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  • The GPS collar kept pinging for hours after Cecil vanished

    The GPS collar kept pinging for hours after Cecil vanished
    2026/10/30
    A GPS collar pinged as Cecil left Hwange National Park, then fell silent with the device abandoned kilometers off course - how did that happen?

    The GPS collar kept pinging for hours after Cecil vanished

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline and evidence around a famous lion’s final movements and the GPS data that tracked him. We trace the collar’s signals, the park boundaries, and the legal questions that followed, and ask what those pings reveal about where responsibility begins and ends.

    Person: Cecil
    Location: Hwange National Park, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe
    Date: July 2015
    Organization: Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU)
    Case: Criminal charge of failing to prevent an illegal hunt against guide Theo Bronkhorst

    - The collar transmitted coordinates every two hours and suddenly stopped after Cecil left the park.
    - Researchers located the GPS collar lying in the open bush, kilometers away from where Cecil’s movements had last placed him.
    - WildCRU had been tracking Cecil for years as part of a 62-lion study that logged range, kills, and survival.
    - Of 34 recorded lion deaths in the study, 24 were caused by legal, fee-paying sport hunting on private land.
    - Zimbabwe’s hunting system depends on clear boundaries and permits, and investigators questioned whether those lines were crossed on the night Cecil disappeared.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分
  • Eighty‑seven bullets stopped an elephant on Honolulu's streets

    Eighty‑seven bullets stopped an elephant on Honolulu's streets
    2026/10/29
    A four‑ton circus elephant runs wild through Kakaʻako as a camera rolls-how did permits, performances, and a history of abuse let this happen?

    Eighty‑seven bullets stopped an elephant on Honolulu's streets

    In this episode, we lay out the scene and the documented history behind an elephant who ran through Honolulu streets in 1994 while bystanders scattered and a camera kept rolling. The episode traces the animal’s life in the American circus circuit, the incidents and records that preceded that August afternoon, and the institutional decisions that allowed the performances to continue - what does that record reveal about responsibility?

    Person: Tyke
    Date: August 20, 1994
    Location: Kakaʻako, Honolulu
    Event: Elephant ran through neighborhood; footage recorded
    History: Prior documented attacks and fear responses noted by investigators

    - Tyke was born in Mozambique around 1973, captured young, and spent two decades on the American circus circuit.
    - Investigators documented physical abuse, chronic confinement, and a measurable fear response: Tyke screamed and crouched when a specific person approached.
    - In April 1993 at the Blaisdell Center Tyke attacked tiger trainer Tyrone Taylor; the incident was recorded and authorities were notified.
    - Circus International and related promoters continued to book Tyke for performances despite the recorded incidents and warnings.
    - On August 20, 1994 a camera inside the Blaisdell Center captured the running through Kakaʻako and the moment Dallas Beckwith, Tyke’s trainer, went down.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分
  • A single molar spawned a published species and nothing else

    A single molar spawned a published species and nothing else
    2026/10/28
    A scientist named an animal in 1960 from a single molar, and the catalogue still lists it - where is the creature now?

    A single molar spawned a published species and nothing else

    In this episode, we follow how a formal name enters the taxonomic record and what happens when the only evidence for an animal is a lone tooth. The episode traces the mechanics of naming, the limits of fossil teeth as evidence, and asks how a catalogue can hold names longer than the animals they label.

    Person: Kuehneon
    Date: 1960
    Topic: taxonomy
    Event: publication of a species name

    - A single isolated molar published in 1960 carried the name Kuehneon into the taxonomic record.
    - Taxonomic rules validate a name the moment a specimen is described and published, regardless of later evidence.
    - Teeth, especially molars, survive far longer than bone and thus form the primary evidence for much of mammalian deep time.
    - Teeth can mislead: juvenile vs adult variation, convergent shapes, and lack of stratigraphic context obscure identity and age.
    - The catalogue of mammals intentionally preserves uncertain names (incertae sedis, dagger for extinct) across eras from the Middle Jurassic to modern historical extinctions.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • A Motion-Sensor Camera Captured a Wolf That Rewrote California Law

    A Motion-Sensor Camera Captured a Wolf That Rewrote California Law
    2026/10/27
    A lone wolf walks 1,000 miles into California, a state that hasn't seen a wild wolf in 87 years. Its presence sparks a legal and political battle.

    A Motion-Sensor Camera Captured a Wolf That Rewrote California Law

    This episode explores the journey of OR-seven, a gray wolf whose unprecedented trek from Oregon into California ignited a debate over wildlife management and conservation. It delves into the ecological and political void that awaited him and the profound impact his presence had on a state unprepared for his return.

    Person: OR-seven
    Event: Wolf dispersal
    Location: California
    Period: 2011
    Species: Gray wolf

    - A motion-sensor camera captured an image of a wolf in December 2011, an animal not seen in that landscape for 87 years.
    - The wolf, designated OR-seven, traveled over 1,000 miles alone in less than three months, at roughly one year of age.
    - OR-seven crossed into California without any existing legal framework for wild wolves, which had been eliminated from the state by the 1920s.
    - The absence of wolves had led to a trophic cascade, impacting deer and elk populations, vegetation, and river channels.
    - OR-seven's arrival presented California with a real-world policy challenge it had only previously debated in theory.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • A Tortoise Outlives Everyone: The Secret Lives of Blue Peter Animals

    A Tortoise Outlives Everyone: The Secret Lives of Blue Peter Animals
    2026/10/26
    A legendary Blue Peter tortoise outlived presenters and paperwork, exposing how the show's animals became everyone’s and no one’s at once.

