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Living on Earth

Living on Earth

By: World Media Foundation
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As the planet we call home faces a climate emergency, Living on Earth is your go-to source for the latest coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to you by PRX.℗ & © 2021 World Media Foundation Earth Sciences Politics & Government Science
Episodes
  • Climate Resilience Grants Resume, The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, and A Woolly Rhino DNA Discovery

    Climate Resilience Grants Resume, The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, and A Woolly Rhino DNA Discovery
    Mar 27 2026
    A federal judge recently issued an enforcement order mandating the release of funds from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities or BRIC program, which the Trump administration had stalled. Why money spent to protect critical infrastructure from disasters like storms, floods and wildfires pays for itself many times over. Also, over billions of years of its history, the planet has frozen over almost completely and then lost all its ice as crocodiles basked in a balmy Arctic. Carbon-based life arose and adapted to all this change. And at the center of it all is the notorious greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, the focus of the book The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World. And a recent discovery is giving us insights into the last days of the woolly rhinoceros in Siberia before it went extinct some 14,000 years ago. Researchers studied the DNA of a well-preserved piece of woolly rhino meat that was the last meal of a wolf pup. --- Interested in in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this summer! We’re now accepting applications and to learn more, go to loe.org/about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Vanguard Retreats from ESG, Running Free from Pricey Gas—EVs, A Vision of a Wind-Powered Venezuela and more.

    Vanguard Retreats from ESG, Running Free from Pricey Gas—EVs, A Vision of a Wind-Powered Venezuela and more.
    Mar 20 2026
    The investment giant Vanguard is retreating from its climate initiatives as part of a $30 million settlement deal for an anti-trust lawsuit brought by Republican state attorneys general. The lawsuit alleged that Vanguard and fellow asset managers BlackRock and State Street, which are still fighting the suit, conspired to kill the coal industry. Vanguard did not admit to wrongdoing but is now barred from participating in climate investment watchdog groups such as Ceres. Also, facing pain at the pump, US drivers looking to buy an electric vehicle now have more and cheaper choices than ever. But with the $7500 federal tax credit for new electric vehicles now gone, you may be wondering whether EVs are the smart buy in 2026. We share some insights about EV options, cost and the charging network. And since the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro in early January, there has been a lot of discussion about Venezuela’s massive oil reserves. But it also turns out that Venezuela is ideally positioned to harness abundant clean, renewable energy, particularly from wind. We map out this blue-sky vision for a green Venezuela. --- Join LOE and Inside Climate News for the next Living on Earth Book Club event on Thursday, March 26th! We’ll talk with data scientist Hannah Ritchie about her new book Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers. Learn more and sign up for this free, live online event at loe.org/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Fires and Logging Justice, Back to the Moon, Pioneering Women in Science and more.

    Fires and Logging Justice, Back to the Moon, Pioneering Women in Science and more.
    Mar 13 2026
    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. Also, 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. And 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. --- Join LOE and Inside Climate News for the next Living on Earth Book Club event on Thursday, March 26th! We’ll talk with data scientist Hannah Ritchie about her new book Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers. Learn more and sign up for this free, live online event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
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