Season Watch Podcast

A photo of a grey wolf has graphics of devil horns and theater curtains superimposed on top of it.

A dramaturgist, a journalist, and an ecologist walk into a podcast...

Charlie Mitchell, Stella Mayerhoff, Report for America

Charlie Mitchell and Stella Mayerhoff discuss the intersection of monsters and conservation with Michael Chemers, professor of dramatic literature and founding member of the Center for Monster Studies.Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

A snoozy raccoon rests in a tree cavity in Minneapolis on March 8, 2022.

Science and Nature

In defense of naps and highbush cranberries

Charlie Mitchell, Heidi Holtan

Co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell ponder the importance of rest, the benefits of sugar, and celebrate the first full year of the Season Watch Podcast.Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

A knobbly twig is covered in glassy ice in a winter forest.

Science and Nature

Are you cold hardy? How plants protect themselves from the winter chill

Charlie Mitchell

Charlie Mitchell listens to Sandhill Cranes, ponders Bald Eagle courtship, and learns about cold hardiness in plants.Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

A russet and tan bird with a large, back-set eye and extremely long bill walks across a gravel road.

Science and Nature

Yes, but why is your face like that? An ode to the American Woodcock

Charlie Mitchell, Julia Schrenkler

Co-hosts Charlie Mitchell and Julia Schrenkler opine about the weird and endearing American Woodcock, a love of strange science, and much more.Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

A large brown and tan owl with a distinctive orange eye mask perches in a winter tree.

Science and Nature

Turns out Great Horned Owls can hunt Great Blue Herons

Charlie Mitchell, Heidi Holtan

Co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell gripe about buckthorn, learn about hummingbirds, and consider the healing effects of forests.Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

A two white mushrooms grow from a coniferous forest floor. A chunk has been torn off of one mushroom, and the injured section is blue.

Science and Nature

When mushrooms bleed blue

Charlie Mitchell, Heidi Holtan

Co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell converse about mushrooms, angry squirrels, and go off on tangents.Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

A long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp deposits eggs in Dayton on Aug. 30, 2025.

Science and Nature

Parasitoid wasps are a big bummer (and have one too)

Charlie Mitchell, Heidi Holtan

Co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell chat about Darwin, monarch butterflies, and the decline (and hope) of birds.Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

A Black-capped Chickadee has a bad hair day while snacking on sunflower seeds in St. Louis County on Feb. 24, 2025.

Science and Nature

Chickadees and chimpanzees: Two geeks gab about the joy of science

Charlie Mitchell, Stella Mayerhoff, Report for America

Co-hosts Charlie Mitchell and Stella Mayerhoff geek out about primatology, evolution, and fantastic teachers.Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

Two round, russet and tan colored groundhogs gaze out over a rock in St. Louis County on June 19, 2021.

Science and Nature

What's the difference between a groundhog and a woodchuck?

Charlie Mitchell, Heidi Holtan

Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell discuss detailed observations, the joy of pursuing a snake, and the calming sound of nature names.Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

A black bear's paw lies on the ground while it is anesthetized for long term radio-collared bear research near Graff during March 2024.

Science and Nature

Bear hands are better than bare hands for climbing trees, eating ants

Charlie Mitchell, Heidi Holtan

Co-hosts Charlie Mitchell and Heidi Holtan enjoy learning about hungry black bears with Andy Tri, DNR bear biologist.Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!