The Natural Curiosity Project

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

This collection of recordings accompanies the text of "Capturing Wildlife Sound: A Useful Guide."

Two lessons from the Age of Corona: now that we are becoming increasingly virtual in our dealings with others, here are some thoughts on ways to do it well--and to take advantage of the virtual environment's characteristics. And, some thoughts on what to do during this economic slowdown to actually get value from the downtime, both personally and professionally.

Actor and essayist (and good friend) Bob Verlaque joins the Natural Curiosity Project to share an essay he wrote on Earth Day, 2020, as the world is caught in the grips of both a global pandemic and a period of inexorable warming. HIs message is both heartwarming and challenging. Please listen--I hope you enjoy it.

For 400 years, the Georges Bank in the North Atlantic was sustainably fished by numerous countries, and the fishing stocks remained healthy. But in the mid-20th century, something happened, and fish stocks plummeted. What a story of human greed and hubris--and a great example of the phenomenon known as "The Tragedy of the Commons."

As we all adjust to life in this weird new world of stay-at-home, maintain social distance, wave at your neighbors, and so on, one of the things that we’re all having to adjust to, as well, is the growing use of digital collaboration and communication tools. They’ve been around for a long time, and we’ve all engaged with them to one degree or another, but with the increasingly urgent need to maintain physical, personal distance, and the equally important need for businesses to continue to operate as best they can, one of the things I’m getting lots of questions about is just how to use these tools most effectively. I answer them here.

A handful of unrelated stories that get at the heart of natural curiosity. Don't look for a theme here (OK, much of one); just look for good storytelling.

Just a few thoughts on dealing with the angst from the Corona virus--and how it relates to an experience I once had in the data center. You'll enjoy this--some great food for thought here.

Plants are remarkably adaptive organisms that have mastered the ability to travel. In this episode, we start with the lowly tumbleweed, and then move on to other remarkable botanical voyagers.

Some of the most important inventions were, in fact, accidents. The scientific method is alive and well, and we're all thankful for it. But sometimes, it leads us in some unexpected directions. This episode explores some of these unexpected twists and turns.

This is a departure from my usual material. As I write this, the uncertainty and fear over the spread of the corona virus is taking root. But remember, our children take their cues from us--if we're scared, so are they. This story is a selection from a book of children's stories that I'm working on at the moment. I thought it might be a nice gift to everyone out there who has kids, a little escape from reality--and hey, even you adults might appreciate it! Let me know what you think. Don't let this pandemic define us: let's show our kids what good people and kindness look like.

Photographers view the world through a variety of lenses—normal, telephoto, zoom, wide angle, and tilt-shift, each of which gives the artist a very different perspective on the same subject. It’s amazing how our human perspective changes when we look at the same subject matter through different lenses—an important lesson for all of us.

In this episode, we chat with Lang Elliott, one of the world’s gifted soundscape recordists who bills himself as equal parts a naturalist, author, speaker, poet, recordist, sound producer, photographer, cinematographer, and moviemaker. He explains his technique, how he developed his craft, and introduces us to his new app, Pure Nature 3D Soundscapes, available on the Apple Apps Store.

The voices of nature are an important indicator of the health and welfare of the natural world. Right now, our stewardship is lacking, as evidenced by the relative health of the earth's ecosystem. In this episode we talk about a few things that we can do to make inroads in this all-important responsibility, and we introduce Lang Elliott, a soundscape recordist who makes it his life mission to record the soundscapes that provide the natural music of planet earth.

The Nine Million Club (Repost) by Dr. Steven Shepard

Ever wonder what all those credits and titles actually mean when you watch a movie? In this episode, we chat with my friend Robert Verlaque, a celebrated actor who also understands the movie and TV business from an academic perspective. Listen and enjoy--now you'll finally know what a gaffer does!

In this second track, Davyd Betchkal, Senior Bioacoustician at Denali National Park, speaks about the need to balance preservation and conservation.

In this first of a two-episode interview with Davyd Betchkal, Senior Bioacoustician at Denali National Park in Alaska, Davyd talks with us about his job with the National Parks Service and his commitment to preserving the wildness of his home state.

Richard Nelson, anthropologist, naturalist, sound recordist, lover of the natural world, and friend, died last week. This is my remembrance of him.

