This time on the show it's another edition of Ask Sam, where Sam answers listener questions about the natural world. This time, questions about hugging trees, bumpy roads, objects stuck on power lines, and epic hummingbird battles.
Plus, from our semi-regular series 10X10, we head under the ice of a frozen lake. In this piece, we give the down low on bizarre properties of water, fish that thrive in a capped-off environment, and long beards of algae clinging to the underside of a secret ecosystem few have ever explored.
Ask Sam: Do Hummingbirds Sleep & Other Questions
Sam Evans-Brown
A special edition of Ask Sam, featuring guests Maddie Sofia, host of NPR's Short Wave, and Kendra Pierre-Louis, climate journalist with Gimlet's How to Save a Planet.
If you’ve got a question for our Ask Sam hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837). Don’t forget to leave a number so we can call you back.
Voices in this episode also include Ferris Jabr, Stephen Morris, Greg Bruton, and Anusha Shankar.
10X10: Under The Ice
Sam Evans-Brown & Taylor Quimby
In our series 10X10, we examine places that might not seem all that interesting... places like your typical frozen pond. Sure, on the surface it's a wind-swept desert of crunchy snow and frigid temperatures, but drill a few inches down though, and you'll discover a world turned upside-down.
Featuring Clay Groves of the Fish Nerds podcast, Ted Ozersky of the University of Madison-Wisconsin, Sapna Sharma of York University, and sound artist Cheryl Leonard.
