OK, they might look a bit like a great potential pet, but as dog-like as they are, you really don't want one of these at home. They're spotted hyenas – and they're native to sub-Saharan Africa. And I guarantee you that they're tougher and stronger than they look. (They're also more closely related to cats than to dogs, but that's another story.)

Anyway, on the day we set out to film at the Oakland Zoo, I had at least a inkling of what to expect. In the 1990s, an old friend of mine had worked with spotted hyenas at the Berkeley Field Station for the Study of Behavior, Ecology and Reproduction. At the time the facility had more than 30 hyenas, and they were studying their behaviors (vocalizations, family structures, etc.). When I first saw the animals it was clear that they're pretty much one big muscle. Mostly jaw. My friend informed me that the mothers usually have two cubs, but that only one generally survives. Basically one cub kills or starves the other. I found that hard to believe – I mean they're just little babies aren't they? Then she showed me a newborn that had been rejected by its mother (basically beaten out in the competition by it's litter-mate). It was so cute and tiny. I asked if I could hold it. She said, "depends if you want your finger bitten off or not." OK, maybe she was exaggerating (or maybe not) but after watching the tiny cub crawl around on a blanket, it was clear: The thing could already growl and screech like a small adult. And it already had serious teeth, a strong jaw and a major attitude.

So I pretty much knew that these hyenas at the Oakland zoo were going to be more tiger than dog. Still, you have to see them up close to really get their power. And there are really few, if any, animals like them. Their ability to digest bone, their matriarchal structure, the idea that the female has a "phallus." I really recommend you check them out. And please, no matter how cute they look, I'd avoid petting them!

Watch the "Cool Critters: Hyenas" TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources.

As the Series Producer for QUEST, I get to read through a lot of amazing science story ideas, but when I first read about the work that Carl Haber, Vitaliy Fadeyev and Earl Cornell were doing at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, I knew it was a story I wanted to do. OK, I admit that part of the reason is that I love music and sound, and have been interested in audio technology since I was a kid (back when we listened to records). But for me, a big part of the story's "coolness" is how this team – and Carl Haber in particular – came up with the idea. I love the idea that he was just listening to the radio one day and heard that the Library of Congress was failing in its struggle to preserve a significant portion of our nation's music and sound heritage. Haber basically thought, "well, as a designer of instrumentation for particle physics, I think I can help." And that's what he did. He felt passionate about solving a problem, and he changed the world.

I had heard of Edison-style wax cylinders, but I had never seen one, and I had no idea how much audio history (musical as well as cultural) had been recorded in the format. One of the best parts of the shoot (we shot on two different days), was our visit with Victoria Bradshaw at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Walking through the floor-to-ceiling shelving and stepping up to literally hundreds of carefully-packed wax cylinders was a revelation. Holding one in my hands (gloved hands) was an amazing feeling. And to see the wax cylinders upon which Alfred Kroeber had actually recorded Ishi speaking – hard to put into words. I couldn't help but imagine Kroeber himself, with a box of blank cylinders and a recorder strapped to a mule, fording a river on his way to meet an Indian who "spoke a language nobody can understand." Suddenly it was clear to me how important it is to save these recordings before they disintegrate.

And for a science-head, visiting Haber's lab was amazing. Far from antiseptic, the whole place was filled with hacked parts of microscopes, old record and cylinder players, computers running custom software, circuit boards, wires hanging everywhere. It was a great reminder that real science is a permanent work-in-progress. And when it's all said and done – and the Library of Congress is already using Haber's flat-record technology – we'll all be better off. Thanks to Haber's team, soon we'll have pristine, permanent copies of many of these endangered recordings. And as these collections are migrated to the web, that's great news, not just for museums and archives, but for all of us.

And one last quick thing: If you’re interested in learning more about our wax cylinder legacy, check out this UC Santa Barbara site. It has great information on the history of the format, and it offers hundreds of wax cylinders that you can listen stream right off the net!


Watch the "How Edison Got His Groove Back" TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources. Also, check out our online photo set for images from this story.

Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.

You may view the "Do-it-Yourself Science: The Maker Faire" TV story online, as well as find additional links and resources.

Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.

You may view the "Reverse Evolution Machine" story online, as well as find additional links and resources.


Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.

You may view the "Illuminating the Northern LightsTV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources.

Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.

You may view the "Wetlands Time Machine" TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources from the story.

Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.

You may view the "Solar City: The Future of Nanosolar" TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources.

Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.

Leave your comment or question below for Series Producer Josh Rosen on this story.

San Francisco Bay Invaders & Stem Cell Gold Rush (episode #110), airs tonight on QUEST at 7:30pm on KQED 9, and KQED HD, Comcast 709. (full schedule)

You may view the the "Stem Cell Gold Rush" TV Story online.

Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.

You may watch the George Smoot TV story online.

Sudden Oak Death and Science of Big Waves (episode #108), which also features this short story, airs tonight on QUEST at 7:30pm on KQED 9, and KQED HD, Comcast 709. (full schedule)

Josh Rosen is Series Producer for QUEST on KQED Television.