PODCAST · science
The Best Biome
by Grassland Groupies
Three prairie biologists make the ever-growing argument for why grasslands are the world's best biome. Features hosts Rachel Roth, Nicole Brown, and Allan Saylor of Kansas-based nonprofit Grassland Groupies.
Episodes
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[S5E3] Peculiar Pollinators
Our conservation spotlight this episode highlights the Monarch Butterfly as we chat with Katelyn Strack, an education Ambassador with Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. We get an update on their population trends, information on how to help preserve them, and chat a bit about our...
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[S5E2] The Life of a Prairie Wanderer
ALERT: NEW FAVORITE BIRD DROPPED. In this episode of The Best Biome, Rachel lets us live vicariously through bobolinks, the "lackadaisical migrants", whose home is wherever they are and whose destination is wherever they're going. With habitat use that spans grasslands across the western…
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[S5E1] If You Mess with The Bull
We open the episode with an update on the Lesser Prairie Chicken delisting, why all hope is not lost, and some interviews with experts in the field: Dr. Jackie Augustine (Executive Director, Audubon of Kansas) and Stacy Hoeme (Co-Lead, Lesser Prairie Chicken Landowner Alliance). The deep dive for...
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[S4E9] State of the Grasslands 2025
In our final episode of Season 4, The Best Biome team discusses the state of grasslands conservation in the current year (and what an eventful year it has been). We discuss the most significant threats and daunting challenges that we'll need to meet head on to protect our underappreciated and...
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[S4E8] The Spookiest Biome!
'Tis the season FOR TERROR! Fortunately, nature is pretty metal and has no shortage of scary phenomena to discuss. On our Halloween episode of The Best Biome, we bring you three terrible tales of body horror... from the perspective of plants! These are guaranteed to strike fear into your fiber,...
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[S4E7] The Beginner's Guide to Hanging Out with Rattlesnakes
In an episode chock full of PSA's, Nicole gives us a full slate of reasons to appreciate the ever-charismatic rattlesnake (and some helpful strategies for not dying on your next hike). From venomous vaccines that prevent unexpected disease, to prenatal predator practice, there's a lot to like…
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[S4E6] Rivercane Reverie
In this month's Best Biome, Nicole tells the story of a grassland ecosystem so rare and so endangered that neither of her co-hosts had any idea it existed! We're talking about the once-ubiquitous canebrake ecosystems of the eastern United States, which were quite literally American bamboo…
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[S4E5] Sunflower Politics
Our view of nature is often constrained by the idea of competition: life as a zero-sum game, where the victorious survive, and the defeated fade into extinction. But not every relationship in life is competitive! Sure, as living things, we must always be aware of our enemies, but our survival is...
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[S4E4] Healing the World (and Heavy Metals) with Plants
Phytoremediation. A fun word to say, but what does it mean? Turns out it's quite simple: using the superpower many plants naturally have to heal our wonderful Earth from terrible soil contaminants. Allan pulls us off the dark abyss edge that is our current world to deliver a wonderful tale of...
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[S4E3] The Hottest Reptile (Tegus)
The Best Biome finally reps reptiles properly as Nicole tells us all about an enormous lizard of the South American grasslands. Buckle up for voracious appetites, raging hormones, and an unexpected peek into the evolution of endothermy. This is: the world's hottest reptile. Primary Sources:...
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[S4E2] The (Second) Best Biome
This month on The Best Biome, Rachel takes us on a trip to the wetter, saltier cousin of grasslands: seagrass meadows! Is she making a desperate reach to connect the dots, or is she absolutely right that "seagrass meadows are the grasslands of the oceans?" Decide for yourself, dear listener, and...
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[S4E1] Satoyamas: Aso-Kuju Grasslands
The grasslands of Japan are beautiful, full of volcanos, and revered by the people living there. Japan's unique model of conservation method of Satoyamas is one we wish the US would model - one where people push to thrive alongside the environment, not claim or set it aside. Allan hosts this...
