The Wild Life

By The Wild LifeScience Nature

The Wild Life episodes

November 11, 2019 The Smell of Rain
It's summer and a storm has just passed through. You step outside and are instantly greeted with that good ole' familiar smell---the smell of rain. But what is that smell? After all, water itself isn't particularly smelly, right? In this episode, Richard's first solo mission, we explore the surprising secrets behind the smell of rain.
It is also our first ever member drive. If you become a member during the November Membership Drive, we’ll double your first two months' conscious conservation contribution through the Wildlife Ambassadors programs to 20%! Learn more at https://thewildlife.blog/2019/11/05/november-membership-drive/ and become a member at https://www.patreon.com/TheWildLife
13 min
October 31, 2019 A Tell Tale Beetle Romance Story
Happy Halloween! In this super special, unexpected, and therefore super last minute holiday treat (and trick), Devon reads a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's famous short story, A Tell Tale Heart, that you undoubtedly were coerced into reading in high school. In our somewhat modernized version, we get a different, more wildlife oriented ending that turns out to be the most opposite from horror as you can get.
Become a patron (and our best friend), and get tons of cool perks at www.patreon.com/TheWildLife and help us to keep doing what we are doing and getting better!
If you are interested in learning more about our upcoming hikes, visit
https://thewildlife.blog/hike/
Follow Devon on Instagram @devonthenatureguy or on Twitter @devthenatureguy
Follow the official blog and podcast pages on Instagram @thewildlife.blog and on FB.
Join our official FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWildLife.Blog/
20 min
October 27, 2019 Stardust: Time, Tides, and Theia
The Wild Life presents, Stardust---a show that explores all of the other science-y things that don’t quite fit under the umbrella of The Wild Life.
Things like why is the ocean salty, where did all the of earths water come from, how is gold made, what happens when two black holes collide, time travel, lithium, and basically everything else.
This is our test pilot, of sorts!
In this episode, we explore the Earth's moon, it's phases, it's origin, and it's impact on tides, teens, and time itself!
Become a patron (and our best friend), and get tons of cool perks at www.patreon.com/TheWildLife and help us to keep doing what we are doing and getting better!
If you are interested in learning more about our upcoming hikes, visit
https://thewildlife.blog/hike/
Follow Devon on Instagram @devonthenatureguy or on Twitter @devthenatureguy
Follow the official blog and podcast pages on Instagram @thewildlife.blog and on FB.
Join our official FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWildLife.Blog/
20 min
October 13, 2019 Myth-understood + Nature's Vampires
In honor of Spooktober, we are doing the time warp to revisit two fan-favorites on one of nature's most needlessly feared and misunderstood critters: bats.
Part 1
Belief…belief is an interesting thing. Some of our beliefs are very close to our hearts, untouchable, unchangeable. Some of our beliefs are more flexible, changing if you have some kind of evidence or experience that can convince you otherwise. Belief can be harmless and belief can be harmful. Belief can be truth and it can be myth. This week, we are going off format in the first of an intermittent series we are calling Myth-Understood in which we explore commonly believed myths about different misunderstood animals and examine the truth behind the legends. This week we focus on an animal that has been the victim of superstition and fear for thousands of years. Despite what many believe, these creatures are extremely important to our everyday lives. Dollar for dollar, they are worth more than Elon Musk, they hold secrets of aging, rejuvenate the rainforest, and they’re the most essential ingredient... of a Margarita.
Part 2
This episode, we have a story that takes us all the way from Copenhagen, to the rain forest of South America--- from the belly of the beast, to it’s excrement---as we explore nature’s Vampires
Our guest is Dr Marie Lisandra Zepeda Mendoza, who recently finished her post doc in Copenhagen, Denmark and whose recently published research on vampire bats and how they survive on such a peculiar diet is at the center of this story.
Here is a link to Bat Conservation International: http://www.batcon.org/
46 min
October 07, 2019 Mr Smarty Plants with Dr Liz Van Volkenburgh
Have you ever looked at plant and wondered if maybe, just maybe, it might be smarter than you? No? Well, okay, maybe not smarter than you, but perhaps just "smart"? In this episode, we sit down to talk to Dr Liz Van Volkenburgh of the University of Washington to talk plant intelligence in what quickly becomes a brainy, foggy nebulus of sorts full of semantics, word-talk, and things that will make your mind question….your mind. This episode is a bit of a longer one, so we cut the ads, cut a bunch of the extras, and cut the music as to not distract from the overarching question. We hope you enjoy, and that you leave this episode with a since of wonder and curiosity.
Become a patron (and our best friend), and get tons of cool perks at www.patreon.com/TheWildLife and help us to keep doing what we are doing and getting better!
If you are interested in learning more about our upcoming hikes, visit
https://thewildlife.blog/hike/
Follow Devon on Instagram @devonthenatureguy or on Twitter @devthenatureguy
Follow the official blog and podcast pages on Instagram @thewildlife.blog and on FB.
Join our official FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWildLife.Blog/
Oh, and here's a ton of internet reading on the topic for your leisure...if that's your kind of thing...
https://www.livescience.com/5793-plants-recognize-rivals-fight-play-nice-siblings.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/science/29obs-plants.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/science/29obs-plants.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4814444/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/biocentrism/201703/are-plants-aware
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/25/753208704/shhhhh-listen-closely-your-plants-might-be-talking?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews&fbclid=IwAR0Wjplq0SoBOcri25K9zi9D8n92DduO3-GHTs3P022jN7BCU3F4glnBWCE
1 hr 25 min
October 06, 2019 Mr Smarty Plants with Dr Liz Van Volkenburgh

