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_953855": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_953855",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "953855",
"found": true
},
"parent": 953740,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--960x640.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 640
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24-.jpg",
"width": 2048,
"height": 1365
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--1440x960.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--1180x786.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 786
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1472489259,
"modified": 1472489292,
"caption": "A sea lion pup recovers from sedation after being X-rayed.",
"description": null,
"title": "CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24-",
"credit": "Josh Valcarcel",
"status": "inherit",
"fetchFailed": false,
"isLoading": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false
},
"authorsReducer": {
"byline_science_953740": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_953740",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_953740",
"name": "Elizabeth Preston\u003c/br>Photographs by Josh Valcarcel",
"isLoading": false
}
},
"breakingNewsReducer": {},
"pagesReducer": {},
"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_953740": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_953740",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "953740",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1472488919000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1472488919,
"format": "standard",
"title": "Scientists Investigate a Mysterious Cancer Plaguing California Sea Lions",
"headTitle": "Scientists Investigate a Mysterious Cancer Plaguing California Sea Lions | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>“This one might be a little stinky,” says Tenaya Norris, a scientist at \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/?referrer=https://www.google.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Marine Mammal Center\u003c/a> in Sausalito. Research assistant Barbie Halaska carries a limp, sodden carcass into the room and drapes it across a gleaming steel table.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">Each [sea lion] death is a loss — and an opportunity.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Even before the researchers slice into the tiny, brown California sea lion pup and remove its internal organs, the animal is mostly skin and bones. The young male was less than a year old when he arrived. He hung on for ten days, but was already suffering the effects of severe malnourishment when he arrived — he was about one-quarter the size of a healthy pup—and the staff were unable to save him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris stretches out the subject’s flippers. Picking up a scalpel, she gets ready to open the animal from chin to tail. The pup occupies just one narrow corner of a table large enough for an animal many times this size. And the center has seen its fair share of those. The facility takes in several hundred distressed animals each year, from sea lions to elephant seals to the occasional dolphin or sea turtle. Scientists and volunteers do their best to rehabilitate the sick animals and return them to the ocean. But about half will end up on the metal table instead. Each death is a loss — and an opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every animal that dies here is studied exhaustively. Researchers carve the bodies into samples for dozens of ongoing studies. They’re especially interested in the carcasses of California sea lions, which are helping them study a mysterious and aggressive cancer that’s plaguing the species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953857\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25-.jpg\" alt=\"Research assistant Barbie Halaska prepares a California sea lion pup carcass for a necropsy at The Marine Mammal Center. Necropsies, like autopsies, help researchers evaluate cause of death—a necessary part of the science and rehabilitation of marine wildlife.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Research assistant Barbie Halaska prepares a California sea lion pup carcass for a necropsy at The Marine Mammal Center. Necropsies, like autopsies, help researchers evaluate cause of death—a necessary part of the science and rehabilitation of marine wildlife. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953858\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26-.jpg\" alt=\"A variety of surgical instruments lie ready for use in the necropsy procedure. The Marine Mammal Center shares tissue samples with researchers from around the world.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A variety of surgical instruments lie ready for use in the necropsy procedure. The Marine Mammal Center shares tissue samples with researchers from around the world. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The disease starts in the reproductive organs of adult males and females. By the time they die, tumors have sometimes infiltrated their backbones and turned vertebrae to “mush,” Norris says. She describes examining one dead animal whose spine she could simply slice through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a quarter of the adult California sea lions that die at the Marine Mammal Center suffer from cancer, says director of veterinary science Shawn Johnson. That’s one of the highest cancer rates seen in any wild animal, which is why the center’s scientists have made the disease a research priority. This emphasis has led to some promising discoveries, including the identification of a virus that is likely transmitted sexually and that seems to trigger the cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If researchers can piece together the full story of the California sea lions’ disease, it may help explain how some cancers develop in other animals—including humans. After all, cancer-causing viruses strike people too. At the same time, our understanding of disease susceptibility in humans — in particular, how environmental stressors can turn relatively minor infections into life-threatening disease — is helping scientists understand the role the environment might play in sea lion cancer. In other words, we may not be able to fully understand the set of threats to either species’ health without understanding the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953859\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10-.jpg\" alt=\"A pickup truck used by Marine Mammal Center staff to rescue injured wildlife sports a custom vanity plate. The full word—pinniped—means fin- or flipper-footed, and refers to seals, sea lions, and walruses.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pickup truck used by Marine Mammal Center staff to rescue injured wildlife sports a custom vanity plate. The full word — pinniped — means fin- or flipper-footed, and refers to seals, sea lions, and walruses. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Under Pressure\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a sick or injured marine mammal washes up anywhere along 600 miles of the Pacific coastline, volunteers send word to The Marine Mammal Center. If the center decides a rescue is necessary and feasible, it sends a truck. The vehicles carry vanity plates like PINNIPD (for pinniped, a shorthand name for a seal, sea lion, or walrus) or BG ELIE (for elephant seal, a species that’s also represented by a life-sized sculpture at the center). Volunteers use nets and wooden boards to maneuver each sickly or injured creature into an animal crate and onto the truck for its journey to the Marin Headlands — a hilly peninsula separated from San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center sits high above the ocean, perched on a dry brown hillside dotted with scrubby manzanita. Its remote location is a reminder of the site’s former life as a missile silo during the Cold War. On a beach visible from the center, rolling Pacific waves crest and break against tall humps of rock. In normal years, 600 to 800 different animals come through the center’s doors. But these aren’t normal years. There’s been a surge of sick animals, especially California sea lions (\u003cem>Zalophus californianus\u003c/em>), which live up and down the west coast of North America. The center took in 1,800 animals last year, 1,300 of which were California sea lions. Both numbers were records in the center’s four decades of operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A variety of environmental conditions has led to the surge. A patch of freakishly warm water nicknamed “\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/23/how-warmer-waters-have-led-to-emaciated-seals-on-california-beaches/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the blob\u003c/a>” sat in the northeastern Pacific from 2013 to 2015. The year 2015 also brought a massive bloom of the algae Pseudonitzschia. These microscopic plants produce domoic acid, a toxin that travels up the food chain and concentrates in top predators like sea lions, in some cases causing seizures and brain damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Off the California coast, the ecosystem is really under stress,” says Johnson. That stress is hitting California sea lions particularly hard. Amid these challenging environmental conditions, “The females are having a really, really hard time even finding enough food to produce milk for their pups,” he says. With their mothers struggling to feed them, pups may strike out on their own too soon. They’re landing on shore starving and emaciated — like the one on Norris’s autopsy table. Over the past three years, Johnson says, 80 to 90 percent of all California sea lion pups have died. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has dubbed it an “unusual mortality event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953867\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953867\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21-.jpg\" alt=\"As part of ongoing patient care, veterinarians use portable technology to examine an X-ray of a sea lion pup's flipper on-site at The Marine Mammal Center.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As part of ongoing patient care, veterinarians use portable technology to examine an X-ray of a sea lion pup’s flipper on-site at The Marine Mammal Center. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953866\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953866\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22-.jpg\" alt=\"The X-ray image of an injured sea lion’s flipper reveals the hardware used to set the break.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The X-ray image of an injured sea lion’s flipper reveals the hardware used to set the break. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953868\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953868\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23-.jpg\" alt=\"Still recovering from sedation, a disoriented sea lion pup ambles back to its enclosure. Taking the X-ray required multiple staff members to ensure the animal’s safety throughout the procedure.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still recovering from sedation, a disoriented sea lion pup ambles back to its enclosure. Taking the X-ray required multiple staff members to ensure the animal’s safety throughout the procedure. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the cancer. Scientists first noticed it in California in the 1970s, and they now know it affects Z. californianus along the entire western U.S. coastline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between the 1980s and mid-90s, researchers at the Marine Mammal Center saw cancer in 18 percent of adult California sea lions they examined after death. From 1998 through 2012, that number increased to 26 percent. This may mean the rate of cancer is increasing in the wild, or simply that researchers are paying better attention. Now that they know what to look for, they can spot early-stage cancer in animals without obvious tumors. The toxic algal bloom is also sending young adult animals to the center that might not otherwise have required rehabilitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, the California sea lion population is large enough that it can absorb the losses from cancer, Johnson says. But if starving pups and other challenges cause the population to plunge, cancer’s relative influence could increase dramatically. And whether or not the disease is becoming more common or simply holding steady, Johnson says he knows one thing for certain: “It’s not declining.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The disease rates researchers are seeing among sea lions are far from normal, and they want to know why. “Wild populations shouldn’t have cancers like this,” Johnson says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Viral Discovery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the center’s outdoor pens, patients swim in pools or loll like dogs on sunny patches of concrete. Elephant seal pups with identifying yellow “hat” tags stuck on the tops of their heads watch the goings-on with bulging, Disney-esque eyes. Workers and visitors don rubber boots and step into disinfecting footbaths to avoid cross-contamination among species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some animals in the pens are starving sea lion pups that volunteers are fattening up with a diet of thick, pink “fish milkshakes.” Others have infections, wounds from boat strikes, or brain damage from domoic acid poisoning. If the animals recover, the staff happily sends them splashing back into the surf. While about half of all patients here make it, sea lions don’t fare as well. Last year, only about 35 percent survived to be released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first cancerous California sea lion — a male that staff members nicknamed “Bobby” — showed up among the center’s patients in 1978. During the 1980s and early 1990s, dozens more died during rehabilitation, and researchers found the same types of tumors in the reproductive tracts of all of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tumors first form in the cervix or penis, then spread, often metastasizing to the lymph nodes and spine. Sick animals typically have swollen genitals and hind flippers. If the cancer has infiltrated the spine, causing partial paralysis, they may have to drag their hind flippers behind them. Inside a stricken animal, “there’s just masses of yellow, cancerous tissue,” says Frances Gulland, senior scientist at the Marine Mammal Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sea lions themselves are affectionate animals. They’re nice to each other. They’re very endearing,” Gulland says. “When you see a sea lion coming in with cancer and they’re in pain… it’s not only distressing but it also compels you to understand why it’s happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past two decades, the center has intensified its work on cancer research. Scientists have largely focused on causes of the disease and why and how it spreads, Gulland says. When she started working at the center in the mid-1990s, scientists were beginning to suspect that the culprit might be a virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t a crazy idea. Creatures throughout the animal kingdom suffer from cancers that begin as viral infections. In humans, viruses have been linked to as many as 15 to 20 percent of cancers, including cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, lymphomas, and liver cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gulland and others scoured the DNA of cancerous tissues taken from dead sea lions and discovered a previously unknown herpesvirus. The virus appears in the tumors and reproductive tracts of all cancerous sea lions, but is scarce in other parts of the body, and is rarely found in healthy sea lions. While the scientists haven’t proven definitively that the virus causes cancer, evidence is piling up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although that evidence hasn’t yet gotten them closer to curing the cancer-stricken animals, understanding the disease could lead to earlier diagnoses and the development of measures to help prevent its spread. Right now, California sea lions that arrive at the center with suspicious symptoms receive an ultrasound and other tests for cancer. If an animal tests positive, it is euthanized, Gulland says regretfully; there’s nothing else to be done. “We know [the disease] progresses, it’s painful, and it’s not curable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in death, Gulland says, the animals provide a goldmine of information. “Because we have them in hand, we can obtain a lot of very fresh samples.