Laws of Notion
by The Institute for Science & Policy
Science was revolutionized by Newton's laws of motion. But how can we revolutionize our ideas?Laws of Notion is a podcast by the Institute for Science & Policy at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where we push against our preconceived beliefs and think critically about the world around us. Each season, we'll tell a story about an issue facing a community, where there are no easy answers. Listen to explore the interconnections between science, policy, and our human nature.
Episodes
-
Coal at Sunset: Still Burning | Nothing is Linear (S1, Ep.2)
In our second and final episode of Coal at Sunset: Still Burning, we talk with members of the close-knit community of Craig. While lawyers argue over Section 202(c) in Washington and Denver, the community is living with the uncertainty the federal order created while building toward a future…
more -
Coal at Sunset: Still Burning | From the Top (S1, Ep.1)
We're going back to Craig, Colorado, a story we took on in 2021 about the pending closure of a local coal plant that has served as the town's financial backbone for half a century. Now, a federal emergency order is upending the plan to close the plant. We'll look at the order itself, the…
more -
Coal at Sunset ENCORE: A Look Ahead (S1 Ep.3)
In our final episode re-release of Coal at Sunset, we look ahead to 2030. There are estimated to be more than a thousand ghost towns in Colorado. Each one represents a failed economic transition. In 2019, Colorado created the first state-level Office of Just Transition in the nation. It was...
-
Coal at Sunset ENCORE: Change is Coming (S1 Ep.2)
In episode 2 of our re-release of Coal at Sunset, we dive into the Colorado legislature's boldest step yet toward addressing climate change. In 2019, House Bill 1261 committed Colorado to a 50% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and a 90% reduction by 2050. The bill signaled the...
-
Coal at Sunset ENCORE: The Decision and the Cost (S1 Ep.1)
It's been almost five years since our very first season: Coal at Sunset: A Colorado Town in Transition. In 2021, we went to Craig, Colorado, as it grappled with the forthcoming closure of the coal plant and mine that economically anchors the town. But in 2026, a new federal intervention requires...
-
Gray Territory BONUS: Citizen Lawmaking | Decoding Direct Democracy
This whole series started with a vote. That vote not only revealed the ongoing debate about reintroducing the gray wolf to Colorado, but also who gets to make decisions and what the best way to do that is. In this interview with direct democracy expert Dr. John Matsusaka, we break down how this...
-
Gray Territory BONUS: Saint or Sinner | Interview with Wolf Biologist David Mech
David Mech has been researching wolves since 1958 and has authored hundreds of articles and 13 books on wolf behavior and ecology. From his decades of studying wolves across the globe, including Isle Royale, Minnesota, Canada, Italy, Alaska, Yellowstone, Ellesmere Island, and elsewhere, to modern...
-
Gray Territory: Beyond the Divide (S5 Ep5)
In our final episode, we examine what the future might hold for wolves, ranchers, advocates, and the people working every day to move us beyond conflict and simplified narratives. From museum specimens that document our shared history to voices on the ground navigating life with the gray wolf, we...
-
Gray Territory: Solutions for Coexistence (S5 Ep4)
There are many tools being tested and deployed to help make coexistence with wolves a reality. Range riders provide a human presence on the landscape night after night to keep wolves at bay. Ongoing conversations between wolf advocates and ranchers to build understanding. Raising money across the...
-
Gray Territory: Can We Coexist with Wolves? (S5 Ep3)
The reintroduction of wolves has created a new reality for many ranchers. While many expected challenges when reintroducing a large predator, the experience on the ground has proven to be both more complex and emotional than they anticipated. The story of the Copper Creek wolf pack brought this…
more -
Gray Territory: Whose Voice Counts? (S5 Ep2)
How does the diversity of society's values and perspectives get incorporated into wildlife decisions? In this episode, we explore the gap between democratic ideals and messy reality, how a vote becomes policy and then becomes lived experience, and who gets heard along the way. We examine how the...
-
Gray Territory: Wolves Are Back (S5 Ep1)
By a razor-thin margin in 2020, Colorado voters decided to bring gray wolves back to the landscape. Now, paws are on the ground, and real work is just beginning. For some, wolves returning to the landscape feels like tightening the vice on the already challenging profession of ranching. Yet for...
-
Trailer: Gray Territory (S5)
Colorado is the first state to intentionally bring back wolves by popular vote. But voting was just the beginning. From the ballot box to paws on the ground, join us for Gray Territory: The Return of Wolves to Colorado, a new limited series that takes a deeper look at wolf reintroduction and...
-
Laws of Notion Presents: Wasting Away (The Modern West podcast)
We are excited to share an episode from our friends at Wyoming Public Media, who produce the The Modern West, a podcast documenting the evolving identity of the American West. Hop in a pickup as we head out into the National Elk Refuge outside Jackson, WY, to hear all about the debate over…
more -
The Compass Series: Building Trust with Cary Funk
The Compass Series: Navigating Our Complex State of Affairs is a short mini-series exploring the critical topics at the intersection of science, policy, and human behavior. In Episode 5: Building Trust, we interview Dr. Cary Funk, Senior Advisor for Public Engagement with Science for the Aspen...
-
The Compass Series: Colorado's Scientific Ecosystem with Dan Powers
The Compass Series: Navigating Our Complex State of Affairs is a short mini-series exploring the critical topics at the intersection of science, policy, and human behavior. In Episode 4: The Value of Scientific Research, we discuss critical role of federally funded research in Colorado with Dan...
-
The Compass Series: Tackling Misinformation with Lori Robertson
The Compass Series: Navigating Our Complex State of Affairs is a short mini-series exploring the critical topics at the intersection of science, policy, and human behavior. In Episode 3: Tackling Misinformation, we discuss the critical role of fact-checking in our media ecosystem with Lori...
-
The Compass Series: Embracing Uncertainty with Christie Aschwanden
The Compass Series: Navigating Our Complex State of Affairs is a short mini-series exploring the critical topics at the intersection of science, policy, and human behavior. In Episode 2: Embracing Uncertainty, we discuss the critical role of uncertainty in science and our everyday lives with...
-
The Compass Series: Bridging Divides with Stephen Hawkins
The Compass Series: Navigating Our Complex State of Affairs is a short mini-series exploring the critical topics at the intersection of science, policy, and human behavior. In Episode 1: Bridging Divides, we discuss political polarization and conflict with Stephen Hawkins, Global Director of...
-
United by Fire BONUS: The Role of Indigenous Peoples and Fire
As our landscapes face unprecedented challenges, Indigenous practices offer crucial lessons about living with fire rather than fighting against it. Yet any true co-stewardship approach requires agencies to share power they've historically held tightly and commit to the long process of...
-
United by Fire BONUS: The Highs and Lows of Being a Wildland Firefighter
In an era when megafires are becoming the norm rather than the exception, our communities need wildland firefighters now more than ever. However, recruitment and retention is a serious and growing challenge in the wildland fire community. As firefighters cope with physical and mental health...
-
United by Fire: Fire and Us (S4 Ep9)
How do we take our connection to the landscape and learn how to steward it in a time of change? Wildfire defines our era, but it doesn't have to shape our future. From examining our relationship to risk and responsibility to making difficult choices about what to protect, our closing episode...
-
United by Fire: The Forest of the Future (S4 Ep8)
As wildfires transform Colorado's landscapes, this episode explores the loss of cherished ecosystems and the tough realities of forest recovery. Discover the strategies, science and choices shaping the forests of the future. Learn more about the podcast at institute.dmns.org/united-by-fire and...
-
United by Fire: How to Invest a Dollar (S4 Ep7)
With wildfires intensifying, every dollar spent on mitigation and resilience matters more than ever. This episode explores the tough choices and bold solutions shaping Colorado's future: training a new generation of workers, leveraging new technology, and balancing suppression with prevention.…
more -
United by Fire: Managing the Flames (S4 Ep6)
Explore Colorado's changing relationship with wildfire as we follow the people working to manage its risks and tap into its ecological benefits. Through prescribed burns, forest thinning and community partnerships, land managers, scientists and residents are rethinking fire as a tool to keep both...
-
United by Fire: Black Water (S4 Ep5)
This episode explores how the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires of 2020 created a far-reaching crisis in Colorado's watersheds, impacting both mountain communities and those downstream along the Front Range. Discover the intersection of fire, water, and policy - and the surprising ways...
-
United by Fire: After the Fire: A Community Rebuilds (S4 Ep4)
Four years after the East Troublesome Fire, many Grand County residents are still grappling with the aftermath, from insurance disputes to the emotional toll of loss. We explore the long-term impact of the fire on individuals and the broader community as they strive to recover and rebuild. Learn...
-
United by Fire: The Fire's Edge (S4 Ep3)
In October 2020, the East Troublesome Fire exploded, forcing a mass evacuation of Estes Park as ash rained from the sky. In this episode, we explore how the town responded to the dual threats of a wildfire and a pandemic, and the hard choices they faced in order to protect their community. Learn...
-
United by Fire: House of Cards (S4 Ep2)
The summer of 2020 was one of Colorado's hottest and driest on record, setting the stage for a devastating series of megafires. The Cameron Peak Fire ignited in the Roosevelt National Forest and burned for nearly four months, consuming almost 209,000 acres. In this episode, we'll hear from people...
-
United by Fire: Rethinking Fire (S4 Ep1)
Today's megafires raise questions about how we manage our forests and where we choose to live. In 2020, Colorado experienced the two largest wildfires in the state's history: Cameron Peak and East Troublesome. Together, these high-intensity blazes ripped through communities and challenged what we...
-
Trailer: United By Fire Launching October 9
Wildfire is here to stay, but on whose terms will it burn? Join us for United by Fire, a new series where we investigate the two biggest wildfires in Colorado's history and explore hard truths about our landscapes and ourselves. Season four of the award-winning podcast Laws of Notion starts Oct.…
more -
Clearing the Air BONUS: The Right to Breathe
In this special bonus episode, we talk with Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, founder and director of The Ella Roberta Foundation based in South London, UK. We first met Rosamund in episode 4, The Road to Change. She and her legal team made history when a coroner found a direct link between her...
-
Clearing The Air BONUS: Dry Air
The San Luis Valley has always had dust storms, for as long as humans have been there. The problem now is that as water dwindles, temperatures warm, a multi-decade drought rages on, and people continue altering the landscape, dust is increasing. Dust and sand storms impact farming economies by...
-
Clearing the Air: Steps Forward (S3 Ep8)
From supporting the wickedly smart and engaged next generation to learning how to work together in new and more meaningful ways, our last episode explores what it means to truly empower people to solve our air quality issues. Change has been slow and incremental, but change is happening. And…
more -
Clearing the Air: A New Wave (S3 Ep7)
Often there is a cultural catalyst that sparks change. And that catalyst can come from people being empowered with data, knowledge, and opportunity. From Pueblo to Aurora to other parts of Colorado, communities are finding traditional and new ways to engage in the change they want for their…
more -
Clearing the Air: Harnessing Energy and Numbers (S3 Ep6)
Colorado is the fifth largest oil-producing state in the country, and the state's economy benefits from keeping the industry running. But oil and gas are also a major source of emissions to local air quality and climate change. And we all have a vested interest in reducing emissions, which has...
-
Clearing the Air: Driving Behavior (S3 Ep5)
Whether you've had a direct experience with bad air, followed the air quality index on your phone, or formally learned about the importance of clean air, awareness can be a key driver for change. But once we know how poor air quality can impact our health, what does it take to change our…
more -
Clearing The Air: The Road to Change (S3 Ep4)
An estimated 4.2 million premature deaths are associated with outdoor air pollution each year. And traffic emissions are one of the leading contributors, with those living within a quarter mile or so of a busy road at greatest risk. But statistics and facts will only get you so far. To change...
-
Clearing the Air: The Heart of a Debate (S3 Ep3)
There is a long history of disproportionately impacted neighborhoods, which are predominately communities of color and low income, experiencing the unequal impact of pollution. This has been the case for many communities in Colorado when it comes to air quality. And while there are competing...
-
Clearing The Air: Clean Up Your Act (S3 Ep2)
For years Colorado's Front Range has repeatedly failed to meet the EPA's national air quality standards, putting local policymakers and regulators under pressure to fix the air pollution affecting us all. Now air monitoring and data gathering are slowly starting to catch up to the reality that…
more -
Clearing The Air: Something in the Air (S3 Ep1)
Our air is a complex soup of ingredients – which impacts the health of all of us, our economy, and our climate. But those health burdens are not shared equally. They disproportionately impact children, the elderly, and lower-income or historically marginalized communities. What does it mean to…
more -
Clearing the Air: Trailer
From our first breath to our last exhale, air is a vital shared resource. But what's really in the air we breathe? Stay tuned for Clearing the Air: The Hazy Future of Our Skies, a new eight-part series about air pollution in Colorado and how we are navigating this complex problem that knows no...
-
Coal at Sunset EPILOGUE: Craig at a Crossroads (S1 Pt.2)
The closure of the coal plant and mine in Craig, Colorado will greatly impact the economy and result in the loss of jobs. However, there are conversations about the potential to repurpose the plant and existing infrastructure. From geothermal to hydrogen to nuclear, what could happen with the…
more -
Coal at Sunset EPILOGUE: Two Years Later (S1 Pt.1)
It's been almost two years since we shared the story of Craig, Colorado, and the forthcoming closures of the coal power plant. In this epilogue to Coal at Sunset, you'll hear from some of our former guests reflecting on what's changed, what hasn't, and what the road ahead looks like. We're coming...
-
Water Under Pressure BONUS: The Future of Agriculture
The history of soil degradation is not new. Humans have been altering the landscape for thousands of years. But what does it mean to have healthy and functional soils and how is this critical to a productive and sustainable agriculture system? In this bonus episode, we spend time with Gene…
more -
Water Under Pressure BONUS: The Colorado Water Plan
In January 2023, a new Colorado Water Plan was released. This document evokes hope and caution as the scarcity of water looms over our state. It's a guide for how to bring people together and prioritize water projects across Colorado that serve the most uses and benefits. In this bonus episode…
more -
Water Under Pressure BONUS: Power and Speculation
Control of water. Who has it, who doesn't? How was water historically used? What is it being used for today? And what about future uses? In this first bonus episode, we are talking about power and decision-making, including the controversial topic of water speculation, with James Eklund, a...
-
Further Listening: Is Denver Hoarding Water? (via City Cast Denver)
Laws of Notion Listeners! More on our state's water issues with our friends at City Cast Denver. Ever since Denver Water was founded in 1918, the agency has demonstrated enviable foresight, building out a massive infrastructure across 4,000 square miles to ensure Denver's population (and economy)...
-
Water Under Pressure: Searching for Solutions (S2 Ep5)
In this series, we've investigated the pressures around water in Colorado – from climate change to population growth to different values – and how they shape the management of this vital resource. But where do we go from here? And how do we change the relationship we've had with water…
more -
Water Under Pressure: Growing Demand (S2 Ep 4)
The need to use every drop of water – multiple times over – matters. In Colorado, 80% of the precipitation falls on the western side of the continental divide, but 90% of the population lives to the east, in the Front Range. As the urban corridor continues to grow rapidly, the need for water is...
About this show
Science was revolutionized by Newton's laws of motion. But how can we revolutionize our ideas?Laws of Notion is a podcast by the Institute for Science & Policy at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where we push against our preconceived beliefs and think critically about the world around us. Each season, we'll tell a story about an issue facing a community, where there are no easy answers. Listen to explore the interconnections between science, policy, and our human nature.
Hosted by
The Institute for Science & Policy