We love horror movies and horror stories, but when it comes to pure blood-curdling terror, there’s no competing with mother nature. We’ll compare some classic horror tropes to their real-life counterparts, and let me tell ya: when it comes to evolution, the director’s cut holds nothing back. Parasites that contort your body and mind to their will, evil flowers and even more evil worms! With special guest Emily Yoshida of the Night Call Podcast. FOOTNOTES: Video of leucochloridium paradoxum Our D...
Oct 23, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Today on the show, SUPERSTITION! Black cats, crows, ravens, and a mysterious demonic monster… where do superstitions come from? What are the facts behind the superstition? And are crows really conspiring against us. Discover this and more as we answer the age-old question, do satanists like to kiss cat butt? With special guest Joey Clift. FOOTNOTES: 1. 50% of polled Americans are superstitious 2. The Papal Bull behind black cat superstition 3. Kattenstoet cat parade in Ypres, Belgium!! 4. The le...
Oct 16, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Happy October everyone! This week: Dunanunanunanuna BAT FACTS! Why do bats hang upside down? How did bats become associated with Dracula? What are some of the craziest bat species in the world? Discover this and more as we answer the age-old question: If Batman was bitten by a radioactive bat, what powers would he have? With special guest Molly Lambert from the Night Call Podcast. FOOTNOTES: 1. Bats in folklore 2. Common vampire bat 3. Hairy legged vampire bat 4. Trumpet-nosed bat 5. Lesser long...
Oct 09, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast Giant bugs, animals that clone themselves, things that come back to life after being eviscerated... if you're looking for aliens, you can find them under the sea. And later on the show, we’ll be speaking to a professor of marine biology who invited an octopus into his home! With special guests comedian Chris Crofton and Professor of Marine Biology David Scheel. FOOTNOTES: 1. Goblin Sharks (they look like MR. BURNS not MR. SMITHERS whoops) 2. Giant isopod 3. Atolla jellyfish 4. Proboscis worm 5. ...
Oct 02, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Today on the show we’re talking PSEUDOSCIENCE! Did you know that sometimes people claim things are scientific, but whoops, they’re not? We’ll be looking at some scammers, some flim-flammers, some people who claim things are scientific but they’re maaaaaaybe not really. With special guests Katy Stoll and Cody Johnston. FOOTNOTES: 1. Study on redness and association with sex 2. Snub nosed monkeys 3. Bearded vulture makeup 4. Baboon utopian society 5. Testosterone not correlated with attractiveness...
Sep 25, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Today on the show we’re talking WEIRD DIETS! Animals eating other animals eating other animals! Humans eating well… some pretty freaky things. Discover this and more as we answer the age old question: is cannibalism good for you? With special guest Smart Mouth's Katherine Spiers. FOOTNOTES: 1. A lotl Axolotl 2. Greenland sharks 3. Horrifying Fine Dining Lovers article 4. Vilhjalmur Stefansson 5. Butterflies drinking turtle tears 6. Tear drinking moths harassing birbs 7. Vegan ortolan 8. Marijuan...
Sep 18, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast We’re going to explode some myths about human and animal biology & psychology, and discover that the truth really is stranger than fiction. With special guest comedian and Nerdificent co-host Ify Nwadiwe. Footnotes: 1. Komodo dragon venom 2. Bees are angered by the color red 3. Mathematician & grandfather of the scientific method, Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham 4. Unihemispheric slow wave sleep 5. Lionesses synchronize their "periods" (estrus) 6. Immortal jellyfish 7. Scallop eyeballs 8. Horse mus...
Sep 11, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast The truth behind Mothman, The Chupacabra, and Bigfoot! Today, we’ll be looking at the facts behind cryptids, what it would mean if they actually existed, and the real animals that are just as crazy as the cryptids themselves. With special guest Tess Lynch of the Night Call podcast. FOOTNOTES: 1. Mothman 2. Sandhill crane 3. Barred owl 4. Owls or aliens? 5. Owl without feathers (artistic rendering) 6. Do those legs go owl the way up 7. Vampire bats 8. Giant Gippsland earthworm 9. Giant Gippsland ...
