Shows
The Shape of the WorldThe Secret Lives of Fireflies
“For me, paying attention to the natural world feeds my sense of wonder, and I actually think that’s one of the most important senses that we have–and that it may be underused.”
– Dr. Sara Lewis, Professor Emerita in Biology at Tufts University; Chair of the Firefly Specialist Group in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Biologist Sara Lewis doesn’t just study fireflies—for her, fireflies are a living reminder that the world is pure magic. In this episode, the author of Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies unpacks the science of fir...
2025-06-1933 minThe Shape of the WorldThe Secret Lives of Fireflies
Biologist Sara Lewis doesn’t just study fireflies—for her, fireflies are a living reminder that the world is pure magic. In this episode, the author of Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies unpacks the science of fireflies. These members of the beetle family are one of only a handful of terrestrial creatures capable of generating light. How fireflies glow, why they glow, and how their living conditions and populations are changing—Sara explains all of this and describes the relationship between us and them. Sara uses fireflies to make a case for wonder, which she says is something...
2025-06-1933 min
Sean Donohue ShowOur Inner Life, With Jill Riddell | With JordanJoin Jordan Sean and Jill (Sean's friend) as they take a deep dive into the inner life of everyday adulthood.
Open your ears and your minds as Jordan and Sean ask Jill a bunch of questions and Jill takes us on a journey into our SELVES.
Jillian Riddell is a former teen mom who defied the odds to become a Valedictorian and a certified leading expert in trauma and emergency nursing. She is highly regarded by those who need hope when obstacles seem too great to overcome.
Jillian’s insights have been honored by...
2025-03-041h 02
Start The Full Audiobook Everyone Is Talking About — So Ground-Breaking!The Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes: The Mother Goose Collection (Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose, Bedtime Stories, Children's Classics) by Thomas NelsonPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/805499to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes: The Mother Goose Collection (Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose, Bedtime Stories, Children's Classics)
Author: Thomas Nelson
Narrator: Susie Riddell
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 0 hours 41 minutes
Release date: December 10, 2024
Genres: Ages 5 & Under
Publisher's Summary:
Mother Goose has been charming readers for centuries, and this Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes features many beloved poems as well as some new favorites. Sit with little Miss Muffet on her tuffet, climb the hill with Jack and Jill, and baa with the black sheep in this timeless classic. This...
2024-12-1041 minGet Latest Full Audiobooks in Kids, Ages 5 & UnderThe Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes: The Mother Goose Collection (Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose, Bedtime Stories, Children's Classics) by Thomas NelsonPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/805499to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes: The Mother Goose Collection (Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose, Bedtime Stories, Children's Classics)
Author: Thomas Nelson
Narrator: Susie Riddell
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 0 hours 41 minutes
Release date: December 10, 2024
Genres: Ages 5 & Under
Publisher's Summary:
Mother Goose has been charming readers for centuries, and this Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes features many beloved poems as well as some new favorites. Sit with little Miss Muffet on her tuffet, climb the hill with Jack and Jill, and baa with the black sheep in this timeless classic. This...
2024-12-1041 min
Listen To The Full Audiobook Everyone Is Talking About — So Ground-Breaking!The Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Gina Baek - illustrator, Thomas NelsonPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/112524to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
Author: Gina Baek - illustrator, Thomas Nelson
Narrator: Susie Riddell
Format: mp3
Length: 41 mins
Release date: 12-10-24
Ratings: Not rated yet
Genres: Poetry & Nursery Rhymes
Publisher's Summary:
Mother Goose has been charming audiences for centuries, and this Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes features many beloved poems as well as some new favorites. Sit with little Miss Muffet on her tuffet, climb the hill with Jack and Jill, and baa with the black sheep in this timeless classic. This beautiful collection brings all...
2024-12-1041 minGet Top Full Audiobooks in Kids, Fairy Tales & FolkloreThe Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes: The Mother Goose Collection (Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose, Bedtime Stories, Children's Classics) by Thomas NelsonPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/805499to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes: The Mother Goose Collection (Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose, Bedtime Stories, Children's Classics)
Author: Thomas Nelson
Narrator: Susie Riddell
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 0 hours 41 minutes
Release date: December 10, 2024
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore
Publisher's Summary:
Mother Goose has been charming readers for centuries, and this Classic Treasury of Nursery Rhymes features many beloved poems as well as some new favorites. Sit with little Miss Muffet on her tuffet, climb the hill with Jack and Jill, and baa with the black sheep in this timeless classic...
2024-12-1041 min
Armor Up with Lorayne MichaelsBeyond Stress: Identifying Emotions and Building Resilience with Jillian RiddellHave you ever felt like you were carrying around an invisible "grief case," filled with emotional baggage that impacts your relationships? Join us as we invite Jillian Riddell, the insightful host of the Life Without Secrets podcast, to share her transformative journey from people-pleasing to self-discovery. Growing up as a secret in her father's life, Jillian's past shaped her need for external validation and led her to uncover the profound importance of self-awareness and emotional clarity. Together, we unpack the "grief case" to understand how acknowledging and addressing these emotional burdens is crucial for nurturing successful and meaningful relationships.
2024-08-2444 min
Extraordinary Work: Conversations about Creating ChangeEp. 46 - Are You Aware That the Secrets You Keep Can Be Holding You Back with Jillian RiddellDo you have a secret that you never shared with anyone? How did it feel to harbor that secret so that no one ever noticed that you were hiding something?Meet Jillian Riddell, a young woman who grew up actually being a “secret,” and with this secret came her loneliness and disconnection from the world around her.Jillian’s personal journey has inspired her mission to help others to overcome even the toughest challenges with resilience, grit and having a supportive community by creating her podcast, LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS, where she helps others to share their...
2023-12-1840 min
Pain to Passion LiveS2E12: Life Without Secrets - a Powerful Journey of Healing and Connection with Jillian RiddellJoin us for an inspiring episode of Pain to Passion Live as my friend Jillian Riddell opens up about her transformative personal journey.
From discovering a shocking secret at a young age to overcoming challenges as a teenage mother, Jillian's story is a testament to resilience and the pursuit of healing and self-worth. You will be so inspired as you hear Jill share how she confronted her deepest wounds, embraced therapy, and found healing through authenticity.
In this episode, you will also learn how Jillian's experiences as an ER trauma nurse inspired her to create...
2023-07-0439 min
The Determined Society with Shawn FrenchLife Without Secrets with Jillian RiddellJillian Riddell is a former teen mom who defied the odds to become a Valedictorian and a certified leading expert in trauma and emergency nursing. She is highly regarded by those who need hope when obstacles seem too great to overcome. Jillian's insights have been honored by the Daisy Foundation, and her work has been featured on ABCnews. As a trauma nurse and the host of the Life Without Secrets podcast, Jillian understands our basic human needs to love and belong. She is passionate about helping people feel more connected by diving deep, getting real, and growing...
2023-05-291h 02
Legacy Driven MarriagesNavigating the Ups and Downs of Marriage, with Mike and Jill Riddell – Ep 16In this thought-provoking episode, we dive deep into the often-unspoken challenges faced in marriages, providing valuable insights for building stronger relationships. Join our interview with Michael and Jill Riddell as they share their wisdom and experiences, shedding light on the intricate journey of marriage. Uncovering the impact of unresolved childhood trauma on their relationship, they reveal how personal growth and accountability played a vital role in fortifying their bond.
Through an honest and vulnerable conversation, we bring to light the common obstacles that can strain even the strongest of relationships. Discover the transformative power...
2023-05-161h 04
The Shape of the WorldEpisode 33: Can Listening Be a Political and Moral Act?
“In my work as a teacher and as a citizen and a writer, I try to be on the side of beauty and connection and less on the side of disconnection and brokenness.”
