November 15, 2022
Highs, Lows and Lowland Gorillas

From the kitchen floor to the remote jungles of the Congo, Rae grapples with divorce and single-motherhood on an international trip to study lowland gorillas.

*Content warning: this episode briefly mentions the topic of suicide.*

For the last episode of season 2, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant talks about a career-changing opportunity to track ...

Episode details / transcript
November 8, 2022
A Chicken Saved My Life

Ornithologist (bird scientist), poet, and author Drew Lanham was recently awarded the Macarthur Genius Grant—$800,000 with no strings attached. But despite his deep love for birds he almost never studied the creatures at all. As a young man, he won a full-ride scholarship to any school he wanted, only this ...

Episode details / transcript
November 1, 2022
The Lizard Lassoer

*Content warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence that might be disturbing to some listeners.*

Herpetologists do a lot of unique things while studying lizards—cut their toes, pump their stomachs, and capture them by lassoing their necks. That one small word, “lasso,'' wasn't always the word used in the discipline. Herpetologist Earyn ...

Episode details / transcript
October 25, 2022
It’s a Shark-Eat-Shark World

Jasmin Graham loves sharks. I mean, really loves sharks. And she always dreamed of becoming a university professor to encourage other people of color interested in shark science. But then, something happened to Jasmin in grad school that caused her to give up her dream. So what does she do ...

Episode details / transcript
October 18, 2022
Death In The Animal (Caretaker) Kingdom

*Content warning: this conversation contains mentions of animal injuries, death, and the topic of suicide.* 

Veterinarians deal with death so frequently that they have some of the highest suicide rates of any occupation. Dr. Hollis Stewart has worked with many animals – from domesticated pets in New York City and Fez, ...

Episode details / transcript
October 4, 2022
Hyena Is A Swear Word… in Kenya

Hyenas might be the most misunderstood animal – Are they dogs? Big cats? Evil, trouble-making sidekicks? (Thanks, Lion King!) Dr. Christine Wilkinson relates to this ambiguous perception as a bi-racial woman, and especially one working in the fields of science and conservation.

Episode details / transcript
September 27, 2022
Tracking Jaguars With A Toddler

What do you do when you get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study Jaguars in the Panama rainforest but you can’t find childcare? Bring your kid along! In the first episode of season two of Going Wild, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant tells of an expedition searching for an elusive creature in the ...

Episode details / transcript