What a treat it was to meet up with Carl Safina and talk about owls and the natural world. Carl is, as always, an empathetic ambassador for "the other living world," as he puts it. Our touchstone for sanity. (also, isn't Alfie gorgeous!)

Molly Bentley Carl Safina When I twice wanted signed books to cheer a scientist friend in cancer treatment, Carl personalized them to her with messages and drawings as well as his signature. I'll never forget that. Carl, if you're reading this, Laurie beat it three times and has visited 2 continents.

We recently interviewed Hannah Carlson about this very thing on Big Picture Science - she's the author of “Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close." !! bigpicturescience.org/episodes/extra…

In case anyone wondered why we were compelled to do an episode about owls: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/night… x.com/gunsnrosesgirl…

We talked about billionaire bunkers with douglas rushkoff in our episode Post Social Media. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/post-… x.com/popcrave/statu…

There's no environment on Earth that doesn't have microbial life in it, says Craig Venter. They have adapted to survive even in extreme conditions. But as more of the planet becomes contaminated with pollution, microbe populations are at risk. bit.ly/3RLWbjh

We had great fun talking to Walter Hickey and putting this episode together to include clips of some of our favorite films (and soundtracks)!

What great fun it was to talk again with the very witty and knowledgeable Phil Plait aka Phil (Newsletter link in bio) Plait - it had been far too long!

Another case for the "trust but verify" column. Although on Twitter it's more like "don't trust; go to the original source."

RickIsUltraMax The SETI Institute We'll stop when they stop. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change." unep.org/news-and-stori…

buff.ly/3xGiajQ "We don't have any evidence of any credible source that would indicate the presence of alien technology in our skies. And we never have," said Bill Diamond, president and chief executive officer of the SETI Institute. @spacedotcom

Lol - this one for the other Michael McDonald fan in our family, my brother Alex Bentley Emma Bentley x.com/dannyderaney/s…

Thank you for raising this issue! It's a common mistake to think human-driven climate change has nothing to do with SETI. Part of the Drake Equation considers how many advanced civilizations would survive the consequences of their technology. They may disappear rather quickly.

This is a great teaser for a Big Picture Science episode coming up about the science of play and why children need it to be challenging, even risky. Also, how fun is this! x.com/gunsnrosesgirl…

Another teaser for our upcoming Big Picture Science episode about play. Why do non-human animals do it? x.com/amazlngnature/…

buff.ly/44ixKOZ Bill Diamond has a point. If alien technology is so advanced that it can reach Earth from a distant location we don’t know exists, that technology likely wouldn’t be so flawed that it would crash-land in the New Mexico desert. Popular Mechanics

Researchers are recommending that parents allow their kids to engage in more "risky" play. One way to accomplish this is by playing at an adventure playground, like the one host Molly Bentley visited in New York City. Here, the kids make the rules. bit.ly/4baTzmb

The Standard Model is hailed by many as one of humanity’s greatest scientific achievements. Yet it is still largely incomplete. This week, we dive into what’s missing. bit.ly/3V4Qcr9

“The near extinction of vultures in India may be responsible for an additional half a million human deaths between 2000 and 2005.” This and other stories, presented by ⁦Roland Pease⁩ Interesting. Do give it a listen 🎧 bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3…

This vulture story was a fascinating example of species interconnectedness Roland Pease