David Haskell is a writer, biologist, and professorat the University of the South in Suwanee, Tennessee.
The world is full of sound. Yet we happen to be a species who, at the moment, is directing most of our attention to our own voices and not so much to the voices of other living things. Biologist David George Haskell says...
2022-12-221h 02The Shape of the WorldEpisode 32: What Should We Fix First?
“If every single person with a little bit of lawn begins to plant native plants, ones that feed native wildlife, collectively we will have the equivalent of the biggest national park in the country.”
Margaret Renkl, contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and author of Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South
(Milkweed Editions, 2021)
Many of us are anxious about everything related to nature and climate—and also worried about a slew of other social and political challenges. But what should we fix first? Author and Ne...
2022-11-1828 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 31: Who Trashed My River?
“There’s a million different potential outcomes for things. Being open to the many various outcomes that can happen helps people make better plans.”
Nick Wesley
Co-Founder of Urban Rivers
Humans started trashing rivers 7,000 years. Since then, century after century, the water quality of many rivers deteriorated. At first, changes occurred slowly. But by the time the Industrial Revolution rolled around, humans’ harsh treatment of rivers and its nasty impacts picked up momentum and it scaled up from a few random rivers to most of Earth’s rivers being affected by pollution...
2022-10-1223 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 31: Who Trashed My River?
Humans started trashing rivers 7,000 years. Since then, century after century, the water quality of many rivers deteriorated. At first, changes occurred slowly. But by the time the Industrial Revolution rolled around, humans’ harsh treatment of rivers and its nasty impacts picked up momentum and it scaled up from a few random rivers to most of Earth’s rivers being affected by pollution.
But recently, some urban rivers are undergoing transformations. Waterways that once were essentially sewers are becoming sanctuaries for wildlife and places people can access. The organization Nick Wesley co-founded, Urban Rivers, is creating The Wild Mile...
2022-10-1223 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 30: Privilege & Inequality in Animals
“We see privilege popping up across the tree of life, not just in humans. When there are these legacies of exclusion within human societies, there needs to be some structural change to be able to address these issues.”
Dr. Jennifer Smith is a behavioral ecologist and an assistant professor of biology at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Guest Jenn Smith says that human concepts of intergenerational wealth and inequality occur also in the behaviors of animals. Privilege itself isn’t new–but it’s novel and shocking to learn that humans aren’t the only spec...
2022-08-0233 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 29: Disruption & Resilience
“Some of the best science that’s done today comes through natural history. It comes through people having their eyes open and being wide open to new ideas.”
Dr. Jane Watson is a professor emeritus of biology at Vancouver Island Institute in British Columbia. Her research focuses on marine ecology and marine mammal biology.
When Jane Watson encountered a ruined meadow of seagrass in the ocean, instead of getting furious, she grew curious. As a marine biologist, Jane knew that hidden in the story of decimated seagrass, there had to be something in the...
2022-07-2525 minThe Shape of the WorldSeason Five Coming SoonSeason Five Will Launch July 2022
New episodes, new guests, new insights about nature and our built environments are coming soon. And more on how we can live together–with nature, with cities and with one another. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app or check back here.
2022-06-2301 min
Ladies Who LondonFulham - Jill Craigie, to be a womanA cinematic trailblazer, Jill Craigie was one of the foremost female directors in the UK, with a unique look at London life. We find out what took her into the film industry, why she was so important, and how a high profile marriage affected her career. Plus we chat to Emily from 'It's Not That Boring' who runs a platform supporting and promoting women in film. You can find her platform at www.itsnotthatboring.comVisit https://www.ladieswholondon.com/post/behind-the-lens-with-jill-craigie for the show notes to each episode.Get in touch!...
2022-04-061h 03
The Shape of the WorldEpisode 28: The Wild CardSarah Cowles encourages radically rethinking the synthetic landscapes found in cities. When welcoming nature to our human cities, do we aim for an...