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Causes of Death\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris, it turns out, is right about the smell. The sea lion pup she’s now dissecting on the metal table has been frozen and thawed, making its odor reminiscent of roadkill. She says fresh carcasses have more of a musty, sometimes fishy aroma. An open door lets in air, along with barks and chirps that drift in from the outdoor pens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris and Halaska begin to remove and sort through the sea lion’s organs. They pull out fistfuls of intestines in long, pink loops. Halaska dons goggles and turns on a buzzing electric saw to cut through the skull and get at the animal’s brain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers at the Marine Mammal Center must determine a cause of death for every animal that reaches this metal table. And each one—fur seal, harbor seal, pregnant female, unborn fetus—surrenders its own set of scientific samples. It may be swabbed for flu viruses; its urine or milk or bile or body lice may be carefully saved. These samples will go to labs all over the country, and some will travel the world. Researchers at the center are participating in 40 different collaborative research projects at the moment, Johnson says. And he estimates that a third of those have to do with the cancer that’s afflicting the California sea lion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny sea lion whose blood is now pooling at the edge of the rimmed table was not a cancer victim, and his autopsy is comparatively short. Cancerous sea lions, in contrast, as well as a select few adult “controls” that died of other causes, undergo a much more involved “cancer protocol.” For these, researchers must take extensive samples. Skin. Blood. Brain. Tumor. Norris holds a kidney sample in her gloved palm that looks like a slice of beet—she will send tissue slices like this one to a pathologist, who will scrutinize them under a microscope for cancerous cells. Some of the “control” samples have, when observed more closely, revealed very early signs of cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, scientists have learned a few things for certain about the disease. They know animals with cancer carry the herpesvirus. The cancerous animals all have a specific genotype that may help the disease spread. They are also more inbred than other sea lions. Finally, animals with cancer have more pollutants—specifically PCBs and DDT—stored in their blubber than individuals that die of other causes. Research on other marine mammals has linked these ocean contaminants to suppressed immunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How these pieces of knowledge all fit together, however, isn’t yet clear. The scientists’ best guess, Gulland says, is that exposure to pollutants makes a sea lion more susceptible to a herpesvirus infection. When the virus takes hold, it triggers cancer—somehow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To learn more, researchers are studying the DNA of cancerous tissues in the lab, focusing on changes at the level of the chromosome. They’re measuring the concentrations of contaminants like DDT and PCBs in sea lions’ blubber to find out whether these might make the animals more susceptible to a virus. Alissa Deming, a veterinarian and University of Florida PhD student, is looking at the genetics of the sea lion herpesvirus. She wants to prove that the virus indeed causes sea lion cells to turn cancerous. The next question will be how.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Herpesviruses are one of the oldest classes of viruses,” says University of Florida geneticist Rolf Renne, who studies the human herpesvirus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma. “They’re pretty much in all mammals, and even in sea urchins.” Humans alone can be infected by eight different herpesviruses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These viruses have spent a long time evolving alongside their animal hosts, and they’re usually well-adapted to do little harm, because a dead host is not much good to a virus. Infections can be quite common, and typically lead to cancer or other serious illness only when something suppresses the host’s immune response. “If your immune system craps out on you, then a herpesvirus can take control,” Deming says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The human Epstein-Barr virus, for example, is a herpesvirus that infects about 90 percent of adults. It commonly causes mononucleosis, but if its host has an impaired immune system, the virus can lead to lymphomas or other cancers. Another human herpesvirus causes Kaposi’s sarcoma, a disease best known in the U.S. for affecting immune-suppressed AIDS patients. According to Renne, in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria and other infections compromise people’s immune systems, Kaposi’s sarcoma is much more common—the most common cancer among men, in fact. Ocean contaminants like PCBs and DDT might compromise the immune systems of California sea lions in similar way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The finding that cancer-stricken sea lions have more pollutants in their blubber has caught researchers’ attention. “That’s really important for the human health perspective as well,” Gulland says. “These are contaminants the sea lions are acquiring from their prey. And the fish they eat are the same fish that we eat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their environment is our environment, in other words. And what scientists can learn about cancer in each species might help the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Messy World\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flies circle as Norris and Halaska scoop up and discard what’s left of the young sea lion. Its stripped-down carcass goes into a barrel, which will be picked up and taken to a rendering plant. The carefully collected slices and scraps of its body—anything the researchers aren’t immediately shipping on ice to other scientists—go into vials and plastic baggies, and then into freezers for storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of those freezers are in the basement, where Cold War missiles were once stored. The freezers stand at attention in a long white row, drawers stuffed with thousands of samples for future research. Frost crackles as Halaska opens the door to one of them. She points out a baggie holding a whale eyeball as big as an apple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists who study cancer particularly value samples like these, which come from animals that lived not in the sterile confines of a lab but in the complicated, messy, germy natural world. These marine mammals’ diseases almost certainly arose from a collision of many factors: genes, environment, other animals and parasites with which they crossed paths. Complex as their stories are, in many ways these specimens are far better than specially bred, genetically identical lab rats for helping scientists understand how cancer develops in humans and other animals living in the real world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How can we look at diseases in our marine mammals and translate what we are learning from that to human medicine, and vice versa?” Johnson asks. To him, this cross-species exploration is the most exciting research underway at the center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea that human and veterinary medicine can inform each other is part of a philosophy known as “One Health,” which says that we need to consider the health of people, animals, and the environment simultaneously if want to truly understand each of them. Human diseases don’t exist in isolation and, Deming says, “people are animals too.” This philosophy isn’t yet widespread in the medical world, where doctors tend to be highly specialized. But the National Institutes of Health is starting to embrace the idea. It held a workshop in 2015 on incorporating One Health into its own research; its program for “comparative biomedical scientists” trains new researchers in both human and animal health at once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using such an approach, the research on sea lion cancer can help answer big-picture questions about cancer in other species—humans included—and the viruses that may cause it. One place it’s already revealing connections to human cancer-causing viruses is in Renne’s work on Kaposi’s sarcoma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studying the herpesvirus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma in the lab is difficult. “There’s not an animal model that’s very close,” Renne says. That’s why his interest was piqued when Deming approached him about working together on her PhD research: The sea lions and their resident herpesvirus are turning out to be a great model for humans and our own viruses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deming’s investigation into the genome of the sea lion herpesvirus has already shown it to have striking similarities to both the Epstein-Barr and Kaposi’s sarcoma viruses. The three belong to the same subfamily, and the sea lion virus has genes that seem equivalent to two cancer-triggering genes in the human herpesviruses. These genes help push a host cell into an immortal, constantly dividing state—a strong hint that the sea lion virus not only causes cancer in its hosts, but does so using similar mechanisms to human viruses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Renne and Deming are looking into whether the virus targets sea lion genes using microRNAs, tiny bits of genetic material that regulate gene activity. Renne has found this to be the case with the Kaposi’s sarcoma virus. If this is also true of the sea lion virus, Renne says, then the researchers will have solid evidence that there are general mechanisms by which this type of herpesvirus causes cancer across very different mammalian species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before she began her PhD research, Deming worked as a clinical veterinarian at SeaWorld in San Diego. She used to get discouraged when she saw cancerous sea lions and could do nothing but euthanize them. But now, her work at the Marine Mammal Center is turning the deaths of these animals into research opportunities. “[It] gives us something productive to do,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a way, the center itself is also turning death into opportunity. Today the deadly missiles are gone, and the walls that once protected them now hold countless samples of animals that lost their lives on this coast. Armed with those bits of blood and bone, scientists hope to protect the health of this ecosystem and the animals—all the animals—that share it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story comes from \u003ca href=\"http://biographic.com/\">Biographic\u003c/a>, an online magazine published by San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.calacademy.org/\">California Academy of Sciences\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 3755,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 55
},
"modified": 1704929702,
"excerpt": "An aggressive disease afflicting California sea lions is helping scientists understand the causes of cancer in all animals—including humans.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "An aggressive disease afflicting California sea lions is helping scientists understand the causes of cancer in all animals—including humans.",
"title": "Scientists Investigate a Mysterious Cancer Plaguing California Sea Lions | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Scientists Investigate a Mysterious Cancer Plaguing California Sea Lions",
"datePublished": "2016-08-29T09:41:59-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-10T15:35:02-08:00",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-24--1440x960.jpg"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "scientists-investigate-a-mysterious-cancer-plaguing-california-sea-lions",
"status": "publish",
"sourceUrl": "http://biographic.com/",
"nprByline": "Elizabeth Preston\u003c/br>Photographs by Josh Valcarcel",
"sticky": false,
"source": "Biographic",
"path": "/science/953740/scientists-investigate-a-mysterious-cancer-plaguing-california-sea-lions",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>“This one might be a little stinky,” says Tenaya Norris, a scientist at \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/?referrer=https://www.google.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Marine Mammal Center\u003c/a> in Sausalito. Research assistant Barbie Halaska carries a limp, sodden carcass into the room and drapes it across a gleaming steel table.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">Each [sea lion] death is a loss — and an opportunity.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Even before the researchers slice into the tiny, brown California sea lion pup and remove its internal organs, the animal is mostly skin and bones. The young male was less than a year old when he arrived. He hung on for ten days, but was already suffering the effects of severe malnourishment when he arrived — he was about one-quarter the size of a healthy pup—and the staff were unable to save him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris stretches out the subject’s flippers. Picking up a scalpel, she gets ready to open the animal from chin to tail. The pup occupies just one narrow corner of a table large enough for an animal many times this size. And the center has seen its fair share of those. The facility takes in several hundred distressed animals each year, from sea lions to elephant seals to the occasional dolphin or sea turtle. Scientists and volunteers do their best to rehabilitate the sick animals and return them to the ocean. But about half will end up on the metal table instead. Each death is a loss — and an opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every animal that dies here is studied exhaustively. Researchers carve the bodies into samples for dozens of ongoing studies. They’re especially interested in the carcasses of California sea lions, which are helping them study a mysterious and aggressive cancer that’s plaguing the species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953857\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25-.jpg\" alt=\"Research assistant Barbie Halaska prepares a California sea lion pup carcass for a necropsy at The Marine Mammal Center. Necropsies, like autopsies, help researchers evaluate cause of death—a necessary part of the science and rehabilitation of marine wildlife.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-25--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Research assistant Barbie Halaska prepares a California sea lion pup carcass for a necropsy at The Marine Mammal Center. Necropsies, like autopsies, help researchers evaluate cause of death—a necessary part of the science and rehabilitation of marine wildlife. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953858\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26-.jpg\" alt=\"A variety of surgical instruments lie ready for use in the necropsy procedure. The Marine Mammal Center shares tissue samples with researchers from around the world.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-26--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A variety of surgical instruments lie ready for use in the necropsy procedure. The Marine Mammal Center shares tissue samples with researchers from around the world. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The disease starts in the reproductive organs of adult males and females. By the time they die, tumors have sometimes infiltrated their backbones and turned vertebrae to “mush,” Norris says. She describes examining one dead animal whose spine she could simply slice through.\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>More than a quarter of the adult California sea lions that die at the Marine Mammal Center suffer from cancer, says director of veterinary science Shawn Johnson. That’s one of the highest cancer rates seen in any wild animal, which is why the center’s scientists have made the disease a research priority. This emphasis has led to some promising discoveries, including the identification of a virus that is likely transmitted sexually and that seems to trigger the cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If researchers can piece together the full story of the California sea lions’ disease, it may help explain how some cancers develop in other animals—including humans. After all, cancer-causing viruses strike people too. At the same time, our understanding of disease susceptibility in humans — in particular, how environmental stressors can turn relatively minor infections into life-threatening disease — is helping scientists understand the role the environment might play in sea lion cancer. In other words, we may not be able to fully understand the set of threats to either species’ health without understanding the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953859\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10-.jpg\" alt=\"A pickup truck used by Marine Mammal Center staff to rescue injured wildlife sports a custom vanity plate. The full word—pinniped—means fin- or flipper-footed, and refers to seals, sea lions, and walruses.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-10--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pickup truck used by Marine Mammal Center staff to rescue injured wildlife sports a custom vanity plate. The full word — pinniped — means fin- or flipper-footed, and refers to seals, sea lions, and walruses. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Under Pressure\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a sick or injured marine mammal washes up anywhere along 600 miles of the Pacific coastline, volunteers send word to The Marine Mammal Center. If the center decides a rescue is necessary and feasible, it sends a truck. The vehicles carry vanity plates like PINNIPD (for pinniped, a shorthand name for a seal, sea lion, or walrus) or BG ELIE (for elephant seal, a species that’s also represented by a life-sized sculpture at the center). Volunteers use nets and wooden boards to maneuver each sickly or injured creature into an animal crate and onto the truck for its journey to the Marin Headlands — a hilly peninsula separated from San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center sits high above the ocean, perched on a dry brown hillside dotted with scrubby manzanita. Its remote location is a reminder of the site’s former life as a missile silo during the Cold War. On a beach visible from the center, rolling Pacific waves crest and break against tall humps of rock. In normal years, 600 to 800 different animals come through the center’s doors. But these aren’t normal years. There’s been a surge of sick animals, especially California sea lions (\u003cem>Zalophus californianus\u003c/em>), which live up and down the west coast of North America. The center took in 1,800 animals last year, 1,300 of which were California sea lions. Both numbers were records in the center’s four decades of operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A variety of environmental conditions has led to the surge. A patch of freakishly warm water nicknamed “\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/23/how-warmer-waters-have-led-to-emaciated-seals-on-california-beaches/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the blob\u003c/a>” sat in the northeastern Pacific from 2013 to 2015. The year 2015 also brought a massive bloom of the algae Pseudonitzschia. These microscopic plants produce domoic acid, a toxin that travels up the food chain and concentrates in top predators like sea lions, in some cases causing seizures and brain damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Off the California coast, the ecosystem is really under stress,” says Johnson. That stress is hitting California sea lions particularly hard. Amid these challenging environmental conditions, “The females are having a really, really hard time even finding enough food to produce milk for their pups,” he says. With their mothers struggling to feed them, pups may strike out on their own too soon. They’re landing on shore starving and emaciated — like the one on Norris’s autopsy table. Over the past three years, Johnson says, 80 to 90 percent of all California sea lion pups have died. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has dubbed it an “unusual mortality event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953867\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953867\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21-.jpg\" alt=\"As part of ongoing patient care, veterinarians use portable technology to examine an X-ray of a sea lion pup's flipper on-site at The Marine Mammal Center.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-21--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As part of ongoing patient care, veterinarians use portable technology to examine an X-ray of a sea lion pup’s flipper on-site at The Marine Mammal Center. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953866\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953866\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22-.jpg\" alt=\"The X-ray image of an injured sea lion’s flipper reveals the hardware used to set the break.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-22--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The X-ray image of an injured sea lion’s flipper reveals the hardware used to set the break. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_953868\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-953868\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23-.jpg\" alt=\"Still recovering from sedation, a disoriented sea lion pup ambles back to its enclosure. Taking the X-ray required multiple staff members to ensure the animal’s safety throughout the procedure.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23-.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--1180x786.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/08/CAS-Sea-Lions-Valcarcel-23--960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still recovering from sedation, a disoriented sea lion pup ambles back to its enclosure. Taking the X-ray required multiple staff members to ensure the animal’s safety throughout the procedure. \u003ccite>(Josh Valcarcel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the cancer. Scientists first noticed it in California in the 1970s, and they now know it affects Z. californianus along the entire western U.S. coastline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between the 1980s and mid-90s, researchers at the Marine Mammal Center saw cancer in 18 percent of adult California sea lions they examined after death. From 1998 through 2012, that number increased to 26 percent. This may mean the rate of cancer is increasing in the wild, or simply that researchers are paying better attention. Now that they know what to look for, they can spot early-stage cancer in animals without obvious tumors. The toxic algal bloom is also sending young adult animals to the center that might not otherwise have required rehabilitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, the California sea lion population is large enough that it can absorb the losses from cancer, Johnson says. But if starving pups and other challenges cause the population to plunge, cancer’s relative influence could increase dramatically. And whether or not the disease is becoming more common or simply holding steady, Johnson says he knows one thing for certain: “It’s not declining.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The disease rates researchers are seeing among sea lions are far from normal, and they want to know why. “Wild populations shouldn’t have cancers like this,” Johnson says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Viral Discovery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the center’s outdoor pens, patients swim in pools or loll like dogs on sunny patches of concrete. Elephant seal pups with identifying yellow “hat” tags stuck on the tops of their heads watch the goings-on with bulging, Disney-esque eyes. Workers and visitors don rubber boots and step into disinfecting footbaths to avoid cross-contamination among species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some animals in the pens are starving sea lion pups that volunteers are fattening up with a diet of thick, pink “fish milkshakes.” Others have infections, wounds from boat strikes, or brain damage from domoic acid poisoning. If the animals recover, the staff happily sends them splashing back into the surf. While about half of all patients here make it, sea lions don’t fare as well. Last year, only about 35 percent survived to be released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first cancerous California sea lion — a male that staff members nicknamed “Bobby” — showed up among the center’s patients in 1978. During the 1980s and early 1990s, dozens more died during rehabilitation, and researchers found the same types of tumors in the reproductive tracts of all of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tumors first form in the cervix or penis, then spread, often metastasizing to the lymph nodes and spine. Sick animals typically have swollen genitals and hind flippers. If the cancer has infiltrated the spine, causing partial paralysis, they may have to drag their hind flippers behind them. Inside a stricken animal, “there’s just masses of yellow, cancerous tissue,” says Frances Gulland, senior scientist at the Marine Mammal Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sea lions themselves are affectionate animals. They’re nice to each other. They’re very endearing,” Gulland says. “When you see a sea lion coming in with cancer and they’re in pain… it’s not only distressing but it also compels you to understand why it’s happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past two decades, the center has intensified its work on cancer research. Scientists have largely focused on causes of the disease and why and how it spreads, Gulland says. When she started working at the center in the mid-1990s, scientists were beginning to suspect that the culprit might be a virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t a crazy idea. Creatures throughout the animal kingdom suffer from cancers that begin as viral infections. In humans, viruses have been linked to as many as 15 to 20 percent of cancers, including cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, lymphomas, and liver cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gulland and others scoured the DNA of cancerous tissues taken from dead sea lions and discovered a previously unknown herpesvirus. The virus appears in the tumors and reproductive tracts of all cancerous sea lions, but is scarce in other parts of the body, and is rarely found in healthy sea lions. While the scientists haven’t proven definitively that the virus causes cancer, evidence is piling up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although that evidence hasn’t yet gotten them closer to curing the cancer-stricken animals, understanding the disease could lead to earlier diagnoses and the development of measures to help prevent its spread. Right now, California sea lions that arrive at the center with suspicious symptoms receive an ultrasound and other tests for cancer. If an animal tests positive, it is euthanized, Gulland says regretfully; there’s nothing else to be done. “We know [the disease] progresses, it’s painful, and it’s not curable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in death, Gulland says, the animals provide a goldmine of information. “Because we have them in hand, we can obtain a lot of very fresh samples.