Sep 04, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Right now, the Amazon is burning — we’re going to talk about why this is happening, what’s at stake, and what you can do to help. With special guest Miles Gray. FOOTNOTES: How you can help the Amazon! 1. WWF 5 Ways To Help The Amazon 2. Donate to protect an acre of rainforest 3. Rainforest Trust 4. Defend Indigenous rights and protect the rainforest by donating or signing a pledge 5. Signal boost the Indigenous Women's March 6. Learn more about Indigenous Rights Images of the beautiful animals o...
Aug 28, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re talking about getting bamboozled, pulling shenanigans, getting conned by caterpillars and hoaxed by horses. With special guest Laci Mosley. FOOTNOTES: 1. Chinstrap penguin stealing rocks 2. Gelada male 3. Firefly femme fatale 4. Hawk moth caterpillar mimics viper 5. Passion flower mimicry 6. Automimicry 7. Conformity elevator experiment 8. Jumping spider ant mimics 9. Jumping spider mimicking one ant carrying another (this is ONE spider) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://ww...
Aug 21, 2019•2 hr 30 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we’re going to talk about CUTENESS! Why do we love baby animals? Do baby animals love us? What are some of the cutest studies in science? Discover this and more as we answer the age old question: yikes, what’s it like to give birth to a baby porcupine? With special guest Bridgett Greenberg. FOOTNOTES: 1. Peak-a-boo researcher 2. Sea turtle swim suits 3. Cutest age for a dog study 4. Sea lion puppy covered in sand 5. Prehensile Tailed Porcupine "talking" 6. Image of Prehensile Tailed Porcu...
Aug 14, 2019•59 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Join us today as we talk about the history and stories behind mythological creatures, and find out that they have real-life animal counterparts who are just as magical. With special guest Alex Shifman. FOOTNOTES: 1. Bombardier Beetles 2. Warsaw Basilisk 3. Basilisk lizard running on water 4. Argentavis Magnificens 5. Terror Birds 6. Detachable penis 7. Horrible picture of a Stegodyphus lineatus spider being eaten by her babies 8. Atacama skeleton 9. Horrible picture of a "real" Jackalope (papill...
Aug 07, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast We’re answering some of the weirdest questions about evolution and anatomy, like how do woodpeckers keep from scrambling their brains? What animals have not one, not two, but three vaginas? Why would a doctor want to sew your leg on backwards? Discover this and more as we answer the age old question: what are some of the most bodacious boobs in the animal kingdom. With special guests hosts of the podcast Ridiculous History, Noel Brown and Ben Bowlin. FOOTNOTES: 1. Weird woodpecker tongues 2. A k...
Jul 31, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast We’re going to look at some wild animal teams, how they compare to humans, and what the robot-dominated future may hold! Discover this and more as we answer the age old riddle: what animal doesn’t feel pain and loves eating poop? With special guest comedian Blake Wexler. FOOTNOTES: 1. Dog frees friends from a kennel 2. Dog frees tied up dog 3. Do Dogs Know Other Dogs Are Dogs? 4. More info on nake mole rats than you even want to know 5. Naked mole rats eat poop 6. Zombees 7. Social spider web 8....
Jul 24, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re talking about some adorable animals who look so sweet and cute, and who want to murder you to death. We’re talking the most surprisingly scary animals you should be afraid of. Discover this and more as we answer the age old question: what the heck is catfish noodling? With special guest Sofiya Alexandra. FOOTNOTES: 1. World's Weirdest: Killer Cone Snail 2. Noodling for catfish 3. Poison pass: the man who became immune to snake venom 5. Slow Loris 6. Platypus venom 7. leopard seal fee...
Jul 17, 2019•2 hr 30 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’ll be talking about tools! Tools of the trade, tools of torture, and tools of, well, hehe, you know. Bow-chika-wa-wah! What’s a butcher, a tailor, and a bendy-stick maker got in common? They’re all birds! Discover this and more as we answer the age-old question: what’s the most humiliating thing to happen to an eel? With special guest Carmen Angelica. FOOTNOTES: 1. Bottlenose dolphins wielding sponges 2. Video of a tailor bird sewing leaves together 3. New Caledonian crows create their ...
