Episodios

  • Zombie Snails for Lunch
    Mar 4 2026

    This episode was made possible by our Patrons. Thank you!

    Victoria starts off today's show with a completely bizarre parasite. Usually parasites are secretive and don't want to be seen but the amazing Green Banded Broodsac absolutely loves attention and goes great lengths to be seen.

    Kirk is up next and, big surprise here, he has a bird story for us. It turns out that not only are New Caledonian Crows super intelligent but research shows they also have handedness. That makes them only the second species on Earth other than humans to display this quality.

    Más Menos
    39 m
  • The Wolves that Pollinate Flowers
    Feb 25 2026

    This episode was made possible by our Patrons. Thank you!

    Rachel kicks off the show this week by talking about the strange pollinators of the beautiful Red Hot Poker flowers. Turns out it is the Ethiopian wolf! This is an incredible and rare example of pollination by large mammals.

    Victoria is up next and she brings us the mysterious case of the all-female population of whiptail lizards. This population survives without men and reproduces through parthenogenesis.

    Kirk finishes up the show with a short story about why sometimes it pays to be the loser. Research on Japanese Quail show that females often pick the loser of fights but they do it for a very good reason.

    Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free!

    Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

    Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

    Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you can sign up for our episode emails.

    Más Menos
    43 m
  • The Fungus that Eats Radiation
    Feb 18 2026

    Kirk starts us off this week with the bizarre story of a form of life that literally feeds on radiation. Found growing in Chernobyl, radiotrophic fungi are strange and amazing.

    Rachel tells us about a medieval potion from Bald's Leechbook containing garlic, onion, wine, and ox bile that scientists have discovered kills up to 90 percent of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

    Victoria lets us know about Pavement Mushrooms. These edible urban mushrooms can grow right through sidewalks and asphalt. These incredible mushrooms are a fascinating example of urban survivors. Species that are able to thrive in the harsh human environments we have created.

    Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free!

    Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

    Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

    Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you can sign up for our episode emails.

    Más Menos
    38 m
  • Why Redheads Have Secret Powers
    Feb 11 2026

    Victoria is back with us this week and she kicks things off with a doozy of a story about a species of bark lice that has undergone a complete swapping of genitals between males and females. It's a very cool story but has frank discussions of reproductive parts so parents feel free to decide if you're ready for those discussions with your young ones.

    Kirk is up next with a story about Redheads! Sure, we all know some strange redheads but did you know they may have super powers? New studies show that being a redhead may protect you in an unusual way.

    Rachel rounds out this week's show with JuMBOs, Jupiter Mass binary Objects. This mysterious new class of objects in space have researchers further refining what we thought was possible.

    Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free!

    Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

    Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

    Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you can sign up for our episode emails.

    Más Menos
    39 m
  • Flipping the Earth's Poles
    Feb 4 2026

    Kirk kicks things off this week with a wild story about how the magnetic field of the Earth has completely flipped in the past. The European Space Agency recently used data sonification to help people better understand this bizarre event.

    Rachel heads to South America to let us know about a new species of scorpion recently discovered that can actually shoot their venom at foes. This is the first time this behavior has been seen in scorpions.

    Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free!

    Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

    Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

    Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you can sign up for our episode emails.

    Más Menos
    42 m
  • I Yam What I Yam
    Jan 28 2026

    Rachel starts us off this week with the strange Box Jellyfish. This is an animal you don't want to get mixed up with. Kirk never wants to go in the ocean again.

    Speaking of Kirk, and speaking of strange, this week he's talking about Yams. Not any old yam, this one particular species does something never before seen in a plant anywhere else on Earth. It tricks birds into helping it reproduce asexually.

    Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free!

    Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

    Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

    Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you can sign up for our episode emails.

    Más Menos
    46 m
  • Vampire Bats and Cinnamon Blood
    Jan 21 2026

    Hello Everyone and thanks for listening this week.

    Kirk kicks things off with a story about Vampire bats that just won't learn their lesson. In fact, they aren't able to. New research shows vampire bats may be the only mammal that doesn't develop food aversions after eating bad food.

    Rachel is up next and she tells us about the tricky Harlequin bug. It comes in so many colors and varieties, scientists keep falling for the trap of calling it a new species over and over and over again.

    Victoria tells us about the Common side-blotched lizard and how their mating strategies are a bit like Rock, Paper, Scissors. Let's play some Blue Lizard, Orange Lizard, Yellow Lizard!

    Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free!

    Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

    Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

    Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you can sign up for our episode emails.

    Más Menos
    39 m
  • A Six Legged Whoopin!
    Jan 14 2026

    Victoria starts us off this week with barnacles! I know, they may not sound that interesting but it turns out they are being used by researchers to help narrow the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370.

    Kirk bring us the unbelievable tale of a wasp that uses pheromones to purposefully start massive ant brawls just so it can locate a butterfly. Yes, it is very weird.

    Rachel rounds out this week with a look at the amazing creature, the Polar Bear. It has a few tricks up it's sleeve for surviving in the cold of the arctic.

    Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free!

    Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

    Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

    Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you can sign up for our episode emails.

    Más Menos
    43 m