A local writer and science communicator is taking a deep-dive into the growing world of podcasting.
Jasper’s Niki Wilson is bringing her inquisitive nature, vast knowledge of Rocky Mountain biology and love of a good pine marten story to a new podcast series called Anthropomania.
Wilson, along with her fellow hosts—popular Canadian science broadcaster Jay Ingram, as well as biomedical scientist Dr. Erika Siren—will examine attitudes towards animals, plants and life on earth through a story-driven, investigative approach.
Wilson says the notion of exploration is at the Anthropomania’s core.
“Some people see nature as a playground, some people see it as something to be protected, others see it as something that gets in the way of making a livelihood,” Wilson said. “Sharing curiosity discards those narrow frameworks and allows us to be together on the journey.”
Wilson will bring to the studio her portfolio of reporting on the biologically bizarre, as well as her experience growing up in a national park community. She says Jasperites can often forget that their relationship with wildlife is unique to much of the world.
“There are few places where you can still interact with wild animals the way we do,” she said. “Our lens in terms of what we should expect when we walk out of our house is different.”
Jasperites don’t find it weird, for example, to strap on a canister of bear spray for a family walk, or to make sure they shut the back door so a pine marten doesn’t rob the place.
“A lot of people would think that’s nuts,” she laughed.
It’s also right in Anthropomania’s wheelhouse. Wilson, who has worked with Ingram many times over the years, most notably at Jasper’s annual Dark Sky Festival, said the tone of the podcast will be conversational—intelligent, yet light and funny. Listeners will find guests quirky and interesting, she said, and the topics they cover might be absurd or controversial, but always digestible and compelling.
“It’s not just science and talking heads,” she said. “It’s really getting the cultural aspect too.”
Anthropomania is produced by Toronto’s Lightscope Creative. It debuts March 15. Subscribe to it via your favourite podcast app.
Bob Covey //thejasperlocal@gmail.com