2021-06-1740 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 28: The Wild Card
“We so finely tune infrastructures to the nth degree but what if we put a little bit extra in there as a kind of wild card? I wish more people could see the potential of setting aside a little bit of surplus.”
Sarah Cowles, Director of Ruderal, a landscape architecture studio in Tbilisi, Georgia
Sarah Cowles encourages radically rethinking the synthetic landscapes found in cities. When welcoming nature to our human cities, do we aim for an artificial remaking of what once was there? Or do we go with the plants that long to g...
2021-06-1740 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 27: The World Is Not Static
“Sometimes you need to be careful to ask the right question because you already have assumptions built in to the questions you’re considering.”
Caitlin Rankin, PhD, RPA
Research Geoarchaeologist
Illinois State Archaeological Survey
Dr. Caitlin Rankin’s research shows that a long-held theory about why an ancient civilization passed out of existence was wrong. Cahokia Mounds in southwestern Illinois was the site of the largest city in North America and at the pinnacle of its population in 1150, was larger than London or Paris. But over two centuries, its population waned.
U...
2021-06-0332 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 27: The World Is Not StaticDr. Caitlin Rankin’s research shows that a long-held theory about why an ancient civilization passed out of existence was wrong. Cahokia Mounds in...
2021-06-0332 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 26: Bees Understand the Concept of Zero
“There are really interesting comparisons we can make between humans and bees, especially considering that we’re separated by over 600 million years of evolution from them. And yet we’re able to do similar things, sometimes in similar ways.”
Scarlett Howard, PhD
Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia
Dr. Scarlett Howard’s research on cognition of honeybees got a lot of media attention when in 2018, she published a paper that showed bees can understand the concept of zero. How Scarlett came to prove this is one of the things...
2021-05-2030 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 26: Bees Understand the Concept of ZeroDr. Scarlett Howard’s research on cognition of honeybees got a lot of media attention when in 2018, she published a paper that showed bees can...
2021-05-2030 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 25: Think Beyond the Possible
“Protecting biodiversity is a scramble, still a daunting task, but it looks like something that’s within our reach. I find that extraordinarily hopeful and encouraging.”
Tony Hiss, Author
Tony Hiss’s new book, “Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth,” lays out both the urgency for and possibility of protecting 50 percent of the Earth’s land by 2050. This will save millions of species and slow climate change. Tony Hiss discusses what this might look like if it were to happen and he also reflects on his own interesting life and trave...
2021-05-1322 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 25: Think Beyond the PossibleTony Hiss’s new book, “Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth,” lays out both the urgency for and possibility of protecting...
2021-05-1322 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 24: Humans Need NatureArchitect Jeanne Gang believes the built environment can promote social justice. Her breakthrough moment was the design of Aqua, a residential tower in Chicago...
2020-08-1443 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 24: Humans Need Nature
“I’ve always thought about not only humans but also the other living things around us as part of our realm, one that we can work with and relate to… Many animals live in social societies, and I believe that we are driven by social relationships. We are animals, and we need to better understand our co-inhabitants on the planet.”
Jeanne Gang is an architect and the founder of Studio Gang, an architectural design firm located in Chicago, Paris, San Francisco and New York.
Jeanne Gang has an explicit intention to make the human bu...
2020-08-1443 minThe Shape of the WorldEPISODE 23: Cutting Through the Noise On Climate: How to Do Something That Matters, Do It Consistently, and Then Move On with Your Life
“It’s impossible for everybody to have an off-the-grid, zero emission existence. We are all going to go about our lives and create emissions. What we say at Tradewater, what we encourage people to do is reduce what you can—by driving less, taking the train when you can, taking a train instead of flying—reduce where you can, and offset the rest.”
Gabe Plotkin is the Chief Operating Officer of Tradewater, a company that improves the environment and creates economic opportunity through the collection, control, and destruction of potent, high impact greenhouse gases.
