Terra: The Nature of Our World, launched in October 2005 and was one of the first video podcast

Video podcast

Video podcast is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures...

s. TERRA is a highly successful weekly video show about science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 and natural history

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

,

It is produced in conjunction with the MFA program in Science & Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University, Filmmakers for Conservation, and PBS.

Published weekly via feedburner

FeedBurner

FeedBurner is a web feed management provider launched in 2004. FeedBurner was founded by Dick Costolo, Eric Lunt, Steve Olechowski, and Matt Shobe. Costolo, a University of Michigan graduate, became CEO of Twitter in 2010...

, iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

, Miro & blip.tv

Blip.tv

The website Blip.tv is a platform for web series. The company offers a for the "best in original web series" and also offers a dashboard for producers of original web series to distribute and monetize their productions....

, each week provides a short episode 'teaser' and also the full episode download.

TERRA is dedicated to providing its content for free to the public.

Podcast description

"TERRA: The Nature Of Our World is a collaborative filmspace and laboratory exploring the questions and ideas on the cutting-edge of science and at the farthest horizons of the natural world. We are a worldwide crossroads, a forum for compelling issues, and a stage for the awesome diversity of our planet." - E.Bendick (Senior Producer)

The content for the podcast is contributed freely by numerous independent filmmakers and the series is produced by Eric Bendick and George Potter.

Subscribe

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Website

TERRA's website LifeOnTerra was launched in October 2006. Themed around a drive in movie theater LifeOnTerra shows a new episode on its home page each week. All videos are offered initially as Flash 8 (.flv) but also as Quicktime

QuickTime

QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...

 (.m4v).

Hosting for the Videos is provided by Blip.tv

LifeonTerra received recognition for its intuitive layout and design, and has been featured by many design blogs such as CSS mania, Best Web Gallery and Light On Dark.

The site was designed and built by Ed Watkins and Jason Clark.

Awards and nominations

Shows airing on TERRA have received many awards including Telly's, CINE's and numerous "Best of Festival" awards ¹.

LifeOnTerra, was a Finalist at the 2007 SxSW Interactive Festival in the Student Category.

LifeOnTerra won the 2007 Webby for Student Online Film and Video ².

LifeOnTerra was a finalist at the 2007 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in the 'Best use of New Media Category'. ³.

LifeOnTerra is a finalist at the 2008 Wildscreen Film Festival in Bristol in the "New Media" Category.
⁴.

Podcast episodes: Season 1

Title	Episode	Podcast Date
SIGNS OF LIFE: The Search For Life on Mars	104	2005-10-20
	Could it be? Life on Mars Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance... ? This program joins NASA NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...  scientists on a quest to answer this age-old question. NASA's Mars Rovers have uncovered evidence of a watery past on the Red Planet. And back on Earth, scientists have discovered life hiding in even the most unexpected of places. These remarkable discoveries have everyone wondering: Could Mars have harbored life? What might it have looked like? And amazingly enough, could it still be there?
Saving the Grizzly, One Hair at a Time	106A	2005-11-08
	Episode 106A: 'Saving the Grizzly: One Hair at a Time,' follows Kate Kendall's groundbreaking DNA DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in... -based grizzly bear Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...  population study in Glacier National Park. Is the population of grizzlies declining? Is there enough genetic Genetics Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....  diversity among the remaining bear population to keep it strong and healthy into the foreseeable future? Great bear footage and incredible scenic shots of the park come togeth...
Tree Rings: Counting the Years of Global Warming	106B	2005-11-08
	What can the study of tree rings tell us about worldwide patterns of climate change Climate change Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average... ? Tree rings provide a record of climate during the life of the tree. Many trees are hundreds of years old, and some live as long thousands of years. In this sense, tree rings are some of the first existing "scientific records" about climate...
The Most Ancient Game	109B	2005-11-08
	A natural relationship in flux Flux In the various subfields of physics, there exist two common usages of the term flux, both with rigorous mathematical frameworks.* In the study of transport phenomena , flux is defined as flow per unit area, where flow is the movement of some quantity per time... . How do elk Elk The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...  respond to the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho... ? With Yellowstone as his laboratory Laboratory A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories... , wildlife Wildlife Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....  biologist Biologist A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...  Scott Creel examines this dynamic relationship and tries to put the pieces together in a rapidly changing ecosystem Ecosystem An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight.... ...
Caballo Loco on Easter Island	111	2005-12-05
	What is killing the horses on Easter Island Easter Island Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people... ? Something is wrong on one of the most remote inhabited island on Earth. A young veterinarian Veterinarian A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....  goes on a mesmerizing journey of discovery to Easter Island where he uncovers a mysterious disease that is killing the horses and cattle. As the mystery unravels, we discover that even here, in this far-flung corner of the world, exists a problematic vulnerability Vulnerability Vulnerability refer to the susceptibility of a person, group, society, sex or system to physical or emotional injury or attack. The term can also refer to a person who lets their guard down, leaving themselves open to censure or criticism...
Henry Wood Elliott - Defender of the Fur Seal	114	2005-12-15
	Once upon a time, the Pribilof Island fur seal Fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...  harvest paid off the 7.2 million dollar pricetag for the newly-acquired Alaskan territory. Now, the fur seal population is strangely declining. What can we learn from the story of Henry Wood Elliott Henry Wood Elliott Henry Wood Elliott was an American watercolor painter, author, and environmentalist whose work primarily focused on Alaskan subjects. A number of his works have an ethnographic bent, displaying aboriginal Alaskans engaging in traditional practices; some of these works are stored in the National... , the naturalist Conservationist Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...  who saved the northern fur seal from extinction Extinction In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point... ?...
View From the Shore	116	2005-12-20
	Two hundred years ago, Lewis and Clark changed history forever. But they didn't just change American history; they changed Native American Native Americans in the United States Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...  history as well. 'View From the Shore' is the story of Lewis and Clark, with a twist. Is it time to rewrite those history books? Take a look, from a Native American perspective, and find out...
Dream Green	109A	2006-02-02
	Using local actors from the Yopna tribe living in the highlands of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands... , 'Dream Green' weaves together beautiful observational and re-enactment footage to spin a mythical web around the fate of the tree-kangaroo Tree-kangaroo Tree-kangaroos are macropods adapted for life in trees. They are found in the rainforests of New Guinea, far northeastern Queensland, and nearby islands. Although most are found in mountainous areas, several species also occur in lowlands, such as the aptly named Lowlands Tree-kangaroo... . In doing so, Kellett reminds us that both local and global cultures must work collectively to preserve the natural beauty and diversity of life on Earth....

External links

• TERRA Website
• Montana State University's MFA Program in Science & Natural History Filmmaking