George Lucas and Steven Spielberg talk about Normal Rockwell

I co-produced a podcast for the Smithsonian American Art Museum featuring works of Norman Rockwell in the private collections of two of the greatest moviemakers of our time: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Once you’re on the Smithsonian webpage (by clicking here), be sure to find the link to the podcast.

Thunnus thynnus

What’s it like to be eyeball to eyeball with a fish the size of a Volkswagen? Learn about tagging Atlantic bluefin tuna and how those tags are revealing surprises that might help save the fish from their own popularity in sushi restaurants. It’s just one of the episodes of our audio series for the Encyclopedia of Life.

An Adélie exit

Thirty-five years ago, Antarctica was filled with the roar of thousands and thousands of Adélie penguins, but today things are eerily quiet. Dr. Bill Fraser, who has watched over and studied the Adélie penguins in Antarctica for decades, views their decline as a personal loss. You can listen to the audio at this post, and watch the visuals by clicking here.

This piece is 1 of 4 audio slideshows describing how the life and ice of Antarctica are dealing with climate change. Find the others here.

Dinoflagella

Here’s a story about dinoflagellates told via “music from the bottom of the food chain.” We teamed up with fellow science contributor Josh Kurz and musician Shane Winter over at Higher Mammals to create this podcast for the Encyclopedia of Life about the billions of these microscopic creatures in every bucket of the salty sea.

SoniCambridge!

If you could understand one thing about how the world works, what would it be? Two radio producers (Emily Corwin and Pien Huang) and I asked school kids what they want to know — and then we took those questions to some of the brightest scientists in Cambridge. We even reversed the roles where the scientists asked the questions and the kids provided the answers!

Our piece aired on The Neighborhood in Boston on WMBR 88.1 FM.

This is an event for the Cambridge Science Festival.

Raptor rapture in Beijing

Birds of prey – owls, vultures, eagles – still streak the skies over Beijing, China, but their numbers are dwindling. I have a story airing on The World today about these raptors and the people who care about them. Tune in about 20 minutes into the hour. Click here for station listings.

Little coral cities

Coral reefs are bustling cities of marine life, until rising ocean temperatures turn them into ghost towns. Can reefs spring back from devastating bleaching events? A researcher from the New England Aquarium has journeyed a long way to find out. Listen to this latest podcast from the Encyclopedia of Life to learn more.

Science literacy, California style

I spent this last week participating in the Science Literacy Workshop in Berekely, California. It featured presentations from scientists across numerous disciplines; and radio producers and reporters from a variety of programs. I learned lots about the craft of science storytelling and the content of cutting-edge research. The other 11 participants were just great. Thanks to Sound Vision Productions for organizing such a productive, invigorating, and energizing week!

‘Higher halal’ aired yesterday on Marketplace

My next piece aired on Marketplace on Tuesday evening! It’s about 2 young business-owners — one Muslim and one Jewish — who are raising the ethical standards of halal and kosher food.

Read about the story on the blog ‘The Jew & the Carrot’, and click here to listen to host Kai Ryssdal explain how this piece elicited “maybe the best listener letter we’ve ever gotten”!

Heads up from China

I’m spending 2 weeks in China, and I’m in the middle of my stay here! The first week was devoted to exploring what connecting ocean scientists and graduate students with the greater public here in China. You can read more on our blog here.

This week I’m working on a couple of stories for The World, which I’ll put together upon my return.

We visited the Great Wall on our first day here. A young Chinese man came up to me to take his photo with me. I told him “wo Ari,” thinking it meant “I’m Ari.” But he said: “I love you!” Apparently “wo ani” means “I love you.” Now I know to say “wo jiao Ari.” Ah, well!