Shows
Sound EscapesOur Solar-Powered JukeboxIn the season finale of Sound Escapes, acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton takes us on a whirlwind tour of nearly every habitat on the planet. From tropical forests to deserts to wetlands, you'll hear what the Earth truly is: music spinning in an otherwise silent space. Thank you for joining us on this sonic journey. We hope each episode brought you a sense of peace during these troubled times, and that you have tapped into your natural ability to listen deeply.And now, let’s listen to the music of the Earth. Connec...
2021-11-171h 03Sound EscapesMark Twain's Limpid Brook“By modern standards, Mark Twain was really a switched-on listener,” says our Sound Escapes host, Gordon Hempton. “He brilliantly used sound in the crafting of his novels. Birds would sing at the right time of day and in the right situations. He would use thunderstorms to mark the locations of Jim and Huck's journey down the Mississippi.” In this episode of Sound Escapes, we’ll explore what made Mark Twain such an astute listener. Gordon was particularly inspired by a passage in Twain’s autobiography, in which he describes "a limpid brook" on his Uncle Quarles’ farm near the town of...
2021-11-1725 minSound EscapesSong of the PaddleAfter a long winter in northern Minnesota, everything seems to awaken at once. From the songs of migratory birds to the croaks of frogs and toads, we can witness a wonderful rejuvenation.In this episode of Sound Escapes, paddle a canoe through Voyageurs National Park alongside Gordon Hempton, the Sound Tracker. We'll hear the hauntingly beautiful duet of a pair of Common Loons — and learn why Gordon refers to cold water lakes as “magic amphitheaters.” ID the birds in this episode: Song of the Paddle Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Fa...
2021-11-1727 minSound EscapesThe Poetics of SpaceThis week’s episode of Sound Escapes takes us to Pipestone Canyon in Eastern Washington, where you can hear a ridgetop wind come from a mile away. Here, you can not only listen to coyotes in the distance, but also how the coyote waves as it passes through the canyon: a form of dimensional information that Gordon Hempton calls, “The poetics of space.” ID the birds in this episode: The Poetics of Space Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to receive BirdNote's weekly newsletterBirdN...
2021-11-1729 minSound EscapesKalahari SunriseIn this week’s episode of Sound Escapes, experience dawn in the Kalahari Desert as the sun rises over the sandy savannah of southern Africa. It’s nearly level at this part of the Kalahari Desert. The trees are widely spaced. There’s almost no available water. You cannot see very far — the heat itself ripples the horizon. "It's a place that's hard for me to imagine any animal being at home," says Gordon Hempton. "But of course they certainly sound like they are." ID the birds in this episode: Kalahari Sunrise Bird List ...
2021-11-1725 minSound EscapesJohn Muir's Yosemite“Water makes every sound imaginable and occupies every frequency audible to the human ear and certainly spans the dynamic range from the faintest sound to near distortion,” says Gordon Hempton, the Sound Tracker.The writings of John Muir can guide our ears, as we listen to the water music: “The deep bass tones of the fall, the clashing ringing spray an infinite variety of small, low tones of the current gliding past the side of the Boulder Island and glinting against a thousand smaller stones down the Ferny channel.”In this episode of Sound Escapes, walk in...
2021-11-1728 minSound EscapesAmazon AwakeningsThe world's first wilderness quiet park was certified at Ecuador's Zabalo River in 2019.In this episode of Sound Escapes, you'll hear sounds recorded by Gordon Hempton, the Sound Tracker, at Zabalo River Wilderness Quiet Park — deep inside the Amazon.Gordon calls this place a living Eden. "And when we listen there, we listen for miles. Not city blocks. We listen for miles." ID the birds in this episode: Amazon Awakenings Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to receive BirdNote's weekly newsletter
2021-11-1729 minSound EscapesSongs of Spring"Olympic National Park has taught me that it's possible to not only love a place, but love a place deeply at first listen," says Gordon Hempton. "And spring is when Olympic is at its most musical."Delight in the sounds of Pacific Chorus Frogs, the Varied Thrush, grouse, and many more. ID the birds in this episode: Songs of Spring Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to receive BirdNote's weekly newsletterBirdNote is an independent nonprofit media production company. Your do...
2021-11-1731 minSound EscapesNightfall on the ZabaloToday we’re visiting the Zabalo River in Ecuador. It’s a completely undisturbed ecosystem, where all the creatures we hear are all native to the land, and have coexisted and continued to evolve together for thousands of years. No animal is stepping on the communications of another animal. No two birds sound alike. View this episode's Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to receive BirdNote's weekly newsletterBirdNote is an independent nonprofit media production company. Your dollars make it possible to create so...
2021-11-1729 minSound EscapesCold Lake AmphitheaterA great place to listen to insects — and birds — is a remote mountain lake in the spring. The surrounding mountians and properties of the cold water make these lakes some of nature's great concert halls. Gordon Hempton, an acoustic ecologist and sonic guide for the this series, recorded the sounds of this lake in Washington’s Methow Valley. The air is so clear of noise you’ll actually be able to hear the tiny splashes of lake trout gobbling up insects from just below the surface. Now let's sit back, relax, and listen the natural concert. View thi...
2021-11-1725 minSound EscapesRiot of MusicThe young Samuel Langhorne Clemens - later known as Mark Twain - signed on to train as a pilot on a Mississippi riverboat when he was just 22. He quickly discovered that if he volunteered for the early morning shift, he could experience one of the most incredible musical shows there is. View this episode's Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to receive BirdNote's weekly newsletterBirdNote is an independent nonprofit media production company. Your dollars make it possible to create sound-rich shows t...
2021-11-1726 minSound EscapesLand Between the LakesLand Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is a massive inland peninsula, bordered by sections of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers that were permanently flooded as a part of FDR’s New Deal.Humans changed this landscape, but now birds have claimed it - and they are flourishing. View this episode's Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to receive BirdNote's weekly newsletterBirdNote is an independent nonprofit media production company. Your dollars make it possible to create sound-rich shows that conn...
2021-11-1726 minSound EscapesThe Auditory HorizonToday we head to Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan, just a few miles north of the Canada/US border. We'll hear a prairie dawn chorus — complete with coyotes. Today he’s taking us to Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park, just a few miles north of the Canada/US border. As you’re listening, close your eyes and envision how all of these voices fit together — how each one is settled into just the right place on the spectrum. View this episode's Bird List Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to...
2021-11-1725 minSound EscapesThe Song of the Big IslandTake a carbon-free journey to Hawaii in the second episode of Sound Escapes. The Song of the Big Island takes us from the waves on the beach to deep within the Hawaiian rainforest. View this episode's Bird ListBirdNote is an independent nonprofit media production company. Your dollars make it possible to create sound-rich shows that connect you to the joys of birds and nature. Support BirdNote’s conservation mission, and get more of the content you love, by subscribing to BirdNote+ at https://birdnote.supercast.tech or make a one-time gift at...
2021-11-1729 minSound EscapesRelearn the Art of ListeningGordon Hempton has spent his life recording the sounds of the natural world, from the rainforest of Hawai’i to the vast dry prairies of North America.Then, one morning, he woke up to silence.Ever since his first sudden encounter with hearing loss, Gordon has made it his mission to share the art oftruly listening. He believes that in our noisy, busy world we’ve forgotten how to hear. With Sound Escapes, we teach you how to listen with new ears. Connect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up t...
2021-11-1727 min
Here Be MonstersHBM143: Laughing Rats and Dawn RitualsAnimals sometimes make noises that would be impossible to place without context. In this episode: three types of animal vocalizations—described by the people who recorded them. Ashley Ahearn: Journalist and producer of Grouse, from Birdnote and Boise State Public RadioJoel Balsam: Journalist and producer of the upcoming podcast Parallel Lives. Joel co-created a photo essay for ESPN about the “pororoca”, an Amazonian wave chased each year by surfers. Kevin Coffey, Ph.D.: Co-creator of DeepSqueak and researcher at VA Puget Sound and the University of Washington. Kevin co-authored the paper DeepSqueak: a deep lear...
