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In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott sits down with Scott Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, to explore the small creatures doing the biggest work in nature: insects and other invertebrates.

Scott Black breaks down what “invertebrates” really are, why pollinators matter far beyond gardens, and how conservation shifts when you start paying attention to the species without backbones. Along the way, he explains a surprising truth about honey bees — that they’re not native wildlife, but closer to livestock — and why native pollinators deserve far more of the spotlight.

This is a conversation about habitat, pesticides, endangered species, and the practical steps that can help reverse declines — from what we plant to how we manage land.

Learn more about the Xerces Society at https://www.xerces.org

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New York Harbor is one of the most storied waterways in the world, but for generations it was also one of the most damaged. Long before skyscrapers defined the skyline, oysters shaped the ecology, economy, and culture of the region—until they were pushed to the brink of disappearance. Today, something remarkable is happening beneath the surface.

In this episode, Scott Harris sits down with Pete Malinowski, co-founder of the Billion Oyster Project, to explore one of the most ambitious urban restoration efforts in the world. Pete explains why oysters matter so much—to water quality, marine life, and shoreline resilience—and how restoring them means rebuilding entire ecosystems, not just a single species.

The conversation traces the history of New York Harbor’s decline, the science behind oyster reef restoration, and the hands-on work happening right now with students, volunteers, and community partners. From recycling millions of pounds of oyster shells to engaging thousands of young people in marine science, the project shows how conservation, education, and civic pride can move together. It’s a reminder that environmental recovery doesn’t always start in remote wilderness—it can begin in the heart of a city.

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Rewilding isn’t about nostalgia — it’s about scale.

In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott sits down with Dr. Jodi Hilty, President and Chief Scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), to explore one of the most ambitious conservation visions on Earth: reconnecting 2,000 miles of wild landscape from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon.

Dr. Hilty explains why isolated parks are no longer enough, how wildlife corridors, overpasses, and private lands keep ecosystems functioning, and why large carnivores like wolves, wolverines, and grizzly bears are essential to biodiversity, climate resilience, and even carbon storage. Along the way, she shares stories of wolves crossing international borders, pronghorn migrations shaped by predators, and the real, practical work of helping ranchers coexist with carnivores.

This is a conversation about conservation that works with people instead of against them — grounded in science, cooperation, and long-term thinking.

Learn more about Yellowstone to Yukon at https://www.y2y.net

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In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott sits down with John Calambokidis, one of the world’s leading cetacean researchers and the co-founder of Cascadia Research Collective. For more than four decades, John has studied whales across the Pacific, combining long-term fieldwork, cutting-edge technology, and an unwavering commitment to scientific integrity.

The conversation opens with a candid look at whale rescue efforts, including the heartbreak of failed rescues and what those moments reveal about both human limits and motivation. From there, Scott and John explore the story behind The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52, unpacking how a mysterious 52-hertz call captured the public imagination — and what science can and cannot say about “loneliness” in whales.

John walks listeners through Cascadia’s work on ship strikes, underwater noise, entanglements, and the hidden dangers whales face at night in busy shipping corridors like the Santa Barbara Channel. He explains how tagging data, photo-identification, and citizen science platforms like Happy Whale are reshaping how we understand whale movements and risk.

The episode also dives into Cascadia’s research on false killer whales in Hawaiʻi, the growing challenges facing marine science funding, and how political pressures increasingly collide with objective research. John reflects on what it means to stay scientifically honest when results don’t align with expectations — and why credibility matters more than advocacy alone.

John closes by recommending Abundance by Ezra Klein, a book he believes speaks directly to the gap between knowledge, intention, and action.

As always, Scott ends with a simple invitation: get outside, stay curious, and keep paying attention to the natural world we’re still trying to understand.

Guest Recommendation
Abundance — Ezra Klein

Links & Resources
Cascadia Research Collective: https://www.cascadiaresearch.org

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In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott Harris is joined by Lisa T. Ballance, Director of the Marine Mammal Institute, for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from personal history to some of the most consequential marine science of the past half-century.

Ballance explains how her career in ecology and conservation biology led her into the heart of the tuna–dolphin controversy in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, where massive purse-seine fisheries once killed millions of dolphins and reshaped global seafood policy. Scott and Lisa discover that their lives briefly intersected during the late 1980s, when public pressure, undercover documentation, and consumer action helped force the creation of the dolphin-safe tuna label.

From there, the conversation turns toward the edge of scientific knowledge. Ballance describes her work searching for cryptic cetaceans — species so elusive they were known only from stranded remains — including the first confirmed sightings of ginkgo-toothed beaked whales alive in the wild. She also shares the extraordinary effort to locate and genetically sample the rare Type D killer whale in the Southern Ocean, a population so distinct it may represent an entirely new species.

Along the way, Ballance reflects on how science advances at the limits of uncertainty, the unintended consequences of well-intentioned conservation, and why humility and persistence matter when studying animals that live far beyond human reach.

Lisa’s book recommendation: Merchants of Doubt.

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What would it take to truly rewild North America?

In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott Harris sits down with Jack Humphrey of the Rewilding Institute to explore one of the most ambitious and consequential ideas in modern conservation: reconnecting large landscapes so nature can function the way it once did.