Jul 10, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we’re talking the classic tale of David and Goliath, unlikely matchups with even unlikelier conclusions. Discover this and more as we answer the age-old question: what’s the best way to round-house kick a wasp? With special guests Alex Schmidt and Dr. Greg Pauly. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 03, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know there are animals out there with real comic-book super powers? And people with superhuman abilities? Today, we’ll be looking at the real life animal and human counterparts to famous superheroes, and maybe some super villains too. With special guest Soren Bowie. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 26, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Join us today as we look at some of the most mind-blowing, most important, and weirdest scientific studies that have been done on rats. Discover this and more as we answer the age old question: is there eternal sunshine of the spotless rat mind? With special guest comedian Pallavi Gunalan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 19, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’ll be talking about SHAPE SHIFTERS, tales of terrific transformers who have some shocking before and after pics. What’s got two thumbs and started life out as a tiny donut? Can snails take laziness to a freaky new level? Humans and animals on the lam: how would you escape the heat? With special guests Anna Hossnieh and Shereen Younes of the Ethnically Ambiguous podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...
Jun 12, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Insect butts explode, spraying deadly chemicals! Hippos make poop rockets! Scorpions are willing to literally throw away their anus in deadly combat! We’re talking about some of the nastiest acts of foul-play in the animal and human kingdom. With special guest Kimia Behpoornia. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 05, 2019•56 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we’re talking about city slickers: how do animals cope with human cities? What are some of the ways animals have adapted to human society? And did we domesticate dogs, or did dogs domesticate us? With special guest Katie Willert. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 29, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast On this nail-biting conclusion to The Seven Deadly Sins, we're covering lustful birds, greedy chimps, and gluttonous sea squirts. We'll also discuss some freaky stories of human sinners! Join us today as we excommunicate some tunicates! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 22, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Let the species who is without sin cast the first stone. Slap some scarlet letters on these sinful animals who best symbolize each of the seven deadly sins. We'll also look at the science behind human sin, referencing texts that may not be holy, but are certainly peer reviewed. Featuring Katy Stoll from Some More News. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 02, 2019•48 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’ll be talking about the most evil killers, kidnappers, murderers and bloodthirsty lurkers walking… or crawling… among us. Then, we’ll answer the age old question: who’s the most prolific serial meow-derer? Featuring Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown of Ridiculous History. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 26, 2018•1 hr•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast We go beyond the five senses to explore the uncanny ways that animals (and people) are able to perceive the world. That kid from The Sixth Sense is a lame nerd compared to the creatures featured in this episode. Featuring Jamie Loftus of the Bechdel Cast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 19, 2018•59 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Can animals suffer from mental illness? We explore issues of mental health, imprisonment, and midlife crisis in animals and humans, while also clearing the good name of cuckoos. With special guest Hana Michels. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 12, 2018•1 hr 13 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Holy mother of animals... from feasting upon mommy's flesh, to mom mafias, these creatures will make you rethink motherhood. Join us as we explore some of the scariest mom (and baby) monsters, both human and animal. Sometimes mommy dearest is mommy deadliest . With special guest Miles Gray of The Daily Zeitgeist. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 05, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Apparently "Just Say No" doesn't work on animals. We look at the most seedy vices in the human and natural world. Doped up dolphins, bats with DUIs, naughty otters, and a drunken mutiny on a Russian plane. With special guest Robert Evans from Behind The Bastards and Cracked.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 21, 2018•1 hr 10 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Death is just another part of life... or is it? Let's explore some of the strangest ways of coping with death in the animal and human world. We'll look at freaky funerals, real-life zombies, brains in jars, immortality, and most importantly... chicken hypnosis. With special guest Cody Johnston, host of the Some More News Podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 14, 2018•2 hr 35 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast 
