Pulse of the Planet Podcast with Jim Metzner | Science | Nature | Environment | Technology

There's evidence that a chemical compound found in many home cleaning products is causing reproductive difficulties in animals in laboratory tests. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If nanoparticles from consumer particles end up in solid wastes, what effect could that have on the environment? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wastewater plants typically don't filter out pharmaceuticals from our water supply. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to US Geological Survey, much of the fresh water in the US is contaminated by caffeine. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists are trying to develop a drug that could help stroke patients maximize whatever bypass arteries they may have. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a stroke, a specialized network of blood vessels redirects the flow of blood in the brain. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is it that some patients are able to survive a stroke and others are not? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A group of engineers working on a problem together can turn misunderstandings and miscommunications to their advantage. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Engineers are trying to design a quieter turbine blade inspired by the structure of an owl's wing. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An owl's wings are designed for stealth flying. But just how the design works is still a bit of a mystery. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which is safer - a helmet made out of many thin layers or a solid piece? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In professional football, the advent of helmets and face masks leg to unexpected problems. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's strong evidence that concussions can lead to a much more serious condition. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a football hits the ground, it's time for a little chaos. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever wonder why a football is shaped the way it is? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can throw a prolate spheroid - aka a football - a lot further than a basketball, or an inflated pig's bladder! Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Translating high-tech solutions for use in very low-tech environment. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's like attaching different bits to a drill, but on a whole other scale. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Custom parts? No problem. Using robots and computers, architects are developing new sets of tools and new ways of designing and constructing buildings. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The trees that we plant trees today have been through drastic, dramatic climate change, and they're really a product of it. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What kinds of trees wouldn't you want to have in an urban environment? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A canopy of trees helps to moderate the climate we experience as we're walking down a street. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're going for a walk in the woods, here are some tips on how to avoid being bitten by ticks. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Depending upon where you live, disease-carrying ticks can be active year round. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The surprising backstory of Martin Luther King's most famous speech. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oral histories often reveal untold stories of people you may never find in a history book or a newspaper headline, but whose lives and work were truly significant. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The stories of everyday people form an important and often overlooked part of our history. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, Lyme has often gone undiagnosed. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine a holiday like Halloween, with a bit of Mardi Gras thrown in, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what Plough Monday was like - in 18th century rural England. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once a year, riotous behavior gave farm workers an escape from social constraints in 18th century England. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the strongest triggers of memory is odor. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If it smells bad, it probably is bad for you. That was the prevailing wisdom once and for many years, it influenced the ways we tried to prevent the spread of disease. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Christmas caroling - Puerto Rican Style! In the days leading up to the Feast of Epiphany, the sounds of Parrandas are heard throughout the island. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of our listeners returns to his homeland of Puerto Rico each year for the celebration of the Epiphany. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've developed lots of ways to cover our ears, but not so many ways to cover our noses. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The nomadic Sami herdsmen of Scandinavia have preserved their oral history in a unique form of story-song called a "yoik." Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An indigenous style of singing created by nomadic reindeer herdsman is kept alive in contemporary Scandinavia. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an ecosystem polluted by toxins like mercury, do mother turtles pass these substances on to their young? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Human beings are apparently hardwired to remember things that surprise us. how does this translate to cultures where people typically aren't encouraged to deviate from the normal way of doing things? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there a better way to improve service without monitoring calls and filling out surveys? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of our most enduring Christmas traditions may date back to the days before that holiday even existed. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working together to build 20 foot pyres of wood and wire, a family near New Orleans celebrates Christmas eve. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Las Posadas, celebrated in Mexico and in many Hispanic communities, commemorates Mary and Joseph's search for lodging in Bethlehem. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Believe it or not, there was a time when the singing of Christmas carols could land you in jail. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1800's, letting off steam at the annual Jonkonnu celebrations may have been a social safety valve. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A widely celebrated event during the 1800's inspired historians and local residents of eastern North Carolina to reconstruct its spectacle. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Revelers of the Jonkonnu masquerade sing and dance through neighborhoods, visiting homes where their pageantry might be favored with a gift of money. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In North Carolina, the festival of Jonkonnu is celebrated with influences from West Africa, England, and the Caribbean. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's one sure way to make a memorable impression. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you want to design effective packaging, you'd better know how it will stand up to being transported in planes, trains and trucks. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices