A Sneaky Way of Solving Florida's Python Problem

A Sneaky Way of Solving Florida's Python Problem

Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Radio Archive, Episode 814 , Segment 6

Episode: Gina Haspel and America's Torture History, Cancer-Hunting Dogs, Trapping Pythons

  • May 17, 2018 11:00 pm
  • 12:08 mins

(Originally aired 2/14/18) Guest: M. Rockwell Parker, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biology, James Madison University How do you catch a 20-foot long, 200-pound, alligator-eatin’ python? Or should you just run? Probably a good idea, but Burmese Pythons are a major problem in the Florida Everglades and they’re really tricky to catch. So a wily biologist named Rocky Parker has a tricky solution he’s hoping will work.

Other Segments

Scientific Possibility of a 2-Hour Marathon

21 MINS

(Originally aired 6/20/17) Guest: Michael Joyner, MD, Exercise Physiologist, Mayo Clinic Running a mile in under four minutes was an impossible feat…until it wasn’t. Once Roger Bannister became the first to eke out a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds back in 1954, an even faster mile quickly became the norm. Now, a group of Nike-sponsored runners has been trying to break the two-hour threshold for a marathon. The world record currently stands at two hours, two minutes and 57 seconds, for an officially recognized time. Last year, Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge came 24 seconds short of breaking the 2-hour barrier. That was after years of training and research and special shoe development by Nike. So, can it be done? And what would it take?

(Originally aired 6/20/17) Guest: Michael Joyner, MD, Exercise Physiologist, Mayo Clinic Running a mile in under four minutes was an impossible feat…until it wasn’t. Once Roger Bannister became the first to eke out a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds back in 1954, an even faster mile quickly became the norm. Now, a group of Nike-sponsored runners has been trying to break the two-hour threshold for a marathon. The world record currently stands at two hours, two minutes and 57 seconds, for an officially recognized time. Last year, Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge came 24 seconds short of breaking the 2-hour barrier. That was after years of training and research and special shoe development by Nike. So, can it be done? And what would it take?

Suing to Diversify City Councils

19 MINS

(Originally aired 6/5/17) Guest: Kevin Shenkman, JD, Attorney   Do the people on your city council look like you? Are they from your side of town? Your racial group? In a democracy it feels important to know there’s someone in elected office who gets your concerns, right? But here’s the thing – as America becomes more racially and economically diverse, our local governments are not keeping pace. Why is that? Is there something baked into the way cities and counties elect councilmembers that suppresses racial diversity? Lots of research suggests the answer is yes. In Southern California, attorney Kevin Shenkman is leading a crusade to change that. He’s filed upwards of a dozen lawsuits and threatened to file many more against cities and towns across California to get more diverse local councils.

(Originally aired 6/5/17) Guest: Kevin Shenkman, JD, Attorney   Do the people on your city council look like you? Are they from your side of town? Your racial group? In a democracy it feels important to know there’s someone in elected office who gets your concerns, right? But here’s the thing – as America becomes more racially and economically diverse, our local governments are not keeping pace. Why is that? Is there something baked into the way cities and counties elect councilmembers that suppresses racial diversity? Lots of research suggests the answer is yes. In Southern California, attorney Kevin Shenkman is leading a crusade to change that. He’s filed upwards of a dozen lawsuits and threatened to file many more against cities and towns across California to get more diverse local councils.