The Charmer: King Cobras' FANGtastic Powers

The Charmer: King Cobras' FANGtastic Powers

Lulu has been terrified of snakes all her life. But strangely, her oldest son  has been obsessed with them since he was two. So to understand his fascination, she called a snake expert who might also be one of the least afraid people on Earth: Gowri Shankar Pogiri [https://pogirigowrishankar.wordpress.com/about/].  As a kid in Bangalore, India, Gowri was his neighborhood's resident snake-catcher — wrangling seven-foot snakes and motorcycling into the sunset with the serpent draped around his neck so he could release it back into the wild. In college, he'd skip school to look at snakes for hours at the zoo.  And the day he met his first king cobra? He became completely entranced. He started working as a professional herpetologist, and became one of the first researchers to track king cobras in the wild. He’d spend his days in the rainforests of India, following the giant snakes as they climbed trees, swam across streams, and hunted prey. Until one day, when a dramatic encounter with a king cobra nearly ended his life. That remarkable story, plus a last-minute marriage proposal, a heroic bag, and how the only thing that Gowri is truly scared of might just be what Lulu, and all of us, are most afraid of, too.  Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Alan Goffinski with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sarah Sandbach is our Executive Producer. Our team also includes Ana González, Tanya Chawla, Natalia Ramirez, and Joe Plourde. Fact checking by Sophie Samiee. HEY GROWN-UPS! Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us! Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show [http://terrestrialspodcast.org/join] by joining The Explorers Club —and we’ll send you a special puzzle as a thank-you gift from our team! We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfQ5fJWDQY6VxpY3UZ2JfUR_wWefhAB_iDGZBCF7ltfZQJAw/viewform]. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter [https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids] for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show. Follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaum_fMDGgFQCmKHUBPq_xg], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/terrestrialspodcast/], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@terrestrialspodcast] for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/album/2dJoTi6y22d3Mb7laxaCXj], Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/us/album/terrestrials-just-the-music-season-1/1769054305?uo=4&app=music&at=1001lry3&ct=dashboard], or our music page [https://wnycstudios.bandcamp.com/album/terrestrials-just-the-songs]. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrials@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF9rrN-64E-wKGAnxjdCWyIi2JMA4AThp5y1BgB4X5tSZk1Q/viewform?usp=send_form]! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Travelers Update: A Moon Tree Grows in New York

The director of horticulture at Madison Square Park, Stephanie Lucas [https://madisonsquarepark.org/park/conservancy/staff/read/stephanie-lucas-2/], spends her days caring for over 300 trees in the heart of New York City. One day in 2022, she saw a callout from NASA giving away seeds that had traveled to the moon. This would be the crown jewel of the park! She and her team worked hard on their application, submitted it, and then waited for two years. Eventually they gave up. Until one day, Stephanie got a call from NASA telling her to check her spam inbox. A week later, a cardboard box arrived at the park.  The tree - an American sweetgum - has been growing in the park for a year. Lulu and Producerbud Ana went to see it, met Stephanie, and imagined how this little sapling might grow one day.  If you’d like to see it yourself with the Terrestrials team, come to our Moon Tree Launch Party [https://wnyc.org/events/terrestrials-at-the-moon-tree-launch-party]happening from 4-8 PM on July 16th at Madison Square Park! It’s FREE, open to the public, and full of moon-tree magic: we’ll be showcasing our Moon Tree drawing contest submissions, inviting park-goers to make their own art, and giving folks a chance to meet Songbud Alan (who may or may not have a real half Moon Tree seed). See you there! We also hear a brand-new poem from New York State Poet Laureate Kimiko Hahn [https://kimikohahn.com/] and revisit our episode about astronaut Stu “Smokey” Roosa and the origin story of Moon Trees.  HEY GROWN-UPS! Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us! Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show [http://terrestrialspodcast.org/join] by joining The Explorers Club —and we’ll send you a special puzzle as a thank-you gift from our team! We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfQ5fJWDQY6VxpY3UZ2JfUR_wWefhAB_iDGZBCF7ltfZQJAw/viewform]. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter [https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids] for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show. Follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaum_fMDGgFQCmKHUBPq_xg], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/terrestrialspodcast/], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@terrestrialspodcast] for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/album/2dJoTi6y22d3Mb7laxaCXj], Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/us/album/terrestrials-just-the-music-season-1/1769054305?uo=4&app=music&at=1001lry3&ct=dashboard], or our music page [https://wnycstudios.bandcamp.com/album/terrestrials-just-the-songs]. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrials@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF9rrN-64E-wKGAnxjdCWyIi2JMA4AThp5y1BgB4X5tSZk1Q/viewform?usp=send_form]! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The DADventure: Wild Animal Dads from Owl Monkeys to Seahorses

What does it really mean to be a dad? In the animal world, fathers have long been painted as aggressive or absent. At best providers and protectors, but certainly not caregivers. And yet for every tale of a lion or chimp dad eating its own young (yikes!), there’s another creature who tells a sweeter story.  Two HUMAN dads bring us on this DADventure: Dr. Eduardo Fernandez-Duque [https://anthropology.yale.edu/profile/eduardo-fernandez-duque], who has spent decades studying owl monkey dads in the forests of Argentina, and Michael Feigelson [https://vanleerfoundation.org/team/michael-feigelson/], who once worried he wasn't cut out for the softer side of parenting.  They introduce us to seahorse dads who get pregnant, poison dart frog dads who give piggyback rides to their tadpoles, Darwin frogs who swallow their eggs to keep them safe, burying beetles who build "corpse cribs," jacana birds who do all the egg-sitting, and stickleback fish who construct intricate underwater nests for their young. Along the way, we learn that nature doesn’t offer just one model of fatherhood. Alongside Mother Nature... there just might be a Father Nature, too. Special thanks to the Van Leer Foundation [https://vanleerfoundation.org/] for the support of this episode.  Resources on Animal fatherhood * Eduardo Duque's Owl Monkey Project: https://www.owlmonkeyproject.com/ [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/NI-7COY2NEHro46xSrsJcGp10l?domain=owlmonkeyproject.com/] * An interview with Eduardo in Yale News [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/YJfQCPN9OMSAqM7Xs6t1cxpHrs?domain=news.yale.edu] * Lauren O’Connell lab – frog behaviour [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/eYuMCQW2PNc4mr5PhAuocG7r7W?domain=laurenoconnelllab.com] * Short explainer: frog parenting research [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/y0xcCR60QMiP8BAWcQCnc1git6?domain=youtube.com] * Stickleback fish parenting study (Alison Bell) [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/zHCECVOkX5Ij19DyCEF1cEVgL8?domain=royalsocietypublishing.org] * Alison Bell lab video [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/ULFGCW6lYwiwvGAqhOHLcotRmz?domain=youtube.com] Human fatherhood  * Fathertime by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/jrrACXD0Z7U730xKFQIncWZeqc?domain=citrona.com] * ECM interview: evolution of “man the nurturer” [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/QSCxCYEn1QhoPOzlFQS5cxScI0?domain=earlychildhoodmatters.online/] * Lee Gettler – biology of fatherhood (video) [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/OWiPCZ6o2winy23gFRTwcBOyix?domain=youtube.com] * Lee Gettler article in Early Childhood Matters [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/GyPYC1wnXYiwK57Gh4UKcV8K1G?domain=earlychildhoodmatters.online/] * Darby Saxbe book: Dad Brain [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/mnMGC2koYghoAON3FxcJc5oeWb?domain=darbysaxbe.com] * Darby Saxbe Article in Early Childhood Matters [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/QmkAC31pZjiYV05Ks5fRcQG3JG?domain=earlychildhoodmatters.online/] Talks, films & convenings * Yale Conference on Fatherhood [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/enhVC4xq1kCAG3p5sqhjc4Vgdr?domain=alumniacademy.yale.edu] * Live Recording of Yale Conference:  [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/QpshC5yr2lFYO4V9sPi5ckwJZT?domain=youtube.com] * Fathers and Fatherhood: From Molecules to Modern Families [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/QpshC5yr2lFYO4V9sPi5ckwJZT?domain=youtube.com] * Fathertime documentary [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/SxTOC68v3milx8nmSws3c5yFVT?domain=vimeo.com] Campaigns & global perspectives * Equimundo's State of World's fathers report [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/ftJEC73wgnhj9oONCGt5cojQKf?domain=equimundo.org/] * Men Care Changemakers Journey [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Z0LdC82xjoU8xL7qtYujcyB2ek?domain=changemakers.equimundo.org/] * Parenting Out Loud (Elliot Rae) [https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/v2DNC9rykpUVP95qfRCJcq47uY?domain=parentingoutloud.com/] Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Tanya Chawla, with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sarah Sandbach is our Executive Producer. Our team also includes Ana González, Alan Goffinski, Natalia Ramirez, and Joe Plourde. Fact checking by Angely Mercado. HEY GROWN-UPS! Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us! Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show [http://terrestrialspodcast.org/join] by joining The Explorers Club —and we’ll send you a special puzzle as a thank-you gift from our team! We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfQ5fJWDQY6VxpY3UZ2JfUR_wWefhAB_iDGZBCF7ltfZQJAw/viewform]. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter [https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids] for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show. Follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaum_fMDGgFQCmKHUBPq_xg], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/terrestrialspodcast/], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@terrestrialspodcast] for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/album/2dJoTi6y22d3Mb7laxaCXj], Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/us/album/terrestrials-just-the-music-season-1/1769054305?uo=4&app=music&at=1001lry3&ct=dashboard], or our music page [https://wnycstudios.bandcamp.com/album/terrestrials-just-the-songs]. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrials@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF9rrN-64E-wKGAnxjdCWyIi2JMA4AThp5y1BgB4X5tSZk1Q/viewform?usp=send_form]! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

BIG CATS 2: Leopards & Jaguars (2 Fast, 2 FURious)

