Maddie Sofia
Appearances
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
Today on the show, the death and potential rebirth of the American chestnut tree, how science is trying to give this functionally extinct tree a fresh start and how that has created some controversy. OK, Kwong, the mysterious disappearance of the American chestnut tree. Take it away.
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
Hey, everybody. Maddie Safaya here with shortwave reporter Emily Kwong. Hey, Maddie. Hey, Kwong. You've been delving into the mystery of what happened to one of the most significant trees in the United States, the American chestnut.
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
So the big, strong trees, they were basically gone.
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
So we can grow and essentially reproduce on its own in nature.
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
And how does this gene affect the American chestnut tree?
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
So these trees have been genetically modified at this point.
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
And what are these regulatory agencies looking for?
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
Right. Some people are worried about genetically engineered trees and other things being released into the wild. Right.
Short Wave
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
All right, Emily Kwong, I appreciate you. Thank you for sharing with us the scientific saga of the American chestnut tree. Such a saga. Yeah. You're welcome, Maddie.
Short Wave
Hear Christmas Carols And Talk To Santa On Ham Radio
This is VIA Radio in Pittston, Pennsylvania.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
Okay, Britt, we are talking about whether or not allergy season is getting worse. So who'd you talk to?
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
What a mix, Britt. What a mix. Okay, so what did you find out? This is an investigative report, and I want answers. Okay, okay, okay. I'm just going to play the tape.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
Okay. All right. Well, that was easy. You were right. I mean, do we know why the pollen levels are higher and the seasons are getting longer? I have an idea, but I want you to tell me.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
Okay, so basically the more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more pollen that is produced.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
I feel like a lot of this comes back to climate change. I mean, increased CO2, rising temperatures. Like, I know it's pretty complicated. Like, am I oversimplifying this here?
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
Wow. All right. Well, honestly, Brett, all you did was bring me bad news today.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
I think at this point it's the least you could do, Brett Hansen.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
OK, I didn't know that. Keep the outside out. Got it. Check.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
Okay, wash the outside off you and your clothes if you go out there.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
OK, so like I know when it's getting really bad out there. All right. I'm about to download that. OK. All right, Britt. Thank you so much for validating the allergy struggle and also for sharing some tips with us.
Short Wave
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
Fact-checked by Rasha Reedy and edited by Viet Le. The audio engineer for this episode was Josh Newell. I'm Maddie Safaya. Thanks for listening to Shortwave from NPR.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
I don't know about you, but when I hear the word smoke, it makes me think of like huge thick plumes of different shades of gray sort of blanketing everything, you know, nothing too complicated. For somebody like Jessica, though.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
biomass. We're talking things like trees and brush that burn up in a wildfire. When it comes to particles in smoke, there's also a huge range from larger ones in the form of ash and dust that can more quickly settle out of the sky.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
Yeah. And from the particulates side, the thing that people seem to be the most freaked out about is this PM 2.5, or the little particles that are super, super small. Yeah. And there seems to be a lot of that going on right now in California and large parts of the West, right? Yeah.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
One of the most interesting things about smoke is how it behaves, how it interacts with the different layers of our atmosphere, including the layer closest to us called the boundary layer. And how big that layer is, how thick it is, depends on temperature. So at night, when it's cooler, that layer condenses and comes back down in altitude.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
Also, with cooler temps and higher humidity at night, wildfires tend to die down.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
Yeah. And I guess I didn't, I had no idea that, you know, in areas where there's wildfire burning, that the smoke actually kind of settles back down at night. And it makes me think about, like, you know, it's night, it's cool, you want to open a window, right? That can be problematic. Yeah.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
And so I think it's important to remember, right, so we're seeing the bonfire, we're seeing the smoke, and all of this smoke doesn't just hang out there, right? Like, smoke really travels.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
You know, the kicker is, though, when this smoke maybe clears up from the way that we can detect it, like just by going out and being like, oh, I can breathe a little bit easier. It never just disappears, right? Like, you know, smoke feeds into this cycle of climate change, right? Yeah.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
And all of these things kind of feed into, and this is simply put, but these things feed into a longer, hotter fire season. So it's kind of this garbage cycle.
Short Wave
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
You know, I feel like the wildfires and the smoke are very visual examples of climate change. I mean, do you think that fires could impact how people are thinking about climate change and what needs to be done?
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
So today in the show, we ask some big questions about second language acquisition and get answers from neurolinguist Sarah Phillips. This is Shorewave from NPR.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
All right, Emily Kwong, today we are talking about the science of learning a second language because you are learning Mandarin Chinese, which, like, as far as a hobby goes, more power to you, Emily, more power to you.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Oh, yeah. I remember, Sarah, from our episode on P600, like how the brain responds to sentences with confusing grammar or syntax.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Oh, that's pretty cool, though. You're a developing baby bilingual.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
I think so. Is that the idea that you can only become fluent in a language when you're young? Like there's this critical window for language learning?
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Dang. Okay, so does the same thing happen with humans? Like, I don't know that you could ethically study that, but I'm curious.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Gotcha, gotcha. Okay, but how does this apply to second language? And your earlier question, like how late is too late to learn another language?
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Every second? Yes. That's too many. Take it easy, brain.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Not just like you're essentially rewiring your brain a little bit.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Oh, my gosh. I love that. That's so comforting. Like, this is like language therapy right now, like learning a new language therapy, because everybody worries about that pronunciation when they're trying to speak in a different language, right? Yeah, it took the pressure off enormously.
Short Wave
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
Emily, thank you so much for bringing us a story that's as personal as it gets. Your heritage, your family, your brain chemistry. Thank you. Thank you, Maddie. Today's episode was produced by Thomas Liu, edited by Viet Le, and fact-checked by Indy Cara. The audio engineer for this episode was Alex Strawenskis.