Climate...
2020-07-2446 minThe Shape of the WorldEPISODE 23: Cutting Through the Noise On Climate: How to Do Something That Matters, Do It Consistently, and Then Move On with Your LifeClimate change is scary. The magnitude of the problem makes it hard for people to commit to direct action to solve it, hoping instead (reasonably but perhaps impractically!) that government will do the work...
2020-07-2446 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 22: The Grace of Going Unseen
“We live in a time and culture that value display and are largely indifferent to the virtues of passing unnoticed. It is time for all of us to reconsider the beauty, elegance and imagination that can come with being unseen.”
Akiko Busch, author of several essay collections, is on the faculty of the MA Design Research program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and is a visiting faculty member at Bennington College..
Akiko Busch is well-known for her writing on design and culture. Her essays continue to touch on t...
2020-05-2725 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 22: The Grace of Going UnseenAkiko Busch is well-known for her writing on design, culture and the natural world. Her essays continue to touch on those subjects although increasingly, it incorporates—or directly addresses—the natural world...
2020-05-2725 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 21: The Coat & the Goat
“American cities in the 19th century were ecologically diverse places, invariably made up of a multitude of domesticated, semidomesticated, and undomesticated species.”
Andrew Robichaud is Assistant Professor of History at Boston University, where he teaches courses in American history.
Andrew Robichaud explores the peculiar coexistence of people and farm animals in America’s cities. In the 1800s, it wasn’t unusual for men wearing top hats and formal attire to stride down tony Manhattan avenues right next to goats and cows. After the Civil War, treatment of domesticated animals and our cultural view of what a...
2020-05-1331 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 21: The Coat & the GoatAndrew Robichaud explores the peculiar coexistence of people and farm animals in America’s cities. In the 1800s, it wasn’t unusual for men wearing top hats and formal attire to stride down tony Manhattan avenues right next to goats and cows...
2020-05-1331 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 20: The Weirdest Way
“Sexual reproduction is sort of an evolutionary mystery.”
Dr. Katy Greenwald is Associate Professor of Biology at Eastern Michigan University and studies conservation genetics of reptiles and amphibians.
Dr. Katy Greenwald has a longstanding interest in puzzling out the success and persistence of North America’s “gene thieves,” the unisexual (all female) Ambystoma salamanders. These salamanders have what is without a doubt the world’s weirdest known form of reproduction. Opportunistic unisexual female salamanders swipe the sperm of males from other species, resulting in offspring with many different genome combinations.
Something thought to be well-u...
2020-05-0626 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 19: Different Kinds of Aliveness
“Drawing is a great way to focus, to really force you to look closely at something. For me, drawing was a way of studying birds, a method. The art and the science are inextricably linked.”
David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of a series of books about birds, birding, and tree identification.
David Sibley started drawing birds at age five and never stopped. Having an ornithologist father and being around his father’s friends, all of whom were also interested in birds, made birdwatching seem an ordinary thing all grown men did. “...
2020-04-2942 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 19: Different Kinds of AlivenessDavid Sibley started drawing birds at age five and never stopped. Having an ornithologist father and being around his father’s friends, all of whom were also interested in birds, made birdwatching seem an ordinary thing all grown men did...
2020-04-2942 minThe Shape of the WorldEPISODE 18: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Change the World
“Thinking like a geologist is about expanding our time frame, not seeing ourselves as the center of the cosmos, learning patience, understanding what lasts and what doesn’t.”
Dr. Marcia Bjornerud is Professor of Geosciences and Environmental Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. She conducts structural geology field research in Norway, New Zealand, arctic Canada, Italy and the Lake Superior region.
Structural geologist Marcia Bjornerud was raised by free-thinking parents who instilled in her a love of books and nature. She’s published many professional papers (read mainly by experts in the field) a...
