Strange by Nature Podcast - podcast cover

Strange by Nature Podcast

Life is strange, naturally you want to hear about it. Strange by Nature is your guide to the strange, weird and unbelievable side of nature. Professional naturalists present weekly curated stories about just how strange nature can get.
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Episodes

A Digestive Turduckin

As we ramp up toward Halloween things really start to get weird. Kirk makes us all queasy by talking about Bot flies that prey on humans. Rachel brings us the bizarre looking Monkey Slug Caterpillar and Victoria tells us all about Cockroaches. We had a ton of fun this week, we hope you do too. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Oct 18, 202334 minEp. 141

Let’s All Fly Into the Fire!

Victoria kicks things off with a bizarre story about Fire Beetles, a strange animals that actually goes TOWARD fire instead of away from it. Kirk then shares some disturbing news about powerful solar storms that could disable society and Rachel rounds out this week's show with the spookiest of near-Halloween topics...mistletoe? Oh yeah, we also answer a strange listener question about Pineapple. Amanda, how dare you? Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcas...

Oct 11, 202349 minEp. 140

Wait...are Jackalopes Real?

Rachel starts us off this week with the strange history of Jackalopes. It seems they are a fairly recent fabrication and not real animals...or are they? The story is stranger than you may expect. Kirk swerves into Rachel's lane this week and takes us to the depths of the ocean where the mysterious Volcano Snail lives aside hydrothermal vents and creates a shell and body covered in metallic armor. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: st...

Oct 04, 202331 minEp. 139

Cheetahs Are Weird

Kirk brings some new science around Bamboo. Are we on the verge of a massive die-off? Rachel talks Cheetahs! Are they strange? Yup! Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com

Sep 27, 202339 minEp. 138

Uh, There’s a Worm in Your Brain

Victoria starts off this week making us squirm with the story of a worm in a woman's brain. Kirk then shares some strange facts about the Fossa, the main antagonist in the kids movie Madagascar that for sure did NOT make it into the cartoon and Rachel wraps things up this week where else but the ocean where she shares about an amazing and enormous colonial animal. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Sep 20, 202341 minEp. 137

Do Spiders have Dreams?

The whole gang's back together this week and it ends up being an unplanned invertebrate extravaganza! Rachel blows our mind this week with new research that shows spiders dream, Victoria then talked about absolutely astounding ant super-colonies that span several countries in size. Kirk rounds out our invertebrate celebration with a story about an amazing new wasp named after the Dementors from Harry Potter. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Vis...

Sep 13, 202336 minEp. 136

Can Plants Smell? (Spoiler: YES!)

This week Kirk answers the question, "Can plants smell?" by looking at some really interesting experiments. Rachel then decides to rise to the occasion of talking about the weird world of yeasts. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Sep 06, 202330 minEp. 135

When Grass Screams for Help

This week Rachel takes us (unsurprisingly) to the depths of the ocean to meet a bizarre and ancient creature while Kirk talks about how the smell of fresh cut grass may actually be a cry for help. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Aug 30, 202329 minEp. 134

The Invisible Squid

Kirk kicks things off with a deep dive on Sea Devils, Rachel brings us the story of a squid that seems to have an invisibility cloak and Victoria tells us the tale of a strange bird that smells exactly like tangerines. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Aug 23, 202339 minEp. 133

Unexpectedly Glowing Flying Squirrels

Victoria is back this week and she starts things off with a list of animals that smell like familiar foods. Kirk tells us about the Red-lipped Batfish, an utterly bizarre creature from the ocean and Rachel rounds out the show this week with a suggested topic, glowing flying squirrels! Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Aug 16, 202339 minEp. 132

Land of 10,000 Landbergs

This week Rachel goes in search of a bird lost to science for over 100 years and Kirk answers the question, "Where did all of these lakes come from?" Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com

Aug 09, 202328 minEp. 131

Maned Wolves are Taller Than Your Kitchen Counter!

This week Kirk kicks off the show with the tallest canine in the world, the strange Maned Wolf. Rachel then takes us off the planet to the outer reaches of the solar system to learn about Haumea, a strange dwarf planet shaped like a giant rugby ball. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Aug 02, 202337 minEp. 130

Talking Baby Talk to Dolphins

Victoria kicks things off this week with a surprising story about Garlic Mustard that goes against everything we thought we knew. Kirk then really stretches our minds by talking about extended cognition in spiders. Rachel rounds out this week's show talking about a new discovery around dolphin language. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Jul 26, 202339 minEp. 129

Cave Dwelling Human Fish

Rachel really kicks things off this week by telling us about the "human fish" that live in caves. Victoria is back this week and looking at how the gender of scientists can skew the results of research. Kirk rounds things off this week by talking about how hippos sweat a pseudo-blood to use as sunscreen. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Jul 19, 202335 minEp. 128

Why Does Nature Keep Making Crabs?

