National Broadcast Presented by KUER Public Radio
Salt Lake Community College’s The Grand Theatre will be the broadcast site for KUER public radio’s presentation of NPR’s Science Friday on April 19, 2013. The live broadcast will be heard by more than 1.3 million listeners via hundreds of public radio stations across the United States.
Randall Irmis, Brooks Britt, and science writer Brian Switek will discuss paleontology during the show’s first hour. Irmis is an assistant professor of geology & geophysics at the University of Utah and the curator of paleontology for the Natural History Museum of Utah. Brooks Britt is an associate professor of geological science at Brigham Young University. He is the former director of the Stewart Museum in Odgen, Utah and the curator of paleontology for the Museum of Western Colorado in Grand Junction, Colorado. Brian Switek is a science writer whose new book My Beloved Brontosaurus was released on April 16 by Scientific American & Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
The second half of the show’s first hour will focus on using Utah to learn about Mars. The discussion will feature Marjorie Chan, chair of the University of Utah’s department of geology & geophysics, and Charles Killian of the Mars Society. Killian works with the Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah.
Science Friday’s second hour will discuss the smallest stuff that swims in the sea, the stars in the sky, and an unusual bird that flies through the air. Bonnie Baxter, director of the Great Salt Lake Institute and professor of microbiology at Westminster College will discuss salty microbes.
That will be followed by a look at the James Webb Space Telescope with Stacy Palen, director of the Ott Planetarium and associate professor of astrophysics at Weber State University and Bob Hellekson, program manager of the James Webb Space Telescope at ATK (Alliant Techsystems).
The live taping of the program will conclude with an examination of the sage grouse.
Science Friday is a weekly installment of NPR’s ‘Talk of the Nation’ program that focuses on science topics in the news. The popular program offers a creative, balanced discussion of some of today’s most interesting scientific issues.
Astronauts, scientists, authors and other expert guests join Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist and Science Friday host to discuss science and take questions from listeners.
Flatow has shared his enthusiasm for science with audiences for more than 35 years, including stints as an NPR science reporter, host and writer of the Emmy Award-winning public television show Newton's Apple, and as a reporter for CBS and CNBC. Flatow has been the host of Science Friday since its creation in 1991.
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