new "Teach Me About the Great Lakes" podcast episode announcement

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Dr. Stuart Carlton has started a new monthly podcast called “Teach Me About the Great Lakes.” The purpose of the podcast is to help Carlton—a social scientist who grew up in the South near the Gulf of Mexico—learn about the biology, ecology and natural history of the Great Lakes.

“In my two years at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, I’ve learned a lot about what makes the Great Lakes special, but there’s so much to know,” said Carlton. “This podcast gives me a chance to harness the knowledge of IISG specialists and the many scientists and other fascinating people in the region to help me better understand this amazing resource.”

A new episode of Teach Me About the Great Lakes will be released on the first Monday of each month. The first episode, “They’re Also Called Nurdles,” is embedded below. Carlton and co-host Hope Charters talk with special guests Carolyn Foley and Sarah Zack about microplastics. What are they? How do they affect fish and people? What can we do to help prevent adding more microplastics to our waters? Find out what researchers know so far about this contaminant.

Love this episode and want to hear more in the future? Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you have questions you want answered about the Great Lakes, reach out to @TeachGreatLakes on Twitter or contact Stuart Carlton.


Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

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🌊 Save the Date! 🌊Shipboard Science Immersion 2026Join the Center for Great Lakes Literacy aboard the R/V Lake Guardian on Lake Superior, July 7–14, 2026!✅ Open to formal & nonformal educators (grades 5–12) across the Great Lakes region.📅 Applications open January 2026Learn more: https://cgll.org/signature-program/r-v-lake-guardian-shipboard-science-immersion/ or the link in bio.#TeachingTuesday
Join the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative for an exciting webinar featuring Dr. Chris Taylor from the Illinois Natural History Survey who will provide an overview of midwestern crayfish habitat requirements, feeding, reproductive biology, and life-history.Crayfishes in the Midwest occupy almost every type of aquatic and semi-aquatic habitat in the region. They function as critically important components of those ecosystems and in many cases represent a majority of invertebrate biomass. As “keystone” species, understanding their biology and roles in ecosystems is critically important. Register for the webinar at InvasiveCrayfish.org/events1 Or the link in bio.
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The gales of November may come early, but, as usual, the nominations for the Lakies are right on time along with our official call for nominations! Brought to you by the Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast, The Lakies (aka "quite possibly not the least prestigious Great Lakes-focused awards ceremony there is”) are back. Our goal isn't to be the Official Arbiters of Quality, but to host a fun celebration of amazing Great Lakes-related research, outreach, and communication in the inimitable Teach Me style.Nomination categories are:-Great Lakes Science Communication of the Year-Great Lakes Outreach Program of the Year-Great Lakes News Event of the Year-Great Lakes Research Finding of the Year-Coolest Thing You Learned Listening to TMATGL in 2025-Science Podcast of the Year (Non-TMATGL edition)-Great Lakes Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Non-Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year-Great Lakes Donut of the YearThe Details: -Deadline: Nominations close on December 4th.Process: It's easy (just enter the name/title and a link).-Self-Nominations: Highly encouraged. Don't be shy.We’d love to get a broad swath of work across both the serious and less-serious categories to celebrate. Feel free to pass the link on to interested people: https://bit.ly/Lakies25