The Lizard Lassoer

Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant

*Content warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence that might be disturbing to some listeners.*

Herpetologists do a lot of unique things while studying lizards—cut their toes, pump their stomachs, and capture them by lassoing their necks. That one small word, “lasso,'' wasn't always the word used in the discipline. Herpetologist Earyn McGee, one of the few Black, female scientists in the field, proposed researchers stop using the word “noose” to describe capturing lizards, and start using a more accurate, less oppressive word, like “lasso.”

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, you can follow “Going Wild” on your favorite podcast listening app. While you’re there, please leave us a review - it really helps.

You can also get updates and bonus content by following me, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, and PBS Nature on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook. And you can catch new episodes of Nature Wednesdays at 8/7c on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app.

Follow Earyn McGee on Twitter and Instagram and listen to more "Going Wild" HERE.

This episode of “Going Wild” was hosted by me, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Production by Caroline Hadilaksono, Danielle Broza, Nathan Tobey, and Great Feeling Studios. Editing by Rachel Aronoff and Jakob Lewis. Sound design by Cariad Harmon.

Danielle Broza is the Digital Lead and Fred Kaufman is the Executive Producer for Nature.

Art for this podcast was created by Arianna Bollers and Karen Brazell.

Special thanks to Amanda Schmidt, Blanche Robertson, Jayne Lisi, Chelsey Saatkamp, and Karen Ho.

NATURE is an award-winning series created by The WNET Group and made possible by all of you. Funding for this podcast was provided by grants from the Anderson Family Fund, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of THIRTEEN Productions LLC/The WNET Group.