• Ep#16 - Kenneth & Megan Keifer - Fan Show!
    Apr 8 2025

    Welcome back to Totality Talks… it has been exactly one year since the Great American Eclipse of April 8, 2024. We are officially off of our hiatus! Only 491 days to go until the next total solar eclipse. In this episode we are doing our first fan interview. Ken and Megan Keifer from Mooresville, Indiana reached out to us last summer after Ken saw his 2nd and Megan saw her 1st! Recently, Ken’s waterfall photography was featured on US postage stamps. They share their stories with us and we share ours with them.

    Find Ken's work here:

    https://kennethkeifer.smugmug.com/

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    58 mins
  • Ep#15 - Mike Frost - Eclipse & Revelation
    Sep 18 2024

    Welcome back from our post eclipse hiatus! In this episode we chat with British Astronomical Association's Mike Frost.... he shares book, Eclipse and Revelation: Total Solar Eclipses In Science, History, Literature, and the Arts. We chat about eclipses past and future total solar eclipses. He also shares stories that include such shenanigans as breaking into a cemetery with Jay Passachoff to see the grave of Sir Edmond Halley.


    Meet Mike Frost:
    https://britastro.org/section_information_/historical-section-overview/meet-the-section-director

    Get the book!:
    https://www.amazon.com/Eclipse-Revelation-Eclipses-Science-Literature/dp/0192857991

    Astro Trails UK:
    https://www.astro-trails.com/

    Wild Times: Wildlife Education
    Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • Ep#14 - Afterglow 2024! Pt.2 - Dr. Heather Appleby
    May 14 2024

    Welcome back to Totality Talks! In this episode, we continue to bask in the afterglow of the 2024 total eclipse. We have an interesting virgin no more this time around as we chat with an astrophysicist that saw her first total solar eclipse on April 8. We have physics and astronomy professor from Dallas College Richland Campus - Dr. Heather Appleby.

    Dallas College Richland Campus:
    https://www.dallascollege.edu/about/rlc/pages/default.aspx

    Heather's LinkedIn:
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-appleby-940a082a

    Wild Times: Wildlife Education
    Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    54 mins
  • Ep#13 - Afterglow 2024! Pt.1 - Janet Brenner, Laura Ivey, Daniel Brookshier
    Apr 25 2024

    YES! So, did you see it? Sounds like lucky holes were found …almost everywhere! Apologies for the delay.... eclipse elation and subsequent eclipse blues are real. We’ve been truckin along to April 8 and hope YOU got to see the total eclipse of the Sun! In this episode, we chat with 2 eclipse virgins no more: producers of the first total solar eclipse musical (based on David Baron’s book American Eclipse), Janet Brenner and Laura Ivey. They observed their first total solar eclipse and share their experiences with us. Leticia and I also share a little bit about our eclipse day 2024.

    Also in this episode, we share some love from inside the shadow of the Moon. We'll spend part of our session with veteran eclipse chaser, Letica’s husband, Daniel Brookshier. Daniel tells us a bit about their encounter inside the umbra of the April 08, 2024 eclipse, marking HIS eighth rendezvous with totality. We nerd out about image and video capturing as we exchange notes on totality 2024.


    Astronomy Without Borders:
    https://astronomerswithoutborders.org/programs/solar-glasses-distribution


    Instagram - American Eclipse Musical:
    https://www.instagram.com/americaneclipsemusical/


    Link to Daniel's Eclipse video:
    https://www.facebook.com/TexasEclipses/posts/pfbid02CDab8hfwhtpN7ffJQ4fvz1JDseBqM6UcwkKeX6gpAGYE1tgHF6NezRhjKns94UVul


    Solar Wind Sherpas:
    https://project.ifa.hawaii.edu/solarwindsherpas/

    Capture Eclipse:
    https://almadenobservatory.net/CaptureEclipse/



    Wild Times: Wildlife Education
    Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Ep#12 - The Shady Ladies - Observation Tips
    Apr 6 2024

    Eclipse chasers from around the world are arriving in the path of totality! In this BONUS episode, we chat about last minute eclipse prep and have a couple of surprise eclipse chaser guests joining us in the fun. we chat with 2 of The Shady Ladies, Sally Kilburn and Dr. Khati Hendry, observers of 14 total solar eclipses. They just arrived from British Columbia to observe the event. They join us from Leticia's House in Dallas.


