Introducing, the Bullet Ant, so named because its sting is supposedly as painful as being shot. It’s considered to have the most painful of all insect stings.

Program Director Michael Marsolek speaks with StoryCorps site manager and conversation facilitator Ian Murakami (from the StoryCorps airstream trailer!) about bearing witness to conversations between participants, how many participants get emotional hearing their conversations in public spaces, and more!

In addition to their impressive size, Atlas Moths are known for their extraordinary wing markings, especially at their wingtips. Incredibly, the patterns mimic the profile of a cobra’s head, a way to fool predators into thinking they are anything but an easy meal.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ part one of a two-part conversation with memoirist Melissa Febos, author of ‘The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex,’ out now from Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is a division of Penguin Random House.

Using their necks like a long lever, males will battle other males over a female. But rather than simply engaging in neck-to-neck combat, males will perform elaborate dances, involving the swaying of their necks. The female acts like a referee, closely observing the fight. If she approves of the winner, she’ll allow him to mate.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with Callan Wink, author of ‘Beartooth’ (Spiegel & Grau). This conversation originally aired January 23, 2025, under the title “There’s no end, really, or beginning to anything.”