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[S3E11] The Environment under Trump
In the final episode of the season for The Best Biome we lay out some concerns we have for the conservation of our beloved grasslands under a second term of the Trump administration. It's a hard discussion, but one we felt we needed to have. And boy was it a long one. If you don't feel up to...
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[S3E10] Creator and Destroyer: African Elephants
A big animal can make big changes in their environment... and cause big problems for the people who live alongside it. African Elephants have a fascinating relationship to the savanna and the people who call it home, where it is equal parts feared and revered. The world of elephant conservation…
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[S3E9] Worm Lizards: Undulating and Unknowable
Happy Halloween from your grasslands PR Team! This month, Rachel confronts one of her worst childhood fears to bring us a tale of the strange and slithering: a group of animals so odd and cryptic that the existence of many species was only confirmed after their habitat was bulldozed. We're…
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[S3E8] Drafting Porcupines into the Best Biome
Possibly the best episode of all time (according to me, Rachel). Allan gives us EVERYTHING. Great science, high quality takes, crying with laughter, investigative reporting and red string conspiracy boards. To what end?? Drafting porcupines, well-known "tree-lovers," into the Best Biome...
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[S3E7] Bees Know Everything
Bees know more than you. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but they definitely know more than you realize! From complex problem solving to tool use to wing-sparkle navigation, bees illuminate our understanding of insect cognition. In this episode, Nicole invites us to perceive the world as...
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[S3E6] Sandyland Groupies
Desertification is a major threat to many grasslands, so let's study the best real-world example: The Horqin Grassland, aka the Horqin Sandy Lands. How has this landscape changed over time, what can it teach us about the future of arid grasslands, and which approaches by Inner Mongolia and China…
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[S3E5] Better National Symbols
We get patriotic (kinda) in this special episode where all three hosts work together to petition for new national symbols for the US of A. New floral emblem, new national symbol, and a brand new category all-together. Why do we love non-native national symbols? Who knows. Do better, America.…
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[S3E4] Goat Antelope Knife Fight
The fastest land animal in North America, second fastest in the world: the graceful, wonderful, pronghorn. Nicole shares all the reasons these icons of the American prairie are truly the best from their evolutionary history to their epic stare battles between each other and rump flashes to warn…
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[S3E3] (Patas) Monkeying Around With Ants
Patas Monkeys are weird little guys with fabulous mustaches and very intricate relationships with a special tree on the African savannah. We talk acacias, ants, and the Lorax as Allan tries to make Nicole love just a single primate. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Palmer, T.,...
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Bonus! Power of Fire: Kindred Podcast
This is a special podcast swap episode where we host Kindred Podcast's Power of Fire episode. Learn about the history of fire, how it shapes the landscape and people that live there. Speakers: Tony Incashola Jr., forest manager for CSKT (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), and Stephanie...
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[S3E2] Sickle Claw Seriema
The long-legged, sickle claw wielding seriema is a wonderful bird that provides insight into the extinct terror birds of old. Rachel explains the link between past and present and we ponder whether or not scientists ever bother actually looking at birds. Photos and more are at our site. Primary...
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[S3E1] Embrace Winter (Wood Bison)
The conservation story of Canada's polar-vortex-loving Wood Bison is one of colossal mistakes, stacked odds, and (to our gleeful surprise) hope and optimism. These animals have survived drowning, disease, and hybridization, and have gone on to... success? Allan explores this topic in today's...
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[S2E23] Bundle Up and Bird!
It's snowy and getting colder where we're at, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go outside. Rachel gives a compelling argument as to why winter is the best time of year for birding and gives insight into the Christmas Bird Count: a citizen science project dating back over a hundred years. Learn...
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[S2E22] The Best Cryptid
This episode is a little different. We celebrate spooky season with the haunting tales of feldgeist, Sinkhole Sam, and the Ohio Grassman. These stories haunt the minds of those who visit prairies and fields across the globe. Be weary, you never know what's lurking in the tall grass. Photos and…
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[S2E21] Grasshopper Mice: Small but Fierce
Grasshopper mice are small but fierce. They howl like wolves, stalk their prey like cats, and finish up with a quick face clean. These solitary animals like to live life dangerously and enjoy even venomous meals. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Grasshopper Mouse Hunting and...
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[S2E20] Sneeze if You Love Painted Dogs
Nicole talks painted dogs: a surprisingly wholesome and fun-loving animal. They are excellent hunters, take care of not just their pups but their elderly, and rarely squabble amongst themselves. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Painted Dog Conservation website. Painted Dog…
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[S2E19] 1 Lie, 2 Truths, 3 Idiots
Enjoy this episode of very good facts and very good nonsense. We revisit a nice game of stump the podcast host, this time with more bug viscera and talking ourselves out of an obvious answer. Our Info: Website Facebook Twitter [email protected]
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[S2E18] Paramo's Strongest: Hummingbirds
In the Páramo grasslands of South America is a cloud covered land where a unique ecosystem thrives. Allan tells us all about a plant that drinks clouds plus the miraculous little hummingbirds that call this place home. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Luteyn, J. 1999. Páramos: A...
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[S2E17] Murderous Meerkats
Did you know meerkats are far more murderous than they seem or that their burrows can be as wide as a Purple Worm's? All this and more as we delve underground and find out why they can be so aggressive and who would win in a fight: 1000 meerkats or Nicole. Primary Sources: Gómez, J., Verdú, M.,...
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[S2E16] Good Vibes Only
Conservation can be DEPRESSING, so for Mental Health Month we decided to share ONLY positive news and stories (after taking a little break for our brains). Rewire those neurons everybody, because it's not all bleak. Good news so far in May: Biden-Harris Administration announced $36 million for...
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[S2E15] The Best of Nest (A DEFINITIVE LIST)
Wherein Rachel makes a definitive list of best bird nests in North American grasslands. Primary Sources: A Field Guide to Birds Nests by Hal Harrison The Birder's Handbook by Paul R. Ehrlich Madison Audubon's Into the Nest Contact Website Facebook Twitter [email protected]
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[S2E14] Ostrich: Winner Takes All (of the Children)
Ostriches are one of the strangest birds we've ever talked about. They are the world's biggest bird and toughest survivor. They nest together, have radiators for necks, and can drink saltwater. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: "Strangest Bird Alive". 2016. National Geographic....
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[S2E13] Soil: The Best Microbiome
Soils define habitats as much as the plantlife, so let's talk about that! How do you identify a soil species, and should grassland ecosystem restorations include soil microbe transplants? Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Prairie: A Natural History of the Heart of North America by...
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[S2E12] Harris's Sparrow: They were here the whole time.
Basic midwest feeder bird or mysterious exotic tundra sparrow? Actually, both! Harris's Sparrows, one of the most enigmatic North American sparrows, are about to travel well out of reach into the remote frigid north, so let's gossip about them before they're gone. Only a handful of studies have...
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[S2E11] Native Gardens: How to become better than your neighbors.
If you haven't started thinking about your gardens yet, now is the perfect time to get started planning. Nicole walks us through gardening for native habitats, wildlife, and how to get your neighbors on board too. Photos and more are at our site. Further Reading: Find out more about Bee City...
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[S2E10] Prairie Voles: The Grassland is for Lovers
A wholesome episode about secure love, forming bonds under stress, and human connection through the lens of a grasslands specialist: the prairie vole. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: NPR on the hot new vole research:...
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[S2E9] Baboons: A Grasslands Primate
So many monkeys that are forest dwellers, but baboons as a group are ground-dwelling grasslanders whose habitat use and social structure might help us learn about our own hominid ancestors. In this episode, Allan combines ecology and anthropology to discuss some grasslands monkeys. Photos and…
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[S2E8] Chamois: ChamWOW!
The chamois is a goat-antelope from the rolling alpine meadow scenery of European mountains, and today's episode is a straightforward peek into the idyllic life of this animal that's (for once) doing alright! Unless you count the mandatory 7 years of grizzled aging in the mountains and their...
