Antarcticology (ANTARCTIC RESEARCH) with Ariel Waldman
4/29/20261 hr 13 min
Mile-thick ice. Dry, rocky valleys. Tiny creatures. Red parkas. Seal mummies. We’re going to Antarctica with National Geographic Explorer, microscopic photographer, and Antarcticologist Ariel Waldman. She hosts the gorgeous PBS series “Life Unearthed” and answers a blizzard of questions about camping in the middle of an ice sheet, hauling microscopes to the ends of the Earth, what’s living in a drop of melted snow, potty protocols, microplastics, and the research that happens on a giant continent that carries many mysteries. Also: why you should cold email someone. Like, today.
Visit Ariel’s website and follow her on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky
Watch Life Unearthed with Ariel Waldman on PBS
A donation went to the San Francisco Microscopical Society
More episode sources and links
Other episodes you may enjoy: Cryoseismology (ICEQUAKES), Oceanology (OCEANS), Snow Hydrology (SNOW/AVALANCHES), Tardigradology (TINY SEMI-INDESTRUCTIBLE WATER BEAR MOSS PIGLET CREATURES CALLED TARDIGRADES), Penguinology (PENGUINS), Pinnipedology (SEALS & WALRUSES), Dipterology (FLIES), Carcinology (CRABS), Ursinology (BEARS), Astrobiology (ALIENS), Thermophysiology (BODY HEAT)
400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes
Transcripts and bleeped episodes
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!
Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky
Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok
Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Clips
Showing 10 of 12Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAlie Ward· Host0:00
Oh, hey. It's the bookmark that's just a receipt for the book. Alie Ward, and buckle up, bundle up, I'm taking you to Antarctica. Well, I'm not doing anything. I'm just asking an ologist questions, and they will take you on their journey from a curious outsider to very much insider research station at the bottom of the globe. They have worked for NASA, they are a National Geographic explorer, a microscopist, a filmmaker, a TED speaker, and host of their own excellent new PBS series, Life Unearthed, which debuted the very day that we chatted for this episode. Uh, we'll get right to it, but first, a quick thank you to patrons at patreon.com/ologies for supporting the show for a dollar or more a month and for submitting your questions before we record. Thank you to everyone out there in Ologies merch from ologiesmerch.com. Also, thanks to everyone who voted for us for a Webby award. Uh, we won the best science podcast again, as well as the people's voice for best science podcast. So New York, I will see you for the Webby awards on May 11th. Exciting. Also, heads up to anyone looking for kid-safe and classroom-friendly versions of Ologies. We release those in their very own feed. They're called Smologies, S-M-O-L-O-G-I-E-S. And so if you wanna entertain kids with facts, please find those and subscribe. Um, thank you to everyone who leaves reviews for Ologies, which help us so much. I read 'em all, such as this still defrosting one from Arugula Few who wrote, "I love deep diving into topics, but I never have the time as a very slow reader with dyslexia. Thank you for bringing me the joy of learning