Bigfoot researchers remain optimistic that Sasquatch is out there; that the creature will one day be found. Why? Why do people continue to believe? We’ll talk to professional skeptic Michael Shermer about the nature of belief. And we’ll look at why—even for those who think Bigfoot is a complete myth—the idea of Bigfoot holds so much appeal. What makes us so fascinated by this creature? Why do we want so badly to believe that it’s out there?

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

Chances are, you’ve already seen Bigfoot. On pizza boxes, advertising jerky, drinking beer, driving monster trucks. There are a lot of people who really do believe. There are even more who just think the idea of Bigfoot is fun. And then there are those who see Sasquatch as a real cash cow. A Cash-squatch. We’ll sit down with CEOs and creative directors to find out what’s in a name and a logo. No doubt about it—Bigfoot is big business and Sasquatch sells.

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

Bigfoot can be tongue-in-cheek fun - but what happens if you take it seriously? There are the people who’ve risked their professional careers and personal reputations, and expended a lot of time, money and energy seeking out Sasquatch. We’ll attend an exclusive symposium, for the crème de la crème of Bigfoot researchers, and hear from many who’ve been ridiculed for their interests.

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

Tired of waiting around for other people to find Bigfoot, Laura goes into the woods (with some experts). This particular outing is led by Cindy Caddell and three other seasoned ‘Squatchers, out in Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest, who explain what it takes to go looking for Bigfoot. And once the sun sets, we’ll hear a few hair-raising stories around the campfire before heading out on a nighttime hike.

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

Everywhere you go, you leave bits of yourself behind - and Bigfoot would no different. But now, those DNA droppings are easier than ever to analyze, making it possible to identify a species, even without a body. We’ll talk to Dr. Todd Disotell, a molecular primatologist at New York University and a regular on Spike TV’s $10 Million Bigfoot Bounty, about the magic of DNA analysis and what it might mean for Bigfoot.

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

A Bigfoot sighting can apparently change your life and even lead to obsession. Thousands of people claim to have laid eyes on Sasquatch over the past century and Laura’s spoken to dozens of them—compelling stories that will set your hair on end. If they didn’t see Bigfoot, what did they see?

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

Let’s look at the evidence. There are footprints and sounds, grainy pictures, and the notorious Patterson-Gimlin film—that shaky 1967 video of a big, hairy beast striding through the forest. But how well does it hold up? We hear from a variety of people—the skeptics and the certain—who make their case for what evidence is out there. How much of it stands up to scrutiny?

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

Just what is Bigfoot? Descendant of ancient apes? Close human ancestor? Evolution might hold the answer to this question. Homo sapiens may rule the planet now but once upon a time, we weren’t the only hominid creatures walking around. Who’s to say that Bigfoot wasn’t—and still isn’t—among us? We talk to evolution experts and anthropologists, including Ian Tattersall, curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.

Laura Krantz is a veteran public radio editor and producer. So how did she end up in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, eyeballing some giant ground nests… that might have been made by Bigfoot? You can place the blame squarely on the shoulders of a guy named Grover. He was a tenured professor of anthropology at Washington State University and one of world’s preeminent experts on Sasquatch. And it turns out that Grover is also Laura’s long-lost cousin. How could she not do a story about this guy?

*Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.