Wild Thing is a long-form, narrative podcast about the obsessions that capture our imaginations. This sound-rich and deeply reported show examines the relationship between science and society—that point where scientific inquiry collides with our very human desire to find answers, even when there are none. Whether it's seeking out Sasquatch, looking skyward for extraterrestrial life, or probing the power of the atom, exploring the unknown helps us better understand ourselves. Every season, host Laura Krantz tackles a brand new topic, so be sure to start with the first episode for each one.
This week, we're sharing an episode of AAA's Via podcast, in which Laura spoke to them about Bigfoot. Via is kind of the ultimate road trip podcast and their new season explores the Western United States. And in this episode, we talked about Sasquatch — the legends, the science, and the places where people might try their luck at finding everyone's favorite forest-dwelling hominid. Proof may be elusive, but in its place you’ll find mythology, anthropology, pop culture—and the knowledge that sometimes unsolved mysteries are the best kind. You can listen to more episodes of Via at aaaviapodcast.com
A faulty reactor overheats, melting through its containment unit and poisoning a nearby town with radioactive gas. A spacecraft pushes further into deep space, exploring new galaxies, powered by a small nuclear reactor. An ordinary scientist is struck by cosmic rays—and finds he has new powers. Fiction? Or fact? Or a little of both? Stories of nuclear peril and promise permeate American media, and especially comic books. In this bonus episode, we explore atomic comics and why nuclear ideas captured artists’ imaginations. *Season 3 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lincoln. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks. *Find us on social media - @wildthingpod - and on our website https://wildthingpodcast.com/
Earthlings are fascinated by our nearest neighbor. In recent years, we've sent probes and talked seriously about sending people. But even a century ago, we were crazy about the Red Planet and the Martians we thought lived there. In this interview with author David Baron—recorded live at the Mountain Words Literary Festival—we'll learn all about the history of Mars madness. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
When we imagine life on other planets, it's often the stuff of science fiction. But in his book, zoologist Arik Kershenbaum makes the case for why what we already know about animals on Earth could reveal what aliens might be like, too. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
Seth Shostak is the chief astronomer at the SETI Institute and we’ll hear from him about SETI's mission: how they’re looking, what they're looking for, and how they think about the search. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
Rob Swiatek introduces us to MUFON—the Mutual UFO Network—whose mission is to collect reports of and investigate UFO sightings all over the US and the world. Swiatek has been with MUFON for decades and explains how the organization works and what they're looking for. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
Silvano Colombano, a long-time NASA scientist, argues that the search for extraterrestrial life makes some erroneous assumptions. We talk to him about what those assumptions are, why they might be wrong, and how we might think differently about the search. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
UFOs, aliens, other-worldly beings—all have appeared in art over the centuries (including, possibly, in Renaissance-era paintings). But some of the most recent depictions appear in the works of Frank Buffalo Hyde, an Onondaga artist who uses UFOs to talk about tribal histories and lore. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
While we hypothesized about exoplanets for years, it wasn't until recently that we could confirm their existence. Astrophysicist and MIT professor Sara Seager has been at the leading edge of the search for exoplanets. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
2020 - already not a great year - was made worse for astronomers when the Arecibo Telescope collapsed in Puerto Rico. Abel Mendez, an astronomer who grew up in the telescope's shadow, talks about the importance of Arecibo and what future plans may bring. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
David Anderson likes the idea of aliens but he’s not a big fan of the TV show Ancient Aliens. The archeologist has real problems with how the show portrays his chosen field and diminishes human achievements. But, he says, while the show is misguided, he also understands why these ideas about “pseudoarchaeology” are so appealing. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
Sarah Stewart Johnson is a planetary scientist who has worked on several Mars missions and is also the author of Sirens of Mars . She talks to us about the latest mission to the Red Planet—the Perseverance rover—and why our closest neighbor holds such fascination for Earthlings. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson gives his perspective on the rare earth hypothesis, the difficulty of wrapping one's head around the universe, and the problem with movie aliens. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Joe Scott, (host of the popular YouTube series Answers With Joe) and I discuss panspermia, whether octopuses are aliens, and the rare earth hypothesis. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
In September 2020, just days before this podcast launched, scientists announced that they might have found evidence for life on Venus... or at least in Venus's atmosphere. We talk to Clara Sousa-Silva—one of the scientists involved—about their findings, what life on Venus might be like, and what the next steps might be. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.
In Ep. 2 of Wild Thing , I mentioned that people went crazy about the gorilla. They even wrote songs about it. But I couldn’t find the music, so I couldn’t play the tune… until now. In a special bonus letters segment, a musical performance from a Wild Thing fan, as well as some of your stories and letters. *Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.
**THIS EPISODE CONTAINS EXPLICIT MATERIAL** We talk to Virginia Wade, author of a series of Bigfoot erotica books, about the saucier side of Sasquatch. *Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.
We hear from William Dear—director of "Harry & the Hendersons"—about how he tried to capture the magic of Bigfoot on the big screen. *Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.
On September 10, 2025, Jeff Meldrum passed away after a battle with brain cancer. I interviewed him multiple times for the first season of Wild Thing and he was incredibly generous with his time and extremely patient in answering my questions about Bigfoot. In memory of him, I’ve excerpted a section from one of our interviews, at a 2017 conference held in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin film. *Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.
Hear an extended conversation with Bob Gimlin, half of the famous duo that shot the Patterson-Gimlin film back in 1967. *Season 1 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz, Scott Carney, and Kelsey Ray. Editing by Alisa Barba. Music and mixing by Ramtin Arablouei.
