The Podcast Aquatic

Tennessee Aquarium
  • 5.0 (16)
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  • Updated Biweekly

The official podcast of the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Gain new insights into the animals — even the human kind — living and working in one of the world's largest freshwater-focused aquariums!

  1. We Really Caved On This One ...

    Jun 2

    We Really Caved On This One ...

    From the shadow play of Plato's allegories and the trials of Beowulf to paintings adorning the walls of caverns in Lascaux, France, mankind has long been fascinated (if also a little unnerved) by the idea of caves. These subterranean landscapes may seem as lifeless as they are lightless, but in reality, they represent unique biomes — ones inhabited by a far larger and more diverse collection of species than you might think. In this special Cave Week special episode of the show, we descend (literally) into the depths of a North Georgia cave to talk about life underground, from the animals that live there and the scientists who study them to what the worlds beneath our feet can tell us about life on the surface. Read about how our scientist helped to discover a blind, nearly translucent cave fish where no one thought it should be: https://newschannel9.com/sports/outdoors/biologist-finds-blind-fish-underfoot-in-unexpected-place Episode cast Casey Phillips, host, senior communications specialist, lifelong surface dwellerDr. Bernie Kuhajda, aquatic conservation biologist (Tennessee Aquarium)Dr. Kirk Zigler, professor biology (Sewanee: The University of the South) The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    55 min
  2. It's Shell Time, Baby!

    May 20

    It's Shell Time, Baby!

    Since opening its doors in 1992, the Aquarium has shone a bright spotlight on the world's 300+ species of turtles. In the decades since, our experts have had much success hatching and raising new generations of turtles, including some critically endangered species on the brink of extinction in the wild. In this episode, two of our lead herpetology experts talk about what it takes to raise these baby chelonians, from what they eat to how they wrestle their way out of their eggs (occasionally with a little bit of help). We'll also dive deep into what you can see in our working turtle nursery, which is undoubtedly the focal point of our Turtles of the World gallery. Watch a video highlighting a recent success story with hatching a record-setting clutch of critically endangered Arakan Forest Turtles! https://youtu.be/xZxaV8gFIJ8?si=Sm968-bsMKWKXwFc Episode Cast Casey Phillips, senior communications specialist, host and baby turtle fanBill Hughes, herpetology collections coordinatorCharlie Olson, senior herpetologist The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    1h 5m
  3. A Dace By Any Other Name

    May 13

    A Dace By Any Other Name

    In life, there are many ways that your legacy can outlive you, but one of the most common — if no less flattering — is to have someone, or something, named in your honor. In this episode, we’ll meet the scientific namesake of the Laurel Dace, a hard-luck minnow found in just a pair of streams on a ridge about an hour’s drive north of the Aquarium. Fifty years before the Laurel Dace would earn the unfortunate title as one of North America’s top 10 most-imperiled fishes, it was just a slightly different looking dace caught in Charlie Saylor’s collection net. The scientist who later formally described the Laurel Dace named this beautifully plucky fish in Saylor’s honor: Chrosomus saylori. This discussion touches on Saylor’s history with the Laurel Dace, including his thoughts on its unfortunate decline and subsequent embracement by the residents of a nearby community, Spring City, Tennessee. On May 16, 2062 — just a few days after this episode’s release — the second Laurel Dace Day celebration will take place in Spring City. In addition to races and other activities, guests will be able to learn about the Laurel Dace and our efforts along with our partners to save it. Details about the event and pre-registration for those races are available on our website at https://www.tnaqua.org/events/laurel-dace-day Episode cast Casey Phillips, host, senior communications specialist, namesake of no oneCharlie Saylor, Tennessee Valley Authority ichthyologist (retired)Dr. Bernie Kuhajda, Tennessee Aquarium aquatic conservation biologist The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠.

    56 min
  4. Biggest Continent, Biggest Screen

    Apr 28

    Biggest Continent, Biggest Screen

    When you consider how many species and places that have been the focus of films and series by the legendary documentarians of BBC's Natural History Unit, it's frankly astonishing it took them so long to tackle the subject of Asia. The world's largest continent is home to an almost incomprehensible variety of ecosystems and wildlife, from massive bears in its polar north to sharks and coral reefs off its southeastern coast. In 2024, the nearly-70-year-old filmmaking legend produced the aptly named Asia, a seven-part series highlighting amazing stories and incredible animals that call the selfsame continent home. Now, BBC Earth has produced a new giant-screen film that condenses the best moments from the series into a brisk — yet somehow unhurried — 40-minute runtime. Wild Asia: Life at Extremes 3D will begin screening at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater on May 15. In this episode, we'll chat with its director, Matthew Wright, about the importance of finding new ways to show charismatic, well-documented species, the experience of capturing never-before-seen behaviors and his hopes for how the film impacts audiences. Learn more about the film and purchase advance tickets to meet Matthew during his visit on May 5, 2026, at https://tickets.tnaqua.org/events/019d8819-45e2-43c4-5341-60bd2665f901?_gl=1%2awf73rw%2a_gcl_au%2aOTY3MTA3NC4xNzc0MzY3MjM5 Watch the film's trailer at https://youtu.be/ScWg4_mvVA0?si=p7lq7pROaExpojX2 Episode Cast ​Casey Phillips, host and senior communications specialist​Matthew Wright, series producer, Asia, director, Wild Asia: Life at Extremes 3D The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

