The Natural Curiosity Project

Have you ever thought about becoming a commercial diver? You know, the ones that wear those helmets and all that cool gear and dive to incredible depths? In this episode, we talk about what it's like--and what you have to know to do it well.

If you’re thinking about taking a SCUBA class, you’ll have to know a little bit about the science behind it before you can do it safely. As a former diving instructor and commercial diver, I can tell you that, yes, there are some hazards involved in diving, but if you take a course, you understand the physics behind the journey from above the surface to below it, and you practice the techniques, you’ll have the time of your life. In this first of a two-part series, we talk about sport diving; in part two, we talk about the commercial side of diving.

Computer and network security are topics that have never been more in the news than they are today. On the one hand, we all want to be connected, to have access to other people and information, to be part of the globally connected planet. On the other hand, every connection, every facet of online presence is a potential attack point through which hackers can gain access to personal data. The good news is that there are common sense things that everyone can do to protect ourselves—but we have to actually DO them to be safe. In this episode, Computer and Network Security Specialist Joe Plunkett walks us through the best practices for safe connectivity.

Some of the best advertising campaigns ever done were somewhat accidental. This is one of the best I can think of. Enjoy--a story from the early 20th century.

In 1971, my custom, hand-built Spanish guitar was destroyed by a baggage claim belt in Dallas. The man who rebuilt it is one of the best examples of passion and curiosity I know. But there’s a lot more to this guy than meets the eye. I could ask the question, how did an engineer become a guitar repair guy? Even that’s only half of the story. You’ll enjoy this one.

Language, they say, is the window into the soul of a country or a culture. Based on what we talk about in this episode, souls and cultures must be pretty funny places.

Sometimes, looking at something from different perspectives can change the way we think about it. In this episode, we look at the origins of genetics, a little botany, and ultimately, turn our attention to genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs. Things are not always what they seem.

This is the third Podcast in a series of three about one of the technology ecosystems that’s profoundly changing the world. In our first episode of the series, we talked about the technologies that live in this ecosystem: The Internet of Things, Big Data, Analytics, Cloud, machine-to-machine communications, and artificial intelligence. In the second episode, we looked at one application of this ecosystem that’s truly planet-changing: the protection of fresh water. In this third and final episode, we’re going to talk with a few people who have deep insights into the advantages and challenges that new technologies bring to the table.

1968: What a culturally iconic period in America. On the one hand, the Summer of Love, the Monterey Pop Festival, and the Civil Rights Law of 1968 were happening, and the astronauts of Apollo 8 saw the far side of the moon for the first time. But dark things were happening, as well: Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy fell to assassins, riots fractured the country, Vietnam was in full swing, and young people began to question the old school thinking that ran the country. A great migration began, as thousands of people headed west to California. One of them was Jim Driscoll, a musician intent on becoming a rock star. He had no money, so planes, trains, and buses were out; they were too expensive. And he had no driver’s license, so he couldn’t drive west. His only option? The Gray Rabbit. And that’s where our story begins.

A high-speed train designed in the shape of a kingfisher. Paint colors based on hummingbird feathers. Water purification systems designed by a beetle. Photosynthesis that creates plastic. All these and more are real--we're actually doing these things--because we're paying attention to nature.

The Earth's most precious resource is water--yet we waste a HUGE percentage of it because of leaks in municipal water systems, inaccurate agricultural watering practices, and other practices. In fact, 60% of the water pumped out of the ground worldwide for agriculture never reaches the plants. Yet Deep Sky Vineyard, a tiny (by agricultural standards)vineyard, in the dry heat of Arizona, saved more than 1.5 million gallons in 2018 alone, because of sophisticated field monitoring practices, thanks to the technology created by nioLabs. In this episode we show how they did it. It's quite a story. This is part two of a three-part series.

There's a family of technologies emerging on the scene that will change the way we think about the role of technology in our lives. They include Internet of Things, Big Data, Analytics, and a few others. Technology is remarkable, but even more so when we assign it to a specific challenge, then stand back and watch. In this episode, we see what happens when we pair a small business--Deep Sky Vineyard in Arizona--with technology offered by nioLabs in Denver. The results are staggeringly important. This is the first in a series of three episodes about emergent technologies.

Climate change, or global warming, or whatever you want to call it, is one of the most emotion-charged topics on the table today. It has become politically weaponized, yet it shouldn’t be, because it’s one of the greatest threats we face as inhabitants of this planet. If you believe that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the problem, you’re partially correct—but only partially. There’s another challenge, and it’s a far bigger problem—it’s called entropy. When I first decided to dig into this topic, I thought I understood climate change. I didn’t, as it turned out, so I took the time to let my curiosity get the best of me until I really DID understand it. You should do the same. And that’s what this episode is about.

On February 26, 1975, disaster struck in lower Manhattan when the AT&T switching center that served the area was consumed by fire. 104,000 customers and 170,000 telephones were out of service. A restoration of that magnitude should have taken a year, but the Bell System marshaled its resources and service was restored in 22 days--a true Miracle on Second Avenue. This is the story. You can see a documentary of the recovery here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_AWAmGi-g8.

In 1885, 350,000 head of cattle traveled overland from Fort Worth, Texas to Abilene, Kansas. In 1886, there were none. Why? This episode looks back at the great cattle drives of the American Southwest--and what led to their demise. The reasons will surprise you.

I sometimes run across little bits of interesting information that aren’t enough for a Podcast on their own, but they’re too good to ignore. So for this episode, I’ve pulled a bunch of them together into a long stream of just interesting stuff. Hope you like it.

