Thriving in the face of adversity. That's something the incredible species of our world do every day.

I'm Chris Morgan. Join me on the Wild as we explore stories of hope and resilience in nature and what they can teach us about ourselves and each other.

Listen to The Wild from KU.OW in Seattle, part of the NPR Network.

You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

Hey, y'all, it's Mariel.

Our friends at NPR's science podcast, Shortwave,

just did an episode all about hair loss,

and it is packed with useful information.

So we're sharing that with you today. Let's get right to it.

Hey, short waivers, NPR Pharmaceuticals correspondent, Sidney Lupkin hosting today with a story that

starts with Allison Richards, who remembers when she was a little girl, the thing some people noticed most about

her was her hair.

They're like, oh, your hair is so pretty, it's so long.

Allison had long, straight, blonde hair.

That was the beauty feature that people commented on.

But when Allison was in her 20s, she noticed her hair was changing, getting thinner.

Then during COVID, when Allison was living in New York, maybe it was stress, maybe age,

she wasn't sure. Something scary happened.

There was one day in the shower where just, I had hundreds of strands of hair, like fist holes of hair coming out.

Even though it's not like threatening, hair loss can be devastating.

It can feel like part of your identity is slipping away.

It was a very scary experience.

...