Soundings

Some 76 million years ago an asteroid smashed into our planet, killing the dinosaurs and three-quarters of the Earth’s plants and animals. Once again our planet is facing a wave of extinctions, this one of man's making, and more than ever we need to know what it takes for a species to survive a cataclysm. Laura Cussen traces the improbable story of an ancient, venomous mammal of the Caribbean, and of the local people who have unearthed its secret to survival. This project was made possible by a Braden Grant from the Stanford Storytelling Project. More info about the Braden Grant: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html Producer: Laura Cussen Featuring: César Abril, Nicolás Corona, Pedro Martínez, and Alexis Mychajliw Special thanks: The Last Survivors, Natacha Ruck, Will Rogers, Graham Roth, Weston Gaylord, Professor Elizabeth Hadly, to all the people who have made this project possible, and to the Hispaniolan solenodon. Music: Sunsearcher, Chris Zabriskie, Nicolás