Podcast Episodes

The Brick Lady of St. Louis

Ever since a tornado tore through one of St. Louis, Missouri’s poorest neighborhoods, there are piles of bricks all over the place. 

It’s not just a debris problem. Bricks in St. Louis have a long and…

Published on 2 months ago

O/I Trivia: Natural Selection

What do pastries have to do with environmental justice? Cat butts with the climate crisis? And what US president ate a half-chewed piece of salmon leftover from a bear on reality TV?

Grab a pencil (an…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

How to solve the climate crisis in 60-90 minutes

When designer Matt Leacock decided to make a board game about climate action, he knew he wanted to make it – first and foremost – fun to play. “If we sold anything as an educational game… people woul…

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Why is there so much roadkill?

For humans, roads epitomize freedom. For wildlife, it’s a different story: a million animals are killed by cars every day in the US alone. How did our infrastructure turn so deadly? And what are peop…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

The cold truth about refrigeration

In the early 1900s, people didn’t trust refrigerated food. Fruits and vegetables, cuts of meat… these things are supposed to decay, right? As Nicola Twilley writes, “What kind of unnatural technology…

Published on 3 months ago

All Wings Considered

We’re catching some air this week, and talking things with wings!  

Quandaries range from the practical (how do different animal and insect wings differ?) to the ethereal (this includes dragons). Here…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Saving the shipwrecks of Stellwagen Bank

Shipwrecks captivate our imagination, and are the subject of many books, academic papers, and movies—from the world-famous Titanic, to sunken World War II warships, to ancient fishing canoes. Some de…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Your brain on GPS

GPS is essential these days. We use it for everything, from a hunter figuring out where the heck they are in the backcountry, to a delivery truck finding a grocery store, to keeping clocks in sync.

Bu…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Taxonomy's 200-Year Mistake

Fungi used to be considered plants. Bad plants. Carl Linnaeus even referred to them as “the poorest peasants” of the vegetable class. This reputation stuck, and fungi were considered a nuisance in th…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

People are buying coyote urine. Where does it come from?

Last spring, a curious listener called with an unusual question about coyote urine. Is it – as advertised by companies who sell it – an effective, all natural pest deterrent? And more importantly: “W…

Published on 4 months ago