2021-03-1725 minHere Be MonstersHBM143: Laughing Rats and Dawn RitualsAnimals sometimes make noises that would be impossible to place without context. In this episode: three types of animal vocalizations—described by the people who recorded them. Ashley Ahearn: Journalist and producer of Grouse, from Birdnote and Boise State Public RadioJoel Balsam: Journalist and producer of the upcoming podcast Parallel Lives. Joel co-created a photo essay for ESPN about the “pororoca”, an Amazonian wave chased each year by surfers. Kevin Coffey, Ph.D.: Co-creator of DeepSqueak and researcher at VA Puget Sound and the University of Washington. Kevin co-authored the paper DeepSqueak: a deep lear...
2021-03-1725 min
The American Birding Podcast04-33: Sage-Grouse Politics and the American West with Ashley AhearnThe Greater Sage-Grouse is one of the more bizarre birds in North America and frequently a flashpoint for conservation and land management concerns in the American west. Ashley Ahearn is a public radio and podcast journalist who put herself in the middle of that conflict to create Grouse, an audio series produced by BirdNote and available at all the usual podcast places. She joins host Nate Swick to talk about sage-grouse politics and what it says about the environmental issues we face in the 21st Century. Also, check out Jason Ward on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!...
2020-10-1531 min
BirdNote PresentsGrouse: Oil and GasWestern Wyoming is home to many sage-grouse mating and nesting sites. And, in recent years, it’s also become a hub of oil and gas extraction. Matt Holloran knows this all too well. He did his PhD - back in 2000 - on sage-grouse and how natural gas drilling affects them, and has been studying the birds ever since. Ashley Ahearn heads to oil and gas country to visit a lek with Matt Holloran, and interview Paul Ulrich, VP of Jonah Energy, who says there’s “more work to be done” and it will involve bringing people together to look for shar...
2020-10-1319 min
BirdNote PresentsGrouse: Fire and the Questions It RaisesCaleb McAdoo is a biologist with Nevada Fish and Game. He’s lived in sagebrush country his whole life — he loves this landscape — and now, he’s watching it disappear before his very eyes as cheatgrass and wildfire take over. In this episode of Grouse, join Ashley Ahearn for a trip to the vanishing sagebrush sea in Nevada — and find out what fire means for the Greater Sage-Grouse.
2020-09-2218 min
BirdNote PresentsGrouse: In Search of the Bird, Through TimeMike Schroeder has been studying sage-grouse in Washington state — where the population is declining — since the 1980s. Mike takes Grouse host Ashley Ahearn on a journey to find this troubled bird and explore some scientific and cultural lore surrounding it, from American Indians to Lewis and Clark to Roosevelt. Will they find any sage-grouse today? Why is this bird in so much trouble? Should anyone care?
2020-09-1517 min
BirdNote PresentsGrouse: Stranger in a Strange LandGrouse series host Ashley Ahearn burns out on the urban rat race, leaves her job at a top NPR member station, and moves to 20 acres of sagebrush in rural Washington state. She discovers the Greater Sage-Grouse, a bird that is native to the land where she now lives — and fits in a whole lot better than she does. What is a sage-grouse, and why does everyone get so worked up about this bird?
2020-09-1517 min
BirdNote PresentsIntroducing GrouseThe Greater Sage-Grouse has eclipsed the Spotted Owl as perhaps the most controversial North American bird in the 21st century. These strange, wonderful birds live exclusively in the sagebrush steppe of the intermountain west. But they are in decline and protecting them has sparked fights between stakeholders across the region. Host Ashley Ahearn is a newcomer to sagebrush country, and she uses her personal journey — as an outsider trying to understand rural life — to serve as the proxy for listeners. She went from filing news stories on deadline to herding cows on horseback — and she talks about it in the sh...
2020-08-3101 min
BirdNote PresentsA Conversation with J. Drew LanhamBirdNote host Ashley Ahearn recently sat down with Dr. J. Drew Lanham at the University of Washington College of the Environment Symposium on Nature and Health. The conversation wove through Dr. Lanham’s poetry, readings from his memoir, and his thoughts about faith, climate change, the loss of birds, and the ways we can work together to confront systemic racism. “What I’ve learned from all the years of looking for birds in far-flung places and expecting the worst from people is that my assumptions, more times than not, are unfounded," says Dr. Lanham. "These nature-seeking souls are mo...
2019-11-1937 min