"God in a cup." "Perfection." "The world's best coffee." Panamanian geisha coffee has been called many things, but never Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified. That might soon change, however, as researchers from Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center find new ways to grow coffee in harmony with migratory songbirds. Join us for this fully caffeinated romp through Panama’s coffee farms as we learn all about the birds and the beans.  Guests:  Ruth Bennett, research ecologist at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s ..read more

If you’ve bought a plane ticket recently, you’ve probably had the option to pay a few extra dollars to offset your carbon emissions. That money might go toward planting some trees… but how many trees? Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute are trying to answer this very question by hand-measuring trees, weighing wood, and climbing to the top of the canopy. We tag along to see how carbon is measured, and why so much ends up in tropical forests.   Guests: Joshua Tewksbury, director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama Helene Muller-Landau, senior ..read more

It started as a rumor in the cafeteria of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama: monkeys on an island in the Pacific were doing something no one had ever seen them do before. But when researchers went searching for these elusive capuchin monkeys, they discovered more questions than answers. Guests: Claudio Monteza, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute fellow and researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Brendan Barrett, researcher at the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Meg Crofoot, director of the Department for the ..read more

Money is power. But who's on our money - or isn’t - can be just as powerful. While Lady Liberty has graced American coins and dollars for most of our history, it wasn’t until the 1970s that a real woman appeared on a circulating American coin. But that's about to change. Congress recently authorized the creation of twenty new quarters featuring American women from history. But how do we decide whose likeness gets engraved in our national story? And who makes these decisions? We’ll follow the money to find out. Guests: Jennifer Schneider, former program manager at Smithsonian American ..read more

They say love is eternal. What about heartbreak? This Valentine’s Day, we bring you some of Japanese theater’s most popular tales of scorned lovers seeking vengeance from beyond the grave — with a burning passion. Guests:  Frank Feltens, Curator of Japanese Art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art Kit Brooks, Japan Foundation Assistant Curator of Japanese Art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art ..read more

From brontosauruses with bronchitis to birds on a wire to flying space rocks and a botched heist at 20 thousand feet. In this episode, Lizzie and Sidedoor producer James run all around the Smithsonian to answer listeners' questions from the Sidedoor mailbag. Guests: Lynn Heidelbaugh, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum Sara Hallager, curator of birds at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Jim Nollman, composer and pioneer of the “interspecies music” genre, conceptual artist, and environmental activist Cari Corrigan, research geologist at the Smiths ..read more

As long as there have been wars, animals have joined their human companions on the battlefield. But a few have served so bravely they’ve been memorialized at the Smithsonian. In honor of these furry and feathered war heroes, we bring you the tales of dogs, cats and birds who went above and beyond the call of duty.  Guests:  Jennifer Jones, curator of military history at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History  Frank Blazich, curator of military history at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History  Ann Bausum, author of Stubby the War Dog and Sergea ..read more

Virginia Hall dreamed of being America’s first female ambassador. Instead, she became a spy. Joining the ranks of the U.S.’s first civilian spy network, she operated alone in occupied France, where she built French Resistance networks, delivered critical intelligence, and sold cheese to the enemy. All on one leg. Guests: Sonia Purnell, author of “A Woman of No Importance: the Untold Story of the American Spy who Helped Win World War II.”  Randy Burkett, CIA Staff Historian Christina Gebhard, museum specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History ..read more

North American River Otters are popping up in places they haven't been seen in decades and nobody really knows why. As we search for answers we discover a trail of fish heads, poop splats and cuddle parties. Guests: Katrina Lohan, head of the Coastal Disease Ecology Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Alejandra Morales Picard, psychologist at Montgomery College Rebecca Sturniolo, assistant curator of the America Trail at the Smithsonian National Zoo Patty Storms & Morty Bachar, otter neighbors ..read more

When Maggie Kuhn was forced to retire from the job she loved at age 65, her colleagues gave her a sewing machine as a parting gift. Outraged, she shut the sewing machine in a closet and, instead, stitched together the first-ever movement against ageism in the U.S. The Gray Panthers would galvanize gray haired citizenry and youth alike to challenge the way Americans think about aging.  Guests: Katherine Ott, curator and historian in the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Emily Krichbaum, founding director for the Center for Girls ..read more