Today is a day of celebration! This is the 200th episode of the Natural Curiosity Project, which I started back in 2018. Thank you SO MUCH for continuing to listen--I hope you know how much it means to me. But we're not stopping here--I already have 15 new episodes queued up for release, and there are some great interviews in there. So thank you again--see you on the programs!

Episode 200 - Thank You

It's hard to believe that over the course of 70 months--from September 2018 to this episode in June 2024--I have published 250 episode in tis crazy journey of discovery. thanks for being along for the ride--there's lots more to come!

Episode 250 - Thank You

Tim Brookes is many things: accomplished author with many prestigious publishing credits to his name; woodworker; college professor and program director; and the founder of the Endangered Alphabets Project. We've all heard about languages disappearing, especially those that have no written form. Well, alphabets are also disappearing--and Tim is on a mission to save them.

Episode 251 - Tim Brookes And The Endangered Alphabet Project

Not long ago I got a request from a young student to do an episode on the Podcast about roly polies, which happened to be this student’s favorite animal in the universe—his words. So, I did. And that kicked off a flurry of other requests, which I dutifully fulfilled. 

This episode is the result of a request from a junior high student who wanted to know about the field of geology. So, I started to do some research on the topic, and after about 30 minutes of digging, I had an epiphany, which caused me to go stand in front of a mirror and slap myself a few times for being an idiot. My Dad is a retired hard rock geologist, so rather than research the field, I decided to go straight to the horse’s mouth, as it were, and ask him. So, in this episode, I’d like to introduce you to my dad, Bob Shepard. I asked him to share his story with me, as a way to answer the question that came in from Andrea in Oklahoma City. So, without further ado, here’s my dad!

Episode 252 - Interview With A Geologist

One of my favorite quotes comes from Anthropologist Loren Eiseley. He said, “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” In this episode I’m going to prove it.

A lot of you probably know that the first stage of my professional career was as a SCUBA instructor and commercial diver. I spent thousands of hours under the surface of the Pacific Ocean, enthralled by what my hero Jacques Cousteau called The Silent World. We divers used to laugh good-naturedly at that, because the ocean is anything but silent. It’s filled with noise, and I’m not talking about boats and such, although there’s plenty of that, too. I’m talking about snapping shrimp, parrotfish, ocean waves and swells passing overhead, the clicks of dolphins, the eerie call of whales, and all the other sounds we used to listen to and wonder about. 

But it isn’t just oceanic creatures that make noise. As you’re about to learn, it turns out that freshwater ponds are filled with sound. Yes, that still, calm little pond over there may be quiet above, but most likely, below the surface, there’s a whole symphony going on.

My guest on this program is an acoustic ecologist who has studied aquatic sound, but more than that, he has come up with ways to use sound as a predictor of freshwater environmental health—and as a tool for the restoration of ponds in areas where human activity has degraded them.

Episode 253 - The Secret Life Of Ponds With Acoustic Ecologist Jack Greenhalgh

I photograph, record, and write about the natural world. I see, I listen, I write. I fundamentally believe that curiosity can save the world—so I publish stories to make people curious. Ultimately, curiosity leads to discovery, discovery leads to knowledge, knowledge leads to insight, and insight leads to understanding. Please enjoy!

New tracks tagged #Natural Curiosity Project