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Microplastics, Inflammation, and Your Health
Plastics have been widely adopted in all sorts of products from food packaging to toys to medical devices, in part because they don’t tend to chemically react. But new research challenges that notion when it comes to microplastics, finding that contact by tiny chips of plastic with water releases unstable molecules which in the human body are linked to inflammation.
Wolf Seeks Revenge on Humans in Novel Blacktail
This year, bookstores have a nature-based tale in the “eco-horror” genre to feature: Blacktail by Scott Hawkins. The novel tells the story of one wolf’s quest for vengeance on the humans who have wronged him. And to get his revenge, he’ll have to find and wake the Forest God. The author joins us for this spoiler-free chat.
Big Bug ‘Down Under’
The Wētāpunga is the heaviest known insect on the planet, weighing as much as a mouse. They’re found only in New Zealand and were recently endangered, but thanks to an innovative breeding program, they’re making a comeback. We talk about the conservation effort and why these giant cricket-like insects deserve our respect and care.
Fracking and Data Centers
One of the states where data centers to power AI are growing is Pennsylvania, which also has a large supply of natural gas. In Upper Burrell, a town just east of Pittsburgh, a data center expansion could be fed by fracking rigs already pumping gas out of the ground. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier reports the town is trying to keep pace with these two big industries in its backyard.
A Fossil Fuel Treaty Beyond the UNFCCC
Thirty years of UN climate sessions and the persistent wide gap between discussion and action to slow the climate crisis have left some countries and NGOs frustrated as they face a dire future. So even as COP31 begins in Turkey in November, an alternate path already began in April in Colombia when roughly 60 countries met for the first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, with a treaty in the works.
Hurricane Helene's Impact Brought to Life
In 2024, Hurricane Helene ripped through the mountain communities of western North Carolina, leaving them stranded and unable to communicate with the outside world for days. A new graphic novel, Islands in the Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene, pairs up survivors with artists to help them tell their stories of resourcefulness and resilience in their own words.
Powerful Pacific Storms Amid 'Super' El Niño
Boosted by climate change, this year’s El Niño has intensified into a “Super El Niño,” meaning sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific are over 2 degrees Celsius hotter than average. How this has brought one strong storm after another churning across the Pacific Ocean while shutting down most Atlantic storms, and what this super El Niño may bring in the months ahead.
Celebrating 30 years of Living on Earth!
Host Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studio
Join the Living on Earth Book Club on October 13th!
Bestselling science journalist Ed Yong joins us to talk about his new book. Click here to learn more and register!
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Microplastics, Inflammation, and Your Health
Plastics have been widely adopted in all sorts of products from food packaging to toys to medical devices, in part because they don’t tend to chemically react. But new research challenges that notion when it comes to microplastics, finding that contact by tiny chips of plastic with water releases unstable molecules which in the human body are linked to inflammation.
50,000 Dead from Europe’s 2026 Heat
As greenhouse gases from fossil fuels continue to spike our planet’s average temperature, it’s pushing into more dangerous territory for humans. This summer, heat-related deaths in European urban areas scorched by heat waves totaled 50,000, according to a new study which also concludes that human-induced climate change was a significant contributor to the high mortality rate.
Wolf Seeks Revenge on Humans in Novel Blacktail
This year, bookstores have a nature-based tale in the “eco-horror” genre to feature: Blacktail by Scott Hawkins. The novel tells the story of one wolf’s quest for vengeance on the humans who have wronged him. And to get his revenge, he’ll have to find and wake the Forest God. The author joins us for this spoiler-free chat.
This Week’s Show
October 30, 2026
listen / download
Microplastics, Inflammation, and Your Health
listen / download
Plastics have been widely adopted in all sorts of products from food packaging to toys to medical devices, in part because they don’t tend to chemically react. But new research challenges that notion when it comes to microplastics, finding that contact by tiny chips of plastic with water releases unstable molecules which in the human body are linked to inflammation.
BirdNote®: Spooky Spearwaters
listen / download
At Halloween, we think of ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggitty beasties – indeed, you may even get some of them at your door demanding candy. And as Michael Stein tells us in today’s BirdNote®, some of our avian acquaintances would fit right in.
50,000 Dead from Europe’s 2026 Heat
listen / download
As greenhouse gases from fossil fuels continue to spike our planet’s average temperature, it’s pushing into more dangerous territory for humans. This summer, heat-related deaths in European urban areas scorched by heat waves totaled 50,000, according to a new study which also concludes that human-induced climate change was a significant contributor to the high mortality rate.
Wolf Seeks Revenge on Humans in Novel Blacktail
listen / download
This year, bookstores have a nature-based tale in the “eco-horror” genre to feature: Blacktail by Scott Hawkins. The novel tells the story of one wolf’s quest for vengeance on the humans who have wronged him. And to get his revenge, he’ll have to find and wake the Forest God. The author joins us for this spoiler-free chat.
Note on Emerging Science: Spring-Loaded Spider Trap
listen / download
Late summer into early fall is spider season, when you seem to find spiders everywhere, spinning their silk masterpieces or lurking in a dark corner. In this week’s note on emerging science, Living on Earth’s Don Lyman reports on a particularly impressive Australian spider that builds a spring-loaded trap to catapult unwitting ants into its web for dinner.
Big Bug ‘Down Under’
listen / download
The Wētāpunga is the heaviest known insect on the planet, weighing as much as a mouse. They’re found only in New Zealand and were recently endangered, but thanks to an innovative breeding program, they’re making a comeback. We talk about the conservation effort and why these giant cricket-like insects deserve our respect and care.
Special Features
Field Note: "After the Storm"
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence, Mark Seth Lender, ruminates on the storm as it meets the shore.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: "Countermeasures"
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence, Mark Seth Lender, shares observations about shorebirds in flight.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
...Ultimately, if we are going prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we are going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them...
-- President Barack Obama, November 6, 2015 on why he declined to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
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