Best Forestservice Podcasts (2024)

1
Afire: Fire Ignition, Mitigation & Recovery 48:22

6M ago48:22

48:22

Fire shapes landscapes and lives, but how do humans shape fire? By measuring wildfire ignition, mitigation, and recovery, as well as the wildland-urban interface—where houses meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland vegetation—scientists are uncovering the complex dynamics between wildfire and human behavior. Research social scientist, Miranda…

1
Afire: Fire Effects Above and Belowground 51:45

6M ago51:45

51:45

Fire affects forests above and belowground. Travel along on a multiscale journey from forest-wide influences to molecular-level changes, unraveling the knowns and unknowns of fire effects on soil, vegetation, and carbon. Sharon Hood explains how fire affects tree mortality, tracing the pivotal role of carbohydrates in a tree's post-fire survival. D…

1
Afire: Fire Weather, Wind & Smoke 58:14

6M ago58:14

58:14

From whipping winds that fan flames to swirling smoke that obscures visibility, fire weather is a complex phenomenon. In Episode 4 of "Afire," hear from three meteorologists at the intersection of the intricate relationships between fire weather, wind, and smoke. Brian Potter explains how large-scale atmospheric patterns, like extended dry periods …

1
Afire: Understanding Different Fire 51:30

6M ago51:30

51:30

Prescribed fire plays a vital role in creating healthy landscapes that better survive natural and human-caused disturbances, while reducing wildfire risk to communities, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. Episode 3 of "Afire" highlights three scientists and partnerships that are attempting to better understand and utilize prescribe…

1
Afire: Understanding Fire Differently 48:21

7M ago48:21

48:21

Indigenous tribes gained their unique understanding of fire, and the role of fire on the landscape, long before European settlers came to what is now called North America. Since then, the relationship between federal fire management and indigenous perspectives has often been one of misunderstanding and mistrust. On Episode 2 of "Afire," join Forest…

1
Afire: Understanding Fire 1:06:09

7M ago1:06:09

1:06:09

Fire is a form all of its own, but a simple way to understand fire is as a swarm. A swarm of bees. Or starlings. Or mosquitos. A spreading fire is a swarm of ignitions, a series of small fires over and over. Season 4 of Forestcast is a series of fires, a series of voices. It’s a 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The stor…

1
Flying the Nuthatch Home 44:49

1+ y ago44:49

44:49

Once spanning nearly 6 million acres in Missouri's Ozarks, the shortleaf pine and oak woodland ecosystem has dwindled to 100,000 acres today. Along with the loss of this habitat, a bird—the brown-headed nuthatch—disappeared as well. However, after decades of woodland restoration, the brown-headed nuthatch has returned to Missouri—by plane. Over two…

1
Women of Research: Our Sustainable Future with Cindi West 27:10

1+ y ago27:10

27:10

Cindi West has over 30 years of experience working across private industry, academia, and federal government in a variety of jobs to ensure sustainability of natural resources. In February 2021 she assumed the position of Director of the Northern Research Station and the Forest Products Lab. She has served in various leadership roles in the Forest …

1
Women of Research: Scientific & Ethical Integrity with Maggie Hardy 35:43

1+ y ago35:43

35:43

Maggie Hardy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Forest and Woodland Ecosystems Program, a group of scientists that develops and delivers scientific knowledge and management tools for sustaining and restoring the health, biodiversity, productivity, and ecosystem processes of forest and woodland landscapes. Before joining t…

1
Women of Research: Changing the World Through Soil with Deb Page-Dumroese 24:44

1+ y ago24:44

24:44

Research soil scientist Deb Page-Dumroese’s research interests center around maintaining soil productivity during and after land management activities. As site principal investigator for several North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Study plots, Deb is well-versed in the pre- and post-treatment sampling necessary to determine changes in above-…

1
Women of Research: A Life of Healthy Forests with Jenny Juzwik 21:15

1+ y ago21:15

21:15

Research plant pathologist, Jenny Juzwik, conducts studies on diseases of trees that impact forest health and productivity. Her career-long interest and passion has been the study of interactions among microorganisms and insects associated with disease occurrence and development. One particular focus has been on the insects responsible for transmis…

1
Women of Research: The Nature of Stewardship with Lindsay Campbell 28:54

1+ y ago28:54

28:54

Research social scientist, Lindsay Campbell, explores the dynamics of civic stewardship, environmental governance, and sustainability policymaking--with a particular emphasis on issues of social and environmental justice—all from New York City. She is a founding member of the New York City Urban Field Station, which was jointly created by the North…

1
Women of Research: Plots to Blocks with Sjana Schanning 27:42

1+ y ago27:42

27:42

Ecologist Sjana Schanning’s fieldwork has taken her from the Rincon Mountains of Arizona, to the the winter woods of Wisconsin, to the summer shores of Michigan’s Isle Royale. But, she’s recently shifted away from the field towards data analysis, our cities’ trees and the Urban FIA Program. Sjana collects field data and performs data analysis and r…

1
Women of Research: Juggling Motherhood & Ornithology with Susannah Lerman 30:39

1+ y ago30:39

30:39

Ecologist Susannah Lerman walks us through her career and life, from falling in love with birds in Israel, to making something more of mowing, to hosting a motherhood workshop, to the mentors that enabled her to create a career out of science. Susannah’s research goal is to improve the sustainability of urban and human-dominated landscapes for bird…

