Critter Chat
Our Radio Broadcast & Podcast
Show hosts and producers Susan Brandt & Marney Blair tell stories of Sierra Nevada wildlife and feature interviews with experts in the field. Listen on the first Wednesdays of every month on KVMR 89.5 FM.
2025–2026 Season
The Courteous Rattlesnake
Humans have evolved alongside snakes since our earliest existence. From then to Eve's story and countless myths, snakes have created mystery, fear and folklore within our minds. Now in this modern age equipped with the latest scientific data about rattlesnakes, our awareness is changing towards a more peaceful co-existence.
© Roy Arthur Blodgett — Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes, San Luis Obispo County
Guests
- Roy Arthur Blodgett — Program Manager, Venomous Snake Training Program, Save the Snakes
Why is the Caddisfly a favorite of some nature lovers? Is it their clever engineering of silk? Their essential role as stream garbage cleaners? Maybe it's the artistic houses they create using stream artifacts, or their role as a favorite fish snack? So many reasons to appreciate this incredible millions-of-years-old native. Hosts Susan Brandt and Marney Blair take a field trip to Little Deer Creek, Nevada City, California.
Rhyacophila species of Caddisfly © Dave Herbst
With Spring comes wildlife emergencies anew. Unfortunately, it's us humans who are often the cause of these emergencies. Wildlife rescue expert Christy Berger and Wild Birds Unlimited manager Nora Kirk help us think carefully about living around wildlife as they have their offspring.
Black bear cubs © Maya Khosla
Guests
- Christy Berger — Gold Country Wildlife Rescue
- Nora Kirk — Manager, Wild Birds Unlimited, Grass Valley
What is it about Jumping spiders that have people intrigued? Is it their big beguiling eyes that look back at you, or their furry bodies? There are approximately 130 species of Jumping spiders in California, with 50–60 found in the Sierra. One of life's enchantments awaiting you on this wonderful spinning globe.
Paramarpissa griswoldi, jumping spider found in oak woodlands © Ken Schneider
Guests
- Dr. Tim Manolis — Naturalist, biologist, artist; illustrator of the Field Guide to the Spiders of California and the Pacific Coast States
Rocky Raccoon stars in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy — a scrappy, genius, tinkering with tools to solve problems of the universe. It's not surprising that our raccoon neighbors inspired this character. These adorably masked nocturnal critters solve the trickiest problems to access food and shelter.
Raccoon, Lemongrass, works the puzzle box © Dr. Lauren Stanton
Guests
- Dr. Lauren Stanton — Cognitive Ecologist, UC Berkeley & The Schell Lab
Resources
Acclaimed poet Una Kobrin, author of Words Between Darkness & Light, shares poems about stags, crickets, cows and hummingbirds — giving us a new perspective on sharing the earth with these wonderful beings.
Guests
- Una Kobrin — Poet; author of Words Between Darkness & Light
With the rainy season upon us in the Sierra Nevada foothills, a critter emerges to look for his mate. The Rain Beetle — a species related to the Scarab, symbolizing restoration, rebirth and good luck in ancient Egyptian culture — makes its first appearance with the early rains. Possessing a chunky body that can tolerate colder weather and "eyelashes" to sense its surroundings, this beetle lives only a few days to make a purposeful flight.
Guests
- Kaitai Liu — UC Davis PhD Student researching Rain Beetle (Pleocoma) species of the Sierra Nevada foothills
2025 Season
Each with their own distinctive markings, this beautiful native feline is shy but very successful in adapting to changing conditions from the Sierra Foothills to Tahoe and even higher elevations. We asked those who closely watch them to tell us what they know about these wonderful wild cats.
Bobcat and her kittens, Incline Village, CA © Eleanor Preger
Guests
- Rachel Roberts — senior environmental scientist and bobcat specialist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- T. Will Richardson — co-founder & executive director, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS)
Such a beautiful little golden fish who swims where Rainbow Trout roam. What do we know about this little critter? We ask experts about this cryptic native fish.
Riffle Sculpin, American River, California, 2010 © Lisa C. Thompson
Guests
- Rob Leidy — Board President, Friends of Sausal Creek; Ecologist, UC Berkeley
- Gregory A. Giusti — Forests & Wildland Ecology Advisor-Emeritus, UC Cooperative Extension
Resources
Steller's Jays have long been regarded as a sentinel bird in the world of wildlife and native American culture. They "read the environment" and alert the wider world to dangers, sometimes imitating hawks to communicate to other birds.
Steller's Jay fledgling © Copyright Susan Brandt
Guests
- Linda Tuttle Adams — biologist, scientific illustrator, artist, and author of Baby Bird Identification
It's the year of the Snake! They don't call them Kings for nothing — find out all about this quiet king of the mountains with leading experts in herpetology.
