The Podcast Aquatic

Smack dab in the middle of Tennessee in Hohenwald is a population that would probably surprise must residents of the Volunteer State: a dozen African and Asian Elephants.

This year, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is celebrating 30 years of serving as a sprawling "retirement community" for elephants that lived most of their life in human care. In this episode, we chat with the sanctuary's education manager, Laura Roddy, who will be visiting the Aquarium to help launch a new IMAX film, Elephants: Giants of the Desert 3D.

Together, we cover a lot of ground, from what working "on elephant time" means and how elephants modify their environment. In addition, this episode launches on Save the Elephant Day (April 16), and Laura discusses several ways everyday people can do their part to help elephants all over the world!

Check out the trailer for Elephants: GIants of the Desert 3D: https://youtu.be/VpsEBQyNfmo?si=PSOsyIlX5Ki5fIZh

Learn more about The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee at https://www.elephants.com

Episode cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and pachyderm pal
• Laura Roddy, education manager, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠.

April is National Frog Month, and what better way to celebrate these boisterous, shape-shifting amphibians than hearing from the experts who care for them here at the Aquarium?

In this episode, our ambassador animal coordinator and senior herpetologist wax poetic about frog calls, explain why our poison dart frogs actually aren't poisonous and talk about the incredible survival strategies that allow frogs to survive in places you probably wouldn't believe.

Learn more about the Poison Dart Frogs' Malagasy cousins, the Mantellas: https://youtu.be/QjDMz8yLR3g

Episode cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and foster frog parent
• Charlie Olson, senior herpetologist
• Tanisha La Guardia, ambassador animal coordinator

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Whether you think of them as the horizontally compressed cousins of sharks or "majestic underwater flap-flaps," there's no denying that stingrays are some of nature's most interesting aquatic animals.

This listener-request special episode features a panel of aquarists whose job it is to care for the many species of stingrays that live at the Aquarium. We chat about the different types of rays that reside in our exhibits, how they reproduce, their capacity to learn and their perhaps-surprising love of bubbles.

Watch the don't-do-this-if-you-like-your-clothes-dry approach we take to feeding our Cownose Rays at https://youtu.be/3XWg13Yszk4

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, communications specialist, host and amateur stingray-watcher
• Kyle McPheeters, life support system lead aquarist
• Cody Beavers, aquarist II
• Brenda Salgado, aquarist II

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Few people are as well-versed in documenting the underwater world as giant-screen filmmaker Jonathan Bird. The charismatic producer and host of award-winning web series, Jonathan Bird's Blue World, he's plumbed the depths of sites all over the world, from diving alongside Whale Sharks in the Galapagos and dodging Barracuda in Portugal to navigating flooded caves in Mexico.

In 2023, Bird paid a visit to Chattanooga to document our work raising marine fish species from eggs laid in our own exhibits as well as our role as one of the world's leading freshwater aquariums. In this episode, he joins us in the studio dive cage to chat about that experience as well as to promote his fourth giant-screen film, Call of the Dolphins 3D.

Check out the Tennessee Aquarium specific episodes of Blue World at:

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and longtime Blue World fan
• Jonathan Bird, underwater filmmaker

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

All over the world, otherwise inoffensive plants and animals are wreaking havoc on ecosystems just by ... well, existing. Often (if not usually) through no fault of their own, invasive species upend the natural order by reproducing with wild abandon, outcompeting or preying on native species and disrupting entire economies dependent on healthy fisheries and eco-tourism.

In this episode, three Aquarium experts with experience either caring for or dealing with the impacts of invasive species visit the studio dive cage to discuss how these plants and animals ended up where they shouldn't be, how they're impacting native wildlife and what, if anything, can be done about it.

Check out a three-part video series discussing the impact of Asian Carp on American river systems and approaches to stemming their spread: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjkmEccUchZbEYwxDE1KrxGauykYlGm4_&si=nYeLRKHHV7MnMpZV

Episode cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and invasive homo sapien
• Ben Stenger, River Journey lead aquarist
• Sharyl Crossley, Ocean Journey lead aquarist
• Matt Hamilton, curator of fishes

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan may have famously described them as "rocks with snot in them," but mussels (along with oysters, clams and other bivalve molluscs) are incredible — and incredibly important — animals.

