x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Forestcast

USDA Forest Service

Explore the largest forest research organization in the world alongside scientists studying, questioning, and solving some of today"s most compelling forest issues. Through stories, interviews, and special series, learn what"s happening in your forests, and where those forest ecosystems might be headed. Season 4: Afire A 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The story of how fire research shapes our landscapes and our lives. Season 3: Women of Research Highlighting women"s

science earth sciences

All Episodes

26:51

Backcross BONUS: How A Bird Influences Beech...

Forestcast ·

2023/02/07

Beech bark disease has been killing American beech trees in eastern North America since the late 1890s. In northern New England, New York, and the Maritimes where the disease is most severe, groups of disease resistant trees occasionally occur. Genetic studies reveal that trees in groups are families, and distribution patterns suggest that they were “planted” by blue jays. Related Research: American Beech Resistance to Cryptococcus fagisuga (1983) Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet 75 (1983) Dispersal

en

24:13

Backcross: Will Ash be the Blueprint for Tree...

Forestcast ·

2022/03/29

The number one way you can stop an insect invasion or pathogen from spreading is by stopping it from ever starting. Who says geneticists and ecologists can’t act in the same way—taking action before a tree is ever in danger? With ash, proactive and collaborative breeding is already taking place, and it could be a roadmap for the future of combating tree species restorations. Related Research: Green Ash Trees That Survive Beetle Infestation Pass on Their Resistance Through Propagation and Planting

en

29:23

Backcross: A Return to Elm Street

Forestcast ·

2022/03/22

Dutch elm disease (DED) is one of the most commonly known and destructive tree diseases in the world. The disease was first observed in Ohio in 1930, and by 1976, only 34 million of the estimated 77 million elms present in U.S. urban locations remained. Research on American elm from the 1970s to the present has focused in large part on the identification of American elm individuals that can withstand the DED pathogen. To increase American elm’s long-term recovery as a canopy tree, it is crucial to

en

41:06

Backcross: The Past, Present and Future of American...

Forestcast ·

2022/03/15

A hundred years ago, the American chestnut was the redwood of the East. It was big, and it was everywhere, especially in the southern Appalachians. But, today, it’s just a shrub and is, functionally, extinct. With chestnuts having gone through such a dramatic decline, restoration has been a priority, and it’s been a restoration effort unlike many others. It’s been one of the most passionate efforts an American tree has ever seen. Related Research: American Chestnut Oral History Project (2009)

en

19:40

Backcross: How Do You Breed Better Trees?

Forestcast ·

2022/03/08

Tree species restoration—especially with species that are threatened with extinction—isn't even on the table unless you have resistant planting stock. But, trees live on another timescale than humans—a much longer one. And, to be a geneticist, to breed, your job is to infiltrate that timeline, and to understand it. By understanding that timeline, you can begin to fiddle with it, fiddle with time, and with the future. The future of that plant, but also the future of our planet. Genetics allow us to

en

09:26

Backcross: Tree Species Restoration & Resistance...

Forestcast ·

2022/03/01

In season one of Forestcast, entomologists showed us the ways we slow insects from attacking and killing trees. This season, we’ll meet another set of scientists, scientists who have been attacking the issue of non-native invasive insects and pathogens from a different angle. Chemicals and biological control can buy trees time, but they cannot completely control the non-native insects that are attacking trees that have never experienced these insects before. We need something on top of those

en

06:25

Searching for Cicadas in the Chattahoochee (Field Notes)

Forestcast ·

2021/07/15

Mac Callaham, a research ecologist, goes searching alone in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest for one of Brood X’s most-southern cicada emergences. Scientist: Mac Callaham, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? More at: www.nrs.fs.fed.us/podcast/special/3/ Any questions? Connect with us on Twitter!

