Elyse DeFranco is an intern with KQED's Deep Look series. She spent years studying wildlife around the world before making the leap to science journalism, and holds an M.Sc. in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Meet a Great Dad From the Animal World: The Poison Frog
Player sponsored by
window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"science_1979653": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1979653",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1979653",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1979474,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1080
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED-1536x864.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 864
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
}
},
"publishDate": 1656365993,
"modified": 1656366082,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "DL909_Dont_Go_Chasing_Water_Bugs_KQED",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"altTag": "underwater, flat bug profile, brown with black eyes, and numerous spherical eggs attached to the back of its shell.",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1979514": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1979514",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1979514",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1979498,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/Mimic-Poison-Frog-160x107.jpeg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/Mimic-Poison-Frog-672x372.jpeg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/Mimic-Poison-Frog.jpeg",
"width": 750,
"height": 500
}
},
"publishDate": 1655316210,
"modified": 1655417067,
"caption": "This mimic poison frog dad is carrying one of his tadpoles to a safe pool of water, where it will live until it metamorphoses into a frog.",
"description": "This mimic poison frog dad is carrying one of his tadpoles to a safe pool of water, where it will live until it metamorphoses into a frog. ",
"title": "Mimic Poison Frog",
"credit": "Dr. John P. Clare/\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/\">CalPhotos\u003c/a>",
"status": "inherit",
"altTag": "A male frog carries his tadpole on his back to find a small pool of water where the tadpole can safely grow. The frog has a bright orange head with black spots and round black eyes. His legs show a pattern of black circles with bright sky blue woven around the circles.",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"edefranco": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11810",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11810",
"found": true
},
"name": "Elyse DeFranco",
"firstName": "Elyse",
"lastName": "DeFranco",
"slug": "edefranco",
"email": "edefranco@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Elyse DeFranco is an intern with KQED's Deep Look series. She spent years studying wildlife around the world before making the leap to science journalism, and holds an M.Sc. in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/248d413a266888585c85e171db9feefc?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "elyse_defranco",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "science",
"roles": []
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Elyse DeFranco | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/248d413a266888585c85e171db9feefc?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/248d413a266888585c85e171db9feefc?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/edefranco"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"author_edefranco": {
"type": "pages",
"id": "11810",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11810",
"score": 6.9269037,
"site": "authors"
},
"name": "Elyse DeFranco",
"firstName": "Elyse",
"lastName": "DeFranco",
"slug": "edefranco",
"email": "edefranco@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Elyse DeFranco is an intern with KQED's Deep Look series. She spent years studying wildlife around the world before making the leap to science journalism, and holds an M.Sc. in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/248d413a266888585c85e171db9feefc?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "elyse_defranco",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "science",
"roles": []
}
],
"headData": {},
"isLoading": false,
"hasAllInfo": true,
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/staff-member",
"attrs": {
"author": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11810",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11810",
"score": 6.9269037
},
"name": "Elyse DeFranco",
"firstName": "Elyse",
"lastName": "DeFranco",
"slug": "edefranco",
"email": "edefranco@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": "[Circular]",
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Elyse DeFranco is an intern with KQED's Deep Look series. She spent years studying wildlife around the world before making the leap to science journalism, and holds an M.Sc. in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/248d413a266888585c85e171db9feefc?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "elyse_defranco",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": "[Circular]",
"headData": {
"title": "Elyse DeFranco | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/248d413a266888585c85e171db9feefc?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/248d413a266888585c85e171db9feefc?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/edefranco",
"hasAllInfo": true
}
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"query": "posts?author=11810&authorName=Elyse DeFranco",
"title": "By Elyse DeFranco",
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"className": "wp-block--nomargintop",
"seeMore": true
}
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"science_1979474": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1979474",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1979474",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1656422415000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "dont-go-chasing-water-bugs",
"title": "Don't Go Chasing Water Bugs",
"publishDate": 1656422415,
"format": "video",
"headTitle": "Don’t Go Chasing Water Bugs | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"term": 1935,
"site": "science"
},
"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This summer, as you cool your bare feet in a stream somewhere in California — or almost anywhere in the world, really — you might feel a painful nip. The menacing culprit: a giant water bug.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lurking just below the surface of that flowing creek or refreshing pond, these bugs resemble enormous aquatic ticks, with googly eyes and praying mantis arms. And although they won’t seek you out for an attack, they also won’t hesitate to take a defensive bite if you get too close, earning them the nickname “toe-biters.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979488\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979488 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_label.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several species of giant water bugs lurk in ponds and streams throughout California, like this \u003cem>Abedus indentatus.\u003c/em> \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They puncture the skin with dagger-like mouth parts, and have a bite known as one of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(10)00039-6/fulltext\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">most painful of any insect\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> — sharp and stinging like a wasp’s. You may not even get a chance to spot the offending insect before it dashes off, but you’ll undoubtedly be left with an indelible impression. And a swollen, throbbing toe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Or, if you go chasing water bugs, like I did while researching this story, it could be your thumb that takes the hit. Ankle-deep in a cold stream near San Jose, I grabbed a submerged rock, flipped it over, and instantly felt a piercing jab. Sharp pain radiated out from the puncture site, marked with a red dot. I watched as my thumb swelled, gradually turning shades of blue and purple. The perpetrator and I locked eyes for only a second before it darted off like an aquatic bandit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979475\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1979475\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_toebiter.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In some parts of the world, giant water bugs are nicknamed “toe-biters” due to their notoriously painful bites. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giant water bugs are recognized around the world. In Brazil, they’re known as “escorpião d’água” (water scorpions). They prowl rice fields and other wetlands throughout Asia, where they’re \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eatingthaifood.com/how-to-eat-a-giant-water-bug-maeng-da-thailand/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">considered a delicacy\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: One Thai dish serves water bugs with wings removed and bodies pulverized. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You get this kind of a green lumpy substance that looks like guacamole, but doesn’t taste like guacamole,” says Robert Sites, an entomologist at the University of Missouri. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sites describes the dish as quite tasty, with a nutty flavor. And it sometimes includes a useful prop. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If you get one of the legs, you can use that as a toothpick,” he says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several species live in California’s ponds and streams, and most measure about the length of your thumb. When park rangers in the Santa Monica Mountains found healthy populations of giant water bugs near popular swimming holes in 2018, they \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/beware-giant-toe-biting-water-bugs-rangers-warn-1088848\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">warned the public\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to beware of their particularly unpleasant bites. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But our toes aren’t what water bugs are after. Giant water bugs prey on other aquatic insects, as well as animals as large as turtles, snakes and even ducklings — one naturalist in the 1800s even recorded one ambushing and devouring a woodpecker. Using their powerful, vice-grip legs, they subdue their victim before stabbing into it and injecting venom that liquefies the insides of their prey. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They wait for everything to dissolve, and suck it back out,” says Chris Goforth, an entomologist and manager of citizen science at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. “Almost certainly, it’s still alive when it’s being eaten.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979476\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979476 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_eat_fish.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A giant water bug injects a fish with paralyzing digestive enzymes before slurping out the liquefied insides. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite their aggressive and predatory nature, giant water bugs might just be the most responsible fathers in the insect world. In some California species, dad will haul his eggs around piggyback style for weeks, until they hatch right off his back. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Parental care is unusual in itself,” says Sites, “but then actually attaching the eggs to the males — that’s another layer of complication.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979477\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979477 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_eggs_eye_spots.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Male giant water bugs in the \u003cem>Abedus\u003c/em> genus, like this \u003cem>Abedus indentatus\u003c/em> in California, carry their eggs around piggyback style throughout their development. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After mating, a female climbs onto the male’s back to lay row after row of eggs, gluing each one with a gooey substance oozing from her reproductive glands. Mom’s work ends here, and she swims off to prowl the shadows for her next meal. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But for dads, their job has only started. Most insects leave their eggs defenseless, relying on sheer numbers to get some of them through to hatching. By carrying the eggs on their backs, giant water bug dads can dodge predators and keep an eye on their babies. They’ll carry these eggs for weeks, shuttling them to the surface for air like an insect minivan. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They’ll just bob up and down, ever so slightly,” says Hope Klug, an ecologist at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “With the movement, they’re making sure that each individual egg is getting some oxygen to help it develop.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After several weeks, the eggs have doubled in size and turned a milky white color. Suddenly, a pair of eyes is visible through each egg casing: The nymphs inside are getting ready to hatch. Within a few days, a transparent nymph pushes through, face first, unfolding its long limbs as it emerges. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979478\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979478 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_egg_hatch.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nymph emerges from its egg casing after weeks of being shuttled around on dad’s back. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once it’s fully hatched, the nymph quickly swims away. If dad catches it, his instincts will kick in. Despite the weeks of careful parenting that he dedicated to ensuring the eggs’ survival, his offspring are now fair game as a tasty snack.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sabrina Mendoza-Espinoza, who cares for more than a dozen water bugs on display at the San Francisco Zoo, put it this way: “They’ll go after anything that moves.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Including their own children. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Giant water bugs — aka \"toe-biters\" — pack one of the most painful bites of any insect. But they make the best dads ever. Rather than leaving the survival of his eggs to chance, dad will haul them around piggyback style for weeks, until they hatch right off his back. ",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1738795092,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 18,
"wordCount": 1030
},
"headData": {
"title": "Don't Go Chasing Water Bugs | KQED",
"description": "Giant water bugs — aka "toe-biters" — pack one of the most painful bites of any insect. But they make the best dads ever. Rather than leaving the survival of his eggs to chance, dad will haul them around piggyback style for weeks, until they hatch right off his back. ",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Don't Go Chasing Water Bugs",
"datePublished": "2022-06-28T06:20:15-07:00",
"dateModified": "2025-02-05T14:38:12-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"videoEmbed": "https://youtu.be/lDfcEj4GhVQ",
"pbsMediaId": "3069332463",
"sticky": false,
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/science/1979474/dont-go-chasing-water-bugs",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "dl_subscribe",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This summer, as you cool your bare feet in a stream somewhere in California — or almost anywhere in the world, really — you might feel a painful nip. The menacing culprit: a giant water bug.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lurking just below the surface of that flowing creek or refreshing pond, these bugs resemble enormous aquatic ticks, with googly eyes and praying mantis arms. And although they won’t seek you out for an attack, they also won’t hesitate to take a defensive bite if you get too close, earning them the nickname “toe-biters.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979488\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979488 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_label.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several species of giant water bugs lurk in ponds and streams throughout California, like this \u003cem>Abedus indentatus.\u003c/em> \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They puncture the skin with dagger-like mouth parts, and have a bite known as one of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(10)00039-6/fulltext\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">most painful of any insect\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> — sharp and stinging like a wasp’s. You may not even get a chance to spot the offending insect before it dashes off, but you’ll undoubtedly be left with an indelible impression. And a swollen, throbbing toe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Or, if you go chasing water bugs, like I did while researching this story, it could be your thumb that takes the hit. Ankle-deep in a cold stream near San Jose, I grabbed a submerged rock, flipped it over, and instantly felt a piercing jab. Sharp pain radiated out from the puncture site, marked with a red dot. I watched as my thumb swelled, gradually turning shades of blue and purple. The perpetrator and I locked eyes for only a second before it darted off like an aquatic bandit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979475\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1979475\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_toebiter.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In some parts of the world, giant water bugs are nicknamed “toe-biters” due to their notoriously painful bites. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giant water bugs are recognized around the world. In Brazil, they’re known as “escorpião d’água” (water scorpions). They prowl rice fields and other wetlands throughout Asia, where they’re \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eatingthaifood.com/how-to-eat-a-giant-water-bug-maeng-da-thailand/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">considered a delicacy\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: One Thai dish serves water bugs with wings removed and bodies pulverized. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You get this kind of a green lumpy substance that looks like guacamole, but doesn’t taste like guacamole,” says Robert Sites, an entomologist at the University of Missouri. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sites describes the dish as quite tasty, with a nutty flavor. And it sometimes includes a useful prop. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If you get one of the legs, you can use that as a toothpick,” he says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several species live in California’s ponds and streams, and most measure about the length of your thumb. When park rangers in the Santa Monica Mountains found healthy populations of giant water bugs near popular swimming holes in 2018, they \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/beware-giant-toe-biting-water-bugs-rangers-warn-1088848\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">warned the public\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to beware of their particularly unpleasant bites. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But our toes aren’t what water bugs are after. Giant water bugs prey on other aquatic insects, as well as animals as large as turtles, snakes and even ducklings — one naturalist in the 1800s even recorded one ambushing and devouring a woodpecker. Using their powerful, vice-grip legs, they subdue their victim before stabbing into it and injecting venom that liquefies the insides of their prey. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They wait for everything to dissolve, and suck it back out,” says Chris Goforth, an entomologist and manager of citizen science at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. “Almost certainly, it’s still alive when it’s being eaten.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979476\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979476 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_eat_fish.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A giant water bug injects a fish with paralyzing digestive enzymes before slurping out the liquefied insides. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite their aggressive and predatory nature, giant water bugs might just be the most responsible fathers in the insect world. In some California species, dad will haul his eggs around piggyback style for weeks, until they hatch right off his back. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Parental care is unusual in itself,” says Sites, “but then actually attaching the eggs to the males — that’s another layer of complication.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979477\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979477 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_eggs_eye_spots.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Male giant water bugs in the \u003cem>Abedus\u003c/em> genus, like this \u003cem>Abedus indentatus\u003c/em> in California, carry their eggs around piggyback style throughout their development. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After mating, a female climbs onto the male’s back to lay row after row of eggs, gluing each one with a gooey substance oozing from her reproductive glands. Mom’s work ends here, and she swims off to prowl the shadows for her next meal. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But for dads, their job has only started. Most insects leave their eggs defenseless, relying on sheer numbers to get some of them through to hatching. By carrying the eggs on their backs, giant water bug dads can dodge predators and keep an eye on their babies. They’ll carry these eggs for weeks, shuttling them to the surface for air like an insect minivan. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They’ll just bob up and down, ever so slightly,” says Hope Klug, an ecologist at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “With the movement, they’re making sure that each individual egg is getting some oxygen to help it develop.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After several weeks, the eggs have doubled in size and turned a milky white color. Suddenly, a pair of eyes is visible through each egg casing: The nymphs inside are getting ready to hatch. Within a few days, a transparent nymph pushes through, face first, unfolding its long limbs as it emerges. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979478\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979478 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/DL909_giant_water_bugs_egg_hatch.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nymph emerges from its egg casing after weeks of being shuttled around on dad’s back. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once it’s fully hatched, the nymph quickly swims away. If dad catches it, his instincts will kick in. Despite the weeks of careful parenting that he dedicated to ensuring the eggs’ survival, his offspring are now fair game as a tasty snack.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sabrina Mendoza-Espinoza, who cares for more than a dozen water bugs on display at the San Francisco Zoo, put it this way: “They’ll go after anything that moves.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Including their own children. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1979474/dont-go-chasing-water-bugs",
"authors": [
"11810"
],
"series": [
"science_1935"
],
"categories": [
"science_2874",
"science_30",
"science_40",
"science_4450",
"science_86"
],
"tags": [
"science_1970"
],
"featImg": "science_1979653",
"label": "science_1935"
},
"science_1979498": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1979498",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1979498",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1655486312000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1655486312,
"format": "standard",
"title": "Meet a Great Dad From the Animal World: The Poison Frog",
