California Fires, Fire Engineering, Flu Near You. Nov 16, 2018, Part 1
Science Friday16 Marras 2018

California Fires, Fire Engineering, Flu Near You. Nov 16, 2018, Part 1

When wildfires strike, the conversation typically centers around natural factors: forest management, climate change, or hot dry winds that fan the flames. But there’s another important factor in wildfire risk: what humans build. Not just where we build, adjacent to flammable landscapes, but how we build it. Fire historian Stephen Pyne joins us to talk about what we might learn from the way we build in big city centers, where we’ve been largely successful at stamping out big blazes, and Sascha von Meier of UC Berkeley tells us a few ways power companies might fortify the grid to avoid sparking fires.

And could California use more planned burns to prevent forest fires? Molly Peterson of KQED tells us more.

Plus: Flu season has already begun, and Science Friday is teaming up with Flu Near You to recruit a national team of everyday citizens to build a real-time map of the rise and fall of influenza-like-illness in the United States. It’s as simple as reporting how you feel each week. Science Friday education director Ariel Zych and Flu Near You co-founder John Brownstein of Boston Children’s Hospital kick off the project with information and some of the trends they’ll be tracking throughout the season, and biologist Matt Smith tells about the dangers of flu season for people living with cystic fibrosis.

Plus, Annalee Newitz joins Ira to tell us the latest science news in the News Round-up.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(1379)

How do you find a ‘lost’ species?

How do you find a ‘lost’ species?

The earth is facing a biodiversity crisis, and there’s a lot of attention on species that are threatened, or at risk of dying out completely. But, there’s another critter category that’s a little more...

14 Elo 18min

What we get wrong about vaccine hesitancy

What we get wrong about vaccine hesitancy

President Trump has signed an executive order calling for a change to the childhood vaccination schedule. Specifically, he wants to separate the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and...

13 Elo 12min

Why this lab studies the speed of bug pee and other curiosities

Why this lab studies the speed of bug pee and other curiosities

In a lab in the Rocky Mountains, a group of scientists is hard at work trying to find answers across biology, physics, and engineering: They’re looking into things like the hydrodynamics of insect pee...

12 Elo 18min

Some primates undergo even more extreme childbirth than humans

Some primates undergo even more extreme childbirth than humans

Human childbirth is often difficult and incredibly painful—just ask anyone who’s been through it. And for a long time, childbirth seemed to be uniquely difficult for humans. But a new study suggests t...

11 Elo 11min

Deb Haaland is a politician, and proud of it

Deb Haaland is a politician, and proud of it

Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, was the first Native person to hold a cabinet position. Now she’s running to be governor of New Mexico.  Haaland joins Host ...

10 Elo 17min

Sitting all day is terrible for us. Moving a little can help

Sitting all day is terrible for us. Moving a little can help

Keeping your butt in a seat for hours a day increases the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, psychiatric conditions, and more. But in our tech-filled world, many of us lead sedentary lives, whether beca...

7 Elo 18min

A Nagasaki survivor and physician recounts his life's work

A Nagasaki survivor and physician recounts his life's work

Dr. Masao Tomonaga was only 2 years old when the United States bombed his home city of Nagasaki. He survived, and grew up to become a physician for other survivors, known as hibakusha. He also studied...

6 Elo 18min

What do people eat? Plant and animal DNA in sewage provide clues

What do people eat? Plant and animal DNA in sewage provide clues

Imagine you wanted to get a general idea of what people are eating in a given community. You could look at grocery store sales, or do surveys, but neither can capture a complete picture.  Microbiome r...

5 Elo 12min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-poliisin-mieli
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
docemilia
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-radplus
utelias-mieli
hippokrateen-vastaanotolla
rss-hereilla
rss-ranskaa-raakana
rss-bios-podcast
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-tervetta-skeptisyytta
mielipaivakirja
radio-antro