Science Distilled

Often when we think about diversity and inclusion, we look at it through a lens crafted by years of training seminars and decades of awareness campaigns. Whether it’s workshops, consultants or modules, the diversity industry has become a multibillion-dollar business, and yet, there seems to be a continual need for more attention to be paid to diversity efforts across all spectrums of American life.

Time and again, research has shown that increased diversity is beneficial to society and the world. In nature, biodiversity is essential for the survival of entire ecosystems. In workplaces, differing world views and experiences lead to innovation, creativity and increased production. Awareness of the need for diversity has certainly increased in recent decades, but many industries are struggling to recruit people from differing backgrounds. That can have a chilling effect, especially if that industry is one that touches everyone, like healthcare.

In the U.S., nearly a quarter of the freshwater we use comes from underground aquifers. That's nearly 80 billion gallons of groundwater every day. As climate change and drought become more prevalent, so does our dependence on groundwater, but what happens when it becomes polluted?

For nearly a century, they’ve been at the forefront of science fiction. They’ve been both heroes and villains. Sometimes they’re highly sophisticated and intelligent, while others are a bit more bumbling and even neurotic. We’re talking, of course, about robots.

There’s an old adage that 'seeing is believing' or 'I’ll believe it when I see it,' but can our eyes really be trusted?

Since antiquity, humans have been looking up and wondering, ‘Is there life out there?’ or ‘Are we alone?’. The latest Kepler mission data suggests that there are over 40 billion habitable world zones in the universe with the potential to support life. Out of the 40 billion habitable zones, there has to be life out there somewhere, right?

Firefighters work in high-stress, high-stakes environments, constantly making choices in the face of cascading uncertainty. They’re putting their lives on the line and taking into consideration everything that’s in the path of a blaze, including people, property, animals, and even environmental resources, like water.

Climate change is becoming a reality. According to NASA, over the next century, our planet is likely going to see some pretty significant changes. We’re already seeing rising sea levels due to the melting ice caps, along with storms that are stronger and more frequent. For people living in the American West, the snowpack is becoming less predictable. Summers are longer and hotter, and severe droughts are pushing us to become more reliant on water reserves. Perhaps most notably, those hotter, drier summers are resulting in more and more wildfires.

Science Distilled is a podcast based on the lecture series of the same name, where we break down concepts from cutting edge science and research and learn how they apply to the world around us. The podcast is hosted by KUNR's Paul Boger and Michelle Matus.