Pulse of the Planet Podcast with Jim Metzner | Science | Nature | Environment | Technology

A favorite program and an important announcement! Please visit our new incarnation on Substack jimmetzner.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the graveyards of New Orleans, Holt Cemetery is exceptional. Here, the dead are actually buried in the ground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A gospel song and a graveyard party: the unique sounds of New Orleans on the Day of the Dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For residents of the upper Xingu region of the Brazilian Amazon, the souls of the dead are at the center of an annual ceremony of dance and song. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kuarup ceremony is cause for reunion among the nine villages which inhabit the upper Xingu region of the Brazilian Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They used to stand on the rooftops of the casinos and watch the mushroom clouds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alice merits two statues in the park, and the caterpillar gets a make-over! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In southeast Asia, religious traditions have long saved animals from extinction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India's revered Ganges River has become increasingly polluted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In memory of primatologist Jane Goodall - a program from our archives: Why is the chimpanzee disappearing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In memory of primatologist Jane Goodall, a program from our archives. "They embrace, they kiss......" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They come in all shapes and sizes, but what are the chances of actually finding a meteorite? (In Memory of Meteorologist Douglas Revelle) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What to do when an island bird refuge gets overgrown with plants? (In memory of ornithologist Helen Hays, 1931 - 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In memory of primatologist Jane Goodall - Throughout her lifelong study of chimpanzees, Jane Goodall made some amazing discoveries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An elaborate Indonesian death ritual takes its cues from the mating habits of the Hornbill bird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes animals remind us we have more in common with them than we think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the trail of the world's most sought-after mushroom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In any forest, there's a complex interdependent web of life underground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A mushroom is the visible part of a much larger organism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yet another reason to have electric cars! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fierce windstorms in the Gobi Desert force scientists to think fast and run faster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These three-ton animals may communicate using sounds below the range of human hearing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A veteran auctioneer explains the intricacies of his craft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Analyzing butter to detect pollutants worldwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A cheap and effective pollution monitoring tool? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They're good for the environment, but what's the best way to find native plants? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This summer, an endangered seabird has found one of its last remaining safe havens on the salt marshes off the coast of New Jersey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fledgling seabirds must the trick of catching fish beneath the surface of the water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bears at Alaska's McNeil River have come to rely on an annual fish feast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over a hundred brown bears in Alaska have learned that every summer, the McNeil River is THE place to catch fish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some remarkable music highlights Siberia's annual Tun Payram festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's something we all can do to help protect local animals and plants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The food millions of people spread on their toast every morning has inspired legends in many cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Churn your own butter at home! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Africa's Serengetti Park, more than a million animals are making their annual trip north, driven by the rains and guided by their own instincts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to making butter, older methods may be better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An old English folk tradition thrives on both sides of the Atlantic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bullfrog's croak promises warm nights to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's behind the summer's most famous flying light show? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A group of women in Botswana offer a lesson in termite cuisine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Silkworm pupae, fried and served with onions, is a popular snack in some parts of China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Insects are an important source of protein for many societies around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ohaloni Rumsin people proudly practice traditions of generations past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A grandmother's story inspires a young boy to seek knowledge and share wisdom about his Indian heritage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Tohono O'odham Native Americans dance to Waila, their traditional social music, the party lasts all night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tohono O'odham Native Americans of southern Arizona believe that everything in the desert - humans, animals and plants - must be treated with reverence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meet the bird with the fastest wings in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I spent a weeks asking friends, relatives and passers-by whether or not their mother ever sang to them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's mating season for sperm whales in the Indian Ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Japanese culture, the blossoming of the Cherry Tree represents an ancient code of honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices