What happens behind the exhibits at a natural history museum? At Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand, millions of specimens form a scientific record stretching across species, ecosystems, and generations. In this episode of Green Frequency, Clark is joined by deep-sea researcher and curator of fishes Dr. Thom Linley to explore what those collections are actually for.

We find out why researchers sometimes need to borrow a shark, how curators decide what to preserve for scientists a hundred years from now, and how technologies like micro-CT scanning, hyperspectral imaging, and machine learning are changing what we can learn from specimens collected decades ago. Along the way, we encounter snailfish, bioluminescence, colossal squid, the world's friendliest "meat library," and a much bigger question: what does it mean for a museum to preserve the memory of a changing natural world?

Episode Guest: Dr. Thom Linley

Listen to the Deep Sea Podcast

And Dr. Linley’s episode on Oceanography, What is the Deep Sea Even Like?

Visit the Te Papa Tongewera Museum website

Review Dr. Linley’s publications on Google Scholar

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Cover Art by Laurel Wong

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below

Listen to Oceanography on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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