For the Love of Nature: Recent Episodes
Laura Fawks Lapole & Katy Reiss
A podcast that tells you everything you need to know about nature, and probably more than you wanted to know.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
Some animals are majestic.
Others...
...should probably stay very, very far away.
In this hilariously horrifying episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole debate the animals they could absolutely live without. From parasites that replace organs to frogs that break their own bones, this episode dives into some of evolution's strangest—and most disturbing—creations.
Along the way you'll meet:
The Hairy Frog—a frog that breaks its own toe bones and pushes them through its skin to create Wolverine-like claws.
Human Botflies—parasites that hitchhike on mosquitoes before developing beneath the skin of mammals.
Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs—the invasive insects that invade homes, destroy crops, and somehow make everything smell worse.
The Tongue-Eating Louse—the only known parasite that functionally replaces an entire organ by becoming a fish's new tongue.
Sloths—beloved by millions... and passionately roasted by Laura for nearly every evolutionary decision they've ever made.
Bobbit Worms—giant ambush predators that hide beneath the sand and explode upward to capture unsuspecting prey—and occasionally hitchhike into home saltwater aquariums.
Of course, beneath all the jokes is real science. Every one of these bizarre animals evolved these adaptations for a reason, proving once again that evolution doesn't care whether humans think something is creepy—it only cares if it works.
If you love weird animals, parasites, wildlife biology, evolution, gross nature facts, or hilarious science podcasts, this episode is guaranteed to make you laugh... and maybe never look at nature the same way again.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
What if dragons were real... and they could run across water?
In this minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore one of the most incredible reptiles you've probably never heard of: the sailfin dragon, also known as the sailfin lizard (Hydrosaurus). Native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia and New Guinea, this dragon-like reptile combines the best features of an iguana, a basilisk, and a dinosaur.
With giant sail-like fins, vivid colors, powerful swimming abilities, and juveniles capable of running across water, it's one of the most unique lizards on Earth.
In this episode:
🐉 Why the sailfin dragon looks like a miniature dinosaur
🌊 How young sailfin lizards can run across water before diving to safety
🌴 Why these reptiles split their lives between trees and rivers
🦎 The purpose of their enormous sail-like fins
👁️ The mysterious "third eye" that helps regulate light and biological rhythms
💜 Why some males turn brilliant violet during breeding season
🌏 Where these incredible reptiles live throughout Southeast Asia and New Guinea
From convergent evolution to dragon-worthy adaptations, the sailfin dragon proves that some of the world's most extraordinary animals are hiding in plain sight.
If you love reptiles, dinosaurs, dragons, weird wildlife, evolutionary biology, or discovering animals you've never heard of, this episode is for you.
🎧 Part of our ongoing Animals You've Probably Never Heard Of minisode series.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
How do scientists study animals that spend their lives hiding, migrating thousands of miles, or living deep underwater?
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore the incredible technology that's transforming wildlife research. From radar that detects millions of migrating birds to satellites tracking whales from space, conservation has become a real-life spy mission.
Discover how researchers can monitor animals without disturbing them—and sometimes without ever seeing them at all.
In this episode:
🛰️ How the International Space Station helps scientists track wildlife around the globe through the ICARUS program.
📡 Why weather Doppler radar doesn't just detect storms—it can reveal bird migration, bats leaving caves, and even massive insect swarms.
🌳 How LiDAR lasers create detailed 3D maps of forests to identify critical wildlife habitat hidden beneath the canopy.
🧬 The fascinating science of environmental DNA (eDNA), allowing researchers to identify species from tiny traces of genetic material left behind in water, soil, and even air.
🎙️ How passive acoustic monitoring uses AI and machine learning to recognize birds, frogs, bats, and entire ecosystems simply by listening.
🤖 Why scientists build lifelike robotic "spy animals" that secretly film wildlife behaving naturally in the wild.
These technologies are helping scientists understand migration, protect endangered species, detect invasive animals, monitor habitat health, and make better conservation decisions—all while minimizing disturbance to the wildlife they're trying to protect.
If you love wildlife biology, animal behavior, conservation, bird migration, ecology, or cutting-edge science, this episode is packed with some of the coolest technology you've probably never heard of.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
What if dragons were real?