2020-04-2235 minThe Shape of the WorldEPISODE 18: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Change the WorldStructural geologist Marcia Bjornerud was raised by free-thinking parents who instilled in her a love of books and nature. She’s published many professional papers (read mainly by experts in the field) and two popular books that, in the opinion of this podcast, ought to be read by every inhabitant of our planet...
2020-04-2235 minThe Shape of the WorldEPISODE 17: How To Stay Safe From Coronavirus In The Outdoors
Even though the coronavirus pandemic is keeping 226 million Americans and one third of the world sheltering in place, stepping out for fresh air is still allowed. But what’s safe? How far apart do we need to be when we’re outside? Can the virus survive in wind, rain and sun? The news media is packed with info on how to stay safe inside—but with the help of Dr. Doriane Miller, we present the latest findings on how best to behave outdoors in the midst of a pandemic.
Yes, you can go outside.
Dur...
2020-04-0715 minThe Shape of the WorldEPISODE 17: HOW TO STAY SAFE FROM CORONAVIRUS IN THE OUTDOORSEven though the coronavirus pandemic is keeping 226 million Americans sheltering in place, stepping out for fresh air is still allowed. But what’s safe?
2020-04-0715 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 16: It’s Not All Going the Wrong WayIn Openlands, Jerry Adelmann joined an organization whose interests aligned perfectly with his own: nature, culture, historic preservation, social equity...
2019-06-2221 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 16: It’s Not All Going the Wrong Way
“The formula for a great city is a combination of people and place. Great spaces, great architecture, great institutions are important, but the unique character of a community is also critical: Are the values inclusive? Do people feel welcome? Do they feel part of a bigger whole?”
Gerald W. Adelmann is executive director of Openlands, a 56-year-old regional land conservation organization working in northeastern Illinois and parts of neighboring states. He is chairman of the Center for Humans and Nature and also chairs the City of Chicago Mayor’s Nature and Wildlife Committee. He has been a...
2019-06-2221 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 15: Promiscuity & Polka Dots
“I’ve always been fascinated by animals. That’s part of who I am. I was meant to be a zoologist.”
Dr. Janet Voight is Associate Curator of zoology at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and is a specialist in cephalopod mollusks, especially octopuses.
Janet Voight grew up in Iowa, far from the ocean. Yet as a young adult, she found her way to the study of marine organisms, especially the cephalopods: that strange and wonderful system that includes snails, clams, squids, nautilus, and octopuses. In this episode, we discuss the incr...
2019-06-1530 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 14: Booms & Busts – Natural Cycles That Run the World“As a population ecologist, I’m interested in a lot of different things and it’s all about the questions.”Dr. Jalene LaMontagne is Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at DePaul University, and is an Adjunct Scientist with the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Her research is concentrated on how patterns in plant and animal populations change across landscapes and how they’re impacted by their environments.When Dr. Jalene LaMontagne was growing up, her family moved every three to five years. “I was a military brat,” she says. For a while they lived in Cold Lake...
2019-06-0825 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 14: Booms & Busts – Natural Cycles That Run the World
“As a population ecologist, I’m interested in a lot of different things and it’s all about the questions.”
Dr. Jalene LaMontagne is Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at DePaul University, and is an Adjunct Scientist with the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Her research is concentrated on how patterns in plant and animal populations change across landscapes and how they’re impacted by their environments.
When Dr. Jalene LaMontagne was growing up, her family moved every three to five years. “I was a military brat,” she says. For a while they l...
2019-06-0825 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 13: It’s Not Over Until the Tiny Fish Thinks
“We’ve had to be able to startle—to escape from stimuli—through the whole history of evolutionary time. It’s a really interesting question to figure out how we do that.”
Dr. Melina Hale is the William Rainey Harper Professor in Organismal Biology and Anatomy and the College at The University of Chicago. Melina studies how animals move and how those movements are controlled by the brain. Melina is also a Vice Provost at the university and lives in Hyde Park with her husband, three kids and their dog.
Most scientists study animals whil...
2019-06-0126 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 12: “The Green Mentor”
“The natural world provides children with unending questions.”
Sylvie Anglin is Principal of the Lower School at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Prior to that, she was a classroom teacher at the school for thirteen years.
Sylvie Anglin’s epiphany of how nature can integrate into both the curriculum and character of a classroom occurred the year she co-taught with Carol Brindley, a veteran teacher of first and second graders. Each student was given a flower bulb to plant in a pot indoors. “Every couple of days, the children would measure the growth...
2019-05-1820 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 11: The Warm Glow of Helping
“It’s our biological mammalian inheritance to help. It’s not helping that’s the weird thing.”
Dr. Peggy Mason is a professor of neurobiology at the University of Chicago. After twenty-five years studying the cellular mechanisms of pain modulation, Peggy expanded her lab’s work to focus primarily on the biological basis of empathy and helping. In addition to leading the research laboratory, Peggy is a committed teacher of neurobiology, teaching both formally (at the University) and informally, through her blog and a popular free, online course.
As a child, Peggy Mason was a biology...
2019-05-1130 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 10: When The Girl Frog Sings
“Nowadays, finding more and more examples of this big spectrum of behaviors should be a way to have an open mind about the diversity we can find. Not only among different systems or different species, but within species. Within our own species.”
Johana Goyes Vallejos is an evolutionary behavioral ecologist interested in sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems. She researches mate choice, parental care, natural history and communication in animals, including frogs.
When Johana Goyes Vallejos travelled to Borneo , she discovered that instead of boy frogs making all the noise—which is how...
2019-05-0425 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 9: A Deep Study of Quiet Land
“I am interested in beauty, and I find the landscape beautiful. But I want to make a landscape that’s more layered and complex. For me, that means having multiple kinds of emotions in the landscape, like the simultaneous presence of beauty and melancholy. “
Jin Lee is a Chicago-based photographer whose project centers on forming a deeper relationship to places through close examination of their landscapes and built environments. A Professor of Art at Illinois State University, Jin has received the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and the Illinois Arts Council grant, and has had solo shows...
2019-04-2731 min
The Shape of the WorldEpisode 9: A Deep Study of Quiet LandLike most Chicagoans, Jin enjoyed Lake Michigan in a general way for many years. But because the lake is consistently present—a backdrop to the spectacle of the city—it’s possible for residents to forget the lake is even there.“At some point, I realized I wanted to get to know the lake better, and in order to do that, I needed to photograph it over a long period of time,” Jin says. For some artists, a summer might have sufficed. But part of Jin’s method is to make deep commitments to certain subjects. So, once a week for t...
2019-04-2731 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 8: First We Dream
“You might think when you first arrive in a city that there’s no nature. But it’s here, and it’s very interesting. It’s just fragmented. This century is the century to put things back together.”
Philip Enquist is a consulting partner with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill where he led the urban designpractice for 20 years. He is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects and an Honorary Member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He currently serves as a Governor’s Chair for Energy and Urbanism at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge Natio...
2019-04-2031 minThe Shape of the WorldSeason Two Trailer
Host Jill Riddell explains the what, why and when of Season Two.
2019-04-1501 minThe Shape of the WorldSeason Two TrailerHost Jill Riddell explains the what, why and when of Season Two.
2019-04-1501 minThe Shape of the WorldSeason Two Trailer
Host Jill Riddell explains the what, why and when of Season Two.
2019-04-1501 min
Book Lounge by LibbyEp. #288 -- December's Biggest BooksDecember is right around the corner and Jill and Adam are here with their top picks for next month! Books mentioned in this episode: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield Born to be Posthumous by Mark Dery Pandemic by Robin Cook The Dakota Winters by Tom Barbash Art Matters by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell We are the Nerds by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin The Noma Guide to Fermentation Guide by Rene Redzepi The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone Light Years by Kass Morgan The Disasters by MK En...