en

30:37

The Two-Sided Story of Periodical Cicadas

Forestcast ·

2021/05/05

Any day now, periodical cicadas will emerge across 15 states stretching from Illinois to New York and northern Georgia. Two scientists, one who’s tracked the aboveground movements of these cicadas, and another who’s unearthed the belowground impact of these insects, take you inside the many mysteries and forgotten elements of these evolutionary enigmas. Related Research: Sharp boundary formation and invasion between spatially adjacent periodical cicada broods (2021) Periodical cicada emergence

en

37:22

A Window of Resurgence for Red Spruce

Forestcast ·

2020/05/14

In the 1970s, red spruce was the forest equivalent of a canary in the coal mine, signaling that acid rain was damaging forests and that some species – especially red spruce – were particularly sensitive to this human induced damage. In the course of studying the lingering effects of acid rain, scientists came up with a surprising result – decades later, the canary is feeling much better. Related Research: “The Surprising Recovery of Red Spruce Growth Shows Links to Decreased Acid Deposition and

en

17:26

Balance & Barrier: The Future of Forest Threats

Forestcast ·

2020/04/02

In addition to studying and monitoring the non-native insects already here, scientists are monitoring pests that have potential to become problems if they ever do arrive, whether from overseas or from other parts of North America. Related Research: “The Challenge of Modeling and Mapping the Future Distribution and Impact of Invasive Alien Species” (2015) “Reproduction and potential range expansion of walnut twig beetle across the Juglandaceae” (2018) About The USDA Forest Service Quarantine

en

18:42

Balance & Barrier: The Hornless Asian Longhorned Beetle

Forestcast ·

2020/03/26

The Asian longhorned beetle has the makings of a disaster pest poster — a wide possible geographic and climatic range, a number of host trees, and few control options. Lucky for us, it just doesn’t seem to spread far on its own. There are biocontrol and predator options, but nothing is ideal, or especially effective. At this time, there isn’t much we can do other than chop down and chip infested trees. Related Research: “New York's Battle with the Asian Longhorned Beetle” (1997) “Mapping of the

en

25:06

Balance & Barrier: When A Single Clone Caused An...

Forestcast ·

2020/03/19

With no parasitic wasps — like we have for emerald ash borer — and no miracle fungal pathogen — as with gypsy moth — our control options for the nonnative insect threatening Eastern hemlock forests, the hemlock woolly adelgid, have been tricky. Hemlock forests, and the hemlocks in your yard, are paying the price. Related Research: “Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: A Non-Native Pest of Hemlocks in Eastern North America” (2018) “Mitochondrial DNA from Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Suggests Cryptic Speciation and

en

18:46

Balance & Barrier: Slowing the Spongy Moth's Spread

Forestcast ·

2020/03/12

Insect biological control comes in all shapes and sizes — parasitoids, predators, or pathogens. So, what happens when neither a parasitoid nor a predator are feasible? Well, sometimes we have to turn away from using insects to attack insect pests, and turn to using an even smaller organism, something microscopic: a pathogen — in this case a fungus. Related Research: “Introduction and Establishment of Entomophaga maimaiga, a Fungal Pathogen of Gypsy Moth in Michigan” (1995) “Discovery of Entomophaga

en

25:28

Balance & Barrier: Wasps vs. Emerald Ash Borer Beetle

Forestcast ·

2020/03/05

With global trade and travel, organisms are moved around easily and abruptly, causing biological invasions. What’s our best hope to combat these rapidly spreading pests? Sometimes, it’s to do the exact same thing, to start moving around organisms — on purpose — to attack unwanted pests. This is called ‘biological control.’ It is one of the most cost-efficient and environmentally acceptable long-term approaches for managing invasive species. And, it’s been a crucial component to managing the damage

en

23:15

Balance & Barrier: A Slow Explosion of Damaging...

Forestcast ·

2020/02/24

A biological invasion is an enormous increase in population of some kind of living organism. It happens when an organism — like an insect — arrives somewhere beyond its previous range, when it breaks out past its natural barrier, unbalancing the biological order. More than 450 non-native insects have invaded our forests and urban trees since European settlement. In this series, we'll explore four of these insects, and the scientists studying and combating these pests. In 1957, a British ecologist,

en

02:39

Welcome to “Forestcast”

Forestcast ·

2020/02/24

The Northern Research Station invites you inside the largest forest research organization in the world — the USDA's Forest Service — for conversations with scientists at the forefront of forest research. Forestcast brings you stories, interviews, and special in-depth anthologies of the science that's examining and explaining how forests affect our lives, and how we affect our forests. To kick things off, a special six-part series on one of the most significant environmental threat to our forests,

en

36 results

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter