Encounters

Series produced by Encounters: Radio Experiences in the North

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This series is hosted by award winning NPR reporter Elizabeth Arnold and cultural anthropologist Richard Nelson. Through a heavy dose of natural sound, direct experience and outdoor experiences, each 29-minute episode take listeners into the wild. Now in its fifth season, Encounters has a cult-like following in Alaska and is now available nationally.

"Richard Nelson knows the natural world more intimately than anyone I know - and this show captures that intimacy in powerful sit-and-stare-at-the-radio fashion. There's nothing remotely like it on the air, but listeners will understand it immediately - it appeals to something very deep." -- Bill McKibben(author of End of Nature)

Where else on public radio can you hear polar bears growl, peregrine falcons cry and killer whales splash? Encounters is upbeat environmental programming that brings the sounds of the northern wild to the radio for a rare, entertaining and informative weekly program. What better way for listeners to be transported to exotic locations during their daily commute than through the experiences of seasoned reporter Elizabeth Arnold and cultural anthropologist Richard Nelson.


39 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Kivalina is on the frontlines of global climate change where an island is literally washing away.

Bought by KCHU, KDUR, KTRT RADIO INC, WMNF, KRUA and more


  • Added: Apr 29, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 7
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Hear the haunting voices of the loon on a summer day with host Richard Nelson

Bought by KCHU, KTRT RADIO INC, KDUR, KMXT, WMNF and more


  • Added: Apr 29, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Ms. Arnold
Elizabeth Arnold looks into a new strategy for studying the Bering Sea called Patch Dynamics

Bought by KDUR and Remix Radio


  • Added: Apr 29, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 2
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Hear the roar of the Muskox! This animal makes a suprising sound especially when you are as close as host Richard Nelson gets to this prehistoric c...

Bought by KCHU, KDUR, WMNF, and Remix Radio


  • Added: Apr 29, 2009
  • Length: 28:59
  • Purchases: 4
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Get your earbones popped with the almost religious sound of glaciers calving as you go for a paddle in a kayak with host Richard Nelson on this epi...

Bought by KCHU, KTRT RADIO INC, KDUR, WMNF, and Remix Radio


  • Added: May 01, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 5
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Join Richard Nelson in one of the most amazing bird watching experiences on the planet as he heads out to the Copper River Delta.

Bought by KMXT, KCHU, KTRT RADIO INC, KDUR, KMXT and more


  • Added: May 07, 2009
  • Length: 28:57
  • Purchases: 7
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This is a sweet segment on one of the smallest but best known little birds.

Bought by KDUR, KUFM - Montana Public Radio, and Remix Radio


  • Added: May 14, 2009
  • Length: 28:54
  • Purchases: 3
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Elizabeth Arnold heads out on an ice breaker in the Bering Sea

Bought by KCHU, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KDUR, KTRT RADIO INC, WMNF and more


  • Added: May 21, 2009
  • Length: 28:54
  • Purchases: 6
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Find yourself in the middle of a pod of killer whales on this edition of Encounters!

Bought by KCHU, KDUR, KTRT RADIO INC, KMXT, KHNS and more


  • Added: Jun 01, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 7
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Get close but not cozy to bears in this exciting episode of Encounters

Bought by KCHU, KTRT RADIO INC, KDUR, KMXT, WMNF and more


  • Added: Jun 01, 2009
  • Length: 29:02
  • Purchases: 6
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The summer drone of doom.... the mighty mosquito has a long history in the north country.

Bought by KCHU, KTRT RADIO INC, KDUR, KMXT, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Jun 09, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 8
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Go to an area in Alaska that has one of the highest grizzly bear populations in the world and find out how humans can live near bears safely.

Bought by KCHU, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KTRT RADIO INC, KDUR, KMXT and more


  • Added: Aug 11, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 10
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Climb into some pretty sketches places in search of one of mountain goats

Bought by KCHU, KTRT RADIO INC, KMXT, KDUR, XRAY.fm and more


  • Added: Aug 12, 2009
  • Length: 28:57
  • Purchases: 9

  • Added: Aug 21, 2009
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 19

  • Added: Aug 24, 2009
  • Length: 28:55
  • Purchases: 5
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Beat the summer heat by jumping on board an icebreaker with host Elizabeth Arnold

Bought by KDUR, PRX Remix, KRUA, and Remix Radio


  • Added: Aug 24, 2009
  • Length: 28:55
  • Purchases: 4
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Head upstream with the salmon

Bought by KDUR, KMXT, KHNS, and Remix Radio


  • Added: Aug 26, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 4
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Hear the fall bugling of Elk in the North country

Bought by KMXT, KDUR, PRX Remix, Remix Radio, and KVSC


  • Added: Sep 01, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 5
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Go kayaking in a pod of sealions

Bought by KDUR, KMXT, KHNS, and CKMO


  • Added: Sep 10, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 4
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Hear the call of the wild on this unusual Encounters episode!

Bought by KDUR, KMXT, KHNS, WTIP, and CKMO


  • Added: Sep 17, 2009
  • Length: 28:56
  • Purchases: 5