In this minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore one of the strangest reptiles on Earth: the Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus), a tiny armored lizard from South Africa that looks like it crawled straight out of a fantasy novel.
Covered in spiky scales and equipped with one of the most unusual defense strategies in the animal kingdom, this reptile doesn't run from danger. Instead, it grabs its own tail and curls into a living ball of armor.
In this episode:
🐉 Why this lizard is often called a real-life dragon
🦎 The bizarre defense strategy that inspired its scientific name
🌍 Where Armadillo Girdled Lizards live in South Africa
🛡️ How armor, behavior, and social living help them survive predators
👶 Why these reptiles give birth to live young instead of laying eggs
🏜️ How evolution shaped one of the world's most unique lizards
If you love reptiles, wildlife, weird animal adaptations, dragons, natural history, or bizarre creatures from around the world, this episode is for you.
🎧 Part of our ongoing Animals You've Probably Never Heard Of minisode series.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
What happens when your DNA makes a typo?
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the strange, fascinating world of genetic mutations—the tiny changes in DNA that can shape evolution, alter proteins, create disease, or sometimes do absolutely nothing at all.
From harmless genetic quirks to serious inherited disorders, this episode breaks down some of the most important mutation types in a way that actually makes sense.
🧬 What mutations really are—and why they happen constantly
🔠 How DNA “letters” form the instructions for building proteins
⚠️ What happens during frameshift, substitution, insertion, deletion, duplication, and inversion mutations
🩸 Why mutations can influence things like blood type, lactose tolerance, HIV resistance, and sickle cell anemia
🧠 The genetics behind disorders like Tay-Sachs disease, Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and hemophilia A
✂️ How scientists are using CRISPR and gene editing technology to potentially correct harmful mutations
Along the way, Katy and Laura explore how mutations drive evolution, why most genetic changes are harmless, and why it’s honestly kind of incredible that our bodies function at all considering DNA is constantly being copied trillions of times.
Whether you’re into genetics, biology, evolution, medicine, or weird science, this episode is a deep dive into the microscopic changes that shape life itself.
🎧 Season 14 continues with one of the biggest science topics we’ve ever tackled.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Most birds are harmless.
This one is poisonous.
In this minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into one of the strangest birds on Earth: the pitohui, a brightly colored songbird from New Guinea that carries powerful neurotoxins in its skin and feathers. 
The toxin is chemically similar to the same compounds found in some poison dart frogs, making the pitohui one of the very few known poisonous birds in the world. But how does a bird become poisonous in the first place?
🐦 What a pitohui actually looks like
☠️ How this bird stores toxins in its feathers and skin
🪲 The beetles responsible for its poison
🧠 Why scientists think the toxins may help defend against parasites
🤧 Why handling one can cause numbness, sneezing, burning skin, and watery eyes
🌴 Why indigenous communities call them “rubbish birds”
Along the way, the episode explores toxic animals, warning coloration, bird evolution, and the bizarre ecosystems of New Guinea—home to some of the weirdest wildlife on Earth.
If you love birding, ornithology, toxic animals, weird nature facts, or evolutionary biology, this is one bird you’ll never forget.
🎧 Part of our “Animals You’ve Probably Never Heard Of” minisode series.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
What if “zombies” weren’t just fiction?
In this Season 14 kickoff episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the real science behind “nature zombies”—organisms that can hijack behavior, manipulate brains, and turn animals into living tools for their own survival.
From parasitic fungi to mind-altering parasites, this episode explores how evolution has produced some of the most disturbing—and fascinating—strategies in the natural world.
🧠 How parasitic fungi infect insects and control their behavior down to the exact moment of death
🐜 The infamous zombie ant fungus (Ophiocordyceps) that forces ants to climb and die in precise locations for spore release
🦗 How hairworms manipulate insects into seeking water—something they would normally avoid—just to complete their life cycle
🐭 The parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which alters fear responses in rodents and may even influence human behavior
🦟 Cicada infections that turn insects into walking, mating, spore-spreading machines
These aren’t just gross curiosities—they’re real examples of how parasites can alter nervous systems, change decision-making, and reshape behavior at a biological level.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Why are crows called crows… and ravens called ravens?
