The Gold Spotted Oak Borer

For this week's show, Alien Invasion, Molly traveled to the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County to cover the story of the Gold Spotted Oak Borer, a beetle invading swaths of Live Oak forest. There she met U.C. Riverside biological control specialist – and entomologist – Mark Hoddle and graduate student Vanessa Lopez, who are trying to stop the invasion.

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Alien Invasion

They’re heeeere! Yes, aliens are wreaking havoc and destruction throughout the land. But these aliens are Arizona beetles, and the land is in California, where the invasive insects are a serious problem.

And what of space-faring aliens? We have those too: how to find them, and how to protect our planet – and theirs.

From Hollywood to SETI’s hi-tech search for extraterrestrials, aliens are invading Are We Alone?

Listen to individual segments here:
Part 1 - The Gold Spotted Oak Borer part 1
Part 2 - Paul Davies
Part 3 - Frank Drake
Part 4 - The Gold Spotted Oak Borer part 2
Part 5 - Andy Ihnatko
Part 6 - Margaret Race and Margaret McLean
Part 7 - The Gold Spotted Oak Borer part 3

Are We Alone - Alien Invasion: Gold Spotted Oak Borer part 3

Part 7 of Alien Invasion, featuring Mark Hoddle, Biological Control Specialist at the University of California, Riverside and Vanessa Lopez, graduate student in entomology, University of California, Riverside in the search for a tree destroying insect invading the Cleveland National Forest in California.

Are We Alone - Alien Invasion: Gold Spotted Oak Borer part 2

Part 4 of Alien Invasion, featuring Mark Hoddle, Biological Control Specialist at the University of California, Riverside and Vanessa Lopez, graduate student in entomology, University of California, Riverside in the search for a tree destroying insect invading the Cleveland National Forest in California.

Are We Alone - Alien Invasion: Gold Spotted Oak Borer part 1

Part 1 of Alien Invasion, featuring Mark Hoddle, Biological Control Specialist at the University of California, Riverside and Vanessa Lopez, graduate student in entomology, University of California, Riverside in the search for a tree destroying insect invading the Cleveland National Forest in California.

Seth's Crawl Space

It’s always a surprise to go digging in Seth’s crawl space – who knows what we’ll find! In this cramped never-never land, tucked between piles of spilled cat litter and old clarinet reeds, we stumble upon the language of whales … the future of technology … the secret to plant power … and the answer to whether photographic memory exists. Tune in, find out and, grab a broom, will you?

Listen to individual segments here:
Part 1 - Larry Squire
Part 2 - Oliver Morton
Part 3 - Fred Sharpe
Part 4 - Computer History Museum
Part 5 - Nathan Myhrvold

Seth's Crawl Space - Oliver Morton

Part 2 of Seth's Crawl Space, featuring Oliver Morton, journalist and author of Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet.

Sex and the SETI - Olivia Judson

Part 1 of Sex and the SETI featuring Olivia Judson, evolutionary biologist at Imperial College in London and author of Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex.

Sex and the SETI - Lori Marino on aliens

Part 3 of Sex and the SETI featuring Lori Marino, evolutionary biologist at Emory University.

Sex and the SETI - Sharon Moalem

Part 4 of Sex and the SETI featuring Sharon Moalem, neuro-geneticist, evolutionary biologist and author of How Sex Works: Why We Look, Smell, Taste, Feel, and Act the Way We Do.

It's the Science, Cupid!

Love makes us feel warm and mushy, but the sweet sting of Cupid’s arrow makes a compelling chemistry lesson, too. Research into animal mating and human courtship provides clues to an eternal mystery: what’s the purpose of love?

Learn lessons from the family values of field mice, and affectionate same-sex penguin pairs. Plus: Darwin’s take on speed dating, and the science of smooching.

Listen to individual segments here:
Part 1 - The biology of love
Part 2 - Helen Fisher
Part 3 - Sarah Woodley
Part 4 - Skyler Place
Part 5 - Larry Young
Part 6 - Marlene Zuk

It's the Science, Cupid! - The Biology of Love

Part 1 of It's the Science, Cupid! We ask what makes love possible, why it's pleasant, and how it became a necessary part of our existence.

Oh, and Seth sings.

It's the Science, Cupid! - Helen Fisher

Part 2 of It's the Science, Cupid! featuring Helen Fisher, Anthropologist, Rutgers University.

It's the Science, Cupid! - Sarah Woodley

Part 3 of It's the Science, Cupid! featuring Sarah Woodley, Biologist, Duquesne University.

It's the Science, Cupid! - Marlene Zuk

Part 6 of It's the Science, Cupid! featuring Marlene Zuk, Biologist, University of California, Riverside in a discussion of the phenomenon of same sex partnerships in the animal kingdom.

Master of Camouflage

This week's show about the evolution of intelligence features a segment on the ability of cuttlefish to change the colors and patterns of their skin to match their surroundings. As Roger Hanlon, senior scientist at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts, describes in "Feather Knows Best", this helpful adaptation has been honed to the point that the cuttlefish can undergo this transformation in the blink of an eye. In the video above, a cuttlefish floats just above the ocean floor, its color ranging from purple to yellow. At about 27 seconds in, it suddenly takes on the colors and pattern of the ocean floor, and if you didn't see it happen, you'd probably swim right by without seeing the animal at all. At least, that's what it hopes.