Nature's Archive

When we think about habitats, it’s easy to picture the rich diversity on land—vast prairies, scorching deserts, lush forests, and intricate wetlands. But what if I told you the ocean is just as diverse, filled with ecosystems as unique and vital as any on land? The only difference? We can’t see them as easily—but that doesn’t make them any less important.

Today’s guest is Dr. Judith Gobin, joining us all the way from Trinidad and To...

Today’s guest is the brilliant Dr. Wendy Bohon, an earthquake geologist who has a passion for making the complexities of our planet accessible and engaging. Dr. Bohon is known for her dynamic science communication - in fact, you may have seen her viral videos through her Dr Wendy Rocks channels on YouTube and other social media.

Today, Dr. Bohon delves into the fascinating world of geology and earthquakes, exploring their impact on ...

Dr. Jonny Hanson is an environmental social scientist, conservationist, and former community farmer. He's also the author of Living with Lynx, Sharing Landscapes with Big Cats, Wolves, and Bears.

He spent months traveling Europe and the United States learning about the real-life challenges of reintroducing apex predators to landscapes, and how to make coexistence successful for everyone involved.

Today, we di...

Today’s episode is very timely. Our guest is Margo Robbins, cofounder and Executive Director of the Cultural Fire Management Council. Margo advocates for the return of cultural burning practices as a way to strengthen community, support biodiversity, and mitigate out of control fires that plague so many areas.

But before I get further into the details of today's episode, I want to note that it was recorded just a few days prior...

As a nature lover, I’m often asked about my favorite plants, animals, and insects. And I always struggle to answer those questions, because I have so many favorites, and they are context dependent. But when it comes to birds, woodpeckers often come to mind first. 

They’re often colorful, charismatic, and have such an amazing set of adaptations that let them drill into trees, excavate insects from bark, and some even fly catch on the...

Slime molds (Myxomycetes) are beautiful, weird, and amazing organisms. Often mistaken for fungi, they are actually single celled, yet they grow and efficiently move in search of food, can start and stop their life cycle based on environmental conditions, and even change colors several times during their brief life cycle. They can be beautifully colored, frequently iridescent, and can be ornately shaped. And better still, they can b...

I spent several hours assembling the highlights of the 24 episodes we produced in 2024, all packaged in this nice short recap. It was a lot of work, so I hope you like it!

If you want to hear any of these episodes in their entirety, simply check our feed or naturesarchive.com. And for easy reference, the full year's episodes are listed below.

And I'd love your feedback on Nature's Archive in general...

I love discovering overlooked plants and animals that play outsized roles in the environment. I’m also fascinated by complex systems, especially when they’re easy to observe.

And nothing ticks all three of those boxes better than ants.

One estimate says that for every human on earth, there may be as many as 2.5 million ants. And these ants form complex societies with unique roles. They communicate in mysteriously complex ways, and ca...

Do you love spiders and insects? Or perhaps you are more apprehensive of them - or even suffer from arachnophobia. In either case, today’s discussion is for you.

Join me for an enlightening journey into the world of insects and arachnids with Kevin Wiener. Kevin is an environmental educator and founder of the thriving 'All Bugs Go To Kevin' community. In this episode, Kevin shares his inspiring path from pest control to be...

Today we’re discussing perhaps the most important 24 armed creature you quite possibly have never heard of before. Each arm has eyes, or more accurately, eyespots on the ends, and they have thousands of tube feet that they closely coordinate to move. It’s a keystone species which used to have populations around 6 billion. And in a matter of a couple of years, about 5 billion of those vanished, melting away, literally turning to goo...

Have you ever thought about how or why natural areas, like state or county parks, open space, or wildlife refuges were set aside and saved? Sometimes it seems amazingly unlikely that these places exist.

And it’s too easy to assume that there is no land left to set aside. But today we’re telling the story of Coyote Valley, a land adjacent to the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. I don’t want to spoil the story, but I will tell you...

I’ve been looking forward to today’s episode for a really long time - and for two great reasons. One, it’s about wildlife forensics, which is an immense field that requires knowledge of everything from wildlife behavior and morphology, to DNA, to crime scene investigation, to policy and the law. I’ve always been a bit of a generalist who likes to deep dive into topics on occasion…so this is a field true to my heart.

And the second r...

What do parasitic plants, 600 year old oak trees, salmon, and hoverflies have in common? Well, they are some of Griff's, Michelle Fullner’s and my favorite wild organisms!

Today’s episode is a fun conversation with Michelle Fullner, Griff Griffith, and myself, Michael Hawk, where we advocate for our 10 favorite animals and plants. We each bring three species to the conversation…well, not physically. And we had a bit ...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to bring a species back from the brink of extinction? Today, we’re diving into the front lines of one of the most challenging and inspiring conservation efforts of our time, with Sophie Osborn as our guide. This episode unravels the incredible stories of the Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow, and California Condor—three iconic birds with a common thread of survival against the odds.

We’ll explore t...

Have you ever wondered how biologists figure out how plants respond to drought, heat, cold, and other environmental factors? 

One way is to study phenology. That’s a fancy word that accounts for seasonal and cyclical growth patterns of plants and animals. Researchers can look at various attributes, like when a plant flowers, leafs out, drops leaves, and more, and then see how that correlates to environmental factors, weather, climat...

Nature's Archive has published 100 episodes now. Well, actually over 100, because I normally don't count solo episodes.

This week, I wanted to share one of the most important lessons I've learned from these past four years and 100 episodes. Spoiler: it's an angle on how 'everything is connected', and a deeper, more profound understanding of ecosystem services.

Regular interview episod...

Have you ever watched Planet Earth and wondered how they get that amazing footage of elusive and wild animals? Get ready to learn about that and much more.

Wildlife photographer Jake Davis shares his incredible journey from a 10-year-old with a disposable camera to capturing stunning footage for Planet Earth. Jake dives into the challenges and triumphs of filming elusive snow leopards in the Gobi Desert, including the technical intr...

Have you seen all of the scary headlines about massive venomous Joro spiders invading the eastern USA? Well, as you might imagine, these headlines are designed to drive clicks so that individuals and media can monetize their content.

Dr. Sarah Rose helps set the record straight, and also answers some questions about spider mating rituals, which turn out to be complex and fascinating!

And after that short Q&A, ...

The ocean’s surface is a bit like the cover of a book. We have a title - the ocean - which gives us a hint about what it is. And we probably have some preconceived ideas about it based on the cover graphics or author.

But we can’t see inside to truly understand the stories it wants to tell. 

One of those stories is about a forest - yes, an underwater forest that serves multiple critical purposes for life on earth. I’m talking about k...