Nature's Archive #120: Just Listen: Amy Martin on the Unheard World Around Us
It was a surprisingly warm late February day. Needing to recharge, I drove to a park near Lincoln, Nebraska. When I arrived, I saw something new on the far side of the reservoir: what looked like massive white and gray boulders, lined up along the length of the dam.
Then, in one astonishing moment, all of these boulders lifted out of the water, taking flight simultaneously by the thousands. My mind couldn't make sense of what I was seeing, and then the sound hit me. It was thousands of snow geese, a deafening cacophony of honking and wing flapping that washed over me, cleansing my stress and reinvigorating my spirit.
Fast forward 20 years to today. Anytime I see snow geese take flight, I instinctively replay this experience, renewing me yet again.
And I have so many of these lived experiences. It’s the magic of sound.
Today's guest, Amy Martin, is the creator of the incredible Threshold podcast. The current season, Hark!, is an immersive experience all about listening to the natural world. As the podcast website says, "In this season of Threshold, we investigate what it means to listen to the nonhuman voices on our planet—and the cost if we don't."
Today, we'll dive into some of the highlights of the Hark season - ranging from dolphins to tree hopper insects. And we’ll explore how listening is a deeply personal and distinct experience for everyone.
I’m incredibly excited to share this episode with you today.
You can find the Peabody award winning Threshold podcast on any podcasting app or at thresholdpodcast.org. You can also follow @thresholdpodcast on instagram, Facebook, YouTube - and Amy on her Substack called Letters to Earthlings.
FULL SHOW NOTES (with pictures!)
Links
Find Threshold Podcast at thresholdpodcast.org and follow @thresholdpodcast on instagram
Letters to Earthlings - Amy's Substack newsletter
Rex Cocroft - the Treehopper acoustics researcher
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com
Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!