Creature Feature

 How do zebras get stripes? How does Mike Wazowski keep his eyeball moist? And how come a group of crows is called a "murder?" I answer your questions!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From clownfish to bonobos, biology and the animal world is far more complex than prudes like to think it is. Joining me today are Laine and Owen, hosts of the podcast A Field Guide to Gay Animals, a podcast exploring queerness in the natural world! Guests: Owen Ever & Laine Kaplan-Levenson Footnotes: Last week's mystery animal sound source     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

These animals steal the food right out of your mouths! The most daring (and grossest) thieves in the world. Discover this and more as we answer the age old question, should there be spider butt dentists?  Guest: Katherine Spiers  Footnotes:  This week's mystery animal sound source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPiFdOStVkM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're looking at the mutated creatures of the Fallout franchise and discussing whether they could actually exist in a nuclear wasteland! It's a real optimistic episode and we discuss BIG BUGS! How can we bring back big bugs?!  Guest: Will Poole  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These animals did NOT forget leg day! From leg battles, to deadly runway assassins, to miraculous thighs.  Guest: Joey Clift  Footnotes:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uMXBcVWbP2SsR00Gh4NUuXFZbPKlRpSFo2GOtjznN7k/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These animals have figured out how to treat their own ailments with the medicine available to them in their habitats. Plus, what can we learn from animals about human medicine? Discover this and more as we answer the age old question, does swallowing a rough leaf a day keep Doctor Zaius away?  Guest: Dr. Kaveh Hoda Source for last week's mystery animal sound: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v_rSygX...

I answer your questions, like why do animals act weird during an eclipse? How do animals know what to eat? What's the deal with dino penises?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wise owl, the lazy sloth, and the courageous lion, how much do these animals live up to their names, or should we not judge a book by its cover or a sloth by its algae? Discover this and more as we answer the age-old question: is owls stupid? Guest: Adam Todd Brown Source of last week's mystery animal sound:  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TDMftMtr5to See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

To celebrate cicadageddon 2024, here's one of my favorite past episodes, this one on cicadapocalypse 2021: BROOD X has been waiting 17 years to emerge from the ground. What is Brood X? Should we panic? Discover this and more as we answer the age old question: How is it fair that swarms of baby turtles are considered cute, but swarms of bugs are considered “horrifying?”  Guest: Mara Wilson Footnote...

You can be a citizen scientist in your own backyard! Broods! Birds! And mushroom butts! I'm joined by podcaster and voice actress Janet Varney. Guest: Janet Varney  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're in the air! There's billions of them! And they're tiny! We're talking about aeroplankton, what they're doing up there, and what happens when they get in your nose.  Guest: Soren Bowie Last week's mystery animal sound source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8Phip5U-Wo See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we talk RATS! From plague to pets, rats have had a huge impact on humanity! What was the role of rats in the plague? What even is a rat?? Should you keep them as pets??? And are we so different after all?  Guest: Jeff May Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/199aAaHgq-CmEoMcR4iRMnbePedjKrs0iafQalrKhp0I/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about wild human inventions inspired by animal designs! Guest: Ellen Weatherford Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZEGyyeNn8trH-FmcchVthmmppq8-XiQlKILt-9fIISk/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the show, we're doing a re-broadcast of an Easter classic! We're firing the Easter Bunny and looking for a replacement! That's right E.B., you're getting benched and we're sending another animal out there to make merry with the eggs and the flowers! Guest: Soren Bowie  Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uBq4b0mnk0TsQJfe5CqOZSg3Yk8CqCZ5vG5I1CgsYM8/edit?usp=sharing See omnystu...

I answer your questions, from the realism of Tarzan, to the details behind a frog Buffalo Bill, and how to best serve the birds of your community!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show I subject my guest to a gauntlet of strange oddities, and he (and you) must guess whether these are animals, minerals, vegetables, or something else entirely... Guest: DJ Danl Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rRUT2Ywx6B9XF-1SyNJ8lxVyLX94eY2n06FjiE4x-O8/edit?usp=sharing Mystery animal sound credit:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMwAgft_kZ8 See omnystudio.com/list...

Today: we're turning animals into robots! All the weirdest and wackiest ways that roboticists and researchers have played robo-god with animals. From robosaurus, to robot bees, and robo falcons, Adam and Katie discuss whether robots will inherit the earth.  Guest: Adam Ganser Footnotes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t7NmSAXc6vg0zMZkMHIZKlXSQI_ROlsAyglMHNQ53Ww/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio....

Today we're talking about animals that look like they jumped off of a page from Lisa Frank's notebook! Pink dolphins, rainbow squirrels, surprisingly fabulous pigeons, and the most beautiful butts in the world.  Guest: Joelle Monique  Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/12uHLiRYjc0_-rKv_fCFSpkTMN8f4ysX9do1j_uLC0r4/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I dragged my husband on the show to talk about animals who give romantic gifts, like dead voles and nutritional secretions! Hope he takes the hint!  Guest: Brett McCully Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Kn459lVK4NKOeLYcUM47R-EWo4RX6tgwp0cTvQBPFs/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feed drop time! Check out this Let's Learn Everything episode I was a guest on! We talk about BIRDS. IN. SPAAAAAACE! Guests: Ella Huber, Tom Lum, Alex Schmidt, Caroline RoperFootnotes: Space quails video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7-hm3A7ayI See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a listener questions episode which means I answer your questions about animal baldness, skin, and poop!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm joined by naturalist, educator and author Heather Montgomery as we talk about her book "Sick" and the fascinating world of animal immune systems (and poop). Guest: Heather Montgomery See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Summary: Happy holidays! I'll see you soon in the new year, until then, enjoy some of my favorite classic holiday episodes! This one's about weird ungulates. Guest: Alex Schmidt Footnotes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ofN2BMRRxu3ITqZZZjcH7LSae9rq2umS0pJ39rHJlRU/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy holidays! I'll see you soon in the new year, but until then, enjoy a past episode... millions of years in the past. Who will pull Cave Santa's sleigh? Guest: Alex Schmidt  Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-moJs64fD53QyE_xt77iNcMexcY-sP4Pis2g7KK5qmo/edit?usp=sharing Credit to Aaron Kenny for Creative Commons music  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From hibernations to teeny naps, these wintery animals know how to catch a few z's!  Guest: Jeff May  Footnotes:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dEiKigGPXidNf5Jaa_LQ8HvJkP0h-9Tz6KNzC-OkFds/edit?usp=sharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.