Earth + Humans

For decades, Prince created music that sold 100+ million records worldwide, released 39 studio albums, and won seven Grammy's. What inspired Prince's unique sound that made him so popular and successful? In this episode, we welcome Dr. Rashad Shabazz, associate professor in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. Dr. Shabazz uses a geographical lens to understand black culture and gender and has extensively studied Prince and his music, but also the history of Prince's hometown of Minneapolis and its impact on music. Join us now as we discuss the geography of music, Prince and the Minneapolis Sound.

February 14th is most commonly known as Valentine's Day, but this day is also special for another reason, because on February 14, 1912, Arizona became the 48th state! For this special episode of Earth + Humans, we talk to three students in our PhD of geography program to ask them about their favorite places to visit in Arizona, how they handle our extreme heat, and their interesting research topics. Join us as we celebrate our love for the state of Arizona.

Listen closely. Do you hear the wind blowing through the trees? A bird singing in the distance? Probably not, because you are listening to Earth + Humans, but even imaging this scene can make you feel slightly less stressed and more relaxed. Now, imagine you actually step outside and visit your local park – think of how much better you could feel! Liza Golden, a community health planner with Maricopa County Department of Public Health, sat down with us to talk about her work to bring the topic of health to the forefront of community planning, as well as her project Park Rx, working with healthcare providers to prescribe time in parks to increase health and happiness in our communities.

Cities are affected by climate, but cities also create their own climate. To discuss this interesting relationship, we sat down with Dr. Dev Niyogi, who is a professor of agronomy and earth, atmospheric, planetary sciences at Purdue University. Dr. Niyogi was recently a guest of our school to be the keynote speaker for the Urban Climate Research Center's annual Anthony J. Brazel Urban Climate Lecture. In this episode, Dr. Niyogi and our host Dr. Trisalyn Nelson discuss urban climate, the relationship between cities and climate, the role of universities in climate science, and more!

On this episode of Earth + Humans, we sit down with Dr. Randy Cerveny, President's Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. He also serves as Rapporteur on Extreme Records for the United Nations/World Meteorological Organization where he is responsible for researching and verifying global weather records. An expert on weather extremes and climate change, Dr. Cerveny provides some insights into what is causing rising temps in cities like Phoenix, which areas holds the record for the hottest temps, and his hopes for the future when it comes to climate. In light of the growing movement of youth concerned about climate change, we also spoke with two young people (who might be related to our host!) to ask them about what they know about climate change and how they think we should tackle the issue. (A serious subject can also be fun, so be sure to listen for the outtakes at the end of the episode!)

Think for a minute about your geographic data. What exactly is that, you might be wondering? The phone in your pocket, the smart watch on your wrist, the GPS in your car –- all of these devices, and many more, collect and use your geographic data. It can help you navigate from one place to another, but it can also use the data from others to let you know to avoid your normal route home because of an accident. US News and World Report recently listed geography as one of the top 10 science jobs. This can likely be attributed to booming industries that rely on and create data that can be mapped. In this episode of Earth + Humans, we welcome Dr. Michael Goodchild, one of the founders of the field and a professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, to learn more about geographic data science, the future of the field, how to protect your privacy, and more!

“Equity” has become a buzzword in recent months but there are a lot of questions surrounding the topic. How does equity differ from equality? What inequities exist in our communities, how did they get there and what can we do to make our communities more equitable? These are just a few of questions discussed in the first episode of Earth + Humans, as Dr. Trisalyn Nelson – host of Earth + Humans, as well as director of the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University – sits down with Dr. Deirdre Pfeiffer, professor of urban planning. Editor’s note: In this episode our guest highlights the important issue of homelessness in Maricopa County and its impact on different racial communities. In the statistics on Whites representing 83% of the total population, 71% of the population in poverty, and 58% of the population experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County, the category White includes Hispanics. The episode incorrectly states that the category White excludes Hispanics.

"It's complicated" - the relationship status that hits you in the pit of your stomach. But, it's also the best way to describe the relationship we, the human race, are in with our planet. When it comes to the Earth and the humans who call it home, we have a lot of work to do to repair this fragile relationship. The Earth + Humans podcast aims to highlight some of the people who are researching these issues and their work to find solutions to some of our world's biggest problems. Earth + Humans is produced by the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University.