Reducing Greenhouse Gases from Farming; Brendt Christensen Trial; Fun Podcasts For The Summer

Agriculture is the leading cause of methane emissions in the U.S. We’ll speak with one central Illinois farmer who changed the way he farms, in part so he could reduce his emissions. Plus, the man accused of kidnapping and murdering University of Illinois student Yingying Zhang two years ago could face the death penalty. We’ll bring you the latest with his trial now underway in Peoria. And we'll continue talking about the podcasts we’re listening to this summer - today, some recommendations on the fun side!

Today was the sixth day of trial for 29-year old Brendt Christensen at the federal courthouse in Peoria. He’s accused of the kidnapping and murder of Yingying Zhang - a Chinese visiting scholar at the University of Illinois.

This happened two years ago on the Urbana campus. Now, federal prosecutors could be seeking the death penalty.

There are many horrific and gruesome details of this crime have come out in the trial, we thought we would focus today instead on the legal proceedings.

Tanya Koonce has been covering the trial for WILL. Jeff Urdangen is the director of the Center for Criminal Defense at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law.

"That young woman had such incredible promise," @tkoonce says of #YingyingZhang. She had been invited to @Illinois_Alma to study photosynthesis in soybeans and corn.

— The 21st (@21stShow) June 19, 2019

Also--

Earlier this week we talked about how vehicles are now the biggest source of carbon emissions in Illinois. Cars, trucks and other autos emit carbon dioxide.

But when we think about other greenhouse gas emissions, there’s also methane. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture is a leading producer of methane emissions in the U.S. One big reason for that? Cows.

The digestion process for cows produces almost as much methane emissions as oil and gas. Some say one solution is to cut down, or cut out, our beef consumption. Others, like Dave Bishop, use what he calls regenerative agriculture as a different solution.

Dave is the owner of PrairiErth Farm near Atlanta, Illinois in the central part of the state. Madelyn Beck is a reporter for Harvest Public Media.

Dave Bishop of @PrairiErthFarm on how he decided to move to regenerative agriculture: "During 1988, we had a very severe drought here, and when things come under stress their weaknesses become apparent... we realized more diversity was needed to make the system work all around."

— The 21st (@21stShow) June 19, 2019

Plus--

Scroll through Spotify or Apple podcasts and the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming. So what’s the right episode to keep you laughing on that summer road trip? Or the one that will teach you something new on the way to work?

There’s a podcast out there for everyone and to prove that, we continued our weeklong podcast series today.

Kevin T. Porter joined us to talk about Good Christian Fun. Every week, Kevin and his co-host Caroline Ely tackle different items of Christian pop culture.

"I grew up in evangelical culture in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. It was culturally very pervasive," @kevintporter says. "While there wasn't any strict law-and-order rule about how much Christian music could be played, there was an implicit one. It was always on the radio."

— The 21st (@21stShow) June 19, 2019

We also talked about WBEZ's Nerdette podcast, where every other Friday, host Greta Johnsen dives deep into pop culture topics, interviewing artists, authors and scientists. Greta joined us from Chicago.

"Is this something that's fun and could sustain a conversation? If the answer's yes, then yes -- let's do it!" @gretamjohnsen on picking topics for @nerdettepodcast

— The 21st (@21stShow) June 19, 2019