Monday, September 7, 2026/Compiled from 8 shows at 12:05 PM ET/11 episodes reviewed · 221 quotes on file
20 MILLION BATS, ONE CAVE — Inside Earth's Largest Mammal Congregation

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20 MILLION BATS, ONE CAVE — Inside Earth's Largest Mammal Congregation

A cave on the outskirts of San Antonio hosts up to 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats each spring. The sheer mass of animals raises the cave's temperature to 106 degrees, creating the perfect nursery for their pups.

The tape The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Aug 31
And after mother bats give birth to their pups, the population doubles again to nearly 20 million, which is the largest congregation of non-human mammals on earth.
Ryan Huling · These Bats Hang in the Suburbs
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Join Us in France · Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de Lapérouse: France's Greatest Explorer You've Never Heard OfSep 6

LOST AT SEA — The Mystery of France's 'Most Humane' Explorer

In 1788, the famed French explorer Lapérouse and his two ships vanished in a cyclone. His remains were never found, but his remarkably progressive journals—advocating cultural exchange over colonial force—survived.

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