Encounters North Podcast

Join Richard Nelson in Tasmania, the island state south of mainland Australia, spending time with a most curious animal recently featured in the news—the wombat.  After this program was produced, scientists have discovered how wombats, unlike any other mammal, deliver cube-shaped poo (now attributed to having stiff and flexible sides of their intestines).  But there’s so much more to learn about this unique and wonderful marsupial, in this classic Encounters Down Under episode.

Keep company with host Richard Nelson and some VERY noisy birds, along the chilly bank of a winter river in southeast Alaska. These glorious trumpeter swans are as vociferous as they are beautiful. Learn about their fascinating natural history and inspiring comeback story.

Join host Richard Nelson in his skiff off the coast of southeast Alaska, on a winter’s night ablaze with curtains of light—the Aurora Borealis. Learn about people’s understanding of this magical phenomenon throughout history, through their observations and traditions, and from a western scientific perspective.

Join host Richard Nelson in the heart of winter, tromping through deep snow in the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. Follow the tracks of animals, learn about human and animal adaptations to deep cold, and discover the rich beauty and unique challenges that await anyone venturing out into this frozen world of the north.

Join host Richard Nelson and a gang of NOISY polar bears at a bone pile on the north coast of Alaska.  Learn about the fascinating lives of these iconic marine mammals, accompanied by sounds of roaring and feasting, as the bears work on a bowhead whale carcass.