Bad at Goodbyes – Details, episodes & analysis

Jellyfish Tree :: Medusagyne oppositifolia

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 004

The Jellyfish Tree is a critically endangered tropical tree native to the Seychelles Islands, in the Indian Ocean, roughly 900 miles east of the African continent.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (22:43) Citations
• (24:29) Music
• (33:13) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/37781/10072208 
• Journal of Molecular Ecology: Volume 20, Issue 18 – https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05228.x 
• New Phytologist: Volume 171, Issue 3 – https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01787.x 
• International Journal of Plant Sciences: Volume 175, Number 7 – https://doi.org/10.1086/676984 
• Aline Finger’s doctoral dissertation “Ecological And Genetic Processes Underlying Allee Effects Among Tree Populations In The Context Of Divergent Population Histories” – https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/bitstream/handle/20.500.11850/153625/eth-5967-02.pdf
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusagyne 

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show, and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.

Red Wolf :: Canis rufus

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 003

The Red Wolf is a critically endangered mammal native to southeastern North America, specifically the coast of North Carolina.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (29:06) Citations
• (30:46) Music
• (41:47) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3747/163509841
• Journal of Heredity, Volume 109, Issue 5 – https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esy020
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – https://www.fws.gov/project/red-wolf-recovery-program
• National Wildlife Federation – https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Red-Wolf 
• Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute – https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/red-wolf 
• Journal of Biological Conservation, Volume 262, October 2021 – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109321
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wolf 

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show, and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.

Chinese Swamp Cypress :: Glyptostrobus pensilis

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 002



The Chinese Swamp Cypress is a critically endangered conifer native to southeast Asia, specifically south and southeastern China, Laos, and southern Vietnam.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (23:05) Citations
• (24:50) Music
• (32:56) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/32312/177795446
• International Dendrology Society’s “Trees and Shrubs Online Database” – https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/
• The Gymnosperm Database – https://www.conifers.org/
• Plant diversity; volume 41, issue 4 – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2019.06.007
• Arnoldia; volume 78, issue 3 – https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/discovering-the-majestic-mai-hing-sam-of-laos/
• US Forest Service’s “Anatomy of a Tree” – https://www.fs.usda.gov/learn/trees/anatomy-of-tree
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyptostrobus_pensilis 

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show, and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other, and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.

Sinai Baton Blue Butterfly :: Pseudophilotes sinaicus

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 001

The Sinai Baton Blue is a critically endangered butterfly native to north east Africa, specifically the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (23:30) Citations
• (24:56) Music
• (33:44) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/195289/2376696
• Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory – https://www.cambridgebutterfly.com/all-about-butterflies/
• Egyptian Journal of Biology, vol 8 – https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejb/article/view/56534
• Wandering Through Wadi’s Third Edition by Bernadette Simpson – https://wanderingthroughwadis.com/
• The Rufford Foundation https://www.rufford.org/
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudophilotes_sinaicus 

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show, and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.

Welcome to Bad at Goodbyes. On each episode we spotlight a plant or animal from the IUCN Critically Endangered Red List, sharing species details, research, and conservation information. And then we spend the 2nd half of the show offering an improvised ambient soundscape, a space for contemplation, awe, reflection, and perhaps grief. There is a very low likelihood that  these species will survive the 21st Century. And so perhaps we might acknowledge their passage with a moment of our attention, a recognition of our kinship, and with a commitment to personal and systemic change. Thank you for listening.

Sumatran Rhinoceros :: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

Bad at Goodbyes : Episode 005

The Sumatran Rhinoceros is a critically endangered mammal native to Southeast Asia, specifically Indonesia.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (15:57) Rhino Singing!
• (28:53) Citations
• (30:40) Music
• (39:23) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6553/18493355 
• International Rhino Foundation – https://rhinos.org/blog/the-curse-of-the-unicorn/ and singing Delilah – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ-lQ4ABlCU 
• PBS’s Nature – https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/rare-millennia-sumatran-rhinos-brink-extinction/ and https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/rhinoceros-introduction/1179/ 
• World Wildlife Federation – https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sumatran-rhino
• Animal Diversity Web at the University of Michigan – https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dicerorhinus_sumatrensis/
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_rhinoceros 

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show, and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.

Underground Orchid :: Rhizanthella gardneri

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 006

The Underground Orchid is a critically endangered flowering plant, native to Western Australia.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (15:33) Citations
• (16:33) Music
• (28:34) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/97853037/97854226
• Plants, People, Planet, Volume 1, Issue 3 – https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.45 
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizanthella_gardneri

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show, and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.