Ixtoluca is the only term I have ever searched for on Google that returned precisely zero hits--that's right, none. The name refers to a structure built by Cortez, south of Mexico City, in the early 16th century, as a place to process silver. Today, it's a little-known ruin that is one of the most spectacular, eerie, and beautiful places I've ever stumbled upon.

An interview with Essex County, Massachussetts-based Sound Recordist Phil Brown. The introduction and closing sounds are from his impressive collection.

A few minutes of escape from the mundane...a soundscape recorded at the peeper pond on our friends' property in northern Vermont. Sit back and relax...it's something we don't do often enough.

Dr. Lynda Ulrich is a dentist in the small town of St. Albans, Vermont. She is also the founder of Ever-Widening Circles, An online resource for interesting knowledge nuggets, insights, and just plain good news. In this episode, host Steve Shepard interviews Dr. Ulrich.

What would it be like if we harvested avian and terrestrial species the same way we do marine life? It might surprise you--have a listen, and think about it.

A few clips from my many conversations with taxi drivers (and a few others) while traveling. They're the heart and soul of our country--of ANY country--and they're immigrants, all.

An homage to the voices for the natural world who inspire us to be better: Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, EO Wilson, and Sir David Attenborough.

Have you ever thought about becoming a commercial diver? You know, the ones that wear those helmets and all that cool gear and dive to incredible depths? In this episode, we talk about what it's like--and what you have to know to do it well.

If you’re thinking about taking a SCUBA class, you’ll have to know a little bit about the science behind it before you can do it safely. As a former diving instructor and commercial diver, I can tell you that, yes, there are some hazards involved in diving, but if you take a course, you understand the physics behind the journey from above the surface to below it, and you practice the techniques, you’ll have the time of your life. In this first of a two-part series, we talk about sport diving; in part two, we talk about the commercial side of diving.

Computer and network security are topics that have never been more in the news than they are today. On the one hand, we all want to be connected, to have access to other people and information, to be part of the globally connected planet. On the other hand, every connection, every facet of online presence is a potential attack point through which hackers can gain access to personal data. The good news is that there are common sense things that everyone can do to protect ourselves—but we have to actually DO them to be safe. In this episode, Computer and Network Security Specialist Joe Plunkett walks us through the best practices for safe connectivity.

Some of the best advertising campaigns ever done were somewhat accidental. This is one of the best I can think of. Enjoy--a story from the early 20th century.

In 1971, my custom, hand-built Spanish guitar was destroyed by a baggage claim belt in Dallas. The man who rebuilt it is one of the best examples of passion and curiosity I know. But there’s a lot more to this guy than meets the eye. I could ask the question, how did an engineer become a guitar repair guy? Even that’s only half of the story. You’ll enjoy this one.

Language, they say, is the window into the soul of a country or a culture. Based on what we talk about in this episode, souls and cultures must be pretty funny places.

Sometimes, looking at something from different perspectives can change the way we think about it. In this episode, we look at the origins of genetics, a little botany, and ultimately, turn our attention to genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs. Things are not always what they seem.

This is the third Podcast in a series of three about one of the technology ecosystems that’s profoundly changing the world. In our first episode of the series, we talked about the technologies that live in this ecosystem: The Internet of Things, Big Data, Analytics, Cloud, machine-to-machine communications, and artificial intelligence. In the second episode, we looked at one application of this ecosystem that’s truly planet-changing: the protection of fresh water. In this third and final episode, we’re going to talk with a few people who have deep insights into the advantages and challenges that new technologies bring to the table.

1968: What a culturally iconic period in America. On the one hand, the Summer of Love, the Monterey Pop Festival, and the Civil Rights Law of 1968 were happening, and the astronauts of Apollo 8 saw the far side of the moon for the first time. But dark things were happening, as well: Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy fell to assassins, riots fractured the country, Vietnam was in full swing, and young people began to question the old school thinking that ran the country. A great migration began, as thousands of people headed west to California. One of them was Jim Driscoll, a musician intent on becoming a rock star. He had no money, so planes, trains, and buses were out; they were too expensive. And he had no driver’s license, so he couldn’t drive west. His only option? The Gray Rabbit. And that’s where our story begins.

A high-speed train designed in the shape of a kingfisher. Paint colors based on hummingbird feathers. Water purification systems designed by a beetle. Photosynthesis that creates plastic. All these and more are real--we're actually doing these things--because we're paying attention to nature.