WKSU expands its coverage of science and research with “Exploradio Origins,” a new segment airing on Thursdays during local broadcasts of NPR’s “All Things Considered.” “Exploradio Origins” is a weekly series that ponders some of the biggest questions in the universe in 90 seconds. The feature is produced in coordination with the Institute for the Science of Origins (ISO) at Case Western Reserve University with host Kellen McGee.
“Exploradio Origins” is an extension of “All Things Considered” host Jeff St. Clair’s multiaward-winning “Exploradio” reports and his focus on science and technology, especially research and innovation in Northeast Ohio. Mr. St. Clair proposed the “Origins” segment to highlight the ISO’s unique mission of science communications and the institute’s contributions to science. Installments will be posted, along with additional information, online at www.wksu.org/origins.
Ms. McGee graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2014. She eventually became a research assistant in a biophysics and structural biology lab at Case Western Reserve University, and the ISO grew to be her intellectual home. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in nuclear and accelerator physics at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL/FRIB) at Michigan State University.
“The past few years have highlighted the need for scientists to emerge from the ivory tower and fulfill their half of the social contract – to go find out cool stuff and then come out and tell us about it,” Ms. McGee says. “I hope this radio program will find people wherever they may be – at work, in their cars or at home – and welcome them to peer in the windows, with the message that what’s inside – the quest to answer some of humanity’s deepest questions – belongs to all humans, not just scientists.”
The segments scheduled to air in October are:
Oct. 4
Ralph Harvey – Meteorites and Bigger Things to Come
Meteorites are an early warning system, says Case Western Reserve University’s Ralph Harvey. They give clues to what asteroids are made of and what risks they pose to earth.
Oct. 11
Nita Sahai – We Came From Clay
Life began in the mud, according to University of Akron researcher Nita Sahai, who studies the origin of cellular structures in mineral matrices.
Oct. 18
Cynthia Beall – Tracing the Origins of High-altitude Adaptation
Humans have adapted to mountain living in different ways. Cynthia Beall of Case Western Reserve University found that modern Tibetans may owe their adaptability to an extinct race of Middle Eastern hominins.
Oct. 25
Leslie and Madeline Wade – What Is LIGO?
A husband-and-wife team unlocks the mysteries of gravity. Leslie and Madeline Wade both teach at Kenyon College, and both work on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
Information on the entire first season is available at www.wksu.org/ExploradioOriginsLineup.
“Exploradio Origins” is funded in part through Larry and Sally Sears’ generous support of science and innovation initiatives on WKSU.