Episode description

Teeth. Tails. Pouches. This not-at-all-rodent has the distinction of being North America’s sole marsupial and so Alie hunted down lauded Opossumologist Dr. Lisa Walsh and launched an absolute torrent of giddy questions. How many ticks do they really eat, can we keep them as pets, how do they convincingly feign death, opossum vs. possum, fingerprints, orphaned babies, venom immunity, being equally ugly and adorable, and more. Open a space in your heart for these critters.

Follow Dr. Walsh on X

Donations went to KidneyFund.org & OpossumSocietyUS.org

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Possumology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, masks, totes!

Follow @Ologies on X and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on X and Instagram

Sound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Steven Ray Morris, and Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek, & Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm