This is Outside In, a show about the natural world and how we use it. I'm Sam Evans Brown.

Today we are giving you an insider's look at what it takes to make the podcast.

Now, there are a bunch of us that make the show which means occasionally we have ideas meetings

and those meetings almost inevitably decompose into total chaos when one of us

starts shouting our favorite facts about our favorite animal. So we gave up.

Rather than fight it, we're leaning in.

Today, for cases for animals that are the best, the coolest, the niftiest,

or however you want to define it.

When it's all said and done, we're going to ask you to settle this one for us.

So producers Taylor Quimby, Hannah McCarthy, Justin Paradise, and Jimmy Gutierrez have each brought an entry and they're here to wow us with

facts. First up, Hannah McCarthy. Sam I'm going to start with the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Have you ever read it?

I have not.

He, uh, Babylonian or something?

Sumerian?

Sumerian.

The Sumerian language, I believe it's the Sumerian language, the ancient Mesopotamians that was the culture

considered one of the oldest if not the oldest surviving great works of literature there are many

stories in the epic of Gilgamesh.

However, I'm just going to share with you one.

Okay.

Gilgamesh is sad, I'm paraphrasing from the ancient Sumerians,

...