"headTitle": "Meet a Great Dad From the Animal World: The Poison Frog | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deep in the Peruvian rainforest, a brilliantly colored frog lays one hand gently on top of a small clump of gelatinous eggs. Using his delicate sense of touch, he’s feeling for the embryos inside. This poison frog father has been guarding his eggs for weeks as they develop, waiting for the tadpoles to emerge. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“When tadpoles get older, they move inside, kind of like a baby moves in a belly,” says Billie Goolsby, a Ph.D. student at Stanford University. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Poison frog dads often take the lead on raising their young, says Kyle Summers, an ecologist at East Carolina University. One species, known as the mimic poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator), is the only known example of monogamy in amphibians, and Mom and Dad raise the tadpoles together.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Goolsby studies the mimic poison frogs to understand how parents communicate with their offspring, as well as how parents work together as a team to care for their young. These devoted frogs might just offer us lessons about successful parenting that we can apply to our own families. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Teamwork is everything,” says Goolsby.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It all starts when Mom lays eggs on the forest floor. Dad fertilizes them and watches over them as they develop. Once they hatch, he squats next to each tadpole as it squirms up his leg and onto his back, taking each one on a \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">piggyback ride\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to their own tiny puddle of water. He’ll search for just the right spot, often depositing them at the heart of leafy bromeliads, where tightly overlapping leaves — think of a pineapple — collect and pool rainwater. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKiShWFEpuc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad has to ensure that his babies are separated, because these tadpoles are cannibals. “They’re highly aggressive,” says Lauren O’Connell, a biologist and Goolsby’s Ph.D. adviser at Stanford University. “They have a very small water pool, not a lot of resources, and they will defend this area to the death.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The skin-to-skin contact with dad during the piggyback ride also transfers important microbes to the tadpole. “Basically, it’s a way to seed their tadpoles with a microbiome,” O’Connell says. “It changes a lot about how they look and the kind of microbes that they have.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once Dad has found a home for each of his tadpoles, he starts making the rounds. He’ll travel from tadpole to tadpole every day, ensuring that his babies are hydrated and checking on their growth. Tadpoles recognize their parents by smell, and their brains will light up with dopamine when they sense Dad nearby. If they’re hungry, they’ll start wiggling around to beg for food like a puppy enthusiastically wagging its tail. But Dad can’t feed them on his own, so he’ll stay by their side and \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">call to Mom \u003c/span>incessantly with a high-pitched trilling sound until she arrives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He sings for her to come and provide an egg meal,” Goolsby says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWAAzRRAP-M\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Mom sees the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFnRDgRBfYc&ab_channel=ScienceNews\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tadpole begging\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, she’ll dive into the pool and produce an unfertilized egg for it to eat, “like a protein shake basically,” O’Connell says. “Mom comes, and the tadpole basically has to dance for their food.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom is making a huge investment in each tadpole by feeding it her unfertilized eggs instead of using those to produce more babies, but the tadpoles are far more likely to survive because of it. Being cared for by their parents until they can morph into frogs supercharges their growth, and these eggy “protein shakes” help them reach metamorphosis much faster. The quicker they can grow legs and move about on their own, the safer they are from predators, such as fishing spiders, who seek out vulnerable tadpoles for a quick meal. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fortunately for the tadpoles, their parents leave them with a defense against prey. As the tadpoles munch on the eggs, they’re getting more than just nourishment — these are poison frogs, after all, and each egg is loaded with alkaloids that make the tadpoles toxic to eat. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“And so not only are they giving them nutrition, they’re chemically defending them,” O’Connell says, “and so they’re less likely to get eaten.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFnRDgRBfYc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After several weeks of careful parenting, the tadpoles emerge from their pools as froglets. The dedication and teamwork of these frog parents is essential: In studies where the dads were removed, tadpole survival declined by 70%. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“To have your offspring survive,” says Summers, “it becomes really important to have the participation of both the mother and father.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These frogs are toxic, but they’re called mimic poison frogs because they imitate the look of other poison frogs living nearby. In a clever disguise, they take on the swirling or striped patterns of three different species, all brilliantly colored in vibrant hues of green, orange, yellow and blue. This helps predators in an area learn to avoid them all — and it’s an effective strategy. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">During her fieldwork in the tropics, O’Connell has asked local community members which animals they’ve seen eating poison frogs. She says their response is always a resounding, “Oh, I’ve never seen anything eat those frogs.” Whereas nontoxic frogs offer opportunistic predators like birds and snakes a tasty snack, and only 20% make it to the next year, “poison frogs can live for 14 years,” says O’Connell.