1 hr 25 min
September 30, 2019 The Fungus Among Us| Part 2 with Dr Kabir Peay
In this episode, we sit down with Stanford's Dr Kabir Peay, self described mykophile and fungi expert who recently helped to maap out the Wood Wide Web on a global scale. We talk Spongebob, Gringotts, Wall Street, and reveal the secrets of an underground ecosystem that will change the way you see the forest for forever!
Become a patron (and our best friend), and get tons of cool perks at www.patreon.com/TheWildLife and help us to keep doing what we are doing and getting better!
If you are interested in learning more about our upcoming hikes, visit
https://thewildlife.blog/hike/
Follow Devon on Instagram @devonthenatureguy or on Twitter @devthenatureguy
Follow the official blog and podcast pages on Instagram @thewildlife.blog and on FB.
Join our official FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWildLife.Blog/
This months donation is going to Armand Bayou Nature Center (abnc.org)
Check out Dr Peay's website, here: https://mykophile.com/
57 min
September 28, 2019 #CitizenScienceFriday with Carrie Seltzer of iNaturalist
It's our very first #CitizenScienceFriday! We sit down to chat with Carrie Seltzer, Stakeholder Engagement Strategist at iNaturalist to discuss their amazing platform, how it works, the democratization of science, bird feathers, dragonfly wings, Russian nature geeks, and so much more!
Now, you can join our new The Wild Life community on iNaturalist with a new joinable project! Connect with a community of over 750,000 scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature and help confirm identifications. By recording and sharing your observations, you help to create quality research data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. iNaturalist is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. For details on how to join our project and connect with other listeners, visit thewildlife.blog/inaturalist.
The Wild Life is listener and reader supported. Visit patreon.com/thewildlife to become a member or join one of our exclusive clubs for as little as $1 per month!
Questions, concerns, or corrections? Contact us at [email protected]
Craving more content? Check out the complimentary blog post to this episode including a complete list of sources and a whole lot more at thewildlife.blog, or check us out on instagram @thewildlife.blog or @devonthenatureguy
57 min
September 22, 2019 The Fungus Among Us| Part I with Dr Tom Volk
In this episode, we sit down and chat with a really fun guy (get it? like fungi? aha..ha...), Dr Tom Volk of UW-Lacrosse, and holy cow, pun intended (you’ll see), we covered a lot of ground. Everything from how mushrooms are made, to the best mushrooms to forage, how fungi hunt, fungi in the brain, whether or not bakers yeast is the same organism associated with yeast infections, an underground Gringotts, how to avoid exploding out of both ends, and so much more. Tune in next weekend for part II with Dr Kabir Peay of Stanford University and for our firt ever #CitSciFri featuring Carrie Seltzer of iNaturalist!
Check out Dr Tom Volk's website here: http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/
Become a patron (and our best friend), and get tons of cool perks at www.patreon.com/TheWildLife and help us to keep doing what we are doing and getting better!
If you are interested in learning more about our upcoming hikes, visit
https://thewildlife.blog/hike/
Follow Devon on Instagram @devonthenatureguy or on Twitter @devthenatureguy
Follow the official blog and podcast pages on Instagram @thewildlife.blog and on FB.
Join our official FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWildLife.Blog/
This months donation is going to Armand Bayou Nature Center (abnc.org)
1 hr 5 min
September 19, 2019 The Mystery of Zebra Stripes with Dr Tim Caro
Interview with Dr. Tim Caro, professor of Wildife Biology at UC Davis, on his research which may have revealed the truth behind the mystery of zebra stripes.
15 min

About The Wild Life

From the publisher's feed

An optimistic, curiosity-chasing show about the wonder and wildness of life, following the threads that connect us to the natural world. The Wild Life is, always has been, and always will be a show about the diversity of life within the animal kingdom, but it's about more than that. It's about connections. It's about how the natural world inspires our culture, movies, and technologies. It's about the patterns that persist throughout not just life, but the universe itself. It's about us.