Welcome to Wild Resonance, a podcast exploring bioacoustics and the sounds of the natural world.

In this fifth episode, host Stephen Griesgraber talks with Dr. Eduardo Mercado III about his book "Why Whales Sing." Published in November 2025, the book challenges the current understanding of whale songs. Broadly believed to be an aural "peacock tail" and courtship strategy, Eduardo proposes that whale song is a form of echolocation humpbacks use as a sonar system to search for one another.

Dr. Mercado is a Professor of Psychology at SUNY Buffalo, where he has also served as the Director of the Center for Cognitive Science. Mercado strives to progress cognitive theory by quantifying behavior in novel ways, collecting evidence that directly challenges current assumptions about how minds think. While he has published on the singing behavior of whales, his research has also focused on the cognitive ability of dolphins and children with ASD.

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Wild Resonance IG: a_wild_resonance

Wild Resonance on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wild-Resonance

Dr. Mercado's website : https://www.eduardomercado.com/

Buy his book!
JHU Press - https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53709/why-whales-sing
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Why-Whales-Sing-Eduardo-Mercado/dp/1421452898
Barnes and Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/why-whales-sing-eduardo-mercado-iii/1146939309?ean=9781421452890
Bookshop.org - https://bookshop.org/p/books/why-whales-sing-eduardo-mercado/aa6bb7b038ceb610?ean=9781421452890

Thank you for listening! For more information and content please watch like and subscribe to Wild Resonance on YouTube @Wild-Resonance and follow us on Instagram @a-wild-resonance

Welcome to Wild Resonance, a new web series exploring bioacoustics and the sounds of the natural world.

In this fourth episode, host Stephen Griesgraber talks with researcher and sound artist Willow Gatewood about their work. They talk about a variety of topics; improvising with biosonified plants, the nuances of how communication occurs between insects and plants, and how we might use AI to collaborate with these communication networks in order to restore ecosystems.

Willow Gatewood is an environmental scientist, interdisciplinary artist, musician, and storyteller from rural Virgina - currently based in NYC. They explore themes of ecology, gender, and social issues in their work, intersecting art and technology through visual, sonic, and literary mediums. Through a constant autobiographical exploration of nature, they are driven to use this intersection to invite us to question our relationships to critical environmental and social issues.

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Wild Resonance IG: a_wild_resonance

Willow Gatewood IG: willowg_music

Willow Gatewood YouTube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC6Ei7cO6yx1H_Ddda34qkow

https://willowgatewood.com/work

https://willowgatewood.com/workshops-living-labs

https://willowgatewood.com/poetics-of-plants-ecoprinting

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Ci7nNIvUIsvOt17n8A2Fm?si=IX59XxpTRMewhi0P-m9mag

Thank you for listening! For more information and content please watch like and subscribe to Wild Resonance on YouTube @Wild-Resonance and follow us on Instagram @a-wild-resonance

Welcome to Wild Resonance, a podcast exploring bioacoustics and the sounds of the natural world.

In this third episode, host Stephen Griesgraber talks with photographer and sound artist Hunter Skowron about his series of LPs, released under the name FM Forest.

Through photography, musical improvisation, and creative writing, Hunter chronicles the subtle micro-seasonal transitions that he's found over hundreds of hours of field recording across the U.S. Pacific Northwest; engaging in patient, thoughtful conversation with the environment as part of his artistry.

Like and Subscribe to ensure you don't miss future content from Wild Resonance!

Thank you for listening! For more information and content please watch like and subscribe to Wild Resonance on YouTube @Wild-Resonance and follow us on Instagram @a-wild-resonance