    A Tortoise Outlives Everyone: The Secret Lives of Blue Peter Animals

    In this episode we chart how Blue Peter’s animals moved between studio, presenters, and a largely invisible handler, revealing the tangled boundaries between public property and private companionship. We follow specific cases that forced decisions about stipends, custody, and on-screen identity - and ask what ownership really measured.

    Person: John Noakes
    Person: Edith Menezes
    Person: Biddy Baxter
    Event: Shep's death on 17 January 1987
    Event: Noakes's Spillers dog food advertisements featuring "Skip"

    - The BBC treated Blue Peter animals as programme assets managed through stipends to presenters and handlers.
    - Edith Menezes served twenty-seven years as the programme’s animal handler, housing animals when stipends ended or between shoots.
    - John Noakes lived with Shep for nine years while BBC paperwork recorded the dog as programme property.
    - When the BBC withdrew Noakes’s stipend for Shep, the dog was sent to Edith rather than returning to a presenter’s home.
    - Months after Shep’s death, Noakes appeared in commercial adverts with a Border Collie called Skip described as indistinguishable from Shep.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分
  • A $600 chimpanzee made NBC $100,000,000 and rewrote broadcasting law

    A $600 chimpanzee made NBC $100,000,000 and rewrote broadcasting law
    2026/10/25
    A $600 chimpanzee walks onto the Today show in 1953 - how did a chimp rewrite broadcasting economics and law?

    A $600 chimpanzee made NBC $100,000,000 and rewrote broadcasting law

    In this episode we lay out how J. Fred Muggs arrived at the Today show and became a driving force behind ratings, revenue, and controversy. We trace the decisions, stunts, and studio dynamics that made a single animal indispensable - and ask what systems bent to keep him on air.

    Person: J. Fred Muggs
    Date: February 3, 1953 (television debut)
    Location: Today show, NBC, Rockefeller Center
    Event: Ratings surge, advertising and licensing boom
    Origin: Born March 14, 1952 in French Cameroon

    - Two former NBC pages, Carmine Mennella and Leroy Waldron, bought Muggs for $600 from Henry Trefflich’s pet store and brought him to the studio.
    - The Today show, hosted by Dave Garroway and struggling with low ratings since 1952, saw viewership move after Muggs’s debut.
    - Muggs arrived with 450 outfits, performed staged bits (reading newspapers, imitating Popeye, playing piano), and generated paid public appearances and licensing opportunities.
    - Handlers kept Muggs on a harness and leash; he had a reputation for tantrums, climbing trees on remotes, and refusing to come down without bananas.
    - Period accounts claim Muggs learned the camera’s red light meant “live” and misbehaved during that protected window, making him hard to discipline on air.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • A Bottlenose Whale Swam 14 Kilometers Up the Thames to Central London

    A Bottlenose Whale Swam 14 Kilometers Up the Thames to Central London
    2026/10/24
    A deep‑ocean bottlenose whale surfaces in central London's Thames, 14 km upstream. How did she get there?

    A Bottlenose Whale Swam 14 Kilometers Up the Thames to Central London

    This episode recounts the extraordinary appearance of a northern bottlenose whale in the River Thames in January 2006. It explores the circumstances that led this deep-ocean creature to navigate so far inland and the unprecedented situation it created for Londoners and marine biologists alike.

    Event: Whale in the Thames
    Date: January 20, 2006
    Species: Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)
    Location: Albert Bridge, Central London
    Distance from Thames Barrier: 14 kilometers upstream

    - On January 20, 2006, a northern bottlenose whale, a species native to the deep North Atlantic, appeared near Albert Bridge in central London.
    - The whale had not eaten in days and was heading further upstream, past iconic London landmarks.
    - Her species had not been recorded in the Thames since 1913, making this event a rare anomaly.
    - Northern bottlenose whales are built for depth, diving over 1,400 meters and hunting squid in permanent darkness.
    - Scientists later concluded that the whale had crossed the Thames Barrier around January 19, making a fundamental navigational error.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 分
  • A raven drank a pound of white lead and lived

    A raven drank a pound of white lead and lived
    2026/10/23
    In Dickens's London, a raven named Grip drank white lead paint and kept living - then fell silent on the stroke of midnight. How is that possible?

    A raven drank a pound of white lead and lived

    In this episode, we tell the story of Grip, Charles Dickens's raven, and the strange timeline that links a household pet, white lead poisoning, and a famous poem. We follow the bird's behavior, Dickens's letters, and the moments that made Grip part of a literary work - but did the poisoning already have its final say?

    Person: Charles Dickens
    Date: March 12, 1841
    Location: Devonshire Terrace, Marylebone, London
    Event: Grip drank one to two pounds of white lead paint and later died
    Case: Grip inspired a raven character in Barnaby Rudge and a portrait crossed to America

    - A neighbor, Frederick Ash, found the raven and brought her to Dickens at Devonshire Terrace in 1839.
    - Grip routinely buried small objects - halfpence, cheese, raw potatoes, a brush - and once hid a large hammer for weeks.
    - Dickens recorded Grip speaking set phrases repeatedly and wrote detailed, astonished letters about her to multiple correspondents.
    - Around 1840 painters left white lead paint in the carriage house; Dickens later wrote that Grip drank a pound or two of it but appeared to recover.
    - In March 1841 Grip grew lethargic, stopped eating and speaking, then on March 12 walked, barked, said “Halloa old girl,” staggered, and died at midnight.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 分