Jack shares decades of firsthand experience working on wilderness cores, wildlife corridors, and large carnivore conservation—from restoring illegal roads in the Southwest, to building wolf acclimation pens on Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch, to helping shape the continental rewilding movement itself.

Together, Scott and Jack unpack:

• What rewilding really means (and what it doesn’t)
• Why wolves, jaguars, and other apex predators matter far beyond their own survival
• The concept of cores, corridors, carnivores, and coexistence
• How wolf reintroduction reshapes entire ecosystems
• Why conservation may depend on protecting half the planet
• The tension between scientific urgency and public messaging
• Whether nature can recover if humans simply get out of the way

This is a wide-ranging, thoughtful conversation about biodiversity, land use, human responsibility, and the future of wild places—grounded in science, history, and lived experience.

Jack also recommends the book Borderland Jaguars, a powerful primer on the return of jaguars to the U.S.–Mexico borderlands.

If you care about wolves, wilderness, national parks, or what a livable planet actually requires, this episode is for you.

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From growing up in Hawai‘i and Washington, D.C. to spending decades on the Farallon Islands, Peter Pyle has lived at the intersection of birds, science, and curiosity. A founding figure in modern bird banding and the author of the definitive guides to bird molt and plumage, Peter joins Scott Harris for a wide-ranging conversation about how feathers shape everything we think we know about birds.

Together, they explore what molt really is, why it matters, how birds replace their feathers without losing the ability to fly, and how studying “scruffy” birds has unlocked entirely new ways of aging and understanding species. Along the way, Peter shares stories from a lifetime in ornithology—from white shark research and seabird colonies to Christmas Bird Counts, citizen science, and the quiet beauty of careful observation.

This episode is a deep dive into the unseen mechanics of birds—and a reminder that the most important details are often the ones we overlook.

Guest: Peter Pyle — Ornithologist, bander, and author of the Identification Guide to North American Birds
Host: Scott Harris | Naturally Scott

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In this episode, Scott sits down with one of the most influential naturalists of our time: Kenn Kaufman. From hitchhiking across North America as a teenager to becoming a celebrated author, artist, field guide creator, and voice for nature, Kenn’s life is a masterclass in what can happen when curiosity is allowed to lead.

We talk about his early years chasing rare birds with nothing but a backpack and a thumb on the highway, the origins of Kingbird Highway, and the moment he realized he wanted to spend his life helping others see the natural world more clearly. Kenn shares how painting reshaped the way he sees birds, why migration along Lake Erie still gives him chills, and how a single moth outside his window can derail his entire train of thought in the best possible way.

We also explore his field guide work, from advanced identification to making nature accessible for beginners, the joy and humility of contributing to Birds in Art, and his belief that the everyday—house sparrows, garter snakes, skunks, late-season vireos—is every bit as worthy of wonder as the rare and extraordinary.

This is an episode about birds, yes—but more than that, it's about attention, gratitude, and a lifetime of choosing to stay fascinated.

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Today, I’m joined by Dr. John van Wyhe, historian of science at the National University of Singapore and one of the world’s leading experts on Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. We break open the myths, misunderstandings, and surprising truths behind Darwin’s life, the Voyage of the Beagle, the long road to the theory of evolution, and why the Galápagos were not the eureka moment you've always heard about.

John walks us through how scientists in the 1830s actually understood geology, extinction, and the age of the Earth — and why nearly everything we think about that era is wrong. We explore Darwin’s five evolving theories, Wallace’s unexpected role, the tension between science and religion (or lack of it), and the moment the modern idea of natural selection finally clicked.

He also highlights his upcoming book with Oxford University Press, Darwin’s Geological Diary and Field Notes from the Voyage of the Beagle, and recommends a surprising Darwin book about earthworms that became a Victorian bestseller.

This conversation was extraordinary — and just the beginning. We’ll be bringing John back to dive into the global impact Darwin’s theory had after publication.

Book mentioned: The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms
Darwin Online: https://darwin-online.org.uk

John’s recommended reading: Dispelling the Darkness

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In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott Harris sits down with primatologist and author Dr. Christine Webb to explore the ideas behind her powerful new book, The Arrogant Ape. Christine’s work blends primatology, psychology, philosophy, Indigenous knowledge, and lived experience to challenge one of the most deeply ingrained beliefs in Western culture: that humans sit above the rest of nature.

Christine shares the roots of her fascination with animal minds, her academic path from Emory to Harvard to NYU, and the pivotal field encounters — including a surprising moment with a young baboon named Bear — that reshaped her understanding of what other species know, feel, and perceive.

Together, Scott and Christine dig into:

• Why Western science has long insisted on human superiority
• How captivity creates “bizarre” models of animal behavior
• What Indigenous worldviews understood long before modern research
• How animals communicate, think, and even empathize
• What shifting away from human exceptionalism might mean for our future
• Why moments of connection with wild animals matter more than we realize

Scott also shares his extraordinary encounter with a Northern Hawk Owl — a moment that brushed against the boundary of species and self — and Christine responds with insight into how animals may be perceiving us in ways we’re only beginning to understand.

This conversation is thought-provoking, personal, and full of wonder. If you’ve ever questioned where humans truly fit into the living world, this episode will stay with you.

Christine’s Book: The Arrogant Ape
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