Photo © Gary Nafis
Guests
- Emily Taylor — professor of biological sciences, Cal Poly SLO; founder of Project RattleCam
- Kevin Wiseman — Field Associate, California Academy of Sciences; consulting herpetologist
- Jeannie Wood — Executive Director, Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra (CATS)
2024 Season
Our premiere season! Critter Chat shares stories with listeners about the diverse worlds of the wildlife living in the Sierra Nevada. In our first nine episodes, we chat with incredible experts and artists about outstanding families of mammals, amphibians, and insects.
The Great Gray Owl is the largest owl in California and North America — an elusive species that brings wonder to all those who have the rare chance to see this amazing creature. A Sierra subspecies is listed on the endangered species list.
Guests
- John Muir Laws — Naturalist, Author, Painter
- Ramiro Aragon — Biologist, The Institute for Bird Populations
This prehistoric and cryptic dragonfly is as interesting living as a nymph hidden in stream sediment as it is as an adult high-flying aerial acrobat.
© Greg Kareofelas
Guests
- Dr. David Herbst — Sierra Streams Institute
- Christofer Brothers — PhD Candidate, Animal Behavior, UC Davis
- Greg Kareofelas — Naturalist, Bohart Museum of Entomology
"Pallid bats are as diverse as Californians – living in various ecosystems from California's deserts, oak woodlands, coastal redwood forests, and high up into the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada mountains." California's official state bat.
Guests
- Naomi d'Alessio — 9th grader and bat advocate who helped make the Pallid bat the California state bat
- Corky Quirk — NorCal Bats
- Dave Johnston — Adjunct Associate Wildlife Ecologist and Bat Biologist, H. T. Harvey & Associates
A survivor of six ice ages, the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep — with populations documented living 300,000 years ago — is now on the endangered species list. These majestic animals struggle on in small numbers, braving the highest peaks and harshest winters.
Guests
- Dr. John Wehausen — founder, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation
- Tom Stephenson — wildlife biologist, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
- Jane Kim — visual artist, science illustrator, founder of Ink Dwell
Live Broadcast
As the first LIVE Critter Chat broadcast, Marney and Susan chat about their lifelong friendship and their love of animals, as well as their creative process in making Critter Chat — with snippets from their favorite bits of the first four episodes.
Have you had a magical moment spotting one of these beauties? Or heard their symphonies of yip howls? Marney and Susan speak with a world-renowned expert about coyotes and hear the Nisensan creator story that demonstrates how closely people and coyotes have learned from each other.
Coyote & Pup © Annica Kreuter
Guests
- Marc Bekoff — author of The Emotional Lives of Animals; professor emeritus, UC Boulder
- Shelly Covert — Spokesperson, Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe; Executive Director, CHIRP
Marney walked outside to find her tree filled with bumble bees! She asked Susan if they can talk about them on the next show — so here we are learning so much about these important little pollinators and specifically about the plight of the Western Bumble Bee.
Guests
- Helen Loffland — Meadow Bird Specialist, B.S. Wildlife Biology UC Davis, M.S. Biology CSUS
- Kristen Hein Strohm — programs director, Wolf Creek Community Alliance
- Steve Reynolds — wildlife biologist and bee lover since childhood
When it's rainy and warm we start to see these critters come out on the roads — where are they going? What are they doing? Join Marney and Susan as they talk to experts who are very aware, and very charmed by these long-living amphibians.
Guests
- Lee Kats — professor of biology, Frank R. Seaver Chair in Natural Science, Pepperdine
- Sally Gale — founder, Chileno Valley Newt Brigade
- Anton Sorokin — wildlife biologist and photographer
What's that Woody Woodpecker call I'm hearing in the forests of Grass Valley? It's our woodland neighbor, the Acorn Woodpecker! They live all around us, but what do we really know about them?
Guests
- Nancy Barbachano — 25-year veteran of bird rehabilitation; Cornell Lab of Ornithology collaborator
- Nathan Pieplow — author, Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds Western North America
- Linda Tuttle-Adams — biologist, wildlife artist, author of Baby Bird Identification
- Walter Koenig — biologist, UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
Critter Chat Hosts
Susan and Marney are life-long friends whose friendly banter and enthusiasm for the critters bring facts and fun to engage the community about the wildlife in the Sierra Nevada.
Marney Blair
A biologist and farmer, Marney is a leader in biodynamic composting and blind farming. She is a member of various writing and poetry groups. Marney has a degree in Biology from UC San Diego and a Masters in Psychology from San Francisco State University.
Susan Brandt
A communication specialist, grassroots organizer, and founder of Rational Animal. Susan did her undergraduate work at UC Santa Cruz and received her Masters in International Communication & Development from Ohio University.
Special Thanks
- Cláudio Mendonca — KVMR News Director
- Peter Blachley — additional sound, music, editing
- Lisa Bjorn — production assistant
- Karen Handelman — theme music
- Laura Brandt — Critter Chat logo
Thanks to our Sponsors
Chan Family Optometry · Wild Birds Unlimited · Rational Animal
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