Radiolab Worship

Today, we’re taking a trip over to Radiolab. (Pull up the blinds, a beam of light has more than likely parted the cloud cover and landed directly on your computer screen at the mere mention of this program.)

If you’re not yet familiar, Radiolab is an NPR program out of WNYC. It is the most consistently jarring and awesome program in the history of human inquisitiveness. And that praise is due, too, to its hosts: Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad – may they do the show until I die.

Now then: Can animals say thanks? Do they feel emotions like we do? Does a Pomeranian feel guilty when it’s caught eating its own feces off of the bedroom floor at 1 a.m.?

Obviously, this is a huge and speculative topic. But if anyone can do it, it’s Krulwich and Abumrad. Podcast it, put it on your phone or crank up the computer speakers and grab a cold beer. (Though, fair warning: Radiolad has a tendency to make me weep from sheer wonder and joy at least once per episode. Alcohol may only exacerbate the situation – which is cool, we’re all friends here. Nothing wrong with tearing up over a little whale tale.)

And if you’re thinking 60 minutes is a bit too much, I challenge you to listen to the first segment about an entangled whale and the people trying to free it. If you want to quit after that, you’re a robot.

Boom De Ada, Boom De Ada

And if you want to keep up with Krulwich, hop on over to his blog: Krulwich Wonders