An octopus riding a shark! I'm joined by comedian and writer Ella Yurman as we discuss the evolutionary biology concept of "phoresis," the symbiotic act of one organism riding another. Yeehaw!

Footnotes

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What happens in the mysterious, not-so-dusty behind-the-scenes of natural history museums? Today we're talking about how museum collections extend far beyond what's visible to the public, and how they are a repository of massive amounts of knowledge for amazing (and weird) research. I'm joined today by the assistant director of the Museum of Zoology at Cambridge University and author of the new book Nature's Memory: Behind the scenes of the world's natural history museums, Jack Ashby.

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All the pee-news that's fit to print! We're talking whale pee, soft-shelled turtles peeing (out of a place you wouldn't expect) and the animal whose pee smells like movie popcorn? I'm joined by Alex Schmidt of Secretly Incredibly Fascinating!

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I answer your questions, from potoos (aka, GHOST BIRDS), to bees who like perfume! If you have an evolutionary biology question you'd like answered, write to me at creaturefeaturepod@gmail.com

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Owl the news that's fit to print! We've got bird news stories today, including an orange snowy owl, owl tinder, and a real life "Wild Robot" situation! I'm joined by friend of the show, Bridgett Greenberg!

Episode Images

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From the shiny and splendiferous scale worms of the deep, to scuba diving lizards, these animals all have one thing in common: they are 100% glam. I'm joined by Danl Goodman to rock out!

Footnotes: Elvis worm! https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-elvis-worms-shimmer-and-sparkleand-fight-tough-180974989/
Elvis worms fighting, oh no!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgQvuYljX8g

Scale worm jaws, extra oh no! https://anatomytoyou.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/openmouthteeth_2144136i.jpg?w=640

Living beetle jewelry https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-makech-bedazzled-beetles-worn-living-jewelry-180955081/

Shiny diving lizards, oh my!

https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/web/196097_web.jpg

Shiny diving lizards caught on video! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/bu-lc032019.php#:~:text=Lindsey%20Swierk%2C%20assistant%20research%20professor,time%20to%20escape%20from%20predators

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Today on the show, animals in medicine! This time we're not talking about mice, but the way amazing animal adaptations have inspired or directly contributed to medicine. From gila monster venom to the absurdity of giraffes, animals have a lot to teach us about medical science. I'm joined by real life gastroenterologist, and host of the medical podcast House of Pod, Kaveh Hoda!

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Today's show has some mature themes, like frank discussions of sex and bodily fluids, so if you have kids, maybe give it a listen before having them listen with you.

Freaky animal fads! Animals can have culture, but sometimes, that culture is uncultured. From dolphin pee to a macaque on your back, these animals are definitely going to ruin your fancy dinner party. Discover this and more as we answer the age-old question: are cockatoos learning to be delinquents? I'm joined by segment director for the Daily Show, Carmen Angelica!

Sources:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/dolphin-aerial-urine-behavior

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/macaque-monkey-deer-mate-sex-ride

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-07-23/cockatoos-open-wheelie-bin-lid-social-learning-suburbs/100306786

Last week's mystery animal sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56O8pp-x8Zg

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