In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Laura explores the surprisingly simple—and fascinating—origins behind the names of two of the most intelligent and culturally iconic birds in the world: crows and ravens.
These birds are often associated with mystery, mythology, and even death—but their names didn’t come from legend. They came from something much simpler: the sounds they make.
-Why the word “crow” dates back over 1,000 years and mimics their iconic “caw” call
-Why crows and ravens are considered some of the most intelligent birds on Earth, capable of problem-solving, tool use, and even recognizing human faces
-How the word “raven” evolved from ancient languages trying to imitate their deep, throaty calls
-Why these birds became symbols of mythology, prophecy, and folklore across cultures
-How early humans used sound to name animals long before scientific classification existed
Despite their dark reputation in stories and pop culture, the names “crow” and “raven” are actually some of the most straightforward in the bird world—just ancient humans trying to describe what they heard.
If you love birding, animal intelligence, ornithology, or natural history, this episode reveals how even the most mysterious birds have surprisingly simple origins.
Subscribe for more episodes of Wildly Curious, where science, nature, and curiosity collide.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Why do birds have such unusual names?
In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Laura dives into the fascinating origins behind two of the most familiar backyard birds in North America: chickadees and titmice.
These small, curious songbirds aren’t just cute—they’re also incredibly intelligent and highly vocal, with communication systems that scientists are still studying today.
Chickadees get their name directly from their famous “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call—but that sound is more than just noise. It’s a complex communication system where the number of “dees” can signal different levels of danger to other birds.
These tiny birds can even increase their brain size seasonally to remember thousands of food caches, making them some of the most impressive memory specialists in the animal world.
Titmice, on the other hand, have a name that sounds confusing today—but it actually comes from old English words meaning “small bird.” Over time, language evolved, and “titmase” eventually became “titmouse,” even though it has nothing to do with mice at all.
In this episode, we explore:
- How chickadees use sound to communicate danger
- Why bird calls are different from bird songs
- The surprising evolution of the word “titmouse”
- How language, culture, and sound shaped bird names
- Why some birds are literally named after the noises they make
If you love birding, ornithology, backyard birds, or animal communication, this episode reveals how even the smallest birds have big stories behind their names.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Why are birds named what they’re named?
In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss explores the fascinating naming history behind two giant flightless birds that look like they walked straight out of the dinosaur era: cassowaries and emus.
Both birds are massive, powerful, and deeply tied to the evolutionary story of modern birds—but their names come from very different linguistic journeys.
Cassowaries, found in the tropical forests of New Guinea and northern Australia, are famous for their bright blue necks, dagger-like claws, and the mysterious helmet-like casque on their heads. Their name likely comes from Southeast Asian languages describing the bird’s distinctive “horned head.”
Emus, the shaggy runners of the Australian outback, inherited a name that originally referred to many large flightless birds—including ostriches and cassowaries. Early European explorers often confused these giant birds, and for a time emus were even called “New Holland cassowaries.”
In this episode we explore:
- Why cassowaries are sometimes called the most dangerous bird in the world
- What the mysterious cassowary casque might be used for
- How early explorers confused emus, ostriches, and cassowaries
- Why the word “emu” once referred to multiple species of giant birds
- How language, exploration, and first impressions shaped bird names
If you love birding, ornithology, wildlife science, or natural history, the Bird Name Game series reveals how the names of birds tell stories about exploration, language, and the way humans first encountered the natural world.
Subscribe for more episodes of Wildly Curious, where science, nature, and curiosity collide.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Why do birds have the names they do?
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss kicks off a new mini-series called “Bird Name Game”, exploring the fascinating origins behind bird names. Each episode looks at two birds, their natural history, and the surprising linguistic stories behind what we call them.
This episode dives into two iconic seabirds: the albatross and the gull.
The albatross, one of the largest flying birds on Earth, can glide across the ocean for thousands of miles with barely a wingbeat. But its name didn’t start in English. It traveled through Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and Latin, changing spelling and even switching which bird it referred to before becoming the name we know today.