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Causes of Death\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris, it turns out, is right about the smell. The sea lion pup she’s now dissecting on the metal table has been frozen and thawed, making its odor reminiscent of roadkill. She says fresh carcasses have more of a musty, sometimes fishy aroma. An open door lets in air, along with barks and chirps that drift in from the outdoor pens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris and Halaska begin to remove and sort through the sea lion’s organs. They pull out fistfuls of intestines in long, pink loops. Halaska dons goggles and turns on a buzzing electric saw to cut through the skull and get at the animal’s brain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers at the Marine Mammal Center must determine a cause of death for every animal that reaches this metal table. And each one—fur seal, harbor seal, pregnant female, unborn fetus—surrenders its own set of scientific samples. It may be swabbed for flu viruses; its urine or milk or bile or body lice may be carefully saved. These samples will go to labs all over the country, and some will travel the world. Researchers at the center are participating in 40 different collaborative research projects at the moment, Johnson says. And he estimates that a third of those have to do with the cancer that’s afflicting the California sea lion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny sea lion whose blood is now pooling at the edge of the rimmed table was not a cancer victim, and his autopsy is comparatively short. Cancerous sea lions, in contrast, as well as a select few adult “controls” that died of other causes, undergo a much more involved “cancer protocol.” For these, researchers must take extensive samples. Skin. Blood. Brain. Tumor. Norris holds a kidney sample in her gloved palm that looks like a slice of beet—she will send tissue slices like this one to a pathologist, who will scrutinize them under a microscope for cancerous cells. Some of the “control” samples have, when observed more closely, revealed very early signs of cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, scientists have learned a few things for certain about the disease. They know animals with cancer carry the herpesvirus. The cancerous animals all have a specific genotype that may help the disease spread. They are also more inbred than other sea lions. Finally, animals with cancer have more pollutants—specifically PCBs and DDT—stored in their blubber than individuals that die of other causes. Research on other marine mammals has linked these ocean contaminants to suppressed immunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How these pieces of knowledge all fit together, however, isn’t yet clear. The scientists’ best guess, Gulland says, is that exposure to pollutants makes a sea lion more susceptible to a herpesvirus infection. When the virus takes hold, it triggers cancer—somehow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To learn more, researchers are studying the DNA of cancerous tissues in the lab, focusing on changes at the level of the chromosome. They’re measuring the concentrations of contaminants like DDT and PCBs in sea lions’ blubber to find out whether these might make the animals more susceptible to a virus. Alissa Deming, a veterinarian and University of Florida PhD student, is looking at the genetics of the sea lion herpesvirus. She wants to prove that the virus indeed causes sea lion cells to turn cancerous. The next question will be how.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Herpesviruses are one of the oldest classes of viruses,” says University of Florida geneticist Rolf Renne, who studies the human herpesvirus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma. “They’re pretty much in all mammals, and even in sea urchins.” Humans alone can be infected by eight different herpesviruses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These viruses have spent a long time evolving alongside their animal hosts, and they’re usually well-adapted to do little harm, because a dead host is not much good to a virus. Infections can be quite common, and typically lead to cancer or other serious illness only when something suppresses the host’s immune response. “If your immune system craps out on you, then a herpesvirus can take control,” Deming says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The human Epstein-Barr virus, for example, is a herpesvirus that infects about 90 percent of adults. It commonly causes mononucleosis, but if its host has an impaired immune system, the virus can lead to lymphomas or other cancers. Another human herpesvirus causes Kaposi’s sarcoma, a disease best known in the U.S. for affecting immune-suppressed AIDS patients. According to Renne, in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria and other infections compromise people’s immune systems, Kaposi’s sarcoma is much more common—the most common cancer among men, in fact. Ocean contaminants like PCBs and DDT might compromise the immune systems of California sea lions in similar way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The finding that cancer-stricken sea lions have more pollutants in their blubber has caught researchers’ attention. “That’s really important for the human health perspective as well,” Gulland says. “These are contaminants the sea lions are acquiring from their prey. And the fish they eat are the same fish that we eat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their environment is our environment, in other words. And what scientists can learn about cancer in each species might help the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Messy World\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flies circle as Norris and Halaska scoop up and discard what’s left of the young sea lion. Its stripped-down carcass goes into a barrel, which will be picked up and taken to a rendering plant. The carefully collected slices and scraps of its body—anything the researchers aren’t immediately shipping on ice to other scientists—go into vials and plastic baggies, and then into freezers for storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of those freezers are in the basement, where Cold War missiles were once stored. The freezers stand at attention in a long white row, drawers stuffed with thousands of samples for future research. Frost crackles as Halaska opens the door to one of them. She points out a baggie holding a whale eyeball as big as an apple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists who study cancer particularly value samples like these, which come from animals that lived not in the sterile confines of a lab but in the complicated, messy, germy natural world. These marine mammals’ diseases almost certainly arose from a collision of many factors: genes, environment, other animals and parasites with which they crossed paths. Complex as their stories are, in many ways these specimens are far better than specially bred, genetically identical lab rats for helping scientists understand how cancer develops in humans and other animals living in the real world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How can we look at diseases in our marine mammals and translate what we are learning from that to human medicine, and vice versa?” Johnson asks. To him, this cross-species exploration is the most exciting research underway at the center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea that human and veterinary medicine can inform each other is part of a philosophy known as “One Health,” which says that we need to consider the health of people, animals, and the environment simultaneously if want to truly understand each of them. Human diseases don’t exist in isolation and, Deming says, “people are animals too.” This philosophy isn’t yet widespread in the medical world, where doctors tend to be highly specialized. But the National Institutes of Health is starting to embrace the idea. It held a workshop in 2015 on incorporating One Health into its own research; its program for “comparative biomedical scientists” trains new researchers in both human and animal health at once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using such an approach, the research on sea lion cancer can help answer big-picture questions about cancer in other species—humans included—and the viruses that may cause it. One place it’s already revealing connections to human cancer-causing viruses is in Renne’s work on Kaposi’s sarcoma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studying the herpesvirus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma in the lab is difficult. “There’s not an animal model that’s very close,” Renne says. That’s why his interest was piqued when Deming approached him about working together on her PhD research: The sea lions