Nature's Secret Service
A weekly true crime podcast that puts you in the room with the men and women of wildlife law enforcement who protect our planet's wild animals and plants from the greedy hands of poachers and wildlife traffickers. Visit www.naturessecretservice.com for more information.
Episodes
Join Ed for his conversation with Bryan Christy as they talk about the world of the reptile trade and reptile trafficking. Christy is the author of The Lizard King, a book that chronicles the origins and history of a reptile supply company known as Strictly Reptiles and its controversial owners Ray and Mike Van Nostrand. Bryan and Ed will talk about the late Charles "Chip" Bepler, a US Fish and Wildlife Service special agent who sp...
Birds get tangled up in the world of wildlife crime and wildlife trafficking all the time. Eagles and hawks are killed and persecuted for their parts and because they are predators. Parrots are smuggled north from Latin America. Songbirds are smuggled around the world from Southeast Asia, risking us all to exposure of deadly strains of bird flu. Even migratory birds native to the US fall victim to the illegal exotic pet trade. Join...
Lieutenant Kathy Ponting is a legend among game wardens of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (formerly the California Department of Fish and Game). A second-generation warden, Kathy rose to the rank of lieutenant and oversaw the elite Special Operations Unit. Unlike uniformed wardens assigned to patrol work, the wardens in SOU were plain clothes investigators and worked as a cohesive unit on long-term or highly complex...
Plant crimes resurface this week but, this time, in the form of American ginseng! A native plant found throughout the Appalachian Mountains, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and under heavy pressure from unscrupulous commercial collectors. Join Ed and former special agent Tom Chisdock as they discuss the threats to the species, the illegal trade, and Tom's great work exposing a ginseng trafficker who also sold opi...
This is your rare opportunity to hear from a real life confidential informant who worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It's exceedingly rare to get an inside seat to the world of "CI's" but confidential informant "Pete Paxton" breaks the silence to give you a brief look behind the curtain. Recruited as an informant by Special Agent Newcomer, Paxton worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service for a number of years and went o...
Join Ed in a conversation with Nkateko Mzimba and Collet Ngobeni, two rangers from the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit based at the Olifants West Nature Reserve in South Africa. The Black Mambas patrol a 25,000 acre reserve inside the greater Kruger ecosystem that is home to elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo, and all of the species native to the Southern African bush. Listen as the rangers describe their duties and some of their ad...
Join Ed for a wide-ranging conversation with Craig Spencer, founder of Trans-Frontier Africa and the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit in South Africa. This week, we talk about rhino poaching, the rhino horn trade, elephant poaching, the all female anti-poaching unit known as the Black Mambas, and the challenges that go with securing a large, open nature reserve that adjoins Kruger National Park on one side and local communities on t...
Join Ed and former Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Officer Todd Vandivert for the premiere episode of Season 2. Todd will tell us about his long-term undercover operation known as Operation Cody, which exposed widespread trafficking in wildlife species native to the state of Washington.
In the third of three bonus episodes following Season 1, join us to hear how Marie Palladini faced down a huge and hostile subject.
In our second bonus episode following Season 1, tune in to hear how even a routine investigation of a misdemeanor crime can turn deadly in seconds.
The first of our bonus episodes following Season 1. Tune in to hear one of the many great side stories that unfold during a typical investigation.
Nature's Secret Service host Ed Newcomer appears on the podcast Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum to discuss two cases from his career, including one he's never talked about before in a public forum.
Former wildlife officer / game warden with the State of California, Savannah Morgan joins Ed to discuss her team's investigation of a South Korean national who masterminded a plant poaching and trafficking operation in Southern California. Ed adds his perspective as a US Fish and Wildlife Service special agent serving overseas at the right time and place to help capture and extradite the notorious trafficker.
Former special agent Sean Mann joins us to talk about his work investigating an eagle poaching incident in California that led to a subject involved in trafficking eagle parts.
Tune in for my in-person conversation with the awesome and formidable Special Agent Erin Dean as she tells us what it was like to lead and oversee the largest and most populated geographical district in the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, and about her experience investigating a dangerous wildlife trafficker who also dabbled in drug trafficking and human trafficking!
Join the conversation with Special Agent Steve Stoinski as he guides us through his investigation into the illegal killing of a grizzly bear on the remote Barber Point Road in Wyoming.
Former US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Corky Roberts talks to us about what it was like to be working in a remote single-agent duty station only to come across a monkey smuggler who used a surprising and ingenious smuggling technique.
Former Tennessee state wildlife officer Shawn Karns talks with us about his undercover work that exposed Russian organized criminal groups behind the threat to our native fish stocks, such as the paddlefish. How do you say "Maybe we should kill these guys" in Russian? Tune in to find out. For more information about Shawn's organization, the Wildlife Investigators Training Alliance (WITA), visit www.witatrain.org
Join the conversation with US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Steve Furrer as he tells us about the importance and complexity of habitat destruction investigations. Laugh with us as he describes how his prime suspect turned red faced and told him he'd do everything he could to get Steve transferred to a different duty station. Steve's career tenacity and excellent service led to him receiving the Guy Bradley Award in 2016.
Former US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Keith Swindle talks about a long-term investigation he conducted in Hawaii involving threatened and endangered sea birds. Keith also provides interesting insight into the importance of sea birds to the Hawaiian Islands and to native Hawaiian culture.
Popular Podcasts
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!