Farewell, Lauren Sommer! (Patreon)

We'll miss our beloved host, Lauren Sommer, who made her debut with Deep Look back in 2017 with our episode about octopus suckers. We asked her to reflect on her time with us and share some of her memories working with our team. We wish you all the best, Lauren!

(And find out who our new host is next week with our new episode about fleas –– or if you support us on Patreon, you’ll get the inside scoop tomorrow!)

What’s your favorite Deep Look episode?

I genuinely appreciate every single organism we cover on Deep Look, since we spend so much time talking about what makes them special. But there are two I’ll call out. I loved our episode about black widow spiders, since it takes a story we think we know and flips it around. The females get a bad rap for eating the male spiders, but when you look closer, the males arguably have it coming. Second, our episode on turret spiders makes you jump, for sure, but the visuals are so incredible. It’s amazing what cinematographer Josh Cassidy could capture.

Which episode grossed you out the most?

There are a lot of examples, but our episode about parasitic hair worms really made me squirm. The extremely long worms grow inside a cricket, controlling its mind, and then emerge dramatically when they’re fully grown. It’s not easy to watch. Then again, our episode about ants that kidnap other ants, while it wasn’t gross, was pretty chilling. 

What did you love most about Deep Look?

I really love finding the universal stories in these incredibly tiny natural worlds. While we spend a lot of time making sure the scientific facts are spot on, we also work really hard to tell a captivating story. We find so many seemingly human stories in wildlife stories, like betrayal, loyalty and perseverance. I also love working with our team of producers, who are incredibly creative and dedicated (several have been bitten by the insects you see onscreen).

What was the most challenging aspect about working with Deep Look?

The biggest challenge usually is filming the things we want to. The natural world is unpredictable. But as the co-writer, I sift through all the research and information we have and try to coalesce a compelling story arc and that means making some hard choices about what to cut. We also have some delicate situations from time to time, like figuring out what narration should accompany insect reproduction. 

What was the weirdest line you ever had to say?

Hmmm, that’s a tough one. There are many episodes where I say “ew” or “ummm” or “ugh” and we do a lot of takes trying to get that right! 

Where are you off to next?

I’m joining NPR where I’ll be a climate correspondent, covering how the changing climate is affecting both human communities and natural ecosystems.