Do you believe in Bigfoot? Aliens? Magic?
An interview with the creator of the Wild Thing series of Middle Grades books, exploring out-there topics through scientific inquiry
By Jamie Siebrase | April 10, 2025
I learned about Denver author Laura Krantz’s engaging middle-grade books in 2023, at a local journalist get-together a friend hosts. When I mentioned that I’d recently started working on a new guidebook for families, Exploring Colorado with Kids, Krantz’s husband, journalist and podcaster Scott Carney, couldn’t help bragging about his partner’s latest project, a three-book nonfiction series inspired by her acclaimed adult podcast, Wild Thing, a narrative, serialized show about weird topics that capture our imagination.
Is bigfoot real? Do aliens exist? Does magic actually work? In her books for young readers, Krantz uses the scientific method and her well-honed journalism skills to help kids ages 8 to 13 explore the world around them while maintaining a healthy sense of curiosity and learning how to determine science fact from science fiction.
Before I’d made it home from that 2023 journalist party, I’d ordered Krantz’s first two books— The Search for Sasquatch and Is There Anybody Out There? and I’d also made a note in my iCal: October 1 2024—Look for Do You Believe In Magic?
Krantz’s work has appeared in Smithsonian magazine, Popular Science, Newsweek and many other national publications. While her books are marketed to kids, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them, and I was excited to learn more about the author and her writing process during a recent interview.
Jamie Siebrase: Before we get into your creative work, fill me in on your Colorado connection. Did you grow up here?
Laura Krantz: I moved to Colorado in 2014, for the Ted Scripps Fellowship in Environmental Journalism at CU Boulder. I grew up in Idaho but left in 1996 and had been living in DC, Europe and LA. I’d missed being near mountains and snow and easy proximity to the outdoors, so it was great to come back.
JS: You’ve hosted a popular science podcast, Wild Thing, about strange and supernatural happenings, and you’ve also written books on the topic. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
LK: I did the podcast first, and I wasn’t thinking about kids even the tiniest bit. The first season of the podcast came out in 2018, and the second and third seasons aired in 2020 and 2022. Before long, I started hearing from parents and then from teachers who used elements of the show in the classroom. When I talked to my agent, she mentioned that there’s a dearth of middle-grade nonfiction that’s both fun and informative, and she thought topics I’d explored on the podcast might fit nicely into that space. I eventually landed a three-book deal with Abrams Kids, and the books have largely mirrored the podcast.
JS: Yes, but I noticed that your third season of the podcast is about nuclear energy, and when I read your third Wild Thing book, it was all about magic.
LK: That’s right. The third podcast is all about a nuclear accident that happened in Idaho, near my hometown. When the SL-1 nuclear reactor blew up in 1961, it killed three young military men, and spread radiation over thousands of acres of land, leaving the government and the military scrambling for answers. It’s still the deadliest nuclear reaction accident in U.S. history, and I grew up right where it happened and didn’t even know about it.
JS: That’s insane.
Read the rest of this interview for free at Rocky Mountain Reader.
