Terrestrials

By WNYC

Welcome, nature lovers, to the home of the Terrestrials podcast and family-friendly Radiolab episodes about nature. Every other week, host Lulu Miller will take you on a nature walk to encounter a pla... more

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How many episodes does Terrestrials have?

The podcast currently has 102 episodes available.

Best of Terrestrials

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: The Jimothy: Seattle Raccoon Steals Hearts
If you’ve been on the internet recently, you might’ve heard of Jimothy—a raccoon from Seattle who went viral. Jimothy t-shirts, murals, tattoos, and tribute songs popped up across the country. We wanted to understand why this raccoon had captured so many hearts, so we spoke to one of the first people who spotted him: Ben Trammell. One night in Seattle, Ben was watching a raccoon family walk along his backyard fence when he saw a tiny, scruffy, hunched-over raccoon with stiff front legs and a short puffball of a tail instead of the usual long, stripey one. He was instantly enamored with this clumsy little guy and began watching his escapades night after night. What Ben saw taught him something about raccoons he never expected. Songbud Alan talks with Ben about raccoon chaos, family care, and the joy of watching a wild animal do life his own way. They flip the script on “survival of the fittest” to discover that compassion and care are natural and weird is good! Lulu also speaks with Seattle writer and disability activist Elsa Sjunneson about how Jimothy became a champion for grungy Seattle and an icon for the disability community. Very special thanks to Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes for his performance of the song, "Jimothy." KEEP LEARNING! Huge thanks to Elsa Sjunneson for joining us. Her new book, Dear Blind Lady, is out this fall and available for preorder now - it includes a whole chapter for parents on how to talk to their kids about disability. Elsa also recommended two children's books for young readers who want to learn more: We Move Together by Kelly Fritsch and Anne McGuire, a picture book about the many different ways disabled people move through the world. All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel, the true story of Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, who at 8 years old crawled up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to protest for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Want more Elsa? Listen to her Radiolab episode, The Helen Keller Exorcism, and watch this wonderful PBS mini documentary about Elsa and her fencing. 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 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 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.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at [email protected] or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
August 06, 202630min
Number 2: The Wallowers: A Buffalo Comeback Story
Ervin Carlson grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana hearing stories about buffalo (aka American bison) who once roamed the land by the hundreds of thousands. These giant beasts weighed up to 2000 pounds, were almost 7 feet tall, and had two curved horns so sharp they could even buck away grizzly bears. And they were ecosystem engineers! Just by grazing and rolling in the dirt, they brought new life to the land. But Ervin had never seen one. Not in the wild. To him, buffalo were a thing of the past. Because in the 1800s, as America expanded west, settlers hunted them by the trainload, for sport and fashion, until the wild herds completely disappeared from Montana. And that could've been the end of the story, if not for a secret inter-generational baby buffalo rescue mission that you'll have to hear to believe. To uncover the twists and turns of this tale first-hand, Producerbud Ana travels to Montana where she witnesses an epic horse race, joins a three-day celebration of all things buffalo, and crosses her fingers that she’ll get to meet one of these creatures up close. Huge thanks to Ervin Carlson, Paul Weatherwax, Chazz Racine, Sloo, everyone at Buffalo Spirit Hills Ranch, the Intertribal Buffalo Council, Latonna Spotted Eagle, Cristina Mormorunni, and everyone who helped organize the 2026 Iinnii Days. Thanks also to Valerie June for lending her voice to Alan's stampede song, and to the students and teachers at the Blackfeet language immersion school. 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 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 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.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at [email protected] or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
August 27, 202633min
Number 3: The Fuzzy Ruckus: The Power of Lichen (Replay)
Artist Ashley (Ash) Eliza Williams was so shy growing up that they found it hard to speak to people. Instead, they withdrew from the world of humans and found comfort in the forest, where they spent hours exploring, scavenging, and collecting — eventually discovering lichen. They began painting portraits of lichen’s wild, colorful, and fuzzy shapes. In time, Ash learned that lichen is actually a composite organism, a mixture of two species — algae and fungi — working together to live. This idea originally challenged evolutionary theory so much that scientists didn’t believe it. But lichen had much more to teach us. Chef Prashanta Khanal fills us in on the food science of lichen, and how its collaborative powers also extend to making certain foods healthier! Learning that lichen draws its strength from collaboration eventually encouraged Ash to break out of their shell and reconnect to the world, where they would find not just friends and collaborators, but their true love. Since the release of this podcast, artist Ash Eliza Williams goes by Ash and uses they/them pronouns. Check out Ash Eliza Williams’s beautiful paintings. Visit chef Prashanta's cooking blog, the Gundruk, for more on Nepali food history and recipes. This episode features punk rock legend Laura Jane Grace, who makes a musical cameo on the song The Fuzzy Ruckus. Watch the music video and find the link to stream on our songs page. Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Brenna Farrel, Mira Burt-Wintonick, Alan Goffinski, Ana González, Tanya Chawla, Joe Plourde, Sarah Sandbach, Valentina Powers and Lulu Miller. Fact-checking by Diane Kelly. Transcription by Caleb Codding. Special thanks to Siya Sharma-Gaines, Niran Bhatt Scharpf, Scott LaGreca, and Sarita Bhatt. Our advisors are Ana Luz Porzecanski, Andy J. Pizza, Anil Lewis, Dominique Shabazz, Liza Demby, Princess Daazhraii Johnson and Tara Welty. Learn more about storytellers, listen to music, and dig deeper into the stories you hear on Terrestrials with activities you can do at home or in the classroom on our website, Terrestrialspodcast.org. Badger us on social media: @radiolab and #TerrestrialsPodcast or by emailing us at [email protected]. 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 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.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at [email protected] or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
August 13, 202629min
Number 4: Celestials: A Bedtime Snail Story Experiment
Meet François Tranquille. He's a snail. He's French. And this is the first episode of a little experiment we're calling Celestials: Bedtime Stories from Terrestrials. Restful tales, bedtime meditations, and the occasional lullaby, designed to help you drift off to sleep. Like Terrestrials, it's about a creature here on Earth. Unlike Terrestrials, it wanders away from the world of facts, towards someplace dreamier. In our very first Celestials pilot, Monsieur Tranquille tries his hand — er, antennae — at helping you slooowww doooowwwn. We're experimenting with a few more of these this year, and we'd love your help shaping them. After you listen, take two minutes to tell us what you thought: https://forms.gle/6WKkJsVpbJZgpLLf6 We'll be back next week with your regularly scheduled Terrestrials programming. In the meantime, sweet dreams! 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 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.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at [email protected] or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
August 20, 202615min
Number 5: 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 introduces us to leopards that live among shepherds and ancient temples. Then we head to Colombia, where biologist Laura Lisbeth Jaimes Rodriguez 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. 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 at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Shatrunjay Pratap Singh, Laura Lisbeth Jaimes Rodriguez, and Dr. Nyeema Harris. LEARN MORE: Watch this video 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, 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, 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. Learn more about Dr. Nyeema Harris's work studying carnivores at the Applied Wildlife Ecology Lab 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 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.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more. Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page. Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at [email protected] or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
June 04, 202631min