Everything Is Interesting -With Keera & Kira

We humans are pretty fortunate. Our intelligence and physical features are a result of the evolutionary hand we've been dealt, and are what have allowed us to build an advanced society with sophisticated infrastructure. Get it?? The HAND we've been dealt?? Despite what you may have learned from 2001: A Space Odyssey, genetic changes, which produce physical and behavioral changes, don't happen overnight, propelled by the power of a giant Monolith. Adaptations like walking upright, dexterity, and large complex brains, took millions of years to develop, and required the right environmental conditions for these random genetic changes to be considered assets. Join Kira and Keera on the journey of just how, and why, our ancient primate ancestors became... us.

In a special "Listener Question" episode of Everything is Interesting, K+K answer some excellent inquisitions, sent in by the kids from Mrs. Pace’s 6th grade class at Pleasant Valley Middle school in Vancouver, Washington. The question writers brought up some super interesting topics, and we wanted to answer them all, so we broke this one up into 2 separate episodes. On today's show the science ladies tackle: -How the Earth was formed -Why the Earth's axis is tilted -Where Earth's water came from -The first plant to emerge on Earth -The number of endangered species on Earth -The temperature on the moons of Neptune

In a special "Listener Question" episode of Everything is Interesting, K+K answer some excellent inquisitions, sent in by the kids from Mrs. Pace’s 6th grade class at Pleasant Valley Middle school in Vancouver, Washington. The question writers brought up some super interesting topics, and we wanted to answer them all, so we broke this one up into 2 separate episodes. On today's show the science ladies tackle: -Geese vs. Swift formations -Why we have droughts -How Magnetic Levitation works -How much gasoline humans use -How trees make Oxygen -How moss reproduces

If there's one thing we love, its ruining movie night for everyone by informing them of all the horrible science in wonderful movies. Play along with our 2nd Bad Science Fiction Movies Quiz, and see if you can pinpoint the scientific slip-ups in Transformers, The Core, Spider Man, and The Matrix.

Are you suffering from a stuffy nose? Itchy eyes? Endless sneezing? Overall-dear-god-why-won't-it-stop-misery? It could be the flu... or it could be allergies! On today's show, K+K explore our immune system's response to airborne pollen, the specific mechanisms inside the body that make those of us with allergies feel so awful, and just why the immune system attacks innocent little pollen in the first place.

Bathypterois grallator, the Tripod Fish. So named because it's an avid photographer. Have you been feeling like ,homes in Portland are becoming too expensive to afford? Well, good news! There's plenty of available real estate... under the sea! If, of course, you don't mind adopting some of the necessary physical adaptations needed to survive there. If fact, the deeper down you go, the stranger your characteristics will have to be. That's because the deeper down you go, the more extreme conditions like temperature and pressure become. Just ask the creatures that live there! Female Anglerfish. Male is not visible because his tiny dwarf body has already mostly absorbed into her flesh. Think you could hack it as a deep sea creature? Listen in to today's episode and see what it would take!

What's going on inside a nautilus's shell? Is it true that cephalopods can edit their own genes? An octopus has how many brains? Oh hey. Join Keera & Kira, plus coordinators of the Portland branch of the March for Science and test your Octo-knowledge in today's quiz, "Science Fact or Science Fiction: Cephalopod Edition." We hope to see you at the Portland March for Science, taking place on Saturday, April 22nd, 2017!  Kira & Keera will be there, with their nonprofit educational organization, Science Project. From 10am until 3pm, the Science Project's exhibit, "Oceans: Dive Deeper!" will provide lots of exciting hands-on experiments that will give you a better understanding of the many layers of our oceans. Plus we'll be unveiling our very first edition Everything Is Interesting t-shirt!! Come by and visit us, and get your very own! 4/12/2017

A healthy stream ecosystem is an intricate fabric, where pulling one thread could cause the whole system to unravel. Furthermore, each aspect of this ecosystem may provide a service to you directly, but in ways you probably often overlook. You eat the salmon, but the Aquatic Reed Sweetgrass makes your oxygen, the Western Pearlshell Mussel filters the toxins out of your drinking water, and the stable riverbanks supply nutrients that eventually end up in the food you eat. On this episode, Keera and Kira talk with Jack Williams of Trout Unlimited and Matt Sloat of the Wild Salmon Center, 2 of Oregon's premiere experts on fishery science and aquatic ecosystems, about our streams, why they matter, and what’s threatening them. ********(Looking for the information about how to send this show to your legislators? Go here: Contact Your Oregon Legislators)********* (Looking for more information about Suction Dredge Mining and healthy stream ecosystems? Go here: OLCV 2017 Legislative Priorities, here: Trout Unlimited, or here: Wild Salmon Center

Ah, the banana. Cornerstone of Snack Time, foundation of the banana split... and genetically identical to every other banana you've ever eaten (in the US, anyway). How did we end up with a banana monoculture? What's the difference between the DNA of a naturally evolved banana plant and a banana plant clone? And what's the connection between bananas, Big Mike the rapper, and 100 unicorns? Find out, on today's episode.

What goes through the mind of a bee? Does it have its own thoughts, or is being part of a hive-minded collective like being a part of the Borg?  Can an organism with swarm intelligence have a private identity, or does the community simply add each individual's biological and technological distinctiveness to its own? Lower your shields. Resistance is futile. On this episode, Keera and Kira examine the decision making process in communities of bees, birds, neurons, and slime mold, and discover what life is like as part of a hive mind.

Every now and then, Keera and Kira hang out and do stuff OTHER than talk about science. Like, sometimes they reminisce about growing up in the 90's, and the strange toys and commercials and fashion that shaped their impressionable little minds. That's how K+K stumbled upon the Amazing Live SEA MONKEYS! Remember getting those eggs in the mail, and how excited you were for your microscopic primates to come alive with just a little water? Kira and Keera do! On this episode, the Science Ladies talk about this aquatic crustacean species, Artemia salina, (Spoiler Alert: they're not monkeys. Sorry.) as wells as where they come from, how they evolved, and why you can send them through the mail like a pack of tomato seeds. They also explore the story of Harold von Braunhut, the man who sold these little creatures as living magic tricks, and the science behind really good marketing. 

  It's Valentines Day! So in true nerd fashion, Keera and Kira delve into the biochemistry of love. Why DO your palms get sweaty when you see the person your attracted to? Also, they explore the heart throughout medical history. Why do we use the heart as the symbol for where love comes from, when we now know that emotions, thoughts, and sweaty palms all begin in the brain?

On today's episode, Kira & Keera explore the immense geological forces that help to shape our planet, and then share some of the places you can go to see them, right here in our own National Parks. Talking points: LAVA! The discovery of plate tectonics The Cascadia Subduction Zone How geysers form MORE LAVA!

On today's episode, Kira and Keera quiz the XRAY team on the life and times of Amazing Arachnids! Can spiders get caught in their own web? Why DO spiders have 8 eyes? What would a 20 foot tall spider be like? And what would really happen if you were bitten by a radioactive spider? The most cuddly thing on 8 legs. Then in the last 5 minutes, we share some ways that you, the listener, can be active in our national democracy and advocate for science!

Today, Kira and Keera talk about the incredible power of that fiery ball in the sky, the sun! how we clever humans have devised the technology to harness it. We also answer some of your burning questions (get it?), like: What is nuclear fusion? How does old dead plant matter become fossil fuels? How do photo-voltaic cells capture sun energy? What is artificial photosynthesis, and how do we make it happen?