Steve interviews his friend and colleague Josh Stevens, an authority on network and computer security--and that elusive, mysterious technology called Blockchain--which, as it turns out, is not all that mysterious and is in fact pretty important.

There's very little that is as enjoyable as a day outside. There's also very little that's as rewarding as a day spent taking part in a BioBlitz. Have a listen.

One of the coolest technologies on the near-term horizon is the quantum computer--an amazing device capable of doing so much more than traditional digital computers. In tis episode, we explain what they are, how they work, and where they're going. Grab a drink--this is a wild ride.

Welcome to the Natural Curiosity Project! I'm Steve Shepard, and as your host, I'll take you on journeys of discovery to learn just how awe-inspiring this planet really is. Hope you'll come along for the ride!

Three minutes of snow geese on Lake Champlain, November 2018. Close your eyes, listen, enjoy.

Thomas Young--the last man who knew everything. What else would you call a guy who translated the Rosetta Stone, contributed to physics, figured out how the eye works, and wrote a comparison of the grammar of 400 languages?

Did you know that HG Wells invented the World Wide Web? Sorry, Tim Berners-Lee--he beat you by about 100 years!

A tiny house wren, singing his heart out in search of a mate.

You know how we always take a deep breath after a rainstorm, and think about that wonderful smell of ozone? Newsflash--it ain't ozone: it's something else entirely, and it's VERY important. Have a listen.

It's amazing to me that I can find these tiny little creatures, much smaller than a pinhead, hopping around on the snow in the middle of deep winter. To see a short video of springtails--well, springing, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNSWFmLMVXk.

History is full of amazing people. What's equally amazing is the number of them that most of us have never heard of.

I met Lujan in a small village in Guatemala. What he taught me about --well, just about everything--is priceless. I'd like to share it with you.

I can't imagine a better opportunity to learn than being immersed as I was at the University of California at Berkeley in the early 70s. But much more valuable than my academic learning was how the experience taught me to think critically, and to listen to ideas that I didn't necessarily agree with--and, in fact, was often strongly opposed to. It's a lesson that more people need to learn today in our hypersensitive society.

Millions of species have disappeared from the planet over the eons, because natural selection says that it's time for them to leave. There's nothing that says we can't be next.

It took me a while to start Yoga. But my daughter Cristina, who teaches small group, therapeutic Yoga, finally convinced me. If you're just the least bit curious--and you are listening to a Podcast about curiosity, after all--listen to this episode. Just don't be driving.

This track departs from the norm, but some things need to be said. I'll get back on track next time, I promise. Just listen and reflect.

Darwin never said or wrote the phrase, 'survival of the fittest.' he did, however, say that the organisms that survive will be those most adaptable to change. This is true for a corporation as it is for a living thing. Enjoy.

Sometimes you have to step away from the world and immerse yourself in a bit of storytelling. I wrote this a while ago; it recently won an honorable mention in the Writers Digest National Fiction Writing Contest. Hope you like it--I had a ball writing it.

A machine, thousands of years old, pulled from the bottom of the Aegean and discovered to be the oldest computer ever built. And, it's more accurate than modern machines. Have a listen.

Did you know that all children's books are about leadership? There is nothing more powerful that a well-told story, and good leaders know this. See how they use storytelling to maintain their positions of influence.

The first submarine communications cable was laid across the northern Atlantic in the 1800s. The project was plagued by intrigue, sabotage, nasty winter storms, and the fact that there was no ship in existence at the time that could hold all the cable required to cross the ocean. What to do?

The first Podcast of the WSRS.

What's the difference between 'leadership' and 'those who lead?' The answer, as it turns out, is a lot.

There's something more than a bit eerie about a mushroom that glows in the dark.The science behind it, and the promise that it holds for the future of such things as smart cities, is even more amazing.

In Japan, company employees are encouraged to take time to get out of the office and go for a walk in the forest--on company time. Why? Because it lowers blood pressure, heightens the senses, and makes for better employees. And there's ample scientific proof that it works.

A few technology stories that you can use to amuse (and amaze) your friends. Enjoy!

Since bread is square, why is sandwich meat round? Did Adam and Eve have navels? Why do they put Braille instructions and labels on drive-up ATM machines? Why don’t we have A and B-cell batteries, since we do have AAs, AAAs, Cs, Ds, and whatever those big blocky things are called? And why don’t 9-volt batteries have a letter designation, like all the others? What makes the Teflon stick to the pan? Answers to all of these--and more.

Few writers (or scientists) have affected me more than Loren Eiseley. Equal parts paleontologist, archaeologist, poet, essayist, and observer of the human condition, his words strike me deeply. I hope they will you, as well.

Exactly that--a wonderful description of the 'plumbing' that makes trees work.

A discussion about the future of 5G technology, which will provide gigabit speed to mobile devices to support new, media-rich applications. It also makes driverless cars work properly--in case you're interested!

Ever wonder where terms like ten-gallon hat, hoosegow, Key West, and lariat come from? Listen and learn--this one is fascinating!

Sam Keane's Disappearing Spoon recounts extraordinary tales from the world of science--chemistry, mostly--that fundamentally changed what we know about the world. But we take it to the next level in this episode, adding a few other interesting (and amazing) stories.

What, exactly, is leadership? It's much simpler--yet profound--thank you think.

There's something magical about the language used to describe the natural world. It's also a bit infuriating--as you'll see as we explore a local wetland.