Octomom | Radiolab Podcast @Radiolabpod

Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

From the Radiolab podcast: A mile under the ocean, we get to watch an octopus perform a heroic act of heart and determination.

First aired back in 2020, this episode follows the story of an octopus living one mile under the ocean as she performs a heroic act of heart and determination.

In 2007, Bruce Robison’s robot submarine stumbled across an octopus settling in to brood her eggs. It seemed like a small moment. But as he went back to visit her, month after month, what began as a simple act of motherhood became a heroic feat that has never been equaled by any known species on Earth.

This episode was reported and produced by Annie McEwen.

Special thanks to Kim Fulton-Bennett and Rob Sherlock at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

If you need more ocean in your life, check out the incredible Monterey Bay Aquarium live cams (especially the jellies!): montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams

Here’s a pic of Octomom sitting on her eggs, Nov. 1, 2007:
media.wnyc.org/i/800/449/c/80/2020/05/GraneledoneT1146_09_02_52_23.png

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Photo illustration by Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna

The Nothing Behind Everything | Radiolab Podcast

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