{"podcast":{"title":"Nature Signals Podcast","slug":"nature-signals-podcast-7864786","podcast_index_feed_id":7864786,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/6443334.rss","website_url":"https://ruththornton.substack.com/podcast","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/6443334/f512800928c4d97679055ca3bbdff604.jpg","author":"Ruth Thornton","episode_count":20,"summary":"A newsletter about nature, the animals and plants that share the world with us and the human actions affecting it - both good and bad.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-10T08:20:05.702877+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-signals-podcast-7864786"},"episode":{"title":"Audio Edition: The State of Nature, Weekly Update #18","slug":"audio-edition-the-state-of-nature-weekly-update-18","published_at":"2026-02-19T19:41:50+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-signals-podcast-7864786/audio-edition-the-state-of-nature-weekly-update-18","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-signals-podcast-7864786","url":"https://ruththornton.substack.com/p/audio-edition-the-state-of-nature-fe8","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/188536090/3c0b49a8444437d8ab189ba2d1961f64.mp3","summary":"Here is the audio edition of yesterday’s State of Nature Update. Listen to hear about: Biodiversity: * Elephants’ special whiskers help them sense the world. * Parasitic beetles trick bees by mimicking the smell of flowers. * Michigan’s moose population is lower than expected. * Female tortoises are driven to walk off cliffs by constant sexual aggression on this remote island. * An Ecuadorian family’s solitary fight to save the seeds of endangered plants. Climate Change: * EPA revokes scientific finding that underpins climate regulations . Pollution: * Proposed US House bill could gut toxic chemicals law. Science education: * What does the public think about science? If you’re interested in learning more about any of the stories I covered, click on the links in the written version: Nature Signals is a reader-supported publication. It takes many hours to write and research each post. To receive new posts in your inbox and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Not ready to subscribe? Consider buying me a coffee (or a beer…). Any support is greatly appreciated! Get full access to Nature Signals at ruththornton.substack.com/subscribe","meta_description":"Here is the audio edition of yesterday’s State of Nature Update. Listen to hear about: Biodiversity: * Elephants’ special whiskers help them sense the wor…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":849,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/nature-signals-podcast-7864786/episodes/audio-edition-the-state-of-nature-weekly-update-18/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-signals-podcast-7864786/audio-edition-the-state-of-nature-weekly-update-18.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}