Just the Zoo of Us

Join Ellen & special guest, wildlife ambassador and returning guest Marco Wendt of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, to shine a spotlight on the world’s most famous amphibian. From Mesoamerican legend to medical research labs to the lush caves of Minecraft, axolotls have inspired stories and innovation and wonder in humans all over the world but their story starts in the heart of Mexico, wh...

This chunky lizard is living proof that two heads are better than one. We discuss BTS (disambiguation), secret signals encoded in lizard tongues, accidentally flirting with the wrong end of your true love, "roommates," and so much more. Works Cited: “ Why is the tongue of blue-tongued skinks blue? Reflectance of lingual surface and its consequences for visual perception by conspecifics and predato...

Join Ellen & returning guest wildlife educator Christian Flores for a conversation about the Zoology of Pokémon. What can we learn about the wildlife and ecology of our world through the fantastical creatures in the world of Pokémon? We are gonna talk about the convergent evolution of different species of Pokémon, like Tauros and Bouffalant, the mega evolution of salmon, why Komodo dragons mig...

Ellen and Christian get a feel for the garden eel. We discuss fortified butts, science's greatest unsolved mysteries, flirting techniques for the ultimate homebodies, video chatting with eels, and so much more. Works Cited: “ Morphological specializations in heterocongrinae (Anguilliformes: Congridae) related to burrowing and feeding ” - N. De Schepper et al., Journal of Morphology , March 2007 “...

Joined Ellen & special guest, conservationist and herpetologist Harpreet Singh Sethi, for a look at the snake appropriately named the Giant Lord of the Water. While the false water cobra is the main topic of the episode - and is even a silent but very much present guest for recording - we discuss a lot, like multifaceted approaches to conservation, taking a snake in a box on the bus, convergen...

In this week's re-broadcast of an episode from April of 2023, Christian cheers for pom-pom crabs & Ellen explains what makes mourning doves so coo-l. We discuss how crabs clone their own pets,  what type of milk pigeons order in their lattes,  and a suspicious pattern of criminal activity. Links: For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website ! Follow Just...

It's fall yall - time for Ellen and Christian to embark on a multi-generational odyssey with monarch butterflies. We discuss why butterflies are total heartstoppers and their style twins, real-life shinies, what's going on inside a chrysalis, an annual journey that takes multiple generations to finish, how to best support wild monarch butterflies, and so much more. Works Cited: " Danaus plexippus...

Join Ellen & very special guest zookeeper and conservationist Alice Vassallo for the inside scoop on one of the world’s most mysterious not-so-big cats. We discuss differences between zookeeping practices in Europe and the US, swiping right if you have rotatable ankles, marshmallows as a last resort, have an eclipse interlude, and so much more. Links: Check out Alice's podcast (profanity warni...

Ellen weaves her magic on sociable weavers. We discuss the three pillars of science communication, trick entrances, plane cabin pressurization, bullying for the greater good, lizard gossip, and more. Works Cited: " The Sociable Weavers of the Kalahari " - Ultimate Safari, YouTube " Kapokvoel, Cape Penduline-Tit.(Anthoscopus-minutus) " - Coerie Ferreira, YouTube “ Largest bird’s nest ” - Guinness B...

Join Ellen & special guest marine biologist Kristyn Plancarte for a review of the world’s wettest weasels. We discuss beluga whales’ fake six packs, the unique challenges of caring for animals who so desperately crave chaos and destruction, dolphin MLMs, how adorable animals could save the world, and so much more. Links: Follow Kristyn on Instagram , YouTube , TikTok , and Twitch ! Learn more abou...

Ellen is blowing up about pufferfish. We discuss what pufferfish have in common with chameleons, seafloor crop circles, culinary applications of deadly neurotoxin, and so much more. Works Cited: “ All puffed out: Do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated? ” - Georgia Evelyn McGee & Timothy Darren Clark, Biology Letters , Dec 2014 “ Treatment of Tetrodotoxin Poisoning ” - Sophie Yushuo Li, The...

Join Ellen & special guest, journalist and writer Sharon Guynup, for stories from the world of conservation. Our guest’s career has taken her all over the world, from the forests of India to the highways of rural America, where she has experienced both ends of the spectrum of human relationships to nature. She’s been part of busting wildlife trafficking rings and abuse and she’s seen communities j...

Ellen & special guest Isaac answer questions from young listeners! We discuss bug guts, milking squids, the blobfish's secret Final Form, getting upped, ancient sharks with table saws for faces, and so much more. Links: For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website ! Follow Just the Zoo of Us on  BlueSky , Facebook , Instagram & Discord! Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky...

