As the leaves begin to change and the air cools, monarch butterflies disappear from our skies and journey …where? The mysterious migration of this iconic butterfly stumped scientists for decades. Until an intercepted message on a butterfly wing led them to the isolated mountains of central Mexico to find the ancient monarch oasis where these butterflies cluster by the millions. It’s here we meet Estela, who grew up around this extraordinary phenomenon and explains that the real mystery isn’t where the monarchs are going but, actually, how??

The answer involves poisonous-tasting caterpillars, supergenerations of buff butterflies, and a web of life that connects a whole continent. Plus, as many people prepare for their Day of the Dead celebrations, we learn how monarch butterflies are a symbol of connection to the ancestors living on in our memories.

Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Ana González with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sarah Sandbach is our Executive Producer. Our team also includes Alan Goffinski, Tanya Chawla, Natalia Ramirez, and Joe Plourde. Fact checking by Hilary Elkins.

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Today we bring you a story stranger than fiction. In 2006, paleobiologist Natalia Rybczynski took a helicopter to a remote Arctic island near the North Pole, spending her afternoons scavenging for ancient treasures on the ground. One day, she found something the size of a potato chip. Turns out, it was a three and a half million year old chunk of bone. SPOILER ALERT BELOW.

Keep reading if you’re okay with us spoiling the surprise.

It’s a camel! Yes, the one we thought only hung out in deserts. Originally from North America, the camel trotted around the globe and went from snow monster to desert superstar. We go on an evolutionary tour of the camel’s body and learn how the same adaptations that help a camel in a desert also helped it in the snow. Plus, Lulu even meets one in the flesh.

Special thanks to Latif Nasser for telling us this story. It was originally a TED Talk where he brought out a live camel on stage. Thank you also to Carly Mensch, Juliet Blake, Anna Bechtol, Stone Dow, Natalia Rybczynski and our camel man, Shayne Rigden. If you are in Wisconsin, you can go meet his camels at Rigden Ranch. And follow his delightful TikTok @rigdenranch to see camels in the snow!

Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC Studios. This episode was produced by Ana González, Alan Goffinski, Mira Burt-Wintonick, Joe Plourde, Lulu Miller, and Sarah Sandbach, with help from Tanya Chawla and Natalia Ramirez. Fact checking by Anna Pujol-Mazzini.

Our advisors this season are Ana Luz Porzecanski, Anil Lewis, Dominique Shabazz, and Liza Demby.

Support for Terrestrials also comes from the Simons Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and the John Templeton Foundation.

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Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show by joining The Explorers Club —and we’ll send you a special puzzle as a thank-you gift from our team!

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Ervin Carlson grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana hearing stories about buffalo (aka American bison) who once roamed the land by the hundreds of thousands. These giant beasts weighed up to 2000 pounds, were almost 7 feet tall, and had two curved horns so sharp they could even buck away grizzly bears. And they were ecosystem engineers! Just by grazing and rolling in the dirt, they brought new life to the land.

But Ervin had never seen one. Not in the wild. To him, buffalo were a thing of the past. Because in the 1800s, as America expanded west, settlers hunted them by the trainload, for sport and fashion, until the wild herds completely disappeared from Montana.

And that could've been the end of the story, if not for a secret inter-generational baby buffalo rescue mission that you'll have to hear to believe.

To uncover the twists and turns of this tale first-hand, Producerbud Ana travels to Montana where she witnesses an epic horse race, joins a three-day celebration of all things buffalo, and crosses her fingers that she’ll get to meet one of these creatures up close.

Huge thanks to Ervin Carlson, Paul Weatherwax, Chazz Racine, Sloo, everyone at Buffalo Spirit Hills Ranch, the Intertribal Buffalo Council, Latonna Spotted Eagle, Cristina Mormorunni, and everyone who helped organize the 2026 Iinnii Days. Thanks also to Valerie June for lending her voice to Alan's stampede song, and to the students and teachers at the Blackfeet language immersion school.

Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Ana González with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sarah Sandbach is our Executive Producer. Our team also includes Alan Goffinski, Tanya Chawla, Natalia Ramirez, and Joe Plourde. Fact checking by Sophie Samiee.

HEY GROWN-UPS!
Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us!

Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show by joining The Explorers Club —and we’ll send you a special puzzle as a thank-you gift from our team!

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Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.
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