Just the Zoo of Us
Join us, Ellen and Christian Weatherford, while we review your favorite species of animals and rate them out of ten in the categories of effectiveness, ingenuity and aesthetics. More information can be found at justthezooofus.com đ Got a species you want us to review? Submit your animal friend to us at ellen@justthezooofus.com and when we review your animal we'll give you a shoutout! đ Cover art by Mrs. Brainbow (Taylor Gordon-Wood). Theme music by Louie Zong.
Episodes
Ellen bites off more than she can chew with parrotfish. We discuss the Mohs scale, Korn corn, throat teeth, crystal chainmail, sleeping bags made of snot, being terminally male, and so much more.Â
Links:
Join Ellen & special guest, champion of the reef Jessie Palmer, as we try to save the world one polyp at a time. We discuss coral wars and neural nets, aliens from a different version of our own planet, literally re-inventing the wheel with coral-inspired biomimicry, whatâs up with coral bleaching and how can we help, and even surprisingly philosophical questions, like âwhat is an individual?â âwhat is the self?â and âat what point...
Get your seeds and suet ready because it's time for a feed drop: Ellen joins birding musicians Tommy Siegel and Billy Libby for the debut episode of Extremely Accurate Bird Songs (The Podcast) on the mourning dove.
Links:
- Follow along with Extremely Accurate Bird Songs (The Podcast)
- Find more of Tommy's work on his website!
- Find more of Billy's work on his website!
- For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our websit...
Ellen's thinking about those Mexican jumping beans & Christian takes things slow with the slow worm. We discuss bean details, the strategic value of random movement, hair pencils, the difference between snakes and legless lizards, autotomy, and so much more.
Links:
Links:
Join Ellen & special guest, evolutionary biologist and herpetologist Dr. Mark D. Scherz, for a look through the magnifying glass at miniaturized animals. Our guest studies species who have shrunk down to incredibly small sizes, like frogs and chameleons who could gather on the tip of your finger, and he has some fascinating insights into why and how animals get so darn itty bitty and what could be stopping them from getting any itt...
Christian walks to the beat of the American woodcock & Ellen throws shade at camel spiders. We discuss peent, walking with rhythm to attract the worm, beak smooches, chain e-mails, girl dinner, ant massacres, and so much more.Â
Links:
Join Ellen & special guest, animal care educator and advocate Sarah Bessie (the "Hedge Chef") for a review of the prickly little roly polies: African pygmy hedgehogs. We discuss built-in hoodie strings, standing jeans, biomimicry in sports equipment, mobile charcuterie, what to do with your skirt when you gotta go fast, all the ways hedgehogs fail to beat the witchcraft allegations, and so much more.
Links:
- Find more of Sarah's w...
Christian is up a creek without a paddlefish & an unusual deep-sea worm becomes the butt of Ellen's jokes. We discuss a previous guest getting electrocuted for shark science, hot takes on the whole direwolf de-extinction thing, the unexpected hybridization of the sturddlefish, why pigbutt worms are like that, statistically insignificant haters, and so much more.Â
Links:
Join Ellen & special guest, author Brooke Hartman, for a look at some of the animal kingdomâs most deceptively adorable assassins. We discuss evolutionary arms race, hot ones for mice, Mr. Yuck, an insect isekai, a toxic honeypot, and so much more. These cuties are slaying more than just their prey.
Links:
- Get your copy of Cute Animals That Could Kill You Dead wherever you buy books!
- Find more of Brooke's work at her website, broo...
Ellen & Christian share stories, observations and inspiration from special guest: you! We discuss Benedict Cumberbatch's turkey gang, my squirrel mech grandma, Twitch plays deep sea ROV dives, hear me out cakes, smuggling budgies, house vultures, and more.
Links:
- Get involved with the MaxFunDrive & check out this year's awesome gifts & bonus content!
- For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
- Follow Just...
Ellen goes nuts for the eastern gray squirrel & a little bird told Christian about the budgerigar (AKA parakeet). We discuss the MaxFunDrive, Pikachu, the e-nut, squirrel crime, fluorescent feathers, spicy air, Bluey, and so much more.Â
Links:
- Get involved with the MaxFunDrive & check out this year's awesome gifts & bonus content!
- For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
- Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Bl...
Itâs not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky â90s- and Spring Break-themed mini games!!
Featuring: Dave Holmes, Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya, Dimitry Pompée, Hal Lublin, Tom Lum, Ellen Weatherford, Alex Schmidt, Brenda Snell, Drea Clark, Alonso Duralde, Dan McCoy, Jordan Morris, Manolo Moreno, Ella Hubb...
In a continuation of our dinosaur double-feature, Ellen is joined by a paleoartist and marine biologist for a review of the ancient giants that towered over the late Jurassic world: Brachiosaurus.
We discuss bringing ancient dinosaurs to life with art, puking on company time, paleontology patch notes, the pros and cons of having an inflatable noggin, skibidi gorillas, and so much more.
Links:
Ellen & special guest, paleontology educator Christian Flores, review the towering icons of the dinosaur world: Tyrannosaurus rex. We discuss what we can learn about T. rex from the fossils they left behind and the similarities we can see in their modern dinosaur cousins, as well as bringing T. rex to life through art and narrative, Project Paleozoo, and so much more.
Links:
Christian gives a hoot about the owl-faced kÄkÄpĆ & Ellen draws a line in the ocean over flying fish. We discuss ghosts of selection past, jug band beats, Pliny the Elder, pyramid eyeballs, Rihanna's nod to an international maritime dispute, and so much more.Â
Links:
- KÄkÄpĆ sounds from: https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kakapo
- For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
- Follow Just the Zoo of Us on...
Join Ellen & marine biologist Jules LĂ©on for a review of his top 3 favorite pinnipeds. We discuss galumphing, Prada eels, a species made up entirely of geminis, walkout songs, beachmasters, super weaners (don't worry, it makes SO much more sense in context) and so much more.
Links:
Love is literally in the air as Ellen locks in with albatrosses. We discuss aspect ratios, snot gutters, dynamic soaring, romance, divorce, 18th century poetry, Taylor Swift, and so much more.
Links:
Join Ellen & special guest, bat biologist Dr. Alyson Brokaw, for an up-close look at some of the furry friends fluttering through our night skies. We discuss tortilla chip aroma, anatomically accurate Edward Cullen, screaming into the void, butt blankies, and so much more.
Links:
- Get your copy of Alyson's book, The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats, available for pre-order now! On sale February 11, 2025!
- Follow Alyson on Instagram...
Christian takes to the skies with flying snakes. We discuss the beginning of the Year of the Snake, collapsible teeth, the physics of flight, Dragonology, and so much more.
Links:
Join Ellen & parasite ecologist Dr. Chelsea L. Wood for a review of some bizarre and fascinating creatures that, despite their tiny size, impact our world and even our very selves in more surprising ways than you might expect. We discuss Osmosis Jones, frogs with too many legs, disco-eyed snails, mind control, an existential crisis, a ghost from Cretaceous oceans, fossil poop, and so much more.
Links:
- Order Chelsea's book, Power ...
Popular Podcasts
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessedâbecause, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, thereâs a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.