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Subscribe and brace yourself—because this week, the swarm has teeth. 🦈

In this second episode of our Swarms Minisode Series, Laura and Katy dive into a lesser-known swarm behavior: shark aggregations. From 1,400 basking sharks off New England to over 15,000 spinning sharks off the Florida coast, this episode explores the science (and chaos) behind why some of the ocean’s most feared predators travel in giant, synchronized groups.

🦈 Why do basking sharks—normally loners—form feeding spirals?
🌊 What caused 15,000 blacktip and spinner sharks to swarm near Florida in 2013?
🧲 Could Earth’s magnetic fields (or sonar) influence shark migration patterns?
🎯 And do predators swarm for the same reasons as prey?

This minisode is a fast, fascinating look at how even apex predators can get caught up in the group dynamic—and what it means for scientists, beachgoers, and Shark Week fans alike.

👉 This is episode 2 of 6 in our Swarms series—short, science-packed episodes exploring how and why animals move as one.

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🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!

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Subscribe and let your nose lead the way. This episode stinks—in the best way possible.

In this surprisingly deep dive into all things scent, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore how your sense of smell works, why it’s wildly underappreciated, and what makes certain smells feel amazing (or like a chemical attack).

🧠 How does smell connect to memory and emotion?
🦨 What makes skunk spray so powerful—and impossible to wash off?
🌺 Why do corpse flowers pretend to be rotting meat?
🍪 And why can one person love the smell of cookies while someone else smells… socks?

From pregnancy nose powers to extinct olfactory genes, this episode blends biology, psychology, and botany into a surprisingly aromatic mix of weird science and fun facts.

🎧 This is Season 12, Episode 2 of Wildly Curious—and your nostrils will never forget it.

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🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!

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Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. It’s time for Swarms.

In the kickoff to our Swarms Minisodes, Katy and Laura dive into one of nature’s most mesmerizing spectacles: the murmuration of starlings. These jaw-dropping bird formations swirl through the sky like smoke or liquid—but behind the beauty is a stunning system of rules, physics, and evolutionary strategy.

🐦 What exactly is a murmuration—and why do starlings do it?
🌪 How can thousands of birds turn on a dime with no leader?
🧠 What’s “scale-free correlation” and how does it keep the group alive?
🎭 And what does Shakespeare have to do with a Central Park starling invasion?

From predator evasion to 3D modeling, this minisode explores the science, chaos, and choreography behind one of nature’s most hypnotic behaviors.

👉 This is episode 1 of our Swarms series—six short episodes exploring how animals move together, from birds to bugs to bacteria.

Support the show

🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!