1
Women of Research: Watershed Moments & Moms with Chelcy Miniat 25:22

1+ y ago25:22

25:22

Ecologist Chelcy Miniat shares watershed moments of her career and life, from a spark of science in sixth grade, to her time at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, to her decisions about if and when to have children. Chelcy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Maintaining Resilient Dryland Ecosystems (MRDE) program, a group …

1
Women of Research: An Ode to Mentors by Sara Brown 38:16

1+ y ago38:16

38:16

Ecologist Sara Brown takes us through eight chapters of her career and the 10 mentors that made her, from wildland firefighting, to smokejumping, to teaching in New Mexico, to directing the Missoula Fire Science Lab. Sara is a classically trained ecologist, with a focus on fire ecology. Before her return to the Forest Service in 2015, she was an As…

1
Women of Research: Twenty-Five Years of Mentorship with Laura Kenefic & Susan Stout 39:18

1+ y ago39:18

39:18

To celebrate the immeasurable impact of women in our nation’s history, and to honor the scientists who have inspired others to dream, work, study, serve and succeed, Forecast is kicking off a special 10-episode series highlighting women’s perspectives in research over the past 50 years. Eleven scientists from the Northern Research Station and Rocky…

1
Backcross: How A Bird Influences Beech Resistance Patterns (BONUS) 26:51

1+ y ago26:51

26:51

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 wer…

1
Backcross: Will Ash be the Blueprint for Tree Restoration? 24:13

2+ y ago24:13

24:13

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…

1
Backcross: A Return to Elm Street 29:23

2+ y ago29:23

29:23

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 identifi…

1
Backcross: The Past, Present and Future of American Chestnut 41:06

2+ y ago41:06

41:06

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 o…

1
Backcross: How Do You Breed Better Trees? 19:40

2+ y ago19:40

19:40

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, y…

1
Backcross: Tree Species Restoration & Resistance Breeding 9:26

2+ y ago9:26

9:26

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 comp…

1
Searching for Cicadas in the Chattahoochee 6:25

3+ y ago6:25

6:25

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. Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with…

1
The Two-Sided Story of Periodical Cicadas 30:37

3+ y ago30:37

30:37

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 eni…

1
A Window of Resurgence for Red Spruce 37:22

4+ y ago37:22

37:22

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 l…

1
Balance & Barrier: The Future of Forest Threats 17:26

4+ y ago17:26

17:26

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” …

1
Balance & Barrier: The Hornless Asian Longhorned Beetle 18:42

4+ y ago18:42

18:42

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 …

1
Balance & Barrier: When A Single Clone Caused An Invasion 25:06

4+ y ago25:06

25:06

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 A…

1
Balance & Barrier: Slowing the Spongy Moth's Spread 18:46

4+ y ago18:46

18:46

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.…

1
Balance & Barrier: Wasps vs. Emerald Ash Borer Beetle 25:28

4+ y ago25:28

25:28

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 cos…

1
Balance & Barrier: A Slow Explosion of Damaging Forest Insects 23:15

4+ y ago23:15

23:15

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 Europe…

1
Welcome to “Forestcast” 2:39

4+ y ago2:39

2:39

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 …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Forestservice Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Forestcast

USDA Forest Service

1
Afire: Fire Ignition, Mitigation & Recovery 48:22

1
Afire: Fire Effects Above and Belowground 51:45

1
Afire: Fire Weather, Wind & Smoke 58:14

1
Afire: Understanding Different Fire 51:30

1
Afire: Understanding Fire Differently 48:21

1
Afire: Understanding Fire 1:06:09

1
Flying the Nuthatch Home 44:49

1
Women of Research: Our Sustainable Future with Cindi West 27:10

1
Women of Research: Scientific & Ethical Integrity with Maggie Hardy 35:43

1
Women of Research: Changing the World Through Soil with Deb Page-Dumroese 24:44

1
Women of Research: A Life of Healthy Forests with Jenny Juzwik 21:15

1
Women of Research: The Nature of Stewardship with Lindsay Campbell 28:54

1
Women of Research: Plots to Blocks with Sjana Schanning 27:42

1
Women of Research: Juggling Motherhood & Ornithology with Susannah Lerman 30:39

1
Women of Research: Watershed Moments & Moms with Chelcy Miniat 25:22

1
Women of Research: An Ode to Mentors by Sara Brown 38:16

1
Women of Research: Twenty-Five Years of Mentorship with Laura Kenefic & Susan Stout 39:18

1
Backcross: How A Bird Influences Beech Resistance Patterns (BONUS) 26:51

1
Backcross: Will Ash be the Blueprint for Tree Restoration? 24:13

1
Backcross: A Return to Elm Street 29:23

1
Backcross: The Past, Present and Future of American Chestnut 41:06

1
Backcross: How Do You Breed Better Trees? 19:40

1
Backcross: Tree Species Restoration & Resistance Breeding 9:26

1
Searching for Cicadas in the Chattahoochee 6:25

1
The Two-Sided Story of Periodical Cicadas 30:37

1
A Window of Resurgence for Red Spruce 37:22

1
Balance & Barrier: The Future of Forest Threats 17:26

1
Balance & Barrier: The Hornless Asian Longhorned Beetle 18:42

1
Balance & Barrier: When A Single Clone Caused An Invasion 25:06

1
Balance & Barrier: Slowing the Spongy Moth's Spread 18:46

1
Balance & Barrier: Wasps vs. Emerald Ash Borer Beetle 25:28

1
Balance & Barrier: A Slow Explosion of Damaging Forest Insects 23:15

1
Welcome to “Forestcast” 2:39

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