Stories by Flora Lichtman

An illustration of a large bird with a huge wingspan and a mouth full of bony teeth

EvolutionDecember 20, 2023

What Better Gift for the Holidays Than a Monstrous Mystery?

We’re looking back at 2023 for our favorite podcast shows and one about the largest bird to ever fly the skies just flew to the top of the list.

Jeffery DelViscio, Flora Lichtman

An artist's impression of the terror bird, a huge, flightless bird with a beak like an ax

EvolutionJune 7, 2023

These Predators Had a Face like an Axe and Will Haunt Your Nightmares

Terror birds were the grizzly bears of birds, the great white sharks of the land, Jack the Ripper but with feathers. They were also truly fascinating.

Flora Lichtman

An artist's impression of the thunderbird, a huge, flightless bird with tiny wings

PaleontologyJune 5, 2023

This Thunderous Goose Relative Was Built like a Tank with the Wings of a Songbird

Officially, these prehistoric birds are the dromornithids, but everyone who studies them calls them thunderbirds—and for good reason.

Flora Lichtman

An artist's impression of the large, flightless elephant bird

PaleontologyJune 2, 2023

This Gargantuan Bird Weighed as Much as a Sports Car

The elephant bird was the heaviest bird to ever walk the earth. Also, its eggs were 150 times the size of a chicken egg and thick as a dinner plate.

Flora Lichtman

An illustration of Pelagornis sandersi, a massively large prehistoric bird

PaleontologyMay 31, 2023

This Massive Scientific Discovery Sat Hidden in a Museum Drawer for Decades

The fossil was a prehistoric bird called Pelagornis sandersi, and its wings stretched out twice as wide as those of the great albatross.

Flora Lichtman

Mind & BrainJanuary 1, 2012

Why Your Romantic Partner Annoys You

A spouse's traits can become more grating than the quirks of others

Joe Palca, Flora Lichtman