O Possum! My Possum!
It’s high time to shine a light on an under-appreciated nocturnal visitor to America’s backyards and garbage cans: the opossum. The opossum is the only marsupial in North America, and they’ve been snu...
24 Nov 202234min
The reality of History’s “Alone”
The premise of History’s reality TV show Alone is about as straightforward as it gets. Ten people are dropped into the remote wilderness with nothing but a handful of tools, a supply of GoPro cameras,...
17 Nov 202236min
Legends of the fall: fallout shelters, dreams of falling, and autumnal vibes
It’s time to open our mailbag and answer your questions about fall – and not just the season. We’ve interpreted the theme to include everything from dreams about falling to fallout shelters and, um, t...
3 Nov 202227min
Why we get scared (and why we like it)
Jack Rodolico knows exactly what scares him. Sharks. But here’s what he doesn’t get: if he’s so freaked out, why can’t he stop incessantly watching online videos of bloody shark attacks? Why would h...
27 Okt 202239min
The curious case of the missing extinctions
When it comes to protecting the biodiversity of Planet Earth, there is no greater failure than extinction. Thankfully, only a few dozen species have been officially declared extinct by the US Fish an...
13 Okt 202244min
The last veterinarians in town
If you've been having trouble getting in with a veterinarian, you're not imagining it. Across the country, pet care is increasingly hard to come by, and more vets are leaving the job. Alaska’s capital...
6 Okt 202230min
The olive & the pine
Planting a tree often becomes almost a shorthand for doing a good deed. But such an act is not always neutral. In some places, certain trees can become windows into history, tools of erasure, or symbo...
22 Sep 202255min
Why do we stare at fire and other existential questions
It’s that time again when we open our mailbag to answer your (oh-so-delightful) questions. This time, we deliberate over what seagulls are doing so far from the sea, the reason that staring at fire is...
15 Sep 202231min