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[S2E7] Prairie Crayfish: like prairie dogs with extra legs
Yank your concept of crayfish out of the water. In this episode, Nicole walks us through one of her favorite arthropod groups and makes a pretty good case for why prairie lovers should love these little crustaceans that burrow deep into the prairie. She also makes us rethink crayfish boils…
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[S2E6] African Savannas 101
In this episode, Rachel goes down the opposite of a rabbit hole as we discuss a single widely-cited paper from 2018. Take a look at Africa's savanna plants and what their adaptations mean for conservation, human impacts, and climate change across the continent. Photos and more are at our site....
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[S2E5] Bumblelove: why bumblebees matter more than honeybees
Have an existential crisis about the inner lives of bees with us! In this episode, Nicole attempts to teach us a few things about bumblebees while under constant antagonization to slander honeybees. This overview of bumblebees tumbles into some very specific studies on energy, cognition and...
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[S2E4] Henslow's Sparrow: Lifestyles of the Secretive and Soggy
What does the American South and the Tallgrass Prairie have in common? Their grasslands support an elusive little grassland specialist that the old timey ornithologists roast way too hard: the Henslow's Sparrow. In this episode we explore the beloved longleaf pine savannas of the southern US, and...
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[S2E3] Patagonian Mara: Helicopter Mates
This rabbity rodent of South America's grasslands is a common sight in zoos, but has one of the strangest social structures we've talked about in mammals. What makes this strictly monogamous-til-death, pair-bonded, troupe-travelling mammal SO antisocial? How does that work, and what else have we...
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[S2E2] Hyenas: Savage Stinky Scavengers
CW: we talk about animal genitalia in this episode in the last 30 mins (it's hard to avoid with hyenas) Hyenas have historically been painted in a pretty negative light, only for recent PR teams to praise their strong women leaders, successful hunts, and sophisticated societies. And while we're…
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[S2E1] Buff-necked Ibis: The Noble Bin Chicken
We are always fans of highlighting underappreciated animals and this week we tackle the ibis. Bin chicken or noble alarm clock? You decide. One thing's for sure: their poop is a problem. Thank you to our guest this week: Allan Saylor! Thanks for listening, we'll see you again in two weeks!…
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[S1E25] Disease-ridden Bloodsuckers
Content Warning: talk of blood. The last of our "spooky"-themed episodes, let's talk about ticks! How do they feed, what kind of diseases do they carry, and how best to prevent getting sick from them. Did you know there are over 900 species of ticks and they live quite literally everywhere? Well,...
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[S1E24] Vultures: Bring Out Your Dead (Part 2)
Content Warning: talk of dead things (not graphic). Old World Vultures have a different set of tricks in order to survive including eating fruit, bones, and garbage. We talk Bearded Vultures, Eurasian Griffons, and more in this part two of our vulture special. http://savebellbowlprairie.org…
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[S1E23] Vultures: Bring Out Your Dead (Part 1)
Content Warning: talk of corpses and the eating of them. Vultures are nasty birds which cleanse the landscape of death and disease. In this part of our first ever two part episode we learn about the New World vultures from North and South America and how they fit into their landscapes and…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Three prairie biologists make the ever-growing argument for why grasslands are the world's best biome. Features hosts Rachel Roth, Nicole Brown, and Allan Saylor of Kansas-based nonprofit Grassland Groupies.
HOSTED BY
Grassland Groupies
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Best Biome have?
The Best Biome currently has 73 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Best Biome about?
Three prairie biologists make the ever-growing argument for why grasslands are the world's best biome. Features hosts Rachel Roth, Nicole Brown, and Allan Saylor of Kansas-based nonprofit Grassland Groupies.
How often does The Best Biome release new episodes?
The Best Biome has 73 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Best Biome?
You can listen to The Best Biome on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Best Biome?
The Best Biome is created and hosted by Grassland Groupies.
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