and their resident herpesvirus are turning out to be a great model for humans and our own viruses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deming’s investigation into the genome of the sea lion herpesvirus has already shown it to have striking similarities to both the Epstein-Barr and Kaposi’s sarcoma viruses. The three belong to the same subfamily, and the sea lion virus has genes that seem equivalent to two cancer-triggering genes in the human herpesviruses. These genes help push a host cell into an immortal, constantly dividing state—a strong hint that the sea lion virus not only causes cancer in its hosts, but does so using similar mechanisms to human viruses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Renne and Deming are looking into whether the virus targets sea lion genes using microRNAs, tiny bits of genetic material that regulate gene activity. Renne has found this to be the case with the Kaposi’s sarcoma virus. If this is also true of the sea lion virus, Renne says, then the researchers will have solid evidence that there are general mechanisms by which this type of herpesvirus causes cancer across very different mammalian species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before she began her PhD research, Deming worked as a clinical veterinarian at SeaWorld in San Diego. She used to get discouraged when she saw cancerous sea lions and could do nothing but euthanize them. But now, her work at the Marine Mammal Center is turning the deaths of these animals into research opportunities. “[It] gives us something productive to do,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a way, the center itself is also turning death into opportunity. Today the deadly missiles are gone, and the walls that once protected them now hold countless samples of animals that lost their lives on this coast. Armed with those bits of blood and bone, scientists hope to protect the health of this ecosystem and the animals—all the animals—that share it.\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>\u003cem>This story comes from \u003ca href=\"http://biographic.com/\">Biographic\u003c/a>, an online magazine published by San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.calacademy.org/\">California Academy of Sciences\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/953740/scientists-investigate-a-mysterious-cancer-plaguing-california-sea-lions",
"authors": [
"byline_science_953740"
],
"categories": [
"science_2874",
"science_40",
"science_2873"
],
"featImg": "science_953855",
"label": "source_science_953740",
"isLoading": false,
"hasAllInfo": true
}
},
"programsReducer": {
"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"
}
},
"1a": {
"id": "1a",
"title": "1A",
"info": "1A is home to the national conversation. 1A brings on great guests and frames the best debate in ways that make you think, share and engage.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11pm-12am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/1a.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://the1a.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/1a",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=1188724250&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/1A-p947376/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510316/podcast.xml"
}
},
"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": 4
},
"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",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS9iYXktY3VyaW91cy1wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdA",
"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"
}
},
"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": 10
},
"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"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"inside-europe": {
"id": "inside-europe",
"title": "Inside Europe",
"info": "Inside Europe, a one-hour weekly news magazine hosted by Helen Seeney and Keith Walker, explores the topical issues shaping the continent. No other part of the globe has experienced such dynamic political and social change in recent years.",
"airtime": "SAT 3am-4am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Inside-Europe-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Deutsche Welle"
},
"link": "/radio/program/inside-europe",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-europe/id80106806?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Inside-Europe-p731/",
"rss": "https://partner.dw.com/xml/podcast_inside-europe"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"live-from-here-highlights": {
"id": "live-from-here-highlights",
"title": "Live from Here Highlights",
"info": "Chris Thile steps to the mic as the host of Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion), a live public radio variety show. Download Chris’s Song of the Week plus other highlights from the broadcast. Produced by American Public Media.",
"airtime": "SAT 6pm-8pm, SUN 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Live-From-Here-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.livefromhere.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "american public media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/live-from-here-highlights",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1167173941",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Live-from-Here-Highlights-p921744/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/a-prairie-home-companion-highlights/rss/rss"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"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": 13
},
"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": 12
},
"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"
}
},
"our-body-politic": {
"id": "our-body-politic",
"title": "Our Body Politic",
"info": "Presented by KQED, KCRW and KPCC, and created and hosted by award-winning journalist Farai Chideya, Our Body Politic is unapologetically centered on reporting on not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they’re impacting those very issues.",
"airtime": "SAT 6pm-7pm, SUN 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Our-Body-Politic-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://our-body-politic.simplecast.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kcrw"
},
"link": "/radio/program/our-body-politic",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-body-politic/id1533069868",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9feGFQaHMxcw",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4ApAiLT1kV153TttWAmqmc",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/_xaPhs1s",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/Our-Body-Politic-p1369211/"
}
},
"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",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"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": 6
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5Nzk2MzI2MTEx",
"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"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"says-you": {
"id": "says-you",
"title": "Says You!",
"info": "Public radio's game show of bluff and bluster, words and whimsy. The warmest, wittiest cocktail party - it's spirited and civil, brainy and boisterous, peppered with musical interludes. Fast paced and playful, it's the most fun you can have with language without getting your mouth washed out with soap. Our motto: It's not important to know the answers, it's important to like the answers!",
"airtime": "SUN 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Says-You-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.saysyouradio.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "comedy",
"source": "Pipit and Finch"
},
"link": "/radio/program/says-you",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/says-you!/id1050199826",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Says-You-p480/",
"rss": "https://saysyou.libsyn.com/rss"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"selected-shorts": {
"id": "selected-shorts",
"title": "Selected Shorts",
"info": "Spellbinding short stories by established and emerging writers take on a new life when they are performed by stars of the stage and screen.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Selected-Shorts-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/selected-shorts",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "pri"
},
"link": "/radio/program/selected-shorts",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=253191824&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Selected-Shorts-p31792/",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/selectedshorts"
}
},
"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",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"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": 14
},
"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/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vc29sZG91dA"
}
},
