What The Duck?!

Female lab mice have been bred to be passive and breed with ease. But, in the wild they're feisty and even pugnacious. How much of our biological understanding of the world is based on misogyny? Featuring: Lucy Cooke, Zoologist and author of Bitch A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal. Professor Arthur Georges, University of Canberra. Professor Catherine Dulac, Harvard Univ...

A tiny penis, a 12-hour annual fertilisation window, picky females and strawberry bubble bath – these are just a few of the issues that pop up when making a panda cub. Featuring: Chad Crittle, Acting Assistant Curator for Carnivores and Ungulates at Zoos SA. Mr Li Zhang, Consul, Head  of Bilateral Section at the Chinese Consulate-General in Adelaide. Dr Meghan Martin Wintle, Director, Conservation...

Forget ancestry searches online. Shells can tell you the history of the world. Featuring: Amy Prendergast, University of Melbourne. Jann Vendetti, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.  Dr Paul Butler, Researcher at the University of Exeter. 

For thousands of years eels have made people rich and powerful, literally. Now it's time to pay it back.  Featuring: Dr. John Wyatt Greenlee, Historian Cornell University.  Erin Rose, Budj Bim World Heritage Executive Officer at Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Braydon Saunders, Tour Guide Coordinator at Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism. Tyson Lovett-Murray, Budj Bim W...

For years we've barely even talked about the human clitoris let alone the fact that snakes have TWO.  This program has adult themes. Featuring: Belinda Smith, ABC Science Online Reporter.  Lucy Cooke, Author and Film maker. Megan Folwell, University of Adelaide. Dr Jenna Crowe-Riddell, La Trobe University. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional mastering...

They look like... 'sabre-toothed sausages', they can barely see, they live for a really long time and have a queen who oppresses them. Find out all about the Naked Mole-rat this week and let us know your weirdest animal on earth suggestions at whattheduck@abc.net.au . Featuring: Dr Alison Barker, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. Adjunct Professor Rochelle Buffenstein,  University of Illino...

Would you meet a stranger in a park with a pile of snakes?  Comedian, Craig Quartermaine, took the risk in an attempt to overcome his fears! Featuring: Craig Quartermaine, Comedian.  Sandy Dickinson, Urban Reptiles. Jonathan Wright, Announcer voice.  Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Joel Werner, Script Editor.  Field recording: Dylan Prins Additional masterin...

Who made small steps for man before man could even space walk? Featuring: James Foley, Author and Illustrator. Kerrie Dougherty OAM, Senior Heritage and Outreach Officer, Australian Space Agency. Emeritus Professor John P. Gluck, University of New Mexico and Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. Michael Coggan, News Voice.  Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove...

He loved gold, so he robbed stage coaches in South Australia and used an ostrich as a getaway car. OR DID HE?!  Welcome to the first episode of 'What The Duck?!' Season 2. Featuring: Denice Mason, teacher and Meningie resident. Associate Professor Rohan Clarke, Monash University and co-author of the Australian Bird Guide. Jacob Fiebig, Meningie resident and composer of "The ballad of John Peggotty...

Gravity defying ninja skills, being able to hear even if you don't have ears, working together to gang up on huge prey. Spiders are murder machines.  This is the final episode of Season 1 What the Duck?!    Stay subscribed for Season 2 coming on Feb 11th, 2023. Featuring: Dr Kate Umbers, Western Sydney University. Dr Alfonso Aceves-Aparicio, University Hamburg. Dr Jay Stafstrom, Cornell University...

If you think that cow politics is just about the live export business, you are wrong. Cows have politics of their own – machinations to sort out who is the leader and who will be led.  Featuring: Dr Rebecca Doyle, Faculty of Veterinary & Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne. Joe Gelonisi - the voice of cow facts.  Derek Klingenberg, cattle trombonist. Production: Ann Jones, Prese...

Here’s a field guide you probably don’t have — “Introduced Dung Beetles in Australia".

Grabbing a lift can go from bad to worse when your uber drops you outside your evolutionary niche.  FEATURING Dr Matt Greenlees, Sydney University. Arthur White, NSW frog and tadpole study group. David Chapple, Monash University. Dr Maggie Watson, Charles Sturt University.  Dr Robert Streit, Reef Function Hub at James Cook University. Voice of the Internet: Nikolai Beilharz.  Production: Ann Jones...

Ever wondered about the spiders in your car mirror? How they got there and ‘where the duck’ they’re going?   FEATURING Dr Ken Walker, Senior Curator of Entomology, Museums Victoria Research Institute.  Dr Laurent Keller, University of Lausanne Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Joel Werner, Script Editor.  Additional mastering: Angela Grant. This episode of Wha...

The 'sound of summer' is actually thousands of blokes screaming 'PICK ME' at the top of their screaming cicada voices.

A millipede has a thousand legs right? WRONG! FEATURING Dr Juanita Rodriguez, Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO. Dr Bruno Alves Buzatto, Flinders University. Luis Villazon, Science Educator UK.  Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional mastering: Angela Grant. This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Ka...

It turns out self medicating and herbal remedies are not exclusive to humans… FEATURING Dr Kevin Feeney, Central Washington University. Adjunct Professor Michael Huffman, University of Kyoto. Dr Sophia Daoudi-Simison, Newcastle University UK. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Nick Kilvert, Presenter/ Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on th...

How far from reality are the folk stories about wolves and dogs? We’re going right back to Aesop’s fables with zoologist and author Jo Wimpenny.  Listen to part one (Aesop’s animals) here:  FEATURING Dr Jo Wimpenny- Zoologist and Author Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna...

The world's oldest fart is frozen in amber, and it is the source of the world's oldest fart joke.  Listen to part one (Does it Fart?!) here . FEATURING Dani Rabaiotti, Author of Does it Fart? and Zoological Society of London. Dr Nick Gales, Former Head of Australian Antarctic Division. Prof Dave Watson, Charles Sturt University.  Prof Jeffrey Stillwell, Adjunct Monash Uni Dr Adam Munn, Biologist. ...

Move the peas over to find that Australian freezers have seals, kangaroo penises and the DNA of 'the Chanel of goats.' FEATURING: Dr Natalie Warburton, Murdoch University.  Dr Jillian Garvey, La Trobe University.  Dr Nicola Rivers, Monash University. Dianne Hakof, Hospital Manger Animal Health Department Zoos SA PRODUCTION: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. This episode o...

There are so many sticky things in nature, but what's the nature of their stickiness? Ann puts on her spider-woman gloves to find out. FEATURING: Ella Tyler, wife of the late Prof Mike Tyler. Prof Andrew Smith, Biology, Ithaca College. Prof George Murrell, Director Orthopaedic Research Institute, St George Hospital, NSW. PRODUCTION: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. This...

If you ever wanted to be able to stick to walls like spider man, then listen to this. 

As per usual the What the Duck?! team is elbow-deep in crap looking for a way out. And the way out, is flies.  FEATURING: Dr Bryan Lessard, Entomologist, Author of Eyes on Flies.  PRODUCTION: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Joel Werner, Script Editing. This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

What the Duck?! is taking a short break so instead you'll be hearing Radio New Zealand’s 'Our Changing World' on the radio for the next three weeks.

Sawing through tree myths with Arborists Maja and Sam. No matter how good your job is, there’s always something that really cheeses you off, and Maja and Sam are SICK TO DEATH of all your misconceptions about trees.