Join Ellen & special guest, writer and scientist Dan Werb, for a look at the animal neighbors that have made themselves at home in our own backyards: synanthropes. The word means a wild, undomesticated animal that lives closely alongside humans, whether that means scurrying through subway tunnels or curling up in an old refrigerator at the bottom of the sea or quietly roosting right over your head...

Ellen and Christian return from their travels to review the good, the bad, and the ugly of the mongooses. We discuss the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum, historical plurals, neurotoxin Darth Vader, checking in with Pliny the Elder, the most "mean girls" scientific study ever, mysteriously weird pupils, the global issue of mongoose-induced ecological destruction, and so much more.  Works Cited:...

Ellen & special guest, science journalist and host of Radiolab and Terrestrials Lulu Miller, discuss the lifelong impact of science communication, review bald eagles, and share a very special podcast treat. Terrestrials: The Trio originally aired on July 26, 2024: https://radiolab.org/podcast/terrestrials-the-trio240726 From the original episode description: "High above the banks of the Mississipp...

Join Ellen & special guest science communicator, infectious disease researcher, and the Khaleesi of Mosquitos for a review of some of the animal kingdom’s most controversial creatures. We discuss whether our guest would rather fight 10,000 mosquitos or a gorilla, evil squiggles and how malaria works, larval cannibalism and mosquito-on-mosquito crime, what the insectary is doing with all those soup...

We add another string to our bow by learning about the fiddler crab. We discuss the arc of history bending towards crab, the MogBot 2000, bad dating advice, non-orientable wormholes, and so much more.  Works Cited: “ The Design of a Beautiful Weapon ” - John Christy, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History “ On the Other Hand: The Myth of Fiddler Crab Claw Reversal ” - Judith S. Weis, BioScience , A...

Join Ellen & special guest science communicator and ambassador for wildlife Rick Schwartz for a review of the wise old wizards of Asian forests: binturongs. We discuss career paths for yappers, monkey software on weasel hardware, the chemical coincidence that makes binturongs smell like snacks, the fulfilling experience of finally being considered one of the girls, and so much more.  Links: Learn...

Ellen gets her claws out for seriemas. We discuss terror birds, reverse mullets, sickle claws, weird scenes from Jurassic Park , golf ball physics, and so much more. Works Cited: “ Observation of Claw Use and Feeding Behavior of the Red-Legged Seriema and Its Implication for Claw Use in Deinonychosaurs ” - Oswald et al., Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, January 2023 " Seriema - mo...

Join Ellen & special guest, senior conservation scientist at Woodland Park Zoo and founder of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Lisa Dabek, as we celebrate World Tree Kangaroo Day by putting these charming ghosts of the forest in the well-deserved spotlight. We discuss the diversity of Papua New Guinea’s cloud forests where dinosaurs still have the run of the place, life as a joey in the towe...

Join Ellen & special guest, technobiologist and professor Jack Koch, for a review of the iconic crustacean known and loved by many names: the crawfish. We discuss sea hare ink, a genetically modified super-soldier kaiju battle, the taxonomic classifications of rocks, bugs and squishy bags, the perils of growing up under the tail of a cannibal mom, and so much more.  Links: Learn more about Jack's...

Ellen lets the sand cat out of the bag. We discuss dangerously approaching Hey Arnold, refusal to poop on unfamiliar toilets, blood gushers, a myth of dirty underwear, Cat Premium, and so much more. Works Cited: “ The Carnivores of West Africa ” - Donovan Reginald Rosevear, 1974. Page 396 “ Mammalian ear specializations in arid habitats: structural and functional evidence from sand cat (Felis marg...

Curious about the exclusive bonus content for Maximum Fun members? Enjoy some free samples from special episodes: "All Fun and Games with Isaac," "Just the Two of Us," and Let's Learn Everything's "Frogs! II A Royal Rescue"  If you like what you hear, head over to https://maximumfun.org/join and sign up to get access to the entire bonus content library and SO much more! Help support this show and...

Ellen & special guests, Ella Hubber and Tom Lum of Let’s Learn Everything, turn our gazes to the skies and talk animals in space. We discuss the fruit fly fan club, the great big farm on the moon, which earthlings were ACTUALLY the first to make the trip around the moon and back, a spider escape where you least want it, why dentistry researchers had a snake room, shooting tardigrades out of a gun,...