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Blue Dot, named after Carl Sagan's famous speech about our place in the universe, features interviews with guests from all over the regional, national and worldwide scientific communities. Host Dave Schlom leads discussions about the issues science is helping us address with experts who shed light on climate change, space exploration, astronomy, technology and much more. Dave asks us to remember: from deep space, we all live on a pale, blue dot. Blue Dot is engineered, co-produced and co-hosted by Matt Shilts. It airs Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and Fridays at 6:30 p.m.

The Saddle Fire has been burning in Trinity County near the town of Hyampom since last Tuesday, June 9. It was the largest of 15 fires that were started during a lightning storm in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. It prompted mandatory evacuations in nearby areas, which have since been lifted, and firefighters are still working to get it contained. Below you will find NSPR's coverage of the fire, including radio stories, live blogs, aggregated multimedia and more.

00000176-4e34-d3bc-a977-4f7c3a150000On Shasta Serenade, host Barry Hazle mixes up an eclectic brew of Americana, blues, rockabilly, folk, bluegrass and timeless standards from his perch in Oak Run. Shasta Serenade airs Saturdays at 12 p.m.

Are you ready to vote on Nov. 8? Here's a closer look at the 17 propositions on the California ballot with stories from California Counts, a collaboration between Capital Public Radio, KQED, KPCC and KPBS to cover the 2016 elections in California. Proposition 51: School BondsProposition 52: State Fees on HospitalsProposition 53: Revenue BondsProposition 54: LegislatureProposition 55: Tax Extension to Fund Education and HealthcareProposition 56: Cigarette Tax to Fund Healthcare, Tobacco Use Prevention, Research, and Law EnforcementProposition 57: Criminal SentencesProposition 58: English language educationProposition 60: Adult Films, Condoms, Health RequirementsProposition 61: State Prescription Drug PurchasesProposition 62: Death PenaltyProposition 63: Firearms, Ammunition SalesProposition 64: Marijuana LegalizationProposition 65: Carry-Out Bags ChargesProposition 66: Death PenaltyProposition 67: Referendum to Overturn Ban on Single-Use Plastic BagsBeyond these measures, there may be others on your local ballot. You can look them up with Capital Public Radio's voter guide.

June 5th is Election Day and challengers across California's 1st, 2nd and 3rd congressional districts have emerged to challenge those already sitting in the seats: U.S. Reps Doug LaMalfa (R-District 1), Jared Huffman (D-District 2), and John Garamendi (D-District 3).The NSPR New Team reached out to all of the challengers and the incumbents to ask them their opinions about a variety of issues. Below are the questions that were asked as well as the full interviews of all who participated.Questions: 1. (*Challenging candidates) Obviously, you’re seeking office because you feel the North State can be better represented. Can you explain three key policy areas where you think you would be more in step with local voters than the current incumbent?1. (*Incumbents) Obviously, your challengers are seeking office because they feel the North State can be better represented. Can you explain three key policy areas where you think you’re more in step with local voters than those running against you?2. Illegal immigration and cannabis seem to have joined abortion and firearms as wedge issues in a supposed culture war across the nation. Where do you stand on each of these issues, and how much latitude should states have to set their own rules?3. The North State differs from the rest of California in many ways. What is the most critical challenge that the North State faces and how would you help address this challenge?4. Our region is the source of much of the state’s water supply. Do you think there is anything wrong with the current system, and what is your stance on current water infrastructure proposals -- such as raising the height of Shasta Dam and building Sites Reservoir and the Delta bypass tunnels?5. Homelessness has become an entrenched problem for most communities, but remedies are elusive. What effective measures might be taken at the federal level to end homelessness?6. Congress is entrusted with the power of the purse -- budgeting and spending public money. What policy areas and programs do you think deserve more money, and what would be the source of that money?

This April, North State Public Radio celebrates 50 years of informing and enriching the Northern California area. For the last five decades, NSPR has provided news, information and cultural programming of the highest quality to serve our community. Please celebrate this joyous occasion with us. Many voices have been carried over these airwaves during the last five decades -- and we'll be planning to celebrate them all. To help, we're asking for you to give us a call and leave a message highlighting your favorite hosts and programs. The number is 715-0233. And if you really want to share in the festivities, on Saturday, April 20 NSPR will have a party full of food, live music and tours of the station. We hope to see you there.

If you’ve been following the news about the aftermath of 2018’s Camp Fire, then you’re aware that many survivors of the disaster are struggling with the effects of trauma, that the water in the town of Paradise is contaminated and that the existing housing shortage in Butte County was exacerbated with an overnight influx of 20,000 displaced residents of Paradise and surrounding communities. What you likely haven’t heard from local or national media is that on top of all these problems, many survivors are also struggling with food insecurity.Before the Camp Fire, 18.2 percent of Butte County residents were food insecure in 2012, and 1 in 5 residents lived below the poverty line between 2009 and 2013, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Both of these percentages were higher than the state average, leaving us at NSPR wondering how many in the area are food insecure now, after tens of thousands of people were displaced from their homes.Hunger is often silent, which is why you likely haven’t seen or heard these stories, but with the help of the USC Health Journalism Impact Fund, NSPR is taking a deeper look into whether or not the region is seeing a significant increase in food insecurity after the Camp Fire, how food insecurity is complicated by other issues survivors are facing — like trauma and increased travel times to school and work — and how this problem might be affecting various healing and health outcomes for survivors.

California burns, and always has. For millennia Indigenous people used fire to tend and protect the land. But years of the government outlawing those practices and suppressing wildfires has led California to having a serious problem — one where fire is no longer a working partner, but an uncontrollable force that too often has devastating outcomes. In recent years, Butte County has seen the consequences of the state’s fire drought through the deaths of more than 100 people, the loss of thousands of homes, detrimental effects to the environment and hazardous air quality.Fire Returned is a series about some of the people working to restore Butte County by bringing intentional fire back to it.This series has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

Chico State Sociology ProfessorDr. Lesa Johnson recorded a series of conversations on race with NSPR’s Ken Devol.

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