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This episode was recorded on January 26th, 2025 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Oliver Wood, Stephen Wilson Jr., Dar Williams, TopHouse, and Cloud Cult. https://bit.ly/4hTzT8L

In an episode first aired in 2012, Lulu Miller introduces us to Jeff Lockwood, a professor at the University of Wyoming, who spent a part of his career studying a particularly ferocious set of insects: Gryllacrididae. Or, as Jeff describes them, "crickets on steroids." They have crushingly strong, serrated jaws, and they launch all-out attacks on anyone who gets in their way–whether it's another cricket, or the guy trying to take them out of their cages.In order to work with the gryllacridids, Jeff had to figure out how to out-maneuver them. And as he devised ways to keep from getting slashed and bitten, he felt like he was getting to know them. Maybe they weren't just mindless brutes … but their own creatures, each with their own sense of self. And that got him wondering: what could their fierceness tell him about the nature of violence? How well could he understand the minds of these insects, and what drove them to be so bloody?That's when the alarm bells went off. Jeff would picture his mentor, Dr. LaFage, lecturing him back in college–warning him not to slip into a muddled, empathic mood … not to let his emotions sideswipe his objectivity. And that would usually do the trick–Jeff would think of LaFage, and rein himself back in.But then one night, something happened that gave Dr. LaFage's advice a terrible new kind of significance. Tamra Carboni tells us this part of the story, and challenges Jeff's belief that there's a way to understand it.Hey, one other thing, if you live, or are planning to be, in NYC on April 22nd, come check out our NEW LIVE SHOW!!Radiolab Presents: Viscera – The Elixir of LifeWhere: Caveat Theater on the Lower East Side, NY NY When: April 22nd Doors @ 7 pmGET YOUR TICKETS, HERE!! (https://www.caveat.nyc/events/radiolab-presents-viscera-%E2%80%93-the-elixir-of-life-4-22-2025)Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

This week, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot interview guitarist and songwriter Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They talk about his new autobiography, working with Bob Dylan and his continued love for music.Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3eEvRnGMake a donation via PayPal: https://bit.ly/3dmt9lUSend us a Voice Memo: Desktop: bit.ly/2RyD5Ah  Mobile: sayhi.chat/soundops Featured Songs:Tom Petty, "Runnin' Down a Dream," Full Moon Fever, MCA, 1989The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "Breakdown," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Shelter, 1976Johnny Cash, "Folsom Prison Blues," Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!, Sun, 1957The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, "Born In Chicago," The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elektra, 1965Mudcrutch, "Scare Easy," Mudcrutch, Reprise, 2008Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "Refugee," Damn the Torpedoes, Backstreet, 1979Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "Here Comes My Girl," Damn the Torpedoes, Backstreet, 1979Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "Don't Do Me Like That," Damn the Torpedoes, Backstreet, 1979Tom Petty, "Free Fallin'," Full Moon Fever, MCA, 1989Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "Even the Losers," Damn the Torpedoes, Backstreet, 1979Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)," Hard Promises, Backstreet, 1981The Beatles, "Taxman," Revolver, Parlophone, 1966Tom Petty, "I Won't Back Down," Full Moon Fever, MCA, 1989Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "American Girl," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Shelter, 1976Common, "The Light," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The first-quarter Moon is gliding across the constellation Gemini tonight. Gemini’s twin stars and the planet Mars form a bright arc above and to the upper left of the Moon at nightfall. Mars is the brightest member of the arc. It’s roughly twice as bright as the star Pollux, which is twice as bright as Castor. Pollux is just 34 light-years away. And it hosts a giant planet – one of our closest planetary neighbors. The planet isn’t likely to be inhabited, though – the star, the planet, and the system’s age all conspire against life. The star is past the prime stage of life, so it’s puffed up to giant proportions. That bathes the planet in light, making it hot. The planet – known as Thestias – is about three times the mass of Jupiter, the giant of our own solar system. That means it’s a ball of gas, with no solid surface – probably not a good home for life. And the system is only a bit more than a billion years old, so there hasn’t been a lot of time for life to take hold. On the other hand, if the planet has big moons, conditions there might be a bit more favorable for life. But those conditions won’t last long. Pollux will grow bigger and brighter in the future, making the moons even hotter. After that, the star will cast off its outer layers, blasting the planet and moons. Only the star’s hot, dead core will remain – zapping the surroundings with deadly radiation. More about the Moon and Mars tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a special MEXICO episode! We highlight our favorite Mexican rock, hip-hop and indie music from artists including Mexican Institute of Sound, C-Kan, The Warning, Caloncho, Marco Mares, Marissa Mur, Sara Valenzuela, Technicolor Fabrics, Jaguares, Bratty and more.

Artifacts and exhibits of this particular moment we are living through. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Exhibit One: Ira talks to producer Emmanuel Dzotsi, who brings the first exhibit into the studio with him: a chunk of concrete with some yellow paint on it. He got it from the demolition site in Washington, DC, where the giant Black Lives Matter letters are being dug out of the street with heavy equipment. (8 minutes)Exhibit Two: Producer Aviva DeKornfeld talks to Ranjani Srinivasan, who tells the story of how her life was transformed over five days via a series of events that started out confusing and escalated to frightening. (25 minutes)Exhibit Three: Producer Laura Starecheski takes us inside one dramatic court hearing on the Trump administration’s executive order and new policy banning transgender people from serving in the military. (20 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.