Ariel Lavery
Producer, In The NoCoAriel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. Ariel graduated Magna Cum Laude with her BFA from the University of Colorado Boulder (2007) and received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2013).
She served as the Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Watkins College of Art Design and Film in Nashville until 2018. She left her teaching job to begin her family and quickly found her way into the podcast world. With a grant from PRX, she co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station.
Ariel won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.
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Researchers say that during a wildfire, aspen groves in Colorado’s forests help slow the progress of the blaze. So should more mountain communities plant aspen groves on the outskirts of town? -
It’s been a historically bad season for the Colorado Rockies. Yet thousands of fans keep showing up to home games at Coors Field. What’s the story behind that loyal fan base – and does their devotion send the wrong message to the team’s owners? -
Psychedelic therapy is now a legal, licensed form of treatment in Colorado. Proponents say it’s helpful for patients coping with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. But does it work? We’ll hear from a journalist who had a tough year – and decided psychedelic therapy might be exactly what he needed. -
The trails on a few of Colorado most popular fourteeners are getting a facelift this summer. Crews lift heavy boulders, create stairways, and sleep on the mountain for days at a time. The redesigned trails will make them more sustainable for future hikers. -
A new state program helps aspiring teachers get their licenses by becoming apprentices. Participants can work in classrooms and get paid for those hours while taking education classes on the side. Advocates think the program could help address Colorado’s shortage of public school teachers -
A lot of us rely on nutrition labels to help us know what we’re getting at the grocery store. But at your local dispensary, the THC labels on some cannabis products may not be nearly as reliable. That’s according to a new study from the University of Colorado. We hear from one of the CU researchers about why this is happening, and what the industry can do to fix the issue. -
Each year, the Butterfly Pavilion works with citizen butterfly observers to track the state’s butterfly populations. And the data they’ve collected shows that butterflies are declining in Colorado. -
Many of the musicians who take jobs in some of the country’s best orchestras get their start right here in Colorado. Each summer, the National Repertory Orchestra brings about 80 young musicians to Breckenridge, and helps them practice the art of playing in a symphony. We hear about the orchestra's demanding performance schedule, and hear the musicians in action, on today's In The NoCo. -
A record number of “helicopter hoists” have been performed this year to rescue people stranded on high mountain peaks. Many of them have been from peaks at 14,000 feet of elevation or higher. The hoists require dangerous maneuvering of helicopters near rocky cliffs. -
Federal funding for public broadcasting is a focus this week for lawmakers in Washington D.C. A vote in the Senate to eliminate that funding could happen at any time. Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper spoke with In The NoCo about the discussions he’s having this week with his colleagues on Capitol Hill.
