Crosscut Videos

Tom and Marnie on their body's very different reactions to COVID-19 and how contagious and easily spread the virus is.

After weeks of being turned away from testing due to CDC limits, on March 7th Marnie tested positive for COVID-19. The next day, Tom's test came back positive as well. The couple became cases number 1 and 2 in Kitsap County.

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Dr. Robin Kodner regularly goes to extremes in the name of science. That’s because the microscopic algae she studies live only on glaciers and snowfields high in the mountains. At 2 billion years old, these single-celled colonies predate plants, animals and even fungi. By observing these archaic creatures, Robin can learn how all life evolved in the very beginning — and how it might survive into the future.

What's it like to study an animal that is almost impossible to see? Wildlife biologist Lauren Satterfield leads us on an epic adventure by car, snowmobile and on foot through deep snow to track elusive mountain lions in the wilderness. As human development expands into their territory, her work might help us learn how these big cats and humans can coexist without conflict.

Dr. Bonnie Baird can talk to animals — but she doesn’t chirp or growl. Instead, she carefully observes the behavior of the many species that call Woodland Park Zoo home. Though the creatures can't say how they feel, Bonnie uses data to translate their behavior into something we can understand and respond to. Are the giraffes happy? Do penguins get too hot? Can the sheep get a good night’s sleep? As the zoo’s animal welfare scientist, Baird answers these questions and more to help keep the animals healthy and content.

To understand how aliens might think, Dominic Sivitilli went to the bottom of the sea to find the closest thing: an octopus. Its sophisticated nervous systems and sensitive suckers allow it to do incredible things like escape aquariums — but Sivitilli is learning how each of an octopus' eight arms might actually have a mind of its own. We don’t know yet if alien life exists. But if they do, they might think like an octopus.

Just because you've done a history segment doesn't mean the story is over! Join host Knute Berger as he answers reader mail, uncovers new details from the past and offers commentary about the region's most intriguing stories