Peering into the Sea of Cortez, Living on Earth’s Resident Explorer Mark Seth Lender notices a trio of fearsome Wahoo that may be sizing him up for lunch.

This week in Beyond the Headlines, Peter Dykstra and host Steve Curwood discuss a convicted felon’s campaign for the U.S. Senate and an Obama-era EPA coal cleanup rule that’s bitten the dust. For the history lesson, the duo recalls the Kyoto Protocol, one of the first international efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Having a dog in your household can help you feel loved and valued, and new research from Sweden shows that there can be measurable cardiovascular health benefits as well. Prof. Tove Fall from Uppsala University in Sweden tells host Steve Curwood about her research published in the journal Scientific Reports and why single people appear to benefit most.

Despite the skepticism of legal scholars, the Trump Administration claims it can reverse national monument land protections by drastically shrinking the Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase Escalante monuments in Utah. Conservation and Native American groups have sued, saying only Congress can change National Monuments and not the President. Living on Earth Host Steve Curwood spoke with Wilderness Society President Jamie Williams about this decision, and the broader implications of opening federal public lands for commerce.

A group of 21 youths is suing the US government for its failure to protect their future by preventing harmful global warming impacts. But the Trump administration says the case should be dismissed. Oral arguments before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on December 11th will help its judges decide whether the case should move ahead to trial. Vermont Law School Professor Pat Parenteau takes host Steve Curwood through the arguments on both sides, and what could happen next.

Aquatic creatures seem so different from us it is easy to think they don’t think. But Culum Brown, who studies fish cognition and teaches at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, says some fish are actually pretty smart, exhibiting complex social behaviors, navigation skills, and even tool use. Prof. Brown tells host Steve Curwood how pharmaceutical companies are using zebra fish to develop antidepressants, and how we can keep the fish in our home aquariums happy and healthy.