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In fact, poison frogs are some of the most toxic animals in the world. They don’t actually produce their own poison, but get it from their diet of ants and mites, absorbing toxic alkaloids and concentrating them in glands under their skin. They can have around 50 different toxins, but the “cocktail” can change throughout their lives based on shifts in their diet. Special proteins bind up the toxins to protect their own nervous systems from the poison, “like toxin sponges,” says O’Connell. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The researchers think one of the reasons the mimic poison frogs evolved to have such intensive parental care is their limited resources. The pools of water where the tadpoles grow up are so small that they’d have no food if Mom didn’t provide eggs for them to eat. And \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad’s role is extra important because of how much work it is for Mom to produce eggs. With the tadpoles in day care with Dad, Mom can spend her time eating and looking for food. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think it’s really interesting that there’s this one ecological factor that may drive monogamy in these frogs — the pool-size factor, which really kind of focuses attention on the importance of biparental care,” says Summers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Summers, parental care like this isn’t just critical for survival — it’s also linked to better outcomes for the frogs when they become adults. “Biparental care allows for childhood, and childhood allows for the evolution of a bigger brain and more sophisticated intellectual abilities. Basically, you have the time to become a better adult,” he says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Goolsby agrees that these frogs can offer up lessons about successful parenting that apply across species — even for people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This species is so fascinating because there’s no models on how parents work as a team,” she says. “That’s a very understudied component of biparental care, but it’s core to so many care strategies.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Goolsby spends hours watching frog couples care for their young for her research, and she sees some distinct parallels between these nurturing amphibians and human families. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What’s interesting is that they’re like new parents. So you know, when they’re trying to raise their first babies and then the male loses the tadpole or can’t get it right when he’s trying to hydrate them and guard them — it’s like trying with your first child. And it’s very difficult.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But like any dedicated father, she says, he keeps trying.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think that they’re like humans, where they don’t get it right the first few times or they learn by mistake. And then they improve.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1474,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 30
},
"modified": 1704846250,
"excerpt": null,
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Deep in the Peruvian rainforest, a brilliantly colored frog lays one hand gently on top of a small clump of gelatinous eggs. Using his delicate sense of touch, he’s feeling for the embryos inside. This poison frog father has been guarding his eggs for weeks as they develop, waiting for the tadpoles to emerge. “When",
"title": "Meet a Great Dad From the Animal World: The Poison Frog | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Meet a Great Dad From the Animal World: The Poison Frog",
"datePublished": "2022-06-17T10:18:32-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:24:10-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "meet-a-great-dad-from-the-animal-world-the-poison-frog",
"status": "publish",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"sticky": false,
"source": "Animals",
"path": "/science/1979498/meet-a-great-dad-from-the-animal-world-the-poison-frog",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deep in the Peruvian rainforest, a brilliantly colored frog lays one hand gently on top of a small clump of gelatinous eggs. Using his delicate sense of touch, he’s feeling for the embryos inside. This poison frog father has been guarding his eggs for weeks as they develop, waiting for the tadpoles to emerge. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“When tadpoles get older, they move inside, kind of like a baby moves in a belly,” says Billie Goolsby, a Ph.D. student at Stanford University. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Poison frog dads often take the lead on raising their young, says Kyle Summers, an ecologist at East Carolina University. One species, known as the mimic poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator), is the only known example of monogamy in amphibians, and Mom and Dad raise the tadpoles together.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Goolsby studies the mimic poison frogs to understand how parents communicate with their offspring, as well as how parents work together as a team to care for their young. These devoted frogs might just offer us lessons about successful parenting that we can apply to our own families. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Teamwork is everything,” says Goolsby.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It all starts when Mom lays eggs on the forest floor. Dad fertilizes them and watches over them as they develop. Once they hatch, he squats next to each tadpole as it squirms up his leg and onto his back, taking each one on a \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">piggyback ride\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to their own tiny puddle of water. He’ll search for just the right spot, often depositing them at the heart of leafy bromeliads, where tightly overlapping leaves — think of a pineapple — collect and pool rainwater. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/GKiShWFEpuc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/GKiShWFEpuc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad has to ensure that his babies are separated, because these tadpoles are cannibals. “They’re highly aggressive,” says Lauren O’Connell, a biologist and Goolsby’s Ph.D. adviser at Stanford University. “They have a very small water pool, not a lot of resources, and they will defend this area to the death.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The skin-to-skin contact with dad during the piggyback ride also transfers important microbes to the tadpole. “Basically, it’s a way to seed their tadpoles with a microbiome,” O’Connell says. “It changes a lot about how they look and the kind of microbes that they have.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once Dad has found a home for each of his tadpoles, he starts making the rounds. He’ll travel from tadpole to tadpole every day, ensuring that his babies are hydrated and checking on their growth. Tadpoles recognize their parents by smell, and their brains will light up with dopamine when they sense Dad nearby. If they’re hungry, they’ll start wiggling around to beg for food like a puppy enthusiastically wagging its tail. But Dad can’t feed them on his own, so he’ll stay by their side and \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">call to Mom \u003c/span>incessantly with a high-pitched trilling sound until she arrives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He sings for her to come and provide an egg meal,” Goolsby says.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/jWAAzRRAP-M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/jWAAzRRAP-M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Mom sees the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFnRDgRBfYc&ab_channel=ScienceNews\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tadpole begging\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, she’ll dive into the pool and produce an unfertilized egg for it to eat, “like a protein shake basically,” O’Connell says. “Mom comes, and the tadpole basically has to dance for their food.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom is making a huge investment in each tadpole by feeding it her unfertilized eggs instead of using those to produce more babies, but the tadpoles are far more likely to survive because of it. Being cared for by their parents until they can morph into frogs supercharges their growth, and these eggy “protein shakes” help them reach metamorphosis much faster. The quicker they can grow legs and move about on their own, the safer they are from predators, such as fishing spiders, who seek out vulnerable tadpoles for a quick meal. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fortunately for the tadpoles, their parents leave them with a defense against prey. As the tadpoles munch on the eggs, they’re getting more than just nourishment — these are poison frogs, after all, and each egg is loaded with alkaloids that make the tadpoles toxic to eat. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“And so not only are they giving them nutrition, they’re chemically defending them,” O’Connell says, “and so they’re less likely to get eaten.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/FFnRDgRBfYc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FFnRDgRBfYc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After several weeks of careful parenting, the tadpoles emerge from their pools as froglets. The dedication and teamwork of these frog parents is essential: In studies where the dads were removed, tadpole survival declined by 70%. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“To have your offspring survive,” says Summers, “it becomes really important to have the participation of both the mother and father.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These frogs are toxic, but they’re called mimic poison frogs because they imitate the look of other poison frogs living nearby. In a clever disguise, they take on the swirling or striped patterns of three different species, all brilliantly colored in vibrant hues of green, orange, yellow and blue. This helps predators in an area learn to avoid them all — and it’s an effective strategy. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">During her fieldwork in the tropics, O’Connell has asked local community members which animals they’ve seen eating poison frogs. She says their response is always a resounding, “Oh, I’ve never seen anything eat those frogs.” Whereas nontoxic frogs offer opportunistic predators like birds and snakes a tasty snack, and only 20% make it to the next year, “poison frogs can live for 14 years,” says O’Connell.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In fact, poison frogs are some of the most toxic animals in the world. They don’t actually produce their own poison, but get it from their diet of ants and mites, absorbing toxic alkaloids and concentrating them in glands under their skin. They can have around 50 different toxins, but the “cocktail” can change throughout their lives based on shifts in their diet. Special proteins bind up the toxins to protect their own nervous systems from the poison, “like toxin sponges,” says O’Connell. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The researchers think one of the reasons the mimic poison frogs evolved to have such intensive parental care is their limited resources. The pools of water where the tadpoles grow up are so small that they’d have no food if Mom didn’t provide eggs for them to eat. And \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad’s role is extra important because of how much work it is for Mom to produce eggs. With the tadpoles in day care with Dad, Mom can spend her time eating and looking for food. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think it’s really interesting that there’s this one ecological factor that may drive monogamy in these frogs — the pool-size factor, which really kind of focuses attention on the importance of biparental care,” says Summers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Summers, parental care like this isn’t just critical for survival — it’s also linked to better outcomes for the frogs when they become adults. “Biparental care allows for childhood, and childhood allows for the evolution of a bigger brain and more sophisticated intellectual abilities. Basically, you have the time to become a better adult,” he says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Goolsby agrees that these frogs can offer up lessons about successful parenting that apply across species — even for people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This species is so fascinating because there’s no models on how parents work as a team,” she says. “That’s a very understudied component of biparental care, but it’s core to so many care strategies.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Goolsby spends hours watching frog couples care for their young for her research, and she sees some distinct parallels between these nurturing amphibians and human families. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What’s interesting is that they’re like new parents. So you know, when they’re trying to raise their first babies and then the male loses the tadpole or can’t get it right when he’s trying to hydrate them and guard them — it’s like trying with your first child. And it’s very difficult.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But like any dedicated father, she says, he keeps trying.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think that they’re like humans, where they don’t get it right the first few times or they learn by mistake. And then they improve.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1979498/meet-a-great-dad-from-the-animal-world-the-poison-frog",
"authors": [
"11810"
],
"categories": [
"science_2874",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4414"
],
"featImg": "science_1979514",
"label": "source_science_1979498"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts?author=11810&authorName=Elyse DeFranco": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 0,
"size": 9
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 2,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 2,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"science_1979474",
"science_1979498"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"source_science_1979498": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1979498",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Animals",
"isLoading": false
},
"science_1935": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_1935",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1935",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Deep Look",
"description": "[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpAc7SyETD4?rel=0&w=640&h=360]\r\n\r\n\u003cbr/>\r\n\r\n\u003ch2>About Deep Look\u003c/h2>\r\n\r\n[dl_subscribe]\r\n\r\n\u003cp>See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small with Deep Look, a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios.\u003c/p>\r\n\r\n\u003cp>Don't miss an episode! \u003ca href=\"http://goo.gl/8NwXqt\">SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look on YouTube.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\r\n",
"taxonomy": "series",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpAc7SyETD4?rel=0&w=640&h=360] About Deep Look [dl_subscribe] See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small with Deep Look, a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. Don't miss an episode! SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look on YouTube.",
"title": "Deep Look Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1946,
"slug": "deep-look",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/series/deep-look"
},
"science_2874": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_2874",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "2874",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Animals",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Animals Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2874,
"slug": "animals",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/animals"
},
"science_30": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_30",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "30",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Biology",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Biology Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 32,
"slug": "biology",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/biology"
},
"science_40": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_40",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "40",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 42,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/news"
},
"science_4450": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_4450",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "4450",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Science",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Science Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 4450,
"slug": "science",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/science"
},
"science_86": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_86",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "86",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Video",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Video Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 89,
"slug": "video",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/video"
},
"science_1970": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_1970",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1970",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "deep look",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "deep look Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1981,
"slug": "deep-look-2",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/deep-look-2"
},
"science_4414": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_4414",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "4414",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "featured-science",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "featured-science Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 4414,
"slug": "featured-science",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/featured-science"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
}
}
