Wild Thing

What were the long-term effects of the SL-1 explosion? Nuclear power is a shrinking part of America’s energy picture; accidents and fear have tarnished it, and the old reactor fleet is reaching its end. Yet nuclear energy could provide a bulwark against the looming threat of climate change. Is it something we can make work for us, in spite of ourselves? Are the costs worth it in the long run? Sixt...

Incidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima are often what comes to mind when we think about nuclear energy. Thankfully, events like these actually very rare. So does that mean the risks we associate with atomic power are as bad as we think? How good are we at actually assessing those risks? And can we make things even less risky by removing humans from the equation? That’s how some next generation pro...

The aftermath of SL-1 highlighted a problem that we still haven’t solved, despite decades of searching for a solution: what to do with the waste. Our plans to store nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain in Nevada fell through. So now what? Can we safely contain these materials? Should the waste be in one location, or many? How do we warn future generations about the dangers these materials pose? *Se...

As firefighters and medical personnel staged operations at SL-1, a plume of radioactive gas silently made its way over the Idaho desert, creeping towards the nearby towns. How much of a risk did the explosion at SL-1 actually pose? And what does radiation actually do to the human body? We are constantly bathing in what’s called background radiation—so where is the line? How much is safe and how mu...

The only three people who really knew what had transpired at SL-1 were dead, and it would take months to determine what likely happened—plenty of time for rumors and gossip to take hold. Was there a love triangle? A fight gone wrong? A murder suicide? A government cover-up? Or was all of this rumor and innuendo simply a distraction from the real problems? And, ultimately, what information could pe...

Two of the men working the reactor that night had personal problems. They hated each other. They fought with their bosses. And those problems could easily distract a man from his work—but what does that mean when you’re working with nuclear materials? At a reactor that, although managed by the military, seemed to be falling apart due to infrastructure issues, mechanical failures, and lackluster ma...

The horrifying devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved the destructive capabilities of nuclear power. But, in the aftermath of World War II, we started to experiment with how we could use atomic energy for good. It was the dawn of a new era in science, and, in that spirit, thousands of men arrived in Idaho, including the men whose deaths would later signify the difficulty of achieving this at...

How did we figure out that such a tiny particle—an atom—held all that power? For that matter, what is an atom? A primer on the basics of atomic energy—including its destructive capabilities—to help us better understand the events that unfolded roughly 20 years later at SL-1. We’ll get a (basic!) lesson in nuclear physics from scientists, and explore some of the history that brought atomic power to...

Two dead men. One man missing. A hole blown in the side of the reactor. A cloud of radioactive gas so hot, it was off the charts. What happened with the SL-1 reactor feeds into our deep fear about the dangers of nuclear energy. But we remain intrigued by the possibilities of an atomic future, especially at a time when we need clean energy more than ever. Are the risks worth the rewards? And have w...

Back for its third season, Wild Thing uses science, history and culture to probe the realities of nuclear energy today, while analyzing our own fascination— and ambivalence—with all things atomic. What are the true risks? And what is the actual potential? Are we better at this than we were sixty years ago? And given our nature, are we humans even responsible enough to harness the power of the univ...

'Oumuamua is long gone—out of sight and almost impossible to reach. The excitement over it generated endless fascination about what (and who) might be out there. Ultimately, that’s what this search for extraterrestrial life represents—a series of questions that don’t have good answers and may never have them, not now, not in another millennia. So why search? What does it matter? What are we hoping...

Our views on aliens can often be uplifting, offering a glimpse of a better, technologically-bright future, or a glimmer of hope about our ability to survive. In some cases, our thoughts about them are almost spiritual, as though aliens are divine beings. To understand why, we make a trip to Colorado’s UFO Watchtower, which has become something of a shrine for the alien faithful, and talk to author...

