Just the Zoo of Us

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,...

Ellen jaws away about the great white shark. We discuss making our own planetary rings, performance-enhancing Speedos, how sharks sleep, the White Shark Café, IRL baby shark, and so much more. Works Cited: “ Shark evolution: a 450 million year timeline ” - Josh Davis, Natural History Museum “ SPEEDO FASTSKIN – A HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST SWIMSUITS ” - SwimSwam.com , November 2023 “ White Shar...

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters . In this episode, Teylor Smirl ( Still Buffering ) and Ellen Weatherford ( Just the Zoo of Us ) bond over the media they consumed that shaped who they are today, and how that media informs their perspectives on their shows. Plus, each host reveals...

Join Ellen & special guest, co-founder and CEO of conservation organization Wildlife SOS Kartick Satyanarayan, for a review of Asian elephants. We discuss the harm caused by wildlife exploitation, how they protect animals by uplifting human communities, how education can help tourists make more ethical choices, and of course our guest shares some stories of what it’s like living and working alongs...

Follow Ellen down the jackrabbit hole. We discuss facial tilt, satellite dish ears, evolutionary ghosts of predators past, touchdown dances, jackalopes, Easter, and so much more. Works Cited: " A Field Guide to Jackrabbits " - Matthew L. Miller, The Nature Conservancy, Nov 2022 “ Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha) ” - Brian Kraatz et al., PeerJ , Dec 201...

Join Ellen & the Cryptonaturalist (Jarod K. Anderson) to talk about the ways that nature and wildlife can inspire our creativity and shape our stories, particularly the enticingly unknowable cryptids. We discuss being raised by a witch, the natural poetry in scientific facts about starfish, the value of enthusiasm, caked up Mothman and the tragic Squonk, getting emoted on by skunks, the surprising...

Don't call it a comeback, coelacanth's been here for years. We discuss life on Earth 400 million years ago, a military escort mission, our own fish ancestors, five year pregnancies, underwater handstands, an unnecessarily complicated puzzle in the third generation Pokémon games, and so much more. Works Cited: “ The Coelacanth ” - Knysna Museum “ The Discovery ” - UC Museum of Paleontology’s websit...

Join Ellen & Dalton Mason, creator and bird parent behind Apollo and Frens, for a look into life alongside the world-famous African grey parrot. You may have seen their videos on social media showing off Apollo’s incredibly impressive vocabulary, answering questions and even speaking in full sentences, which have earned the bird a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2025 - on top of all...

Ellen falls in love with the Mandarin duck. We discuss why waterfowl's webbed feet don't freeze in the winter, the evolutionary arms race between male and female ducks, New York City's local celebrity Hot Duck, your new favorite coffee order, and more. Works Cited: " Countercurrent Exchange " - Dr. Roger Lederer, ornithology.org “ Coevolution of Male and Female Genital Morphology in Waterfowl ” -...

Join Ellen & special guest, science communicator and Certified Bug Friend Emily, for a review of the tiny little bugs that fly around your nearest kitchen sink. We discuss what Big Pest doesn’t want you to know, convergent evolution between bugs and fish, the drain gods, secret spy languages that only bugs can read, and so much more. Links: Follow Emily on Instagram , YouTube , and more ! Learn mo...

Ellen goes on a journey through time and space with Triops, the tadpole shrimp. We discuss book fairs, vernal pools, whether saltwater or freshwater came first, trips to space, prehistoric scampi, surprise guests at Burning Man, and so much more. Sources: " Ontogenetic sequence comparison of extant and fossil tadpole shrimps: no support for the “living fossil” concept " - Philipp Wagner et al., Pa...

Join Ellen & special guest artist and reptile keeper Lyn for an up close and personal look at a little snake with a big appetite. We discuss how it feels to handle a snake, stress dreams specific to pet owners, gastoning it, spine teeth, snacktivities, how snakes flirt with each other, and so much more. Links: Check out Lyn's art and comic on Instagram!  Denver folks, check out Lyn's upcoming snak...

Ellen takes things slow with the iconic banana slug. We discuss mobile slip 'n' slides, recreationally poisoning yourself, liquid crystals, oobleck, robosnail, slime trains, moisture farming, apophallation, college mascots, and so much more. Works Cited: " Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime " for Mallory Pickett, KQED, February 2015 " Mechanical Devices for Snail-like Locomotion " - Brian Chan et a...

Join Ellen & special guests, power couple Shannon Hackett and John Bates from the Field Museum, here to talk about the intersection of science, history, and of course, birds in a love letter to the natural history museum. We discuss working alongside SUE the T. rex, specimen pickles, harlequin romance novels, and explore bigger questions like how museum collections can reveal evolution happening a...

Ellen sets the record straight on Norway lemmings, busting over 400 years of myths. We discuss rodent audacity, ecological impacts that can be seen from space, spontaneous generation, Ole Worm, Atlantis, a Disney lie, and so much more. Works Cited: “Genome analyses suggest recent speciation and postglacial isolation in the Norwegian lemming” - Edana Lord et al., PNAS, June 2025 “Aposematism and cr...