Freshwater mussels' filtration of water as they feed helps to ensure the health of our rivers, lakes and streams. Their reproductive strategies are awe-inspiringly cunning, not to mention a little bit horrifying. And most importantly, they're a homegrown biological treasure, with the Southeastern United States sporting a greater diversity of freshwater mussels than almost anywhere else on Earth.

So in honor of International Day of Women and Girls In Science (and Galentine's Day), we've invited four Aquarium mussel fans and experts on the show to put the notion of mussels being underwhelming well and truly to bed.

Check out a hotspot of freshwater mussels diversity in Tennessee's Duck River:https://youtu.be/IcBSk6WnGY0?si=z-Hj5aPuLoJxggVE

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and amateur mussel-man
• Dr. Anna George, VP of conservation science and education
• Stephanie Chance, conservation manager
• Avery Millard, senior aquarist

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

When it comes to displays of aerial prowess, few pilots can match the razor-sharp skills of the Navy and Marine Corps selectees for the Blue Angels. The Navy's storied Flight Demonstration Squadron has been going strong for 79 years, and Capt. Greg "Boss" Wooldridge was the team's flight leader and commanding officer for an unprecedented three terms.

Wooldridge is also one of the executive producers of a thrilling new giant-screen film, The Blue Angels 3D, which will be playing at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater beginning late January and throughout February 2025.

In this episode, Boss joins us in the studio to talk about blacking out on his first flight with the Blues and the importance of iron-clad team building to safely piloting multi-million-dollar jets at hundreds of miles an hour with only 18 inches separating them.

Watch a trailer for The Blue Angels 3D at https://youtu.be/B5dSYSDOk_U?si=WYipr5yMlO6Cbm9b

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and long-time Blue Angels fan
• Capt. Greg "Boss" Wooldridge, former Blue Angels flight leader and executive producer for The Blue Angels 3D

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Millions (tens of millions, even) of families in the U.S. have pets, and all the love and comfort they give us comes with a heaping helping of responsibility for their care and well being. Fortunately, there are more than 125,000 veterinarians around the country that can lend a practiced hand to ensuring our four-legged, winged, scaly and finned companions lives are healthy and happy.

Imagine how much more fulfilling and difficult the job of a veterinarian becomes, though, when they're charged with seeing to the needs of thousands of animals representing hundreds of species.

In this episode of the podcast, we'll chat with the Tennessee Aquarium's long-time vet, Dr. Chris Keller, and veterinary assistant II Shelby Ferguson, about the challenges and rewards of tending to penguins, alligators, sharks and lemurs (among many, MANY other animals).

After you're done, check out videos showing a vet's eye view of ⁠a Sea Turtle check up⁠, a cutting-edge ⁠cold laser therapy session⁠ and the new avenues of treatment made possible through ⁠wireless x-ray technology⁠.

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and ardent feline fanDr. Chris Keller, veterinarianShelby Ferguson, veterinary assistant II

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The Aquarium requires the work of a lot of people to function. Some might not surprise you — animal care specialists, veterinarians, housekeeping, plumbers — but did you know our team also includes a pair of horticulturists? It's thanks to the tireless efforts of these plant experts that our exhibits mimic, as closely as possible, the natural environments our residents would call home in the wild. Normally, their work goes largely unnoticed by guests, but in this episode, we're giving them a much-deserved moment in the spotlight!

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and slayer of orchids
• Austin Prater, senior horticulturist
• Jenna Paler, horticulturist II

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Whether it's just a pop across the border into Tijuana, a cruise along the Rhine, backpacking through Nepal or visiting relatives in Uganda, there's nothing quite like the full-body culture shock of international travel.

In this episode, three Aquarium adventurers share life-altering experiences from their international sojourns. We'll chat about the joy of watching cheetahs learning to hunt in Kenya, visiting sustainable fisheries in the Amazon and the stark, otherworldly beauty of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Grab your passport, pack a toothbrush, and let's go!

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, communications specialist and tour guide
• Thom Benson, vice president and chief communications/marketing officers
• Claudia Mendez-Marti, community engagement educator
• Elaine Robinson, senior aquarist

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tnconservationist.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.