NanoEarth's Partnership with Jim Metzner

The National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth) would like to highlight Jim Metzner who has partnered with NanoEarth since 2015 for the production of Pulse of the Planet episodes.

Metzner grew up in a science household, but had no formal training as a scientist. His father was the Chairman of Biology at the Bronx High School and a professor at the City College of New York. Jim shared his father’s love of science and nature and could recognize a paramecium under a microscope before he knew who Mickey Mantle was. His father led him on nature walks, searching for salamanders underneath logs, and performing animal dissections, instilling a curiosity and love of science that influenced his career in radio later in life. 

Metzner trained as an actor at Yale Drama School and spent years as a singer and songwriter. He left the field to study Ethnomusicology and discover the craft of sound recording. After working in a number of different capacities in the field of sound, he began producing radio programs. He recorded soundscapes, interviews, and music. He self-published Sound Image - a Portfolio of Photography and Sound, the first publication of its kind. His first radio series was You’re Hearing Boston. This led to another local radio series, You’re Hearing San Francisco and then a national series, You’re Hearing America. The program morphed into a series called The Sounds of Science. These short programs started winning awards and aired on both public and commercial radio. 

The Sounds of Science series became the Pulse of the Planet in 1988. This later morphed from a two-minute radio series to a longer format podcast in 2022. Since the start, about 7,000 programs have aired, highlighting stories from scientists, engineers, and indigenous spokespersons. The American Society of Engineering Societies (AAES), commissioned Jim in 2002 to tell the stories of the work of engineers over a period of two years.

NanoEarth’s founding Director Mike Hochella, Ph.D., linked Pulse of the Planet and NanoEarth through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. NanoEarth’s NSF funding has sponsored 63 programs between 2015 and 2025. Some of Metzner’s favorite NanoEarth topics include microplastics, water treatment, emulating shark skin, eradicating polio, nano in agriculture, nano in caffeine, minerals found in clay, and endangered coral reefs. One that stands out includes NanoEarth’s co-PI Linsey Marr, Ph.D. discussing airborne particles during the spread of ebola, well before her work on the COVID-19 pandemic. The final NanoEarth episode, “Small Things, Big Challenges – Inside the World of Nanotech”, aired on March 27, 2025, featuring NanoEarth Deputy Director Marc Michel, Ph.D. discussing the environmental implications of nanoscience and nano inventions. 

Metzner’s favorite part of the podcast is finding the correct ambiences to match the interviews. He enjoys breaking up the stories into digestible pieces for everyone to comprehend. In 2019, the Library of Congress acquired his archive of 28,000 recordings from the 1970s to 2019. 

Metzner has a couple of recent works outside of radio and sound. His 2020 novel, Sacred Mounds, explores the mysteries of ancient earthworks found throughout the United States. In the winter of 2025, the first chapter of his memoir will be published in the Resonance journal!

Metzner’s advice to young professionals includes never being afraid to think outside of the box. Outside of the box himself, he bridged the gap between scientists and the general public, discussing research in an easy to follow format. To find out the truth, he encourages the questioning of authority and striking out on your own. Science is ever-evolving and nanoscience happens to be on the exciting frontier of discovery. He would like youth to remember that Leonardo da Vinci never gave up and never stopped questioning until the end. 

A piece of personal advice to the public is to interview parents, grandparents, and other family members. Write down and record their stories for the next generations!