{"podcast":{"title":"Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist","slug":"buzz-blossom-squeak-6817827","podcast_index_feed_id":6817827,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/buzz-blossom-squeak/","website_url":"https://buzzblossomandsqueak.com/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/6bf1b4ca-8682-42ea-b3f5-b4caa5685cb9/bbslogo2.jpg","author":"Jill McKinley","episode_count":131,"summary":"Buzz, Blossom & Squeak is a quiet, curious walk into the natural world right outside your door. You don’t need to be a scientist, a hardcore birder, or someone who hikes miles into the wilderness. This podcast is for anyone who has ever paused to notice a bird call, wondered about a plant growing along a sidewalk, watched insects move through a garden, or felt the seasons shifting without quite knowing why. Each episode focuses on small, approachable pieces of nature—birds, bugs, plants, weather, ecosystems, and natural patterns—explained in a way that’s calm, curious, and grounded in observation. Instead of rushing toward big conclusions, Buzz, Blossom & Squeak invites you to slow down and really notice what’s happening in the living world around you. You’ll hear about things like: How birds use different layers of trees and sky Why certain plants grow where they do What insects are actually doing when they buzz past How seasons quietly reshape landscapes The hidden systems that connect soil, water, plants, and animals The goal isn’t mastery—it’s familiarity. Nature becomes less overwhelming when you take it one small step at a time. This podcast is especially for people who: Wan…","last_synced_at":"2026-09-09T16:20:47.434969+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/buzz-blossom-squeak-6817827"},"episode":{"title":"118 - Nobody Loves the Possum. Here’s Why They Should.","slug":"118-nobody-loves-the-possum-here-s-why-they-should","published_at":"2026-06-18T19:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/buzz-blossom-squeak-6817827/118-nobody-loves-the-possum-here-s-why-they-should","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/buzz-blossom-squeak-6817827","url":"https://buzzblossomandsqueak.com/episode/118-nobody-loves-the-possum-heres-why-they-should","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/2deaf947-f7e6-46c4-b705-c87343ed0f2b.mp3","summary":"Nobody loves the possum. That’s kind of the point. The hissing, the drooling, the naked scaly tail, the teeth — all fifty of them — and the dramatic habit of passing out and smelling like death when startled. None of this is doing the possum any favors in the public opinion department. But here’s what most people don’t know: that possumwandering through your backyard at night may be one of the best things for your family’s health that you’re never going to think to thank. I’m making the case for the possum today. Stick with me. Opossum or possum — and what’s the difference? The animal in the United States is the Virginia opossum, written with an O, but spoken without it. Americans dropped the silent O sometime after the word was recorded from the Algonquin language around 1600. The possums in Australia — the common brushtail possum — are a related marsupial but a different animal entirely. Both usages are considered acceptable in everyday conversation, which makes me feel better about the fact that I’ve been saying it wrong my whole life. North America’s only marsupial Yes, really. Right here in the Northwoods, waddling through the leaf litter at night, is our very own pouched mammal. Their ancestors migrated up through South America at some point and have been here for a very long time — long enough to be a genuinely tropical creature that has slowly pushed northward and now has to contend with Wisconsin winters on a body designed for warmer climates. Their ears and tail tips are prone to frostbite. January is a hard month to be a possum. The tick vacuum in your backyard This is the part worth remembering. Researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies spent years testing which animals were most effective at killing the black-legged ticks that spread Lyme dise…","meta_description":"Nobody loves the possum. That’s kind of the point. The hissing, the drooling, the naked scaly tail, the teeth — all fifty of them — and the dramatic habit…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1111,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/buzz-blossom-squeak-6817827/episodes/118-nobody-loves-the-possum-here-s-why-they-should/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/buzz-blossom-squeak-6817827/118-nobody-loves-the-possum-here-s-why-they-should.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}