logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
29m 24s

Beware the Sand Striker

Wnyc Studios
About this episode

Shipworms. Hairy Chested Yeti Crabs. Parasitic Barnacles in the cloaca of Greenland Sharks. These are the types of creatures Sabrina Imbler, a columnist at Defector, likes to write about. The stranger, the better.

In this episode, Imbler discusses how they balance maintaining scientific rigor while also drawing inspiration and metaphor from the animal world. Then they read a stirring essay from their new book, How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures . It’s about the sand striker, one of the ocean’s most gruesome predators, and the various prey that surround it. In learning about the relationships between predator and prey lurking in the murky bottom, Imbler ends up unearthing new insights about predation in human society. The essay deals with sexual assault so listen with care.

EPISODE CREDITS

Reported by - Lulu Miller

Produced by - Sindhu Gnanasambandan

Original music and sound design contributed by - Alex Overington

with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom and Arianne Wack

Fact-checking by - Natalie Middleton

and Edited by  - Alex Neason and Pat Walters

EPISODE CITATIONS

Articles:“Creaturefector” (https://zpr.io/3myWi4grgkGB) by Sabrina Imbler

Books: How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures (https://zpr.io/agkRj7xyPG9T) by Sabrina Imbler Dyke (geology) (https://zpr.io/7kAtAKjdBqPa) by Sabrina Imbler

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Up next
Today
Desperately Seeking Symmetry
This hour of Radiolab, former co-hosts Jad and Robert set out in search of order and balance in the world around us, and ask how symmetry shapes our very existence -- from the origins of the universe, to what we see when we look in the mirror.Along the way, we look for love in an ... Show More
57m 23s
Jul 4
On [The Divided Dial]: Fishing In The Night
Have you heard On the Media’s Peabody-winning series The Divided Dial? It’s awesome and you should, and now you will. In this episode they tell the story of shortwave radio: the way-less-listened to but way-farther-reaching cousin of AM and FM radio. The medium was once heralded ... Show More
38m 51s
Jun 27
Sex, Ducks and the Founding Feud
Jilted lovers and disrupted duck hunts provide a very odd look into the soul of the US Constitution.What does a betrayed lover’s revenge have to do with an international chemical weapons treaty? More than you’d think. From poison and duck hunts to our feuding fathers, we step int ... Show More
25m 8s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2022
Carnivore Ecology (LIONS, TIGERS, & BEARS) with Rae Wynn-Grant
Ah, charismatic megafauna! Teeth, claws, fur, hibernation, bear hugs, hiking, cougar attacks, nature preserves, and living your childhood dreams with Alie’s longtime -ologist crush, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. The large carnivore ecologist, researcher and TV presenter tells us all about ... Show More
1h 34m
Mar 2021
#72: Dogs, Frogs, and Viral Analogs (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 72nd in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens. It’s the Spring equinox, and there are frogs—frogs who are anatomically able to tune out some of the voices ... Show More
1h 32m
May 2021
#79: #NotAllMice (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
 In this 79th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary In this 79th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we di ... Show More
1h 40m
Aug 2022
#137 Hostile Work Environments & Folks Who Love Them (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 137th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.This week, we discuss Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the academy, and ask: does DEI belong in sci ... Show More
2h 1m
Sep 2021
#96: Finding the Fourth Frontier (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 96th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens. In this episode, we discuss society, and how to have a functional one. Beginning with a discussion of 9/11, ... Show More
1h 10m
May 2024
Troubled Waters on Cape Cod: Loved to Death (Part 1)
In the first episode of a three-part series, environmental reporter Barbara Moran is on Cape Cod to find out why the crystal clear water there is turning “pea-soup green”—and how communities are scrambling to clean it up.For more information, read WBUR’s coverage of the efforts t ... Show More
14m 12s
Jul 2023
The science of sound
Scientists, conservationists and other researchers are using audio soundscapes in innovative ways to record the natural world in rich detail and help develop strategies to preserve it. Gaia Vince visits the Dear Earth exhibition at London’s Southbank Centre where she interacts wi ... Show More
35m 39s
Aug 2018
Me vs. My Brain: Stories about losing your self
This week, we're presenting stories about what happens when our own brains keep us from being fully ourselves. Part 1: When storyteller Sandi Marx begins to develop cognitive symptoms of lupus, she worries she'll lose the aspects of her personality that she values most. Part 2: C ... Show More
38m 27s
Jun 2022
Gorillaology (GORILLAS) with Tara Stoinski
Gorillas. These chest-beating, salad-munching, communal living, thick-furred beauties have so many surprises for you. Gorillaologist (IT’S A WORD) Dr. Tara Stoinski has been a gorilla scientist for nearly 3 decades and dishes on everything from fieldwork in cloudy mountains to di ... Show More
1h 4m
Nov 2023
Road Ecology (ROAD KILL) with Ben Goldfarb
Deer in headlights! Alligators in crosswalks! A possum in the oven? If you love wildlife, this is a must-listen to avoid killing critters with your car. Ben Goldfarb wrote the book on road kill and we chat about: wildlife crossings, skunk smells, moose impacts, ocelot facts, what ... Show More
1h 24m