Nature's Secret Service
A weekly true crime podcast that puts you in the room with the men and women of wildlife law enforcement who protect our planet's wild animals and plants from the greedy hands of poachers and wildlife traffickers. Visit www.naturessecretservice.com for more information.
Episodes
Special Agent Tom Chisdock - I'll have the Ginseng ... and the Drugs!
Plant crimes resurface this week but, this time, in the form of American ginseng! A native plant found throughout the Appalachian Mountains, including Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and under heavy pressure from unscrupulous commerci…
Confidential Informant!
This is your rare opportunity to hear from a real life confidential informant who worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It's exceedingly rare to get an inside seat to the world of "CI's" but confidential informant "Pete Paxton" break…
The Black Mambas!
Join Ed in a conversation with Nkateko Mzimba and Collet Ngobeni, two rangers from the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit based at the Olifants West Nature Reserve in South Africa. The Black Mambas patrol a 25,000 acre reserve inside the great…
Craig Spencer - Rhinos, Elephants, and Black Mambas
Join Ed for a wide-ranging conversation with Craig Spencer, founder of Trans-Frontier Africa and the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit in South Africa. This week, we talk about rhino poaching, the rhino horn trade, elephant poaching, the all …
Wildlife Officer Todd Vandivert - Operation Cody
Join Ed and former Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Officer Todd Vandivert for the premiere episode of Season 2. Todd will tell us about his long-term undercover operation known as Operation Cody, which exposed widespread t…
Bonus Episode - Size Doesn't Matter!
In the third of three bonus episodes following Season 1, join us to hear how Marie Palladini faced down a huge and hostile subject.
Bonus Episode - The Almost Shootout Over a Misdemeanor
In our second bonus episode following Season 1, tune in to hear how even a routine investigation of a misdemeanor crime can turn deadly in seconds.
Bonus Episode - The Pregnant Lady and the Car Chase!
The first of our bonus episodes following Season 1. Tune in to hear one of the many great side stories that unfold during a typical investigation.
Season Finale - Two Stories
Nature's Secret Service host Ed Newcomer appears on the podcast Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum to discuss two cases from his career, including one he's never talked about before in a public forum.
Wildlife Officer Savannah Morgan - Plant Ops!
Former wildlife officer / game warden with the State of California, Savannah Morgan joins Ed to discuss her team's investigation of a South Korean national who masterminded a plant poaching and trafficking operation in Southern California.…
Special Agent Sean Mann - Eagle Poaching Fugitive
Former special agent Sean Mann joins us to talk about his work investigating an eagle poaching incident in California that led to a subject involved in trafficking eagle parts.
Special Agent Erin Dean - Fish, Drugs, and Humans!
Tune in for my in-person conversation with the awesome and formidable Special Agent Erin Dean as she tells us what it was like to lead and oversee the largest and most populated geographical district in the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Off…
Special Agent Steve Stoinski - The Barber Point Grizzly
Join the conversation with Special Agent Steve Stoinski as he guides us through his investigation into the illegal killing of a grizzly bear on the remote Barber Point Road in Wyoming.
Special Agent Corky Roberts - Congratulations! It's a Monkey!
Former US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Corky Roberts talks to us about what it was like to be working in a remote single-agent duty station only to come across a monkey smuggler who used a surprising and ingenious smuggling techn…
Wildlife Officer Shawn Karns - Russians!
Former Tennessee state wildlife officer Shawn Karns talks with us about his undercover work that exposed Russian organized criminal groups behind the threat to our native fish stocks, such as the paddlefish. How do you say "Maybe we should …
Special Agent Steve Furrer - The Suisun Marsh
Join the conversation with US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Steve Furrer as he tells us about the importance and complexity of habitat destruction investigations. Laugh with us as he describes how his prime suspect turned red face…
Special Agent Keith Swindle - Friday Night Lights - Part 2 of 2
Former US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Keith Swindle talks about a long-term investigation he conducted in Hawaii involving threatened and endangered sea birds. Keith also provides interesting insight into the importance of sea b…
Special Agent Keith Swindle - Friday Night Lights - Part 1 of 2
Former US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Keith Swindle talks about a long-term investigation he conducted in Hawaii involving threatened and endangered sea birds. Keith also provides interesting insight into the importance of sea b…
Special Agent Kash Schriefer
Former US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Kash Schriefer talks about his experience working in the Southeastern United States, the importance of the area to migratory birds, and his efforts to educate as well as apprehend. Kash was …
Special Agent Marie Palladini - Part 2 of 2
Marie Palladini served as a special agent for the US Fish and Wildlife Service for 29 years and began her career in the Special Operations Unit (SOU), which conducted long-term, complex, undercover operations. She later served in the Los An…
Special Agent Marie Palladini - Part 1 of 2
Marie Palladini served as a special agent for the US Fish and Wildlife Service for 29 years and began her career in the Special Operations Unit (SOU), which conducted long-term, complex, undercover operations. She later served in the Los An…