American culture is saturated with extraterrestrial and UFO references—and we still can’t get enough. Hollywood has raked in billions on alien-themed programming and it comes in every flavor you can imagine—from horror to camp to science fiction to documentary. What’s the cultural appeal? Why aliens as opposed to any other topic? How have these imagined aliens evolved as we have? *Season 2 of Wild...

We’ve been broadcasting our presence for about 85 years now, with radio, television, and radar, essentially spamming space with all kinds of messages. What would we do if someone answers back? What if our message reaches someone, or something, hostile? Others argue that we should be trying to communicate with whoever might be out there. But who should do the talking? And what would we say? *Season...

To really look for intelligent extraterrestrial life, say scientists, we have to look way far out into space. A new set of initiatives—the Breakthrough Initiatives—are experimenting with cutting-edge technology to do just that. These new ideas, funded by private industry instead of the government, are the future of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence—and we hear from the scientists who ar...

In 2017, the nation’s prominent newspapers published outlandish-sounding stories about a secret UFO program run by the Pentagon. We talk to retired Navy pilot Ryan Graves who recalls seeing some weird objects and speak with Luis Elizondo, who supposedly ran this Pentagon program. What was the military looking for? What did they find? And what are they hiding? *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by...

For all the people who think there’s life somewhere out there in space, there are also those who think the best place to look for it is closer to home. Thousands of people claim to have seen UFOs or have had alien encounters and one of those most famous of these happened in 1947 in the desert outside Roswell, New Mexico. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing...

What’s the actual likelihood of extraterrestrial life? Especially intelligent life? 60 years ago, astronomer Frank Drake took a crack at calculating those odds and his famous Drake Equation still resonates with scientists and UFO enthusiasts alike. We breaks down the equation for us, piece by piece, and talks about the chance of finding something and whether we’re any closer to the answers. *Seaso...

We’re surrounded by life here on Earth—and given how huge the galaxy is, it’s got to be out there on other planets, too, right? But where to look? What to look for? And would life on other planets be anything like life here? It turns out that while we know a lot about life on this planet—like what it needs to survive—we’ve still got a lot to learn. *Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Kran...

'Oumuamua almost slipped past Earth before an astronomer caught sight of this weird object. What was it? Some scientists thought it was just a comet; others, like Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, theorized it could be an alien spacecraft. And why not? While tabloid aliens elicit giggles, loads of serious scientists, statesmen, and even members of the military, consider extraterrestrial life a real pos...

Back for its second season, Wild Thing: Space Invaders turns our eyes skyward in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Coming September 17, 2020.

Bigfoot researchers remain optimistic that Sasquatch is out there; that the creature will one day be found. Why? Why do people continue to believe? We’ll talk to professional skeptic Michael Shermer about the nature of belief. And we’ll look at why—even for those who think Bigfoot is a complete myth—the idea of Bigfoot holds so much appeal. What makes us so fascinated by this creature? Why do we w...

Chances are, you’ve already seen Bigfoot. On pizza boxes, advertising jerky, drinking beer, driving monster trucks. There are a lot of people who really do believe. There are even more who just think the idea of Bigfoot is fun. And then there are those who see Sasquatch as a real cash cow. A Cash-squatch. We’ll sit down with CEOs and creative directors to find out what’s in a name and a logo. No d...

Bigfoot can be tongue-in-cheek fun - but what happens if you take it seriously? There are the people who’ve risked their professional careers and personal reputations, and expended a lot of time, money and energy seeking out Sasquatch. We’ll attend an exclusive symposium, for the crème de la crème of Bigfoot researchers, and hear from many who’ve been ridiculed for their interests. *Season 1 of Wi...

Tired of waiting around for other people to find Bigfoot, Laura goes into the woods (with some experts). This particular outing is led by Cindy Caddell and three other seasoned ‘Squatchers, out in Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest, who explain what it takes to go looking for Bigfoot. And once the sun sets, we’ll hear a few hair-raising stories around the campfire before heading out on a nighttime...