Strange by Nature Podcast

Kirk tells us about how scientists finally discovered the identity of a frog that had puzzled the scientific community for 80 years.

Rachel tells us all about the Binturong, the bizarre bearcat that smells like buttered popcorn.

In a salute to Mother's Day, Victoria tells us about the truly strange Sea Hares and her mom's research connection to them.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episod...

Anyone fancy a yawn? Victoria did some investigation into the strange phenomenon of social yawning. Are yawns really contagious?

Kirk then brings us the story of the Bone Collector Moth. When it is a caterpillar, it creates a disguise by gluing dead bodies to itself. Yikes.

Rachel rounds out the show with brand new research showing that sharks can make sounds!

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get ...

Victoria talks about the amazing tropical super-canopy tree the Almendro that actually seem to attract lightening in order to kill off the trees around them. Talk about a bad neighbor!

Kirk then brings us the strange story of the Ruff, a shorebird with three distinct versions of males. They each have their own distinct plumage and role in the mating dance. One of them even disguises itself as a female!

Join us weekly for more stran...

Kirk blows our minds with the age of Bristlecone Pines. Did you know there are living trees that predate the invention of written language?

Victoria then has a doozy of a story about White-throated sparrows developing a new secondary sex chromosome. This bizarre occurrence means there are technically four different sexes of this bird instead of the regular two.

 

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get...

Victoria starts us off this week with the surprising reason that blue-eyed white cats are often deaf. The reason is truly bizarre.

Kirk brings us the story of an amazing adaption recently discovered in Hummingbirds. Researchers just discovered that the White-necked Jacobin have babies who's feathers perfectly mimic dangerous caterpillars in order to scare away predators.

Rachel rounds out this week with a discussion of the talles...

Rachel is up first this week with a lighthearted study that investigated why banana peels are so slippery when stepped on.

Victoria then swerves into Rachel's lane and takes us to Australia to investigate the origin of the Dingo.

Kirk is up last and brings us the story of a newly discovered wasp from millions of years ago that had an amazing adaptation for trapping insects like a venus flytrap.

Join us weekly for more strange natur...

Are you ready for another wild episode? This week we have three wonderful stories for you.

Kirk goes first with the astounding story of archerfish that not only have an amazing hunting adaptation but researchers just showed they can remember and pick out a human face when presented with over 40 options. Simply stunning. Who said fish have a bad memory?

Rachel is up new with an update on one of the most dangerous spiders in the worl...

Here's your weekly dose of weird.

Up first, Victoria revisits slime molds so she can tell us about a truly massive single cell organism.

Kirk is up next answers the question, snakes can be venomous but can they be poisonous? We get to the bottom of this sneaky snake question.

Rachel rounds out this week's show with a truly strange bird, the horned screamer. Find out all about it and hear the funky sounds it can make.

Join us weekly...

Welcome to the beginning of year 5 of the podcast. We're happy to have all of our amazing listeners along for the ride.

Rachel kicks things off this year with the bizarre story of a fish that spends more time on land than in water. Welcome to the world of mud skippers.

Victoria probes the depths of the ocean to unravel the mystery of Dark Oxygen. This finding has big implications for rare earth mining.

Kirk wraps things up this wee...

It's the end of our 4th year doing the show so that means it is time for our annual quiz show! Our Special guest Brett Sieberer is here once again to ask us strange questions that all relate to the past year of the show. Don't worry, your favorite game, "Eat, Ride or Jacket" is back for another round!

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad free!

Support us: patreon.com/strangebyn...

Kirk kicks things off the the Medlar, an ancient fruit with a decidedly NSFW nickname. Maybe this one isn't for the kids. 

Rachel then gets to the bottom of why people put grape leaves in pickle jars. 

Victoria then bring us the horrifying story of the Loa Loa, otherwise known as the Eye Worm. 

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad free!

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature ...

Victoria starts things off with a bang this week and that bang is ants that explode their bodies releasing a toxic yellow goo epoxy to trap their attackers. It's just...wow.

Kirk is up next with the strange case of disappearing stars. There are stars vanishing in the night sky and astronomers aren't sure why.

Rachel rounds out this very strange episode with a story about a trapper who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to an America...

Rachel tells us an astounding fact, the metal of the Titanic is being eaten by bacteria and could collapse in just 6 years.

Victoria helpfully lets us know that beautiful beach sand is actually Parrotfish poop.

Kirk is up last and he introduces us to the mystery of Fast Radio Bursts from outer space.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad free!

Support us: patreon.com/strangebyna...

Kirk gets to start us out this week and he's all ears. Ears are weird but all those shapes actually mean something. Learn how the shape of an animal's ears can tell us about their habitat and behavior.

Rachel is up next and she goes on on the ice to tackle the question of why does ice on lakes crack in the winter? It turns out it relates to some of the very strange properties of frozen water.

Victoria  introduces us to The Hot Choc...

Victoria is up first with a mystery part of the cell and we have no idea what it does or why it is there but it is inside you right now. Learn more about the strange "Vaults" in our cells.

Kirk is second this week and he brings us some new research into the strange social urination of animals.

Rachel rounds out the episode with a creature feature on Kangaroo Rats/Kangaroo Mice.

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: c...

On this week's show, Victoria kicks things off with a discussion of Chirality and how the study of the "handedness" of molecules could actually lead to the creation of completely new forms of life. It's a bizarre thought experiment with very real and dangerous consequences.

Rachel brings us a creature feature, the fish-scaled gecko. This strange creature has an amazing defense mechanism that is both fascinating and gross.

Kirk ends...

On this week's show 2/3 of us talk about animal defenses.

Kirk starts us off with the Giant Vinegaroon, an acid shooting whip scorpion.

Rachel then also talks defenses with the Fulmar, a bird that covers enemies with stinking projectile vomit.

Victoria takes us in an all new direction by talking about Left-handedness.

Thanks for joining us this week!

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every epis...

Victoria kicks things of this week with a fascinating new study on Potter wasps showing that the males actually can defensively "sting" even though they don't have a classic stinger. If you are a fan of defensive genitalia, this story's for you!

Kirk keeps it with insects and defense this week and tells us a bit about the irritating hairs of caterpillars, how some of them have toxins and and how they can get into your eyes. No than...

Rachel takes us to the zoo to meet a Lyre Bird. Sure, they are found in the wild too but this one learned to reproduce the evacuation alarm for the entire zoo. Good times. Learn more about these amazing birds.

Victoria this week brings us, The Immortal Jellyfish. This strange creature can reverse age and then start life all over again. There doesn't seem to be a limit so potentially it could live forever. Scientists are studying it...