This week, Kirk talks about how Carl Linnaeus thought there were species of Wild humans and Monster humans. Rachel then tells us about carcinization, the evolutionary process that keeps turning species into crabs. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Jul 12, 202336 minEp. 127

The Unicorn of the Sea

This week Rachel kicks things off with a story about the Unicorns of the Sea, Narwhals! Guest Jarrod Klopp tells us about a newly discovered superfood fungus found in the Grand Prismatic pool at Yellowstone that may end up feeding humans in space. Kirk rounds out the week with by examining questions of Astrobiology. Is Earth-like life inevitable? Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Jul 05, 202343 minEp. 126

The Bird with a Three Foot Tail

This week Kirk talks about strange collective nouns for animals and an animal we never realized travels in herds until recently. Rachel tells us about the amazing quetzal bird with a three foot tail and Victoria rounds out this week's show with a series of updates chocked full of new updates to old stories. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Jun 28, 202339 minEp. 125

The Liquid Rainbow River

This week Victoria tells us about the strange armored spiny mouse. Kirk talks about real life dragons in the sea and Rachel rounds out the week with tales of the most colorful river in the world. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Jun 21, 202335 minEp. 124

Goats Don’t Get Scurvy

Did you know that most other animals make their own vitamin C and we're the weirdos who don't? You won't find a goat or lemur with Scurvy. Kirk tells us all about it. Rachel then brings us on a journey of discovery under the sea to learn about the Sea Horse. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Jun 14, 202333 minEp. 123

Viruses Can Make You More Attractive! (to mosquitoes)

This week Rachel kicks things off by talking about Clown Fish and how they can actually change their sex! Guest Alicia Little has us fascinated with the science behind catnip and Kirk finishes up with an amazing story of how viruses make you more attractive to mosquitoes. Link to the cat study with cute graphics: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abd9135 Link to the cat video Alicia mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNUz4zQTA1E Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: ...

Jun 07, 202345 minEp. 122

The Rarest Bee in the World

Happy Summer! This week, Kirk kicks things off by talking about another human parasite, Rachel details the re-discovery of one of the rarest bees in the world and Victoria tells the tale of a drowned child brought back to life. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

May 31, 202340 minEp. 121

Hold on...is the sun actually Green?

This week Victoria blows our mind with a story of beetles moisture farming though their anus, Kirk goes on a rant about the color of the sun and Rachel tells us a tale of a cool hermit crab with connections to the film/book Howl's Moving Castle. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

May 24, 202331 minEp. 120

If a Kiwi eats a Kiwi is it Cannibalism?

Rachel kicks things off this week by finally talking about the Kiwi (the bird). Our guest this week, Noah, shares two topics, Chaga and Squirrels. Kirk rounds out this week with the most complex chimera known to science. Link to the paper Kirk discussed: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdfExtended/S0960-9822(23)00458-X Check out Noah's music: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0hgXZx0yIUsI5cQN92gUp2 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-751656453 Support us: patreon.com/strangebynat...

May 17, 202342 minEp. 119

Gambling After Crocodile Arousal

This week we are joined by Bobby Frankenberger from All Around Science Podcast. Kirk kicks things off with a bizarre tale of gambling, crocodiles and arousal. Bobby brings the facts about why Guinea Pigs eat their own droppings Rachel rounds things out this week with new science on the sounds plants make. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

May 10, 202345 minEp. 118

Is That an Ox Pecker Sleeping in your Crotch?

Rachel kicks things off with a strange news story of loons. Victoria then takes us on a journey into the parasitic world of Ox Peckers that leaves us laughing. Kirk FINALLY unravels the mystery of cubical wombat poop. We had a lot of fun this week, enjoy! Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

May 03, 202335 minEp. 117

A Galling Story of Ants

This week, Kirk talks about the bizarre possible relationship between having a pet and your child NOT having specific food allergies. Rachel then tells us the story of how an 8 year old boy ended up changing what we understand about ants. Victoria rounds out this week with updates on some popular stories from previous episodes. Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Apr 26, 202338 minEp. 116

The Loneliest Whale in the Ocean

What a treat, this week we are joined by Brett Sieberer. You may know him as the quiz master behind our anniversary shows but he's an incredible professional naturalist as well. Rachel kicks things off this week by taking us on a journey to discover just how high an insect an fly. Brett then takes us to the depths of the ocean in search of a mysterious unknown species of whale. Kirk rounds things off by making everyone squirm as he goes into details on why you really really don't want to get a t...

Apr 19, 202345 minEp. 115

Can We Really Even See Purple?

This week, Kirk breaks our brains a bit by revisiting the color purple and thinking about how strange it is that we can see it at all. Rachel then reels in the largest sunfish in the world and you won't believe how bit it can get. Support us on patreon: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Apr 12, 202341 minEp. 114

The Unsolved Case of 10,000 feet of Missing Geologic History

This week Kirk brings us the story of mysterious Blue Lava, Rachel discusses the strange shoebill and Victoria takes us on a search for 10,000 feet of missing rock. Support us on patreon: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com

Apr 05, 202334 minEp. 113

Playing with the Anaconda

This week, Victoria talks about a strange interaction between dolphins and an anaconda. Kirk takes on the concept of time and Rachel brings us one of the strangest creatures ever on the show. Space Travel Time Calculator: https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/space-travel Support us on patreon: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com...

Mar 29, 202335 minEp. 112
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