In The NoCo

How the Boulder duo behind ‘Rainbow Socks’ brought their unique take on science education to TV

By In The NoCo,

Erin O'Toole, Brad Turner, Ariel Lavery

Published October 13, 2026 at 5:35 AM MDT

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two men and a woman stand in the forest while a TV camera crew films. One of the men is in a yellow and black bird costume

1 of 2 — Rainbow Socks

Dana Romanoff / Courtesy Rainbow Socks

the cast and crew of a kids' science and nature show pose for a photo. the three cast members wear rainbow-striped socks

2 of 2 — Rainbow Socks

Dana Romanoff / Courtesy Rainbow Socks

Jeff Kagan and Paige Doughty have been wearing rainbow-colored socks while performing songs about nature and science in front of kids in Boulder for more than 20 years.

Their performances get kids rolling, crawling, and acting out animal moves while they sing fun, catchy lyrics about scientific concepts.

The duo, who perform under the name Jeff and Paige, recently created a TV show called Rainbow Socks. It airs at 8 a.m. Sundays on Rocky Mountain PBS and is available to stream at PBS.org.

Early during the filming of the show, Jeff and Paige spoke to Erin O'Toole to talk about what they hope to bring to TV. We’re listening back to that conversation today.

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and 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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