Chico husband and wife retired professors Roger Lederer and Carol Burr combined their knowledge of birds and their knowledge of words to create a fascinating book about the scientific names of birds and where these names come from. Ornithologist Roger recites the full scientific name of the common hoopoe, whose name Upupa epops imitates its call. Their book includes interesting facts about feathers and beaks, and why Ian Fleming named James Bond after a real ornithologist. The book was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal on May 25, 2014.

In part two of an interview with war correspondent Ann Scott Tyson and her husband Jim Gant, she tells why Osama bin Laden wanted her husband killed.

Ann Scott Tyson was a war correspondent for the Washington Post. She wrote about a U. S. Army Special Forces major named Jim Gant, and ended up marrying this charismatic and controversial commander who joins her in the interview.

On this episode of The Practical Gardener, part of the From the Ground Up series, Pam Geisel talks about pruning and what makes a good gardener. 

Poet Brian Turner was invited to Chico by the Butte College Diversity Committee and Literary Events and the Chico State Book in Common Committee. His work has appeared on National Public Radio, the BBC, and Newshour with Jim Lehrer. He earned an MFA before serving seven years in the U. S. Army, and has written poems about his experiences in Iraq. The first collection of poems is called Here, Bullet and a second Phantom Noise.

In this episode of Edible North State, Earl Bloor speaks with Lucas RossMerz, the executive director of the Sacramento River Preservation Trust, about the North State's water supply.

Geoff Fricker is a photographer who has documented the Sacramento River and published his photographs in this book. An exhibit of his prints traveled from the headwaters of the Sacramento River to the Delta, starting at the Turtle Bay Museum in Redding, then to the Gateway Science Museum in Chico, and on to the California Museum in Sacramento.

Chico author Joan Goodreau describes what life was like day-to-day raising her autistic son Ian and her two daughters as a single mother. Even the "experts" have learned from Joan's descriptions of life with an autistic child.

On this episode of The Practical Gardener, Pam Geisel talks about homegrown tomato plants.

Jennifer Read Hawthorne is author and co-author of books that have been translated into 30 languages and have sold more than 13 million copies. She was the keynote speaker at Enloe Medical Center's wellness event, "Heart of a Woman." She offers tips for living a fulfilling life.