Imagine spending five years working on your PhD studying Norwegian killer whale vocalization. Then imagine deciding you no longer want to be an ocean biologist.

That’s how Ari Daniel got into radio. At the end of his studies at MIT, Ari came to the conclusion he didn’t want a career in marine research so he picked up a microphone.

Ari didn’t stray far from his studies, though. He now reports on science and the environment for programs like Radiolab, The World, and Living on Earth.

His podcast “One Species at a Time” got my attention recently. Ari produces the podcast with Atlantic Public Media for the Encyclopedia of Life. Each episode of the podcast profiles a single species in language the rest of us who aren’t scientists can understand. In fact, that’s one of Ari’s strengths — sifting through the minutia and lingo to make science digestible.

He says he uses the acronym DSW to guide his storytelling:

D – Drop the Details.

S – Search for the Story

W – Wander in the Wonder

Ari explains DSW in this edition of HowSound and we listen to a favorite from the “Once Species at a Time” podcast. Press “play,” my friends.