#jane Hopeleigh

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Justice for Jean Hopeleigh, society and the men in this show have done this this poor girl dirty.

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Listening On Location: Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

by Joanna Pawlowska

Listening On Location in the Carbon River area of Mount Rainier National Park. 

Interpretive ranger Annie Kilby guides us through the rainforest. 

NPR’s Jane Greenhalgh and Michaeleen Doucleff lead the discussion on pandemics.

Photos by @hopeleigh

At 14,411 feet, snow-capped Mount Rainier in Washington State makes a striking impression as our plane descends to Seattle. Seeming to rise up from sea level, its formidable presence feels constant, almost magnetic. And so it was a surprise for our team to learn that many Seattle natives and locals who joined us for round two of our “Listening on Location” event series had never made the 90-or-so minute trip from the city to Mount Rainier National Park. We were thrilled to experience it for the first time together.

Last Saturday, a group of 30 NPR fans gathered in the Northwest Region of the park. We were in the Carbon River Area, which Ranger Annie Kilby tells us is a lesser known region of the park. Named for the coal deposits found in the area, this corner of the park receives consistently high amounts of rainfall, creating the conditions for a rainforest.

We’re here to talk about an NPR series about global pandemics, reported by NPR’s science correspondent Michaleen Doucleff and senior producer Jane Greenhalgh. They traveled to the rainforests of Borneo to find out why pandemics are on the rise, how they start and why they spread. It turns out that forests, specifically ultra bio-diverse rainforests, play a key role in the story. 

That’s why we wanted to bring NPR’s listeners to the forest — to hear the story surrounded by lush foliage, hanging moss, skunk cabbage and variations of verdant ferns.  Annie introduces us to the park, which was established in 1899. For the immersive experience she designed, she sends us down two trails with three tasks:

Take a picture of something we’re curious about

Name two sounds we notice

Describe an interesting texture of something we touched

After about half an hour we reconvene to share the treasures we’ve found and heard, from a woodpecker to delicate moss to a babbling brook. Annie then guides us through another stretch of the Carbon River Trail before we settle onto blankets in a clearing in the forest for the pandemic listening session with Michaeleen and Jane.

Our discussion explores the challenges of balancing local economic development with the unforeseen problems that changes to natural environments bring. Michaeleen shares anecdotes from her time reporting on Ebola. She explains how important it was for Doctors Without Borders to gain the trust of locals and honor their customs to contain the virus.  Our discussion also looked towards future pandemics. Our global village must work together and respect the dignity of the people affected by the next outbreak.

We wrapped the conversation where we started: thinking about the forest. Jane had recently produced a story about forest baths, finding that spending time walking through the forest lowers blood pressure. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

In usual listening party style, our curious citizens were engaged and thoughtful - and we left the discussion wanting more. So many ideas to still explore! And more Goats & Soda Pandemics stories to enjoy.

For those following along, join us this Thursday, 8/3, as we change gears to #listenonlocation in Central Park and turn our focus more specifically towards bats (who knew there were bats in NYC!). See you soon, New York!

You can hear the story we listened to here  – and find all of NPR’s reporting about pandemics here. Follow along as we head to other locations with #listeningonlocation.

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Listening On Location: New York City, New York

by Joanna Pawlowska 

Dr. Kevin Olival from EcoHealth Alliance (left) and NPR’s science correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff lead our NYC discussion on pandemics.

Over 30 listeners filled a rooftop terrace blocks from Central Park to listen to reporting from Goats & Soda. 

As the sun started to set, our group walked over to Central Park to observe some local bats. 

Dr. Olival brought two bat detectors that allowed us to listen to, record, and even identify bat species by their echolocation calls. 

Success! We found bats right as we entered Central Park. 

We detected multiple bat species using the echolocation app. 

We walked over to the bridge near W. 77th, which is known for bats. 

The Manhattan skyline lit up the sky as Central Park grew dark and we wrapped our immersive experience. 

photos: @hopeleigh

Did you know there are bats living in Central Park?!  Neither did we, until Dr. Kevin Olival from the EcoHealth Alliance mentioned NYC as a cool place for an immersive Listening Party a few months back when we started designing this project. 

You may recognize his name from Michaeleen Doucleff’s reporting on pandemics from Borneo. He’s the voice of the virus hunter who guides her and senior producer Jane Greenhalgh through the rainforest, where he and his team work to identify new viruses in bats. 

Yesterday, he joined us on a rooftop terrace on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, just a few blocks from an area of Central Park known for bats. Our group of 30 has gathered for a listening session and discussion around two of Michaeleen’s stories: one about the rainforest in Borneo and one about the Gomantong Cave, also in Borneo, which is full of bats. 

The group was engaged and curious, full of questions about the practical applications of Olival’s research and ideas about future pandemic prevention. 

When the sun started to drop over the horizon, it was time to go look for bats. As we entered Central Park, Olival pulls two bat detection tools from his backpack: one that attaches to his cellphone and one that stands alone. He turns them on and BAM - immediately we pick up the sounds of bats! The device connected to his phone has the ability to record and identity the bat calls. We hear and see big brown bats as well as hoary bats. And we’re not even at the bridge at W. 77th known for bat sightings yet!

Olival guided us through the park to the lake, where he answered people’s bat questions and busted bat myths (they are NOT blind, they actually have great vision). We wrapped the evening with a newfound awe for bats and a continued curiosity around the ways humans interact with the animals all around us. 

Budding bat enthusiasts, follow Kevin Olival at @nycbat on twitter for the latest on bats in NYC and beyond. 

For more science stories from NPR, follow @NPRGoatsandSoda.

Thanks for joining our #listeningonlocation adventures across the country! Look out for a little video recap coming soon. 

Find all of NPR’s reporting about pandemics here. Check out our other immersive event locations with #listeningonlocation.