Hi everyone. I'm Josh, and this is The Emerald,

currents and trends through a mythic lens.

The podcast where we explore an ever-changing world and our lives in it

through the lens of myth, story, and imagination.

The Emerald. All that's happening on this green jewel in space. Have you ever looked at your dog and wish that you had whiskers? I have. There's something so

elegant and regal about those silver-white bristles. Vibrisse, they're called in Latin,

like antenna that are attuned to the tiniest shifts in wind and sound and vibration.

And when my dog notices something,

maybe a rabbit running or a shift in the breeze,

or a new scent,

or our neighbor's dog, Glacier,

her best friend and favorite guy to pick on,

and those whiskers perk up into a state of alertness.

It's like her whole being all the way through the ends of those delicate hairs is awake,

alive, and feeling.

We've all probably also seen the fur on an animal's back go up, the hackles as they're

sometimes called. That feeling is contagious, there's a palpable rise in energy, and you can

almost feel your own neck hairs stand on end. If you've seen it happen to your own dog,

it's something. If you see it happen during an encounter

with someone else's dog, it's even more something. And if you see it during a wild animal

encounter, that electric bristle, it's a whole other thing entirely. Today on the podcast,

we're going to talk about hair. Tumbling, cascading, curling,

...