    56 min
  5. Raising Fish Babbies

    Apr 23

    Raising Fish Babbies

    Being a new parent is hard. Infants are small, fragile and, in most respects, completely incapable of caring for themselves. Raising them is a difficult — sometimes impossible-feeling — task. But fish babies? Take that challenge and multiply it. Everything is harder. The food? Probably too big. The lights? Too bright (or too dim). The eggs? Nearly microscopic. In this episode, two of the Aquarium's lead aquarists discuss the challenges of raising fish (both freshwater and saltwater species) from eggs that were laid in our exhibits. Successfully seeing these fish babbies to adulthood is a challenge, to be sure, but every fish born and raised in our buildings represents less impact we have to have on wild populations. Episode cast Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialist/former babbyBen Stenger, River Journey lead aquaristKyle McPheeters, life support systems lead aquaristThom Demas, vice president, chief husbandry and exhibits officer The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠.

    54 min
  6. A Well-tended Twilight

    Apr 8

    A Well-tended Twilight

    More than 13,000 residents live at the Tennessee Aquarium, and because of the dedicated work of our caretaking and veterinary teams, many of them have far exceeded their species’ median life expectancy in human care. Just like with people, advanced age brings on a host of changes to how animals experience the world around them, and this necessitates adjusting how we care for them. In this episode, we’ll chat about how we adjust our approach to tending to our older residents. Episode cast Casey Phillips, certified "old," host and senior communications specialistThom Demas, vice president and chief husbandry and exhibits officerDr. Christian Keller, director of animal healthRachel Thayer, assistant curator of fishes The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

    54 min
  7. Seeing Eye to Aye-Aye With Primatologist Dr. Tim Eppley

    Mar 23

    Seeing Eye to Aye-Aye With Primatologist Dr. Tim Eppley

    From leaping lemurs and 1,000+ species of orchids and hedgehog- and poison dart frog-likes, Madagascar is home to a splendiferous collection of life, the vast majority of which can be found there and nowhere else on Earth. In this episode, we chat all things Malagasy with primatologist Dr. Tim Eppley, from his opinion on the "Is it cute or terrifying?" debate about the Aye-Aye to the titanic (and regrettably extinct) Elephant Bird. We also dive into the work of his nonprofit, Wildlife Madagascar, to preserve this island nation's rich ecology by working hand in hand with the Malagasy people to shore up their livelihoods and food security. Dr. Eppley will be visiting the Aquarium as a guest speaker at an event on April 7. He'll discuss his work and sign copies of his book, Lemurs of Madagascar, alongside Aquarium staffers who work with Malagasy species such as Ring-tailed Lemurs and Radiated Tortoises. For more information about this event, visit https://www.tnaqua.org/calendar To learn more about Wildlife Madagascar, visit https://www.wildlifemadagascar.org Episode Cast Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialistDr. Tim Eppley, primatologist and chief conservation officer for Wildlife Madagascar The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

    54 min
  8. Lifestyles Of The Enriched And Fur-mous

    Mar 11

    Lifestyles Of The Enriched And Fur-mous

    In the zoo and aquarium world, creating true-to-wild habitats is critically important, but simply building these miniature worlds for our residents isn’t good enough. After all, even the most beautiful home would start to feel stifling if every day inside was the same and nothing ever changed. To keep the animals’ lives interesting and stimulating, our caretakers place immense priority on dreaming up and creating new forms of enrichment. Whether it’s a new scent, a treat delivered in a puzzling container, a “painting” session or the temporary addition of sprinklers, snow or even bubbles, these tweaks and alterations keep life interesting, encourage mental and physical exercise and reinforce natural behaviors. In this episode, two of the Aquarium’s most enthusiastic enrichment champions about why enrichment matters, some of their favorite enrichment success stories and how they devise new ways to keep the animals on their toes, fins and claws. Episode cast Casey Phillips, host and senior communications specialistMaggie Sipe, Ocean Journey lead animal care specialistJennifer McPheeters, River Journey lead animal care specialist The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks. Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure. Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

    57 min
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Trailer

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About

The official podcast of the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Gain new insights into the animals — even the human kind — living and working in one of the world's largest freshwater-focused aquariums!

Information

  • Creator
    Tennessee Aquarium
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    72
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Tennessee Aquarium
  • Show Website
    The Podcast Aquatic

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