Bonaire Palm :: Sabal lougheediana

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 028

On today’s show we learn about the Bonaire Palm, a critically endangered palm native to the island of Bonaire in the southern Caribbean Sea.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (20:11) Citations
• (21:55) Music
• (27:59) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance. BioNews, May 8, 2024 – https://dcnanature.org/palmdiversity/ 
• Encyclopedia of Earth. Fund, W. (2012). Aruba-Curaçao-Bonaire cactus scrub. – http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Aruba-Curaçao-Bonaire_cactus_scrub 
• “Ex Situ Conservation of Large and Small Plant Populations Illustrates Limitations of Common Conservation Metrics.” M. Patrick Griffith, Falon Cartwright, Michael Dosmann, Jeremie Fant, Ethan Freid, Kayri Havens, Brett Jestrow, Andrea T. Kramer, Tracy M. Magellan, Alan W. Meerow, Abby Meyer, Vanessa Sanchez, Eugenio Santiago-Valentín, Emma Spence, Jose A. Sustasche-Sustache, Javier Francisco-Ortega, and Sean Hoban. International Journal of Plant Sciences, Volume 182, Number 4. – https://doi.org/10.1086/713446 
• “Genomic patterns of native palms from the Leeward Antilles confirm single-island endemism and guide conservation priorities.” Clugston, J.A.R., Coolen, Q., Houtepen, E. et al. Conservation Genetics Vol. 25, 985–997 (2024). – https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-024-01618-6 
• IUCN - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/207984529/207984533
• “Sabal lougheediana (Arecaceae), A Critically Endangered, Endemic Palm Species from Bonaire.” M. Patrick Griffith, Quirijn Coolen, Michelle Barros and Larry R. Noblick. 2019. Phytotaxa. Vol 420 No. 2; 95–101. – https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.420.2.1 
• “Sabalpalm (Sabal antillensis) recovery over 40 years: lessons for successful palm conservation.” J. de Freitas, J. Camilleri, S. van Eijk, V. Posno, I. Valdes, Q. Coolen, J. van Blerk, M. P. Griffith. 2019. Palms Vol. 63, No. 2, 57-68 – https://palms.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/PALMSv63n2p057-068-Griffiths-Sabalpalm.pdf 
• Stinapa Bonaire – https://stinapabonaire.org

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other, and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these

Kapitia Skink :: Oligosoma salmo

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 027

On today’s show we learn about the Kapitia Skink, a critically endangered reptile native to the west coast of the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, roughly 100 miles west of the city of Christchurch.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (22:12) Citations
• (23:55) Music
• (27:31) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• “Arboreal behaviour and habitat use in the Nationally Critical Kapitia Skink (Oligosoma salmo)”. Marcel Kerrigan, Sarah Brill,  Marleen Baling. Perspectives in Biodiversity, Volume 2, pp 11–20. 2024 – https://doi.org/10.34074/pibdiv.002103 
• “Biomimetic fracture model of lizard tail autotomy” Navajit S Baban et al. Science Vol. 375, 770-774 (2022) – https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abh1614 
• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/156730274/156730436 
• “Habitat use and translocation techniques for the critically endangered Kapitia Skink, Oligosoma salmo” Jade Angel Christiansen. Master of Science Thesis, University of Otago 2023 – https://hdl.handle.net/10523/15198 
• New Zealand Threat Classification System 2021 Report – https://nztcs.org.nz/assessments/123980 
• “Origin, diversification, and systematics of the New Zealand skink fauna (Reptilia: Scincidae)” David G. Chapple, Peter A. Ritchie, Charles H. Daughert. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 52, Issue 2, August 2009, Pages 470-487 – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.03.021 
• “Rare skinks return to southern home” New Zealand Department of Conservation Media Release. April 2023 – https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2023-media-releases/rare-skinks-return-to-southern-home/ 
• “Sounds of Science” Podcast, Episode 3 with Lynn Adams, May 2019, from the New Zealand Department of Conservation – https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/podcast/sounds-of-science-archive/ 
• “Lost and Found: Taxonomic revision of the speckled skink (Oligosoma infrapunctatum; Reptilia; Scincidae) species complex from New Zealand reveals a potential cryptic extinction, resurrection of two species, and description of three new species.” Zootaxa. 4623. 441-484. 2019. –  http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4623.3.2
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligosoma_salmo

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes

Smooth Horsehair Lichen :: Bryoria salazinica

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 018

On today’s show we learn about the Smooth Horsehair Lichen, a critically endangered lichen native to northeastern North American, specifically maritime Canada

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (19:53) Citations
• (21:27) Music
• (28:46) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 194, Issue 4 – https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boaa050 
• The Global Fungal Red List – https://redlist.info/iucn/species_view/341524/ 
• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/194660286/194678109
• Northeastern Naturalist. Vol. 27, monograph 16 – https://doi.org/10.1656/045.027.m1601 
• Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi, Volume 42 – https://doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2019.42.04 
• US National Parks Service – https://www.nps.gov/articles/lichens-as-bioindicators.htm
• US Fish and Wildlife Service – https://www.fws.gov/story/2023-12/lichen-what-fungus-it
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryoria

Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other, and all of our fellow travelers.

A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.