    Eclipse Day 2024 Checklist:
    https://www.solareclipsetimer.com/docs/eclipsedaychecklist.pdf

    Wild Times: Wildlife Education
    Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    27 mins
  • Ep#11 - Dr. Tyler Nordgren - Stars Above, Earth Below
    Apr 5 2024

    In this episode, we switch gears and talk about eclipse poster art! Commissioned by the national parks service to create "See America" posters and promote the dark skies of our national parks, we have the eclipse event poster art master, Tyler Nordgren. He is a former astronomy professor, dark sky ambassador, and artist that gave up his teaching career for art! Hope you enjoy or chat with Tyler.

    Link to the Space Art Travel Bureau:
    https://www.tylernordgren.com/

    International Dark Sky Association:
    https://darksky.org/

    Betchart Expeditions:
    https://betchartexpeditions.com/

    Oceanwide Expeditions:
    https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/

    Wild Times: Wildlife Education
    Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Ep#10 - Jay Anderson - Climatology Turns To Weather
    Mar 29 2024

    This episode we chat with the premier eclipse climate and weather expert, Jay Anderson. He is the ultimate ‘clear skies guy’ as creator of eclipseophile.com, which is THE standard for eclipse trip planning. He has observed 34 solar eclipses including 24 total solar eclipses. Jay joins us remotely from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

    At 10 days out from totality in 2024, we hear about his journey and listen to wise guidance as we transition from climate projections to weather models for the upcoming event.

    Dream, travel, explore… you only go around once.” -Jay Anderson

    Link to Eclipsophile climatology and weather links:
    https://eclipsophile.com/
    Quick link to eclipse-day planning:
    https://eclipsophile.com/eclipse-day-weather/

    Jay's recent Sky & Telescope article:
    https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/what-will-the-weather-be-on-the-day-of-the-total-solar-eclipse

    Jay's "Q&A With An Expert" with Space.com:
    https://www.space.com/total-solar-eclipse-weather-prospects-how-experts-make-predictions-q-and-a

    The Eclipse Bulletin and Road Atlas (co-authored with Fred Espenak!):
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/1941983448
    https://www.mreclipse.com/pubs/Atlas2024.html

    Weather model chart collection at weather.us (ECMWF, ICON, GFS, NAM, HRRR):
    https://weather.us/model-charts

    National Weather Service CPC long range forecasts:
    https://www.weather.gov/hun/climateforecast

    Windy app (people love it):
    https://windy.app/blog/nam-vs-hrrr-weather-models.html


    3d printable counterbalance bracket to hold bottles or cans (modable). Courtesy Preston Gregg:
    https://www.tinkercad.com/things/3zDFQ4HI246-beer-can-counterweight-v03

    Wild Times: Wildlife Education
    Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • Ep#9 - Dr. Rick Fienberg - From Viking To Ikigai
    Mar 22 2024

    In this episode we chat with Dr. Richard Tresch Fienberg, astronomer and science communicator. He talks about his journey from JPL, to Sky and Telescope, and on to the American Astronomical Society. Of course, we chat about the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. He is now retired and serves as the head of the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Eclipse Task Force. Trained as a professional astronomer, he remains an amateur astronomer at heart. Rick joins us from his private observatory in central New Hampshire.

    We apologize for the snaps and pops in the audio. It was cleaned up significantly and a newer version has been uploaded.

    Dr. Richard Tresch Fineberg Bio:

    https://aas.org/press/richard-tresch-fienberg


    American Astronomical Society Solar Eclipse Task Force:

    https://eclipse.aas.org/about-us


    Rick’s Sky & Telescope Article On How Dark Does It Get:

    https://skyandtelescope.org/2024-total-solar-eclipse/how-dark-does-it-get-during-a-total-solar-eclipse/


    How to build a sun funnel (Rick Fienberg, Chuck Bueter, Louis A. Mayo):

    https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/static/img/make-sun-funnel/Build_a_Sun_Funnel_v4.pdf


    Ballreich’s Eclipse Chips:

    https://www.ballreich.com/product/eclipsechipse/


    Michael Zeiler Eclipse Site:

    https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com

    Wild Times: Wildlife Education
    Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Safe Solar Viewing Glasses, Eclipse T-Shirts and swag
    https://texassolareclipses.com/shop

    Host Leticia Ferrer's Texas Eclipses Site
    https://texassolareclipses.com/

    Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
    https://www.chotachrome.com/
    IG: @chotachrome

    Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

    Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

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    1 hr and 26 mins