Sarah Crespi

Created as part of a Transom workshop based in Nashville TN. Two hundred years ago, mountain cur dogs helped colonize the Southern Appalachian Mountains, serving as hunting dogs and protection for homesteaders. But as jobs and industrialization took people out of the hills and into cities, the mountain curs all but disappeared. These days, a group of dedicated breeders and hunters is trying to bring back these dogs, competing in squirrel treeing and nocturnal raccoon hunts for ever-increasing amounts of money. But these are high-energy working dogs, bred to bark, which means bringing the breed back in a big way is not an easy proposition. I talk with Steve Sylvis, who after leading wildlife and hunting trips everywhere from Alaska to North Carolina ended up in Tennessee, where he helps his ailing mom and raises mountain curs. We talk about why the curs are worth all the barking and how the neighbors feel about the noise.

The weekly podcast for Science Magazine features interviews with researchers and science writers that published that week in the magazine. As host and producer, I select the topics, book the guests, interview them, edit the interviews, write titles and text for the episode pages, and do long term planning, contracts, and coordinate with ad sales and more.

Uncovering compassion fatigue in those who work with research animals—from cage cleaners to heads of entire animal facilities. Host Sarah Crespi and Online News Editor David Grimm discuss how to recognize the anxiety and depression that can be associated with this work and what some institutions are doing to help.