Episodes

  • Trailer

    Trailer
    Aug 3 2023
    Insects are dying off at an apocalyptic rate, or are they? Now there's a way to find out. In this limited series, we go to a remote island rainforest to listen to sound-based research that could reveal the truth about global insect death. Even if we find them icky, insects are essential to human, animal, and plant existence. If they disappear, we're all in deep trouble. Bill McQuay is an award-winning science and audio producer. In collaboration with a research team, he uses his investigative and listening skills to search for an answer to whether insects are on the verge of extinction.
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    1 min
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  • Episode 1: Count Down to the Apocalypse?

    Episode 1: Count Down to the Apocalypse?
    Aug 3 2023

    Several recent news reports have pointed to something terrifying: insect numbers are in catastrophic decline, with some even calling it an “insectageddon.” And while some scientists question these claims, most agree that the demise of these tiny creatures would be the end of us. In the inaugural episode of Insects and the Apocalypse, we explore the fundamental question: how does one even count insects? We then meet a team of scientists working in a small island rainforest who may have stumbled upon the answer.
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    15 mins
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  • Episode 2: The Science and Fiction Behind the Insect Apocalypse Headlines

    Episode 2: The Science and Fiction Behind the Insect Apocalypse Headlines
    Aug 3 2023
    There’s no such thing as bad publicity, right? But what if it makes us question our trust in science and how it could help save the planet? In episode 2 of Insects and the Apocalypse, we dig into the controversial studies that inspired astonishing news stories about global insect declines and talk to scientists on both sides of the debate.
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    20 mins
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  • Episode 3: Beyond the Limits of Our Hearing Ability Lies the Key to an Insect's Survival, Perhaps Ours.

    Episode 3: Beyond the Limits of Our Hearing Ability Lies the Key to an Insect's Survival, Perhaps Ours.
    Aug 3 2023
    More insects use their voices to communicate than any other animals on Earth. But most of us aren’t listening, and the sounds they make are often far too high for us to hear anyway. In episode 3 of Insects and the Apocalypse, what are bugs trying to tell us?
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    18 mins
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  • Episode 4: Insects were the Earth’s first singers. Will they be the last?

    Episode 4: Insects were the Earth’s first singers. Will they be the last?
    Aug 3 2023
    Insects have been around for over 400 million years. They are among the only animals to survive all five of Earth's mass extinctions. But some say they have no chance against the rapid changes we are currently seeing in the climate. In episode 4 of Insects and the Apocalypse, we see how clues in ancient insects' fossils and groundbreaking research in sound might actually give them a fighting chance.
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    24 mins
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  • Episode 5: The Science and Scientists of conservation bioacoustics.

    Episode 5: The Science and Scientists of conservation bioacoustics.
    Aug 3 2023
    Our ability to hear is our 24/7, 365 days a year sentinel protecting us. We can still hear when we're asleep, and it's the last sense to go before we die. In episode 5 of Insects and the Apocalypse, we talk to some of the pioneers of the science of Bioacoustics, and the new generation of young scientists they inspired, about how listening to other creatures could ensure their survival too.
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    22 mins
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  • Episode 6 (Ambient Sounds)

    Episode 6 (Ambient Sounds)
    Aug 3 2023
    The dawn chorus of Barro Colorado Island
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    10 mins
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  • Episode 7 (Ambient Sounds)

    Episode 7 (Ambient Sounds)
    Aug 3 2023
    The dusk chorus of Barro Colorado Island
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    11 mins
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