2018-11-2933 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 7: The Value of Audacious Thinking
“When you can spark an interest in a kid and get a kid thinking about the environment and things beyond, I find that thrilling.”
Mary Hennen directs the Chicago Peregrine Program and is Assistant Collections Manager at the Field Museum of Natural History.
Zero. When Mary Hennen was growing up, that was the total number of peregrine falcons living anywhere near her home in Chicago. Even in the wilder areas Mary would visit in summer, in Vilas County in northern Wisconsin, no peregrine falcons could be seen anywhere. In fact, in the nineteen sixt...
2018-06-0227 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 6: Women in the Garden
“I’m in awe of plants and their interconnections with the rest of the organisms they live with. They can’t speak for themselves so someone has to speak for them.”
Kayri Havens is Director of plant science and conservation at the Chicago Botanic Garden, where she is also a senior scientist. She holds faculty appointments at Northwestern, Loyola, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The person responsible for Kay Havens’ early interest in interest in science was female: her mother. Together, they collected, studied, and identified shells when Kay was young. But...
2018-05-2619 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 5: One Strange Mountain
“Hands-on experience is the way to learn. It really is.”
Lawrence Heaney is the Negaunee Curator of Mammals at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and is on the faculty of the University of Chicago.
What would you do if you were required to catch something—an animal—that you knew nothing about. In the entire world, there was literally no one you could ask for help, not one person who knew any more than you did. All that was known for certain was that the animal was real, that it existed...
2018-05-1926 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 4: Secret in the Scented Night
“The cool thing that connects the scientific community is we’re all working in our own little ways to advance knowledge and our understanding of the world.”
Krissa Skogen, conservation scientist at the Chicago Botanic Garden and adjunct professor in the program in Plant Biology and Conservation at Northwestern University.
Each weekend when biologist Krissa Skogen was a kid, she went with her family to a lake in western Minnesota. The six of them camped in tents on a small property where there was no cabin, no running water, and not even an outhous...
2018-05-1230 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 3: The Forest of Surprise
“One of the fun things about science is you never get all the answers. Each experiment gives you a new set of questions.”
Greg Mueller is the Negaunee Foundation Vice President of Science at the Chicago Botanic Garden, is on the faculty of the biology department at Northwestern University, and is a research associate at the Field Museum of Natural History.
After first considering life as a musician, Greg Mueller’s professional aspirations took a surprising turn when a college class introduced him to mushrooms in the forests of southern Illinois. He switched his in...
2018-05-0528 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 2: The Elegance of Erasure
“The natural world is an antidepressant.
If you soak it in, you live a better life.”
Peggy Macnamara, professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago & artist in residence at the Field Museum of Natural History.
When Peggy Macnamara was a young mother of five children, she didn’t relinquish her art practice. Each morning she left her house and drove straight to the nearest natural history museum. With sketchpad and color pencils, she would sit for five hours straight in front of finely-made artifacts. Through deep observation and relentless repeti...
2018-04-2825 minThe Shape of the WorldEpisode 1: We All Live In Nature
“Ecological theater is happening all around us.”
Seth Magle is a biologist and the director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
After finishing a dissertation on urban prairie dogs, Seth Magle started looking around at the astonishing number of species of wild animals that choose—for whatever crazy reason—to live right next to us in America’s biggest cities. Why would animals desert the forest and prairie to come live in our concrete jungles? As head of the Urban Wildlife Institute of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, on an ever...
2018-04-2128 minThe Shape of the WorldOne Minute Introduction to “The Shape of the WorldHost Jill Riddell explains the what, why and when of Season One.
2018-04-1701 minThe Shape of the WorldOne Minute Introduction to “The Shape of the WorldHost Jill Riddell explains the what, why and when of Season One.
2018-04-1701 minThe Shape of the WorldOne Minute Introduction to "The Shape of the World
Host Jill Riddell explains the what, why and when of Season One.
2018-04-1701 min