everyone is trying to hire new employees. Except, of course, if you are actually looking for a job. Then you see that some of those offers are not for everyone. That’s especially true for job hunters who have a criminal record. But according to economist Jeffery Korzenik, looking at these so-called second chance hires is good for business.
Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear about second chance hiring of people with a record.
We’ll also spend an Academic Minute finding a good mentor.
Photo courtesy of HarperCollins Leadership
Back in February, NASA successfully landed the Perseverance rover on Mars. The pictures it transmitted back to Earth of the red planet were spectacular, and captured the imagination of millions. It also gave the Cambridge Dictionary its first hint on what this year’s word of the year would be.
Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear why the Cambridge Dictionary made perseverance the 2021 word of the year.
Then, sustainability is one of the many criteria that students and parents use when choosing a college. And the Princeton Review has got a guide for that. Their 12th annual guide to green colleges was released last month, and has listings for 420 schools in the US and Canada, as well as a few in some far off places around the globe. We'll talk to the editor in chief of the Princeton Review about this unique guide.
Finally, we'll spend an Academic Minute with sustainably artistic oysters.
Photo courtesy of Cambridge Dictionary.
The world is a pretty big place and it’s the size of the planet that can sometimes make climate change a difficult concept for a lot of people to wrap their heads around. A new book is trying to knock that concept down to size. It’s called “The Atlas of a Changing Climate,” and it’s beautifully illustrated with contemporary and historic maps and images from around the world. It’s the work of Brian Buma. Dr. Buma is an assistant professor of Quantitative Biology at the University of Colorado; and an affiliate professor at the University of Alaska. His explorations and wanderings around the globe have been featured in National Geographic. We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with life in a warming sea.