We're working on an upcoming show about animal encounters, and we want to hear yours. Have you had a memorable, up-close-and-personal experience with a wild animal? Did you gain new respect for snapping turtles after one fell into your canoe? Did you visit the latrine on your last camping trip and find yourself asshole to eyeball with an assertive porcupine? Did you strike up an unlikely friendship with a family of rats that lives in your garage? We want to hear about it. Call us: 833-RING-ELT, or send a voice memo to [email protected].

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This week’s episode comes from our friends at Not Past It, who uncovered a document about a secret medical conference in the 1950s that set the stage for changing abortion laws in the U.S. For more stories from the past that shape our world today, check out the show on Spotify.

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Listener Anna has spotted a problem: ladybugs are invading her home. Why? Beetle researcher and curator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Ainsley Seago gives us an answer, and pulls back the cute polka-dotted curtain on these vicious little predators. Plus, do wolves really howl at the moon? Wolf biologist Tom Gable takes us deep into the woods to find out.

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When the president flies overseas, who picks him up at the airport? Listener Letitia wants to know if the presidential motorcade that whips around Washington, D.C. is the same one that’s used abroad. Former Secret Service agent Christopher Albanese shares the limo-gistics of how the big boss rolls around.

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Listener Pedro wants to know: are real-life roadrunners as fast as their cartoon counterparts? Roadrunner researcher Tina Guo gets us up to speed on this avian escape artist and the special feet-ure that makes these birds hard to track.

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Listener Silas asks: why do courtroom sketch artists exist? Why not photograph trials instead? Media professor Thomas Doherty tells us about the trial that made a case for sketch artists, and veteran courtroom artist Christine Cornell sketches out what it’s like to do this job. Archival audio via CriticalPast, British Pathé and FOX MOVIETONE NEWS.

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Speaking style is just one part of the news anchor archetype. Sia Nyorkor, a TV news anchor and reporter in Cleveland, talks about the pressure anchors feel to look a certain way — especially when it comes to their hair. Duke professor Ashleigh Shelby Rosette has studied attitudes towards hair in the workplace and gives us the wide shot.

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Caller Mallory wants to know: why do all news anchors sound the same? ELT breaks down anchor voice with linguists Dennis Preston and Valerie Fridland. We also talk with reporter Deion Broxton about his struggle to develop his news voice, and how accent bias makes it harder for some people to break into the news business.

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This week we revisit a dreamy episode. Listener Natalie wants to know: Can you change something in your waking life by dreaming about it? ELT talks to dream guest Daniel Erlacher to find out how we can optimize our snooze time. 

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In honor of this week’s festivities, we’re taking a trip back to black hole country. Listener Kyle wants to know: are black holes really holes? Professor of physics at the University of Southern California Clifford Johnson has answers that will loosen your third eye and blaze up your mind.

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