Gulls, on the other hand, have a much simpler origin. Their name likely comes from ancient Celtic and Norse roots that imitate the bird’s loud, wailing call—the same cry that echoes across beaches, harbors, and parking lots everywhere.
Along the way, we explore:
- How albatrosses travel thousands of miles using ocean winds
- Why many albatross species form lifelong partnerships
- The surprising linguistic journey from “alcatraz” to “albatross”
- Why gulls were named after the sound they make
- How bird names reflect human language, culture, and first impressions
If you love birding, natural history, ornithology, or wildlife science, this mini-series reveals how the names of birds tell stories about exploration, language, and the people who first encountered them.
Subscribe for more episodes of Wildly Curious, where science, nature, and curiosity collide.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and prepare to realize your cat has been training you this whole time.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the fascinating research of Dr. Susanne Schötz, a phonetics professor at Lund University—and the scientist behind some of the most groundbreaking work on cat–human communication.
Her research explores how cats use meows, purrs, trills, and intonation to communicate with humans, how those sounds change based on emotion and context, and why domestic cats are far more vocal than their wild or feral relatives.
🐾 Why cats use short, high-pitched meows when happy or requesting
😾 Why vet-meows sound long, low, and dramatic (as they should)
🎵 How cats adjust melody and pitch specifically for their humans
🧠 What “solicitation purring” is—and why it mimics a human baby’s cry
🗣️ Why every cat–human pair develops its own unique dialect
The big takeaway? Cats aren’t just making noise. They’re fine-tuning a language to get what they want—and humans are surprisingly good at understanding it, especially if they’ve lived with cats before.
🎧 This episode is part of our Niche Scientists minisode series—short, weird, and full of research that makes you a better, more informed pet parent.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
In this deep-dive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole crack open the bizarre, beautiful world of echinoderms—the “spiny-skinned” sea creatures that are hard on the outside, squishy on the inside, and powered by a literal hydraulic system.
We’re talking sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, brittle stars, feather stars, and sea cucumbers—a group that looks like it shouldn’t make sense… until you learn the rules.
🌊 The water vascular system and how tube feet work like living suction hydraulics
⭐ Why echinoderms don’t have a centralized brain (and why that doesn’t mean “no thoughts”)
🧬 The wild symmetry twist: larvae start bilateral, then reorganize into radial body plans
🥒 Sea cucumbers and their most unhinged defense move: evisceration (yes, it’s what it sounds like)
🌿 Species spotlight: the sunflower sea star—a major predator of sea urchins that helps keep kelp forests alive
⚠️ And the real-world crisis: sea star wasting syndrome, which caused catastrophic declines, including over 90% loss of sunflower sea stars in much of their range
If you’ve ever looked at a sea star and thought “that thing has no business being real,” this episode is your guide to why it does—and why losing them changes entire ecosystems.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and prepare to root for the slowest athletes on Earth.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the bizarre but brilliant world of snail racing—and the scientists who study it to unlock secrets of movement, slime, and survival.
Every summer in England, snails compete in the World Snail Racing Championships. It sounds ridiculous… until you realize researchers are using these races to study animal locomotion, non-Newtonian fluids, and biomimicry.
🐌 Why snail slime is both sticky and slippery
🧪 How snail mucus behaves like a non-Newtonian fluid
🏃♂️ How snails move using muscular waves instead of steps
🩹 Why snail-inspired adhesives could revolutionize wound closure and surgery
🤖 How snail movement is inspiring soft robotics for medicine and rescue tech
Scientists from engineering, biomechanics, and ecology use snail racing data to understand friction control, climate adaptation, and even how future robots might crawl through collapsed buildings or blood vessels.
It’s slow science. It’s weird science. And it turns out… it’s incredibly important.
🎧 This episode is part of our Niche Scientists minisode series—short episodes spotlighting the wonderfully specific research quietly shaping the future.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and rediscover a skill humans were never meant to lose.
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore natural navigation—the ancient human ability to find direction by reading the land, sea, sky, plants, and animals instead of relying on GPS.
Long before maps and satellites, humans navigated forests and oceans using patterns, movement, and observation. And the wild part? That ability never disappeared—we just stopped practicing it.
🌿 How plants and trees reveal direction through sunlight and wind
🕷️ Why spiders, lichens, and grazing animals act as natural indicators
🌞 How the sun, stars, and seasonal patterns guide movement on land
🌊 How Polynesian wayfinders navigated the open ocean without instruments
🧭 Why navigation isn’t about knowing where you are—but knowing how to move
From reading asymmetry in trees to feeling ocean swells beneath a canoe, this episode reframes navigation as presence, pattern recognition, and attention—not coordinates on a screen.
🎧 Whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast, birder, hiker, paddler, or just someone craving a slower, more grounded way of moving through the world, this episode will change how you look at nature forever.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and prepare to learn something you will never un-know.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole spotlight two researchers whose work sounds ridiculous… until you realize it’s brilliant.
Meet Dr. David Hu and Dr. Patricia Yang, engineers who study fluid dynamics by asking the questions no one else would:
- Why do almost all mammals pee in the same amount of time?
- Why is wombat poop shaped like a cube?
- And how can studying animal waste improve engineering, medicine, and early cancer detection?
🚽 Why mammals over 3 kg empty their bladders in ~21 seconds
🐘 How urethra length turns gravity into an efficiency tool
🧊 The real reason wombat poop is square (and it’s NOT the sphincter)
🏆 How this research earned two IG Nobel Prizes
🧠 Why “weird” science often leads to the biggest breakthroughs
What starts as slow-motion videos of animals peeing ends up influencing biomimicry, manufacturing, plumbing systems, and colon cancer diagnostics.
🎧 This episode proves that curiosity-driven science—even the gross kind—can quietly change the world.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
DNA isn’t magic—but it is one of the most powerful instruction systems in the universe.
In this deep-dive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole break down genetics, DNA, and inheritance in a way that actually makes sense—no lab coat required. From the tiny molecular code inside your cells to the ethical questions surrounding modern gene editing, this episode connects the science to real life.
🧬 What DNA actually is (and what it doesn’t do)
🧠 The difference between DNA, genes, RNA, and proteins
🧬 How traits are inherited—and why genetics isn’t destiny
🧪 How modern genetics is used in medicine, conservation, and forensics
✂️ What CRISPR can do—and why ethics matter more than ever
Along the way, we untangle common myths, explain why humans are more just as similar as we are complex and explore how environment, stress, and experience interact with your DNA.
🎧 Whether you’re a science nerd, a biology student, or someone who just wants to understand how their body works, this episode gives you the basic tools to think critically about genetics—and why it matters far beyond the classroom.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and prepare to learn something you absolutely did not know existed.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss dives into one of the strangest—and most important—jobs in science: whale earwax archivist.
Yes. That’s a real thing.
Certain whales build massive earwax plugs over their lifetime, adding a new layer every six months. And scientists have learned how to read those layers like tree rings—revealing a whale’s age, stress levels, exposure to pollution, and even the history of human impact on the ocean.
🐋 What whale earwax is actually made of
📏 Why these plugs can grow over 10 inches long
🧪 How scientists read them like biological timelines
🌍 What they reveal about climate change, pollution, and industrialization
📉 And why whales are basically the ocean’s canaries in a coal mine
It’s gross. It’s fascinating. And it turns out to be one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding long-term ocean health.
🎧 This episode is part of our Niche Scientists minisode series—short episodes spotlighting the wildly specific research that quietly changes how we understand the world.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us Fan Mail
Subscribe and let your curiosity swear a little. We won’t tell. 😉
In this Wildly Curious minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole kick off their new Niche Scientists series with a deep dive into Dr. Richard Stephens—a psychologist who studies something we all do (sometimes loudly): swearing.
From pain tolerance to powerlifting, Dr. Stephens’ research shows that strategic cursing can actually make you stronger, tougher, and maybe even a little bit smarter about when to drop an F-bomb.
🤬 Can swearing really reduce pain?
💪 Does cursing make you physically stronger?
🧠 What happens in your brain when you let it fly?
🚫 And why swearing too often makes it less effective?
It’s the perfect mix of science, psychology, and sass—because sometimes the best way to say “ouch”... is to not say “ouch.”
🎧 This is our first episodr of our Niche Scientists minisodes—short, weird, and full of science you didn’t know you needed.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit www.myfahlo.com to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.
Send us a text
Subscribe and stuff your brain before you stuff your turkey. 🦃🥧
In this Wildly Curious Thanksgiving special, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole serve up the surprisingly scientific and hilariously human history of America’s favorite feast. From how pumpkins nearly went extinct after the Ice Age to why turkeys were almost wiped out (and then made a comeback), this episode is a buffet of weird facts, origin stories, and seasonal science.
🍂 How mastodons helped evolve pumpkins
🦃 Why Benjamin Franklin thought turkeys were “more respectable” than eagles
🥧 The secret history of pumpkin pie (and the rise of pumpkin spice)
🇺🇸 How Thanksgiving became a national holiday—and a marketing goldmine
It’s history, biology, and nostalgia all rolled into one big, slightly chaotic, pumpkin-scented audio pie.
🎧 Listen in for the laughs, the learning, and the reminder to use your pumpkins wisely.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Season 13 is here… and it’s fight night. (Hypothetically, of course.) 🥊
Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole are back with Could You Fight That? Part 2, the follow-up to one of Wildly Curious’ most beloved (and ridiculous) episodes.
This time, the matchups get even wilder—from kangaroos and cassowaries to anteaters and octopuses—as the duo debates whether they could theoretically survive these encounters.
It’s all fun, all hypothetical, and all rooted in animal science and pure chaos.
⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This episode is 100% for fun. Do NOT approach or engage with wildlife—ever. Be smart, be respectful, and please don’t be the next person trending for trying to hug a bison.
🐜 Giant anteater vs. human tactics
🐺 Lone wolves, red kangaroos, and cassowary chaos
🦑 Octopus escape plans and questionable chokeholds
😂 Laughs, science, and bad life choices (imagined only!)
🎧 Kick off Season 13 with science, strategy, and sheer nonsense.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and listen closely… if you can. 👂
In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tune into one of the strangest modern mysteries: the Taos Hum.
Since the 1990s, people in Taos, New Mexico have reported a low, constant humming sound that only a small percentage of the population can hear. The rest? Silence.
🎧 What is the Taos Hum—and why can only some people hear it?
🌍 Is it microseismic vibrations from the Earth itself?
⚡ Could it come from hidden electrical or industrial sources?
🌬 Or is it all in the mind—a psychological echo that science can’t detect?
From tectonic tremors to infrasound, Katy and Laura explore every theory behind the hum that refuses to be recorded—and why some ears might just be more tuned to the planet than others.
🎧 This is part of our Nature Mysteries series—short, eerie, and full of science that’ll make your brain vibrate.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and embrace the glow of curiosity. 🔦
In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole investigate one of the most baffling natural light shows on Earth—the Hessdalen Lights of Norway. For over a century, glowing orbs have danced through a remote valley, pulsing, hovering, and splitting apart with no clear cause. Scientists have studied them for decades… and still, no one really knows what they are.
✨ What are the Hessdalen Lights, and how long have they been appearing?
📡 What did researchers discover using radar, magnetometers, and lasers?
🧲 Are they ball lightning, plasma, or something stranger?
👽 And what happens when you shine a laser at one (spoiler: it blinks back)
From magnetic anomalies to possible plasma reactions underground, this episode explores one of nature’s most haunting unsolved mysteries—where science meets the supernatural.
🎧 This is part of our Nature Mysteries series—short, weird, and scientifically unexplainable (for now).
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and let your curiosity get lost at sea (but like, safely). 🌊
In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into one of Earth’s most famous unsolved legends: the Bermuda Triangle—also known as the Devil’s Triangle.
For over a century, this stretch of ocean between Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico has been blamed for the mysterious disappearances of ships, planes, and the people aboard them. But is it really cursed—or just misunderstood?
🛩️ What really happened to Flight 19 in 1945?
🌊 Could methane bubbles or rogue waves swallow ships whole?
🧭 What’s up with those compasses that go haywire?
🌪 And why the Bermuda Triangle might not be as dangerous as everyone thinks
From magnetic anomalies to human error (and a sprinkle of 90s X-Files nostalgia), this episode separates science from sea legends—because sometimes the truth is stranger than the conspiracy.
🎧 This is part of our Nature Mysteries series—short, weird, and full of scientific “wait, what?!” moments.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tackle one of the biggest unanswered questions in planetary science: how was the Moon formed?
We look at what we do know—like why lunar rocks look almost identical to Earth’s, why one side of the Moon is thicker than the other, and why it’s slowly drifting away at 1.5 inches per year. Then we dig into the wild theories scientists are still testing:
🌑 The Giant Impact Hypothesis (a Mars-sized planet colliding with Earth)
🌋 Evidence that the Moon was once covered in a magma ocean
🧲 Why the Moon has less iron than Earth
🌀 And how some new models suggest the Moon formed in just… hours
It’s science, it’s speculation, and it’s the perfect reminder that even our closest neighbor in space is still one big mystery.
🎧 This is the first in our Nature Mysteries series—four bite-sized episodes digging into the weird questions science hasn’t solved (yet).
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
In this final Swarms Minisode of the season, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole lose their minds (in the best way) over the most chaotic, moon-synced crab love party on Earth: the migration of Christmas Island red crabs.
We’re talking:
🦀 50 to 100 million land crabs
🌧 Timed to what we're convinced is a witches curse....
🚧 Roads shut down
🌊 Pina colada breaks (probably)
💥 And babies launched off seaside cliffs like nature’s carpet bomb
This migration is so massive, locals build crab bridges and the entire island turns into one giant crustacean mosh pit.
But here’s the kicker—these crabs know how far they are from the ocean… AND what phase the moon is in. With brains the size of a Tic Tac.
🎧 Listen in for weird crab romance, the female egg drop of the century, and a surprising twist: these babies? They’re not just adorable—they’re lunch.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
In this explosive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole reveal the surprising truth: sometimes, nature chooses to self-destruct—and it's all part of the plan.
From exploding ants to salmon that spawn and die, and fungi that launch spores like botanical cannons, this episode dives into how death in nature isn't always failure—it's strategy.
💥 Why some creatures explode on purpose
🐟 How salmon die to feed the next generation
🌱 Which fungi use pressure to shoot spores into the wind
🐜 The gluey, horrifying world of exploding ants
🧬 And why your own body kills its own cells—on purpose
Whether it’s defending the colony, escaping danger, or creating new life, these self-destruct systems show just how weird, strategic, and shockingly brilliant evolution can be.
🎧 Listen in to learn how destruction can be nature’s ultimate power move.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and prepare yourself—because this time, the swarm doesn’t just chase... it devours.
In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the world of army ants, some of the most strategic, aggressive, and terrifyingly coordinated hunters on Earth. From building living bridges to raiding the forest floor with military precision, these ants don't forage… they sweep, and anything that can’t move fast enough is gone.
🐜 Why army ants don’t build nests—but become one
🚨 How their raids dismember prey in minutes
🧭 Why they create living bridges and run two-lane traffic systems
🌪 And how other species follow their swarms for leftovers (like antbirds!)
This is more than an ant episode—it’s a masterclass in swarm strategy, evolutionary teamwork, and why being organized is deadly.
🎧 This is episode 5 of our Swarms series—quick, chaotic, and scientifically intense.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
In this seed-sational episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dig into the unexpectedly wild world of seed dispersal. From coconuts floating across oceans to violets launching their seeds like botanical cannons, this episode explores the many weird and wonderful ways plants get around without walking.
🌊 How coconuts evolved to sail thousands of miles
🌬️ The physics behind parachuting and helicoptering seeds
🧲 The sticky science of clingers like burdock and chia
💥 Which plants explode their seeds like t-shirt cannons
🌍 And how human activity spreads (and sometimes ruins) plant travel
Whether you're a plant nerd or just into nature's weirdest survival tactics, this one's for you.
🎧 Listen to learn how seeds conquer new territory, how evolution shaped their rides, and why your burr-covered dog is basically a nature Uber.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe if you love science, chaos, and being mildly afraid of your backyard. 🐝
In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover facts around the infamous