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The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

Alaska Public Media | By Eric Bork
Published July 1, 2016 at 11:00 AM AKDT

On our next program, we'll revisit one of our favorite shows about aging. Much of the extended life span of humans today can be attributed to the control of pathogenic microbes. As a result the promotion of health and attention on chronic disease is becoming the focus of health care. However, along the way we are discovering a new appreciation of the health benefits provided by much more abundant non-pathogenic microbes that evolved with us and make up about 2 % of our weight. This program originally aired in December of 2015.

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HOST: Thad Woodard, MD

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GUESTS: 


  • David R. Montgomery is a MacArthur Fellowand professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington. He is an internationally recognized geologist who studies landscape evolution and the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies. Author of three award-winning popular-science books, he has been featured in documentary films, network and cable news, and on a wide variety of TV and radio programs, including NOVA, PBS NewsHour, Fox & Friends, and All Things Considered. When not writing or doing geology, he plays guitar in the band Big Dirt.

  • Anne Biklé is a biologist whose wide-ranging interests have led her into watershed restoration, environmental planning, and public health. An engaging speaker on public health and the built and natural environments, she has also worked extensively with community groups and nonprofit organizations on environmental stewardship and urban livability projects. She spends her free time out in the garden with her hands on plants and dirt.

 

LINKS:

ORIGINAL BROADCAST: Monday, December 21, 2015, at 2:00 p.m. AKDT

REPEAT BROADCAST:  Monday, July 04, 2016, at 2:00 & 8:00 p.m. AKDT

DR. WOODARD’S FAVORITE HEALTH AND SCIENCE LINKS:

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Eric Bork
Eric Bork, or you can just call him “Bork” because everybody else does, is the FM Operations Manager for KSKA-FM. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the FM broadcast. He produces and edits episodes of Outdoor Explorer, the Alaska-focused outdoors program. He also maintains the web posts for that show. You may have heard him filling in for Morning Edition or hosting All Things Considered and can still find him operating the soundboard for any of the live broadcast programs. After escaping the Detroit area when he was 18, Bork made it up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he earned a degree in Communications/Radio Broadcasting from Northern Michigan University. He spent time managing the college radio station, working for the local NPR affiliate, and then in top 40 radio in Michigan before coming to Alaska to work his first few summers. After then moving to Chicago, it only took five years to convince him to move back to Alaska in 2010. When not involved in great radio programming he’s probably riding a bicycle, thinking about riding bicycles, dreaming about bikes, reading a book, or planning the next place he’ll travel to. Only two continents left to conquer!
See stories by Eric Bork