Living Lab Radio: The Apollo Legacy, Word Of The Year, And Fish And Ships

Haddock and cod change their behavior when confronted with noise from ships.

Heather Goldstone is the science editor at WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR Station. She holds a Ph.D. in ocean science from M.I.T. and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and spent a decade as an active researcher before leaving the lab to become a writer.

December 19, 2017

Updated July 03, 2023

Apollo’s Science Legacy: It’s been 45 years since the last Apollo mission. Apollo 17 returned to Earth on Dec. 19, 1972, and no one has set foot on the moon since. The moon landings launched a new field of science, and researchers are still studying the samples brought back by Apollo astronauts. We talk to David Kring, principal investigator at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

How They Pick the Word of the Year: Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is feminism. How did they come up with that? In part, it’s based on how often people searched for the definition on the Merriam-Webster website. That hasn’t always been the case. We talk with Peter Sokolowski, Merriam Webster’s editor-at-large.

Fish and Ships: Unfortunately, Not a Great Combination: You probably knew that whales make sounds to communicate. But did you know that fish are chatting down there, too? It turns out that fish, like cod and haddock, vocalize to find mates, but ship noise could be interfering. We talk to researcher Jenni Stanley of Northeast Fisheries Science Center at NOAA in Woods Hole.

Lessons From the Country’s First Off-Shore Wind Farm: Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm went online just over a year ago. Researchers gathered recently to share what they’ve learned — and how that might inform future offshore wind energy development in New England. We talk with Jennifer McCann, director of U.S. Coastal Programs at University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Center and director of Extension Programs for Rhode Island Sea Grant.