Shellshocked I: Turtles vs. The World

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor, National Zoo, Exhibits, National Museum, Zoo, Washington, African American History And Culture, Postal Museum, Exhibit, Society & Culture, American History, Pop Culture, History, Art19, Air And Space, Science, The Smithsonian, Tony Cohn, Museum, Smithsonian, History Of The World, Natural History, Dc

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 July 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Turtles have been around for 200 million years—outliving dinosaurs, surviving ice ages, and basically minding their own business the whole time. Tough on the outside, chill on the inside, they seem built to last. So why are they suddenly disappearing? In part one of this two-part series, we hit the trail in search of one surprisingly elusive reptile: the eastern box turtle. These ancient creatures may seem slow, but their decline is happening fast. And the scariest part? We barely understand what it could mean.

Guests:

Thomas Akre, head of the Turtle Conservation Ecology Lab at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Maxwell Earle, outreach and engagement coordinator for the Turtle Conservation Ecology Lab at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Chris Polinski, lab manager for the Turtle Conservation Ecology Lab at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Side Door, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX.
0:13.7	I'm Lizzie Peabody.
0:14.5	I'm Lizzie Peabody. Gosh, it is beautiful out here.
0:26.6	These are really old trees.
0:29.6	Yeah, this is a nice, more mature forest.
0:32.6	I'm walking through the woods on a fine spring morning, guided by not one, but two Smithsonian researchers, Maxwell
0:39.4	Earl and Chris Polinsky. And out here, they are not used to having company.
0:43.6	Chris, we got to make sure we're in our best behavior today.
0:46.3	Yeah.
0:47.3	No, you should be on your worst behavior, because it makes for great audio.
0:50.3	Okay, good.
0:51.3	Then I generally make great audio.
0:53.3	I wish I could tell you exactly where we are, but Max and Chris have sworn me to secrecy.
1:00.0	You can just say like maybe F***a County or just say like,
1:03.0	Virginia.
1:04.0	We're on the half of the state, sort of.
1:07.0	You know, I'm going to believe all of this.
1:09.0	Okay, good.
1:10.0	That's because the animal we're searching for is also highly prized by poachers.
1:19.0	That's right, poachers.
1:20.7	People who take wildlife out of the wild.
1:24.2	And when I think about the kind of animals being smuggled across borders,
	...

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