The Glow Below

Radiolab

WNYC Studios

Science, Natural Sciences, History, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6 • 43.5K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A call to oceanographer Edie Widder about a fish with a very odd immune system quickly becomes something else: a dive into the deep sea, into a world of brilliant light. But down there, the light doesn’t behave like light -- it sparkles and glows, but also drips, squirts, and dribbles. Today, find out how creatures make the light and how they use it, from hunting and hiding to maybe even … talking. And hear about a series of mysterious moments where Edie goes from studying the creatures to becoming one of them. EPISODE CREDITS: Hosted by - Molly WebsterReported by - Molly WebsterProduced by - Maria Paz Gutierrezwith help from - Molly WebsterFact-checking by - Diane A. Kelly EPISODE CITATIONS:Documentary - Coming soon, there’ll be a new doc about Edie’s life and work studying bioluminescence in deep sea creatures. According to Edie, “A Life Illuminated”, contains some of the best deep sea bioluminescence footage ever recorded. It’s from our friends at Sandbox Films, and director Tasha Van Zandt.https://www.sandboxfilms.org/films/a-life-illuminated/Books - Edie Widder wrote a memoir! Go read, “Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea”.https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564185/below-the-edge-of-darkness-by-edith-widder-phd/Videos - It’s not in the episode, but a few years back, Edie’s fame reached new heights when she captured footage of a never-before-seen Giant Squid … here’s the story, and video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krDdv9KLmuM Articles - A look at some glowing shrimps.https://zpr.io/3jyHWi7VFBw5A photogallery of different types of deep sea glow, from different types of deep sea creatures, including one of counterillumination, which Edie talks about in the episode.https://zpr.io/hdFFsArGjhau Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected]. Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Wait, you're listening.
0:03.1	Okay.
0:04.4	All right.
0:05.6	Okay.
0:07.0	All right.
0:08.5	You're listening to Radio Lab.
0:11.4	Radio Lab.
0:11.9	From W. N. Y.
0:13.9	C.
0:14.8	See?
0:15.1	Yeah.
0:18.9	This is Radio Lab. I'm Molly Webster. I'm going to open up the show today with deep sea explorer and oceanographer, Edie Witter.
0:26.6	I'm still here, ready to go.
0:28.7	Why don't you tell me how you bumped into our friend?
0:32.6	Our friend, the giant squid?
0:34.1	No, our friend, the anglerfish. I'm here for the smaller anglerfish.
0:37.4	I called Edie because I wanted to talk friend, the anglerfish. Oh, the anglerfish. I'm here for the smaller angler.
0:43.6	I called Edie because I wanted to talk to her about anglerfish and this kind of weird thing I'd heard about their immune systems and how they mate with each other.
0:48.1	But then, Edie wooed me with a story that had to do with none of that about being a grad student
0:54.1	in the 80s, working
0:55.7	on the back of a boat, and pulling sea creatures out of the deep.
0:59.7	I was going to see on ships with a scientist who had developed a way to bring animals
	...

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