We're back with PURR-T TWO of our big cats journey, and this time, we’re heading even deeper into the cat-iverse.  We travel to India, where conservationist Shatrunjay Pratap Singh [https://thebetterindia.com/344901/bera-safari-lodge-jawai-rajasthan-shatrunjay-pratap-singh-leopard-conservationist-wildlife/] introduces us to leopards that live among shepherds and ancient temples. Then we head to Colombia, where biologist Laura Lisbeth Jaimes Rodriguez [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Jaimes-Rodriguez-2] helps us track one of the most mysterious cats on Earth: the jaguar. We meet shapeshifting shamans, forest guardians, and cats so secretive that some scientists spend years studying them without ever seeing one. Finally, we meet the ghost cat of the mountains—the snow leopard—with wildlife biologist Dr. Nyeema Harris [https://environment.yale.edu/directory/faculty/nyeema-harris]. Along the way, we stumble onto the idea that the world might actually need its scariest creatures, that fear might be one of the most powerful forces keeping our planet in balance. Special thanks to Luke Hunter [https://www.wcs.org/about-us/bios-luke-hunter] at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Shatrunjay Pratap Singh, Laura Lisbeth Jaimes Rodriguez, and Dr. Nyeema Harris. LEARN MORE: * Watch this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odHcnXnZ2LA] of Shatrunjay Pratap Singh explaining the harmonious coexistence between humans and leopards in Bera, Rajasthan.  * Read Panthera's piece on why Indigenous culture is key to jaguar conservation [https://panthera.org/blog-post/why-indigenous-culture-key-jaguar-conservation], including how shamans in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta believe jaguars travel between physical and spiritual worlds. * Learn about the Jaguar Shamans of Yuruparí [https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-knowledge-of-the-jaguar-shamans-of-yurupari-00574], recognized by UNESCO as guardians of sacred sites along Colombia's Pirá Paraná River. * Meet the "ghost cat of the mountains" with National Geographic Kids' snow leopard page [https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/snow-leopard]. * Learn more about Dr. Nyeema Harris's work studying carnivores at the Applied Wildlife Ecology Lab [https://environment.yale.edu/directory/faculty/nyeema-harris] at Yale. Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Ana González, with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sarah Sandbach is our Executive Producer. Our team also includes Alan Goffinski, Tanya Chawla, Natalia Ramirez, and Joe Plourde. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. HEY GROWN-UPS! Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us! Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show [http://terrestrialspodcast.org/join] by joining The Explorers Club —and we’ll send you a special puzzle as a thank-you gift from our team! We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfQ5fJWDQY6VxpY3UZ2JfUR_wWefhAB_iDGZBCF7ltfZQJAw/viewform]. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter [https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids] for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show. Follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaum_fMDGgFQCmKHUBPq_xg], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/terrestrialspodcast/], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@terrestrialspodcast] for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/album/2dJoTi6y22d3Mb7laxaCXj], Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/us/album/terrestrials-just-the-music-season-1/1769054305?uo=4&app=music&at=1001lry3&ct=dashboard], or our music page [https://wnycstudios.bandcamp.com/album/terrestrials-just-the-songs]. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrials@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF9rrN-64E-wKGAnxjdCWyIi2JMA4AThp5y1BgB4X5tSZk1Q/viewform?usp=send_form]! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

BIG CATS: Lions, Tigers & Roars (Oh My!)

Big cats are our most requested animal, but Lulu doesn’t really want to make an episode about them! . She thinks lions, tigers, and their feline cousins are the bullies of the animal kingdom. So Songbud Alan and Producerbud Ana set out to change her mind.  We head to the Bronx Zoo where big cat expert Luke Hunter [https://www.wcs.org/about-us/bios-luke-hunter] introduces us to tigers that cough up furballs and wrestle crocodiles, and lion prides built around mothers, sisters, and grandmothers, who roar not just to intimidate, but to call out to their family. Along the way, we play a game show called The Roar, learn why cheetahs aren’t technically “big cats”, and why orange tiger fur looks green to deer. By the end, Lulu sees these fearsome animals in a different light. And this is only part one of our first ever two purr-ter! Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Alan Goffinski and Ana González, with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sarah Sandbach is our Executive Producer. Our team also includes Tanya Chawla, Natalia Ramirez, and Joe Plourde. Fact checking by Diane Kelly.  HEY GROWN-UPS! Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us! Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show [http://terrestrialspodcast.org/join] by joining The Explorers Club —and we’ll send you a special puzzle as a thank-you gift from our team! We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfQ5fJWDQY6VxpY3UZ2JfUR_wWefhAB_iDGZBCF7ltfZQJAw/viewform]. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter [https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids] for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show. Follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaum_fMDGgFQCmKHUBPq_xg], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/terrestrialspodcast/], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@terrestrialspodcast] for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/album/2dJoTi6y22d3Mb7laxaCXj], Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/us/album/terrestrials-just-the-music-season-1/1769054305?uo=4&app=music&at=1001lry3&ct=dashboard], or our music page [https://wnycstudios.bandcamp.com/album/terrestrials-just-the-songs]. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrials@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF9rrN-64E-wKGAnxjdCWyIi2JMA4AThp5y1BgB4X5tSZk1Q/viewform?usp=send_form]! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.