Big Picture Science for June 16, 2025: Lithium Valley

Big Picture Science: Lithium Valley

REPEAT
The discovery of a massive amount of lithium under the Salton Sea could make the U.S. lithium independent. The metal is key for batteries in electric vehicles and solar panels. But the area is also a delicate ecosystem. We go to southern California to hear what hangs in the balance of the ballooning lithium industry, and also how we extract other crucial substances  – such as sand, copper and iron– and turn them into semiconductors, circuitry and other products upon which the modern world depends.

Guests:

• Ed Conway – economics and data editor of Sky News and columnist for the Times in London.  He’s the author of “Material World, The Six Raw Materials that Shape Modern Civilization“.
• Frank Ruiz – Audubon California Salton Sea Program Director.
• Michael McKibben – Geologist, University of California, Riverside. 

This repeat podcast originally aired on February 19, 2024

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/lithium-valley

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Big Picture Science for June 09, 2025: Alien Says What?

 

Big Picture Science: Alien Says What?

REPEAT
Whales are aliens on Earth; intelligent beings who have skills for complex problem-solving and their own language. Now in what’s being called a breakthrough, scientists have carried on an extended conversation with a humpback whale. They share the story of this remarkable encounter, their evidence that the creature understood them, and how the experiment informs our Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. After all, what good is it to make contact with ET if we can’t communicate?

Guests:

• Brenda McCowan – Research behaviorist at the University of California Davis in the School of Veterinary Medicine who studies the ecological aspects of animal behavior and communication.
• Fred Sharpe – whale biologist and behavioral ecologist at Simon Fraser University and member of the Templeton WhaleSETI Team.
• Laurance Doyle – astrophysicist and information theory researcher at the SETI Institute. 

This repeat podcast originally aired on February 2, 2024

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/alien-says-what

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Big Picture Science for June 02, 2025: Hurricane Comms

Big Picture Science: Hurricane Comms

A big challenge during a hurricane or other disaster is keeping lines of communication open when the power goes out. In this episode, the second in our series tied to the 20th anniversary of hurricane Katrina, we report from the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans about a technology used in 2005, and still employed today, to provide vital information during a crisis.

In our age of growing reliance on cellphones and funding cuts to federal agencies tasked with disaster communications, could ham radio be our last antenna standing during a chaotic catastrophe? “Hams” talk about their ability to keep information flowing during a storm. Meanwhile, a very recent technology, artificial intelligence, is playing a growing role in hurricane preparedness. Emergency responders tell us how they use AI to issue warnings, describe the limits of the technology, and why – and when – humans should step in.

Guests:

• Bobby Graves – Network manager for Hurricane Watch Net amateur radio. His call sign is KB5HAV.
• Julio Ripoll – A coordinator and founder of the National Hurricane Center amateur radio station, WX4NHC in Miami, Florida where he has been a volunteer for 45 years.
• Matt Anderson – Call sign KT5KNZ, volunteer at the Louisiana State Emergency Operations Center for two decades. He was active during hurricane Katrina.
• Todd Devoe – Emergency management coordinator for the city of Inglewood, California.
• Brian Head – Chair of the fire rescue law enforcement and military track for the National Hurricane Conference; executive director with Buffalo Computer Graphics, former employee with the New York State Emergency Management Office.

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/hurricane-comms

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!