Buckle up buttercups! In this thrilling Wild Interest, we mic Evan up for the first HUGE rollercoaster ride of his life. Listen to Evan shriek as he whips around Candymonium, the tallest, fastest, and longest coaster at Hershey Park. Then listen to Nichole harangue Evan for being too short to go on a zipline by himself. (Typical big sister behavior.) Finally, hear them both shout to the treetops as they whizz along the longest zipline in Central America. Brooklyn’s PS 66 gets in the mix with a mind-bending riddle; Dean in New Paltz, NY interviews his grandma; and Gianna in New Jersey shares her favorite sound. Oh, and there’s even a Cryptid who rides rollercoasters. Leave it to Evan.

Parents: visit our website to help your kids contribute jokes or favorite sounds, or to send us a message.

Timestamps for this episode are available below.

00:00 - Episode 19 Intro
01:28 - Rollercoasters!
04:18 - Hershey Park
05:08 - Evan's First Big Rollercoaster Ride: Candymonium
07:27 - Riddle Clue from PS 66 in Brooklyn
07:53 - Ziplines!
11:11 - Favorite Sound
11:47 - Call for Submissions
12:14 - Cryptid Corner: Rollercoaster Ghost Riders
15:09 - Joke Time
16:00 - Grandparent Stories: Dean's Grandma
20:21 - Riddle Answer from PS 66 in Brooklyn
20:44 - Credits
20:55 - Call for Reviews & Word of Mouth
21:16 - Bloopers

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People use language to express themselves, but do you ever wonder how other animals communicate with each other? If they don’t speak like us, how do they convey information? In our first Animal Talk episode we learned about the complex ways animals communicate, and how some species even have their own languages and dialects. In “Paw 2” we find out even more about the amazing world of animal talk, and about the science behind linguistic development in animals. Evan interviews Dr. Irene Pepperberg, research professor at Boston University in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences about her groundbreaking work with Alex the African Grey Parrot. Dr. Pepperberg worked with Alex for 30 years and taught him over 100 English words. Not only was Alex able to communicate with humans, he even asked what color he was when looking at himself in the mirror, becoming the first known non-human to ask a question! Nichole goes beneath the waves with Dr. Aude Pacini from the Marine Mammal Research Program at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Dr. Pacini records whale and dolphin song with sophisticated underwater microphones. She was part of an expedition where the world-class cellist Yo Yo Ma played music for whales from the deck of a famous Hawaiian canoe! Evan takes us down to North Georgia with Project Chimps, a chimpanzee sanctuary where over 90 retired lab chimps roam freely on six protected acres of forest. Our hosts are also joined by the very human creator of the Brooklyn Folk Festival, Eli Smith, who plays some banjo for us and talks about the upcoming festival this November 7-9. This episode is jam-packed, but don’t worry, we still found room for favorites like Cryptid Corner, Grandparent Stories, jokes and more. Let’s get wild!

Listen now and have a whale of a time - this episode's a hoot!

Parents: visit our website to help your kids contribute jokes or favorite sounds, or to send us a message.

Timestamps for this episode are available below.

00:00 - Episode 17 Intro
01:36 - Dr. Irene Pepperberg & Alex, the African Grey Parrot
14:03 - Joke Time
14:57 - Cryptid Corner: The Wow! Signal
20:09 - Riddle Clue
20:31 - Deep Listening with Dr. Aude Pacini
27:48 - Favorite Sound
28:35 - Call for Submissions
29:02 - Eli Smith & the 2025 Brooklyn Folk Festival
34:44 - Going Ape at Project Chimps with Caregivers Lauren and Tawnya
44:31 - Grandparent Stories: Papa Artie
48:22 - Riddle Answer
49:00 - Preview of Episode 18
49:13 - Credits
49:45 - Bloopers

The background music in our interview with Dr. Aude Pacini features audio of live performances by Hawaiian musicians Gary Haleamau and Ledward Kaapana, as retrieved from the Library of Congress.

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Have you ever had that dream where you arrive at school but something’s a little… off? Join us for our Back to School Special where Nichole and Evan experience exactly that. Their plan to squeeze the most out of the final days of summer is thwarted when they doze off by the pool and fall into an unexpected dream that lands them back in the classroom. But this time they’re not students — they’re the teachers! Sharpen your pencils, Wildings: this is learning the Wild Interest way. Prepare to earn your Podcast PhD as our hosts show you an easy way to make ice cream cake at home, and a great prank you can play using a banana. Find out what a palindrome is, and memorize a catchy song that helps you learn the names of all 50 US states. Dive deep into why we have daylight saving time and leap years, and discover the science of solar eclipses from a real astronomer! But wait, there’s more! What’s ASMR? How do you play Concentration 64? How do honeybees communicate? (Hint: they get their groove on!) Kids will come out of this episode prepared to dazzle their schoolmates with scads of new astonishing knowledge — and you’re in store for another hilarious cameo from everyone’s favorite cryptid, Bobby the Bigfoot! Sit back, relax, and let’s get wild!

Timestamps for this episode are available below:

00:00 - Episode 15 intro
02:50 - ASMR
05:40 - Cicadas
07:12 - How Honeybees Communicate
10:25 - Leap Years
12:28 - Solar Eclipses
15:18 - Daylight Saving Time
17:17 - Taste Explained
20:48 - Turkey Facts
23:43 - Ice Cream Cake
25:26 - Sliced Banana Prank
26:47 - Concentration 64
30:28 - Singing a Round: Row Row Row Your Boat
32:09 - Singing a Round: Frère Jacques
34:19 - States Song
36:02 - Palindrones
37:10 - Grammartime
39:30 - Magical Number Nine
42:45 - Fun Facts
44:41 - Nichole Wakes Up From Her Dream
46:22 - Credits
46:46 - Bloopers

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