Wild Thing Creator Explores Ancestor Grover Krantz's Bigfoot Legacy

Ever wonder what happens when a seasoned NPR journalist discovers her own family tree has roots tangled up in Sasquatch research? That's exactly the wild ride Laura Krantz takes us on, and it's the subject of a fascinating conversation that recently popped up on YouTube. The clip comes from the Capturing Bigfoot podcast, the companion show to the new Capturing Bigfoot documentary now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Hosted by Mark Evans, the director of the film, the series digs deep into the legend and lore surrounding Bigfoot and the infamous Patterson-Gimlin film. This particular episode features Krantz, a journalist, editor, and producer whose own podcast, Wild Thing, earned spots on "best of" lists from Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic. Krantz's path into the Sasquatch world wasn't exactly planned. She spent a decade editing and producing at NPR in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, working on heavy hitters like Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Her writing has appeared everywhere from Smithsonian Magazine to Newsweek. But the spark for Wild Thing came from a newspaper article about a relative whose bones were about to go on display at the Smithsonian as part of a forensic anthropology exhibit. That relative? Grover Krantz, her grandfather's cousin. Grover was a physical anthropologist at Washington State University who also happened to be one of the legendary "Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery," alongside Rene Dahinden, John Green, and Peter Byrne. Grover was the real deal in academia, but his passionate pursuit of Bigfoot evidence made him a bit of an outcast among his peers. He even had trouble getting tenure at one point, though he eventually did. What makes Grover such a compelling figure is his pure, unfiltered curiosity. He once walked around the WSU campus wearing a foam rubber brow ridge glued to his forehead to better understand the prominent brow of early humans like the Cro-Magnons. He donated his own body to the University of Tennessee's famous "Body Farm" for decomposition studies. And yes, he drove around the Pacific Northwest with a spotlight and a rifle looking for Sasquatch. Laura's podcast Wild Thing uses her cousin's story as a launching pad to ask the big questions: Is there actual evidence that stands up to scientific scrutiny? Why are people so drawn to the idea of this creature, whether it exists or not? What keeps a rigorous scientist coming back to the search year after year? The episode is a must-listen for anyone who loves the intersection of mainstream journalism and cryptid research. Krantz brings a sharp, skeptical but open-minded perspective to the table, and her personal connection to one of Bigfoot research's most iconic figures adds a layer of intimacy you rarely hear in Sasquatch discussions. She also turned her research into a series of nonfiction middle-grade books published by Abrams Kids, including The Search for Sasquatch, Is There Anybody Out There, and Do You Believe in Magic? Perfect for getting the next generation of researchers hooked. If you're looking for a fresh take on the Sasquatch mystery from someone who came to it through family ties rather than a lifelong obsession, do yourself a favor and check out this conversation. It's a reminder that sometimes the most interesting paths into this field are the ones we never see coming.