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Short Wave

Exploring The Canopy With 'TreeTop Barbie'

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 β€’ 6K Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 25 March 2020

⏱️ 14 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Encore episode: Pioneering ecologist Nalini Nadkarni takes us up into the canopy β€” the area above the forest floor β€” where she helped research and document this unexplored ecosystem. Plus: the story of her decades-long effort to get more women into science, and how she found a surprising ally in the fight β€” Barbie. Video and more from Maddie's trip to the canopy is here. Follow Maddie on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey everybody, Maddie Sifai here with shortwave reporter Emily Cuong.

0:03.2

Today we thought you might appreciate a little joy in your life, especially now.

0:07.2

That's right. Here on Shortwave, we want to bring you episodes that explain what's happening with the coronavirus,

0:12.3

but also episodes that feature other interesting science.

0:15.8

Like this one from the very first week of Shortwave.

0:18.8

It's probably one of my favorites.

0:20.6

Absolutely. It's got rain for us. It's got sling shots, a decade-long conflict with Big Barbie.

0:27.4

Maddie gets rope burn.

0:28.7

That's not to love. The rope burn, Cuong. It's clearly the rope burn.

0:32.3

These are the sacrifices you make, Maddie.

0:34.4

All right, on to the show. Enjoy.

0:38.1

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

0:43.1

One day this past summer, I got to visit a rainforest.

0:46.6

Okay, that's licorice fern. That is, the scientific name is polypodium vulgari.

0:52.5

I was there with a college's Nelinei Nodcarni.

0:55.3

This is called Saladgenella. This is called, this is a club moss.

0:58.6

It's actually a very primitive plant.

1:01.0

Nelinei has been studying and exploring ecosystems like this for 35 years.

1:06.2

Okay, so that is called dichranum. That's another species of moss.

1:09.4

I like to call it pluffy moss, just because it's so soft and so plushy, so much like a little pillow.

1:15.7

Here's high-accompanied flundins. This is raccomy trim.

1:18.7

There's like three, four different species of moss right there.

...

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