WPR: To the Best of our Knowledge - Animals

Davyd Betchkal on Denali soundscapes

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 6 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Davyd Betchkal is a soundscape engineer in Alaska's Denali National Park. We hear recordings of wood frogs, bear cubs, even an avalanche.

James Moore on Alfred Russel Wallace

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 1 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Alfred Wallace was the co-discover, with Charles Darwin, of the theory of natural selection. Wallace was also a great 19th century naturalist who spent years collecting speciments in the Amazon River Basin and later in the Malay Archipelago. Unlike the aristocratic Darwin, Wallace always had to work for a living. Historian of science James Moore says Wallace remains a mysterious figure, unlike the more famous Darwin.

Justin O. Schmidt on Grading Stings

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Justin O. Schmidt has been stung by nearly every insect with a stinger, from the benign honeybee to the viscious tarantula hawk wasp. He is a research biologist and professor at the University of Arizona school of Entomology and he told Steve Paulson about his creation, the Schmidt Sting Pain Index.

Veronica Rueckert on Encountering the Orca

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Thu, 1 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

TTBOOK essayist and producer Veronica Rueckert has had her own close encounter with whales, on a first visit to Sea World in San Diego. For Veronica, laying eyes on an orca was stranger than she’d ever imagined.

Ellen Prager on Odd Sea Creatures and Why They Matter

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Thu, 1 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Ellen Prager wants you to care about the oceans. She’s a writer and former chief scientist of the Aquarius Reef Base, the world’s only undersea research station. Her latest book is called “Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime." She says we ignore the oceans at our own peril.

Diana Reiss Explores Dolphin Minds

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Thu, 1 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Diana Reiss directs the Dolphin Research Program at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and is a professor in the Psychology Department at Hunter College. She writes about her findings on dolphin intelligence in the book “Dolphin in the Mirror.”

Hugh Raffles on Bee behavior and the work of Karl von Frisch

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Anthropologist Hugh Raffles talks about the work of celebrated bee biologist Karl von Frisch and the remarkable ways bees reach consensus.

Erin Clune on Urban Beekeeping

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Erin Clune is a reporter for Wisconsin Pubilc Radio and a blogger. She visits the hives of urban beekeeper Bob Falk from Madison, Wisconsin.

Justin O. Schmidt on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Justin O. Schmidt is a research biologist and professor at the University of Arizona School of Entomology. He's the creator of Schmidt Sting Pain Index.

Karen Russell on "Swamplandia!"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Karen Russell talks about her debut novel, "Swamplandia!," which focuses on a family-operated gator wrestling theme park in the Florida Everglades.Karen Russell's "Swamplandia!" page on Random House's website

Rupert Isaacson and "The Horse Boy"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 1 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Rupert Isaacson made a journey with his family to seek out shamans in horse-centered cultures to treat his autistic son.

Richard Ellis on Polar Bears

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Is the melting of the Polar Ice cap in the Arctic destroying the habitat for polar bears and the seals they eat?

Douglas Quin on Arctic Music

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Douglas Quin is an award-winning sound designer, naturalist and composer. His latest project is called "Fathom."

John Woestendiek on the Cloning of Dogs