"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": "",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"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"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"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": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM4MjU5Nzg2MzI3",
"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"
}
},
"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": 9
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1MDAyODE4NTgz",
"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": 11
},
"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"
}
},
"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": 2
},
"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"
}
},
"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": 7
},
"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",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM0NTcwODQ2MjY2",
"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"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"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-takeaway": {
"id": "the-takeaway",
"title": "The Takeaway",
"info": "The Takeaway is produced in partnership with its national audience. It delivers perspective and analysis to help us better understand the day’s news. Be a part of the American conversation on-air and online.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 12pm-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Takeaway-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/takeaway",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-takeaway",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-takeaway/id363143310?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "http://tunein.com/radio/The-Takeaway-p150731/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/takeawaypodcast"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"truthbetold": {
"id": "truthbetold",
"title": "Truth Be Told",
"tagline": "Advice by and for people of color",
"info": "We’re the friend you call after a long day, the one who gets it. Through wisdom from some of the greatest thinkers of our time, host Tonya Mosley explores what it means to grow and thrive as a Black person in America, while discovering new ways of being that serve as a portal to more love, more healing, and more joy.",
"airtime": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Truth-Be-Told-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Truth Be Told with Tonya Mosley",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kqed.ord/podcasts/truthbetold",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/podcasts/truthbetold",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-be-told/id1462216572",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS90cnV0aC1iZS10b2xkLXBvZGNhc3QvZmVlZA",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/719210818/truth-be-told",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=398170&refid=stpr",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/587DhwTBxke6uvfwDfaV5N"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"washington-week": {
"id": "washington-week",
"title": "Washington Week",
"info": "For 50 years, Washington Week has been the most intelligent and up to date conversation about the most important news stories of the week. Washington Week is the longest-running news and public affairs program on PBS and features journalists -- not pundits -- lending insight and perspective to the week's important news stories.",
"airtime": "SAT 1:30am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/washington-week.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/washington-week",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/washington-week-audio-pbs/id83324702?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Current-Affairs/Washington-Week-p693/",
"rss": "http://feeds.pbs.org/pbs/weta/washingtonweek-audio"
}
},
"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"
},
"world-affairs": {
"id": "world-affairs",
"title": "World Affairs",
"info": "The world as we knew it is undergoing a rapid transformation…so what's next? Welcome to WorldAffairs, your guide to a changing world. We give you the context you need to navigate across borders and ideologies. Through sound-rich stories and in-depth interviews, we break down what it means to be a global citizen on a hot, crowded planet. Our hosts, Ray Suarez, Teresa Cotsirilos and Philip Yun help you make sense of an uncertain world, one story at a time.",
"airtime": "MON 10pm, TUE 1am, SAT 3am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/World-Affairs-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.worldaffairs.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "World Affairs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/world-affairs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/world-affairs/id101215657?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/WorldAffairs-p1665/",
"rss": "https://worldaffairs.libsyn.com/rss"
}
},
"on-shifting-ground": {
"id": "on-shifting-ground",
"title": "On Shifting Ground with Ray Suarez",
"info": "Geopolitical turmoil. A warming planet. Authoritarians on the rise. We live in a chaotic world that’s rapidly shifting around us. “On Shifting Ground with Ray Suarez” explores international fault lines and how they impact us all. Each week, NPR veteran Ray Suarez hosts conversations with journalists, leaders and policy experts to help us read between the headlines – and give us hope for human resilience.",
"airtime": "MON 10pm, TUE 1am, SAT 3am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2022/12/onshiftingground-600x600-1.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://worldaffairs.org/radio-podcast/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "On Shifting Ground"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-shifting-ground",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/on-shifting-ground/id101215657",
"rss": "https://feeds.libsyn.com/36668/rss"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"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": 1
},
"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"
}
},
"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/"
}
},
"white-lies": {
"id": "white-lies",
"title": "White Lies",
"info": "In 1965, Rev. James Reeb was murdered in Selma, Alabama. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held to account. Fifty years later, two journalists from Alabama return to the city where it happened, expose the lies that kept the murder from being solved and uncover a story about guilt and memory that says as much about America today as it does about the past.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/White-Lies-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510343/white-lies",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/white-lies",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/whitelies",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1462650519?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM0My9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbA",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/12yZ2j8vxqhc0QZyRES3ft?si=LfWYEK6URA63hueKVxRLAw",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510343/podcast.xml"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"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",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9zZXJpZXMvamVycnlicm93bi9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qv"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"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"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"subscriptionsReducer": {},
"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"
},
"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"
},
"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_953740": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_953740",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Biographic",
"link": "http://biographic.com/",
"isLoading": false
},
"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_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_2873": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_2873",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "2873",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Oceans",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Oceans Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2873,
"slug": "oceans",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/oceans"
}
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"localStorageReducer": {},
"browserHistoryReducer": [],
"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
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {},
"restaurantData": []
},
"location": {
"pathname": "/news/11064768/scientists-investigate-a-mysterious-cancer-plaguing-california-sea-lions",
"previousPathname": "/"
}
}