USGS

Parts of Oklahoma and Texas have about the same risk of an earthquake as parts of California, the maps show. Why? Wastewater that oil and gas operations are pumping into wells adds pressure on faults.

Oklahoma's earthquake boom is now a national security threat. No damage has been reported, but operators at the hub are on high alert for a disruption that would ripple through the U.S. energy market.

Seismologist Lucile Jones discusses how accurate — or not — the plot of this new California earthquake thriller really is. Bonus: Her advice on what to include in an earthquake kit.

SciWorks Radio is a production of 88.5 WFDD and SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park of Forsyth County, located in Winston-Salem.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a method of extracting petroleum trapped in solid rock layers that were previously inaccessible. But how do they do it and how is it different from standard drilling? The politics and environmental planning involved in fracking are beyond the scope of this show, but we will explore what fracking is, and how the petroleum resources got there in the first place.