Kleptotherms
2/6/202643 min
In this episode, we break the thermometer and watch the mercury spill out as we discover that temperature is far stranger than it seems. We first ran this episode in 2021: Five stories that run the gamut from snakes to stars. We start out underwater, with a species of snake that has evolved a devious trick for keeping warm. Then we hear the tale of a young man whose seemingly simple method of warming up might be the very thing making him cold. And Senior Correspondent Molly Webster blows the lid off the idea that 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is a sound marker of health.
In this episode, we break the thermometer and watch the mercury spill out as we discover that temperature is far stranger than it seems. We first ran this episode in 2021: Five stories that run the gamut from snakes to stars. We start out underwater, with a species of snake that has evolved a devious trick for keeping warm. Then we hear the tale of a young man whose seemingly simple method of warming up might be the very thing making him cold. And Senior Correspondent Molly Webster blows the lid off the idea that 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is a sound marker of health.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Lulu Miller and Molly Webster
Produced by - Becca Bressler, Lulu Miller and Molly Webster
with help from - Carin Leong
Fact-checking by - Emily Krieger
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLatif Nasser· Host0:02
Hey, this is Radiolab. I'm Latif Nasser. So at this point of the year, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere, it can start to feel like, enough with the cold already! The newness of the season has worn off, the winter holidays are over, and most of us are just ready for it to be warm again. So today, we are defrosting an episode about people and creatures seeking warmth. Sometimes they do it in obvious ways, sometimes they do it in devious ways. We first aired this episode back in 2021, and you'll hear there are certain things about it that do feel very 2021, [chuckles] but there's also so much in here that feels timeless, stories that I feel confident will stay relevant until the thermal death of the universe.
Hans IJzerman· Guest0:54
Yeah, you- wait, wait, you're listening? [laughing] [gentle music] Okay. All right. Okay. All right.
Speaker 21:00
[clears throat] You're listening- Listening- To Radiolab.
Speaker 41:04
Radiolab.
Speaker 51:04
From- WNYC.
Ira Flatow1:06
[laughing] Rewind.
Molly Webster1:11
[tape rewinding] Lu!
Lulu Miller· Host1:14
Hey.
Molly Webster1:15
How are you feeling?
Lulu Miller· Host1:17
I, I mean, I feel fine. I think I still am, like, a dash nasally. Hi there, it's Radiolab. I'm Lulu Miller, here with senior correspondent Molly Webster. So can you humor me and close your eyes?
Molly Webster1:29
Yes.