The Watersons -- Norma, her sister Lal, brother Mike, cousin John Harrison, and (later) Norma's husband Martin Carthy -- defined the English trad-folk revival of the 1960s. In the '90s, Norma Martin and their daughter Eliza Carthy, morphed into Waterson:Carthy. Even in ill health, Norma was recording until a few years ago. Her contributions to -- and influence on -- English folk music cannot be overstated.

There are songs about every state in the USA . This week we listen to some about California, in several genres.

The Folk Brothers love ballads, especially ones which have crossed the "pond" more than once. "The Golden Willow Tree," on Jake Xerxes Fussell's new album Good and Green Away, is a prime example. Originally penned in the early 1600s as "Walter Raleigh In The Lowlands,"  the warship and the title have been variously called "The Golden Vanity," "The Sweet Trinity," and "The Turkish Revelry."

This morning we also played Hannah Sander and Ben Savages' version of "(Rovin' On) A Winter's Night." They  learned their version from Doc Watson, but the ballad undoubtedy originated in England before travelling to Appalachia (and then back again to the UK!).

You might remember this story from all the attention it got in spring 2021: Research at UC Davis says that adding small amounts of a certain seaweed to cows’ diets reduces the methane they produce by up to 82 percent. This change in diet could do a lot to help the climate, because cattle and other ruminants produce about 5 percent of greenhouse gases in the United States.

The University of California says this work was one of its 10 best UC research stories for 2021. Today we update the story with UC Davis Animal Science Prof. Ermias Kebreab, who explains the research, its value in feeding people and reducing climate change, and how far along they are in bringing their work to market.