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 would...
24 Sep 202531min
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 peopl...
17 Sep 202531min
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 ...
10 Sep 202532min
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...
3 Sep 202534min
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 des...
27 Aug 202533min
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...
20 Aug 202531min
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 the...
13 Aug 202532min
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: “Wh...
6 Aug 202531min
