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Fires and Logging Justice
A decades-old US Forest Service rule that’s been used to supposedly reduce wildfire risk through large-scale logging while bypassing environmental review has been deemed unlawful by a federal court in Oregon. Clearcutting can instead increase wildfire risk, and our guest says USFS needs to rethink its entire approach to managing forests and wildfire risk.
Back to the Moon!
The Artemis II mission is getting ready to use the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA to return to the moon for the first time since the original Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. How declining public support shut down the Apollo program and why NASA again faces headwinds in maintaining the public’s interest in space exploration.
Pioneering Women in Science
Women have historically been underrepresented in science and engineering, but that didn’t stop Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, and Rachel Carson, and there are many more women in these fields who are not as famous. Artist and author Rachel Ignotofsky shares the contributions of some of the remarkable female scientists she profiles in her book, Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World.
Justice Advances in Cancer Alley
Descendants of enslaved people fighting pollution in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ have been greenlit for a trial. Their lawsuit alleges the St. James Parish government discriminated against Black residents by repeatedly permitting industrial plants in predominantly Black districts while shielding mostly white districts from industry. We discuss how the 13th amendment outlawing slavery plays into the case.
Trump, Glyphosate and Cancer
President Trump has deemed glyphosate as essential for national security even though some 200,000 people have complained they have gotten cancer or other adverse health effects, while using it as directed. Meanwhile a Missouri state court has given preliminary approval to a class action settlement plan for people sickened by Roundup, which contains the herbicide glyphosate. Why some in the Make America Healthy Again movement feel betrayed by the Trump Administration’s support for glyphosate.
Stinky Seaweed Menace
Though the floating seaweed known as Sargassum provides critical habitat for many species in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic, it is now finding a fertile home in southern waters, where it’s wreaking havoc on coastal communities and ecosystems, with impacts to respiratory health, tourism and sea turtles.
Bonaire Residents Fight for Climate Justice
The Dutch special municipality of Bonaire in the Caribbean is already experiencing dangerous heat and could see a fifth of its land disappear under rising seas by 2100. But the Netherlands is discriminating against these overseas citizens by failing to adequately reduce global warming emissions and develop adaptation plans to help them cope, according to a January 2026 Dutch court decision.
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Host Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studio
Fires and Logging Justice
A decades-old US Forest Service rule that’s been used to supposedly reduce wildfire risk through large-scale logging while bypassing environmental review has been deemed unlawful by a federal court in Oregon. Clearcutting can instead increase wildfire risk, and our guest says USFS needs to rethink its entire approach to managing forests and wildfire risk.
Back to the Moon!
The Artemis II mission is getting ready to use the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA to return to the moon for the first time since the original Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. How declining public support shut down the Apollo program and why NASA again faces headwinds in maintaining the public’s interest in space exploration.
Pioneering Women in Science
Women have historically been underrepresented in science and engineering, but that didn’t stop Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, and Rachel Carson, and there are many more women in these fields who are not as famous. Artist and author Rachel Ignotofsky shares the contributions of some of the remarkable female scientists she profiles in her book, Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World.
This Week’s Show
March 13, 2026
listen / download
Fires and Logging Justice
listen / download
A decades-old US Forest Service rule that’s been used to supposedly reduce wildfire risk through large-scale logging while bypassing environmental review has been deemed unlawful by a federal court in Oregon. Clearcutting can instead increase wildfire risk, and our guest says USFS needs to rethink its entire approach to managing forests and wildfire risk.
PFAS Still at Pittsburgh Airport
listen / download
Foams containing PFAS or “forever chemicals” are excellent at suppressing fires involving jet fuel and other oil products, but they leave behind a toxic legacy. And they have long been used for firefighting drills, including at a training facility based at Pittsburgh International Airport. Although the facility now uses PFAS-free firefighting foam, the Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier reports that sampling is still showing high levels of PFAS being discharged into nearby streams.
How Frogs Can Swim Under Ice
listen / download
The recent story from Living on Earth’s Don Lyman about a childhood memory of being amazed to see a bull frog swimming along under the ice in his favorite stream sparked the curiosity of some of our listeners. We called Don back up to learn how frogs survive under the ice of a frozen stream or pond -- using tricks like breathing through their skin and even in some cases freezing solid before thawing out in the spring.
Back to the Moon!
listen / download
The Artemis II mission is getting ready to use the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA to return to the moon for the first time since the original Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. How declining public support shut down the Apollo program and why NASA again faces headwinds in maintaining the public’s interest in space exploration.
Pioneering Women in Science
listen / download
Women have historically been underrepresented in science and engineering, but that didn’t stop Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, and Rachel Carson, and there are many more women in these fields who are not as famous. Artist and author Rachel Ignotofsky shares the contributions of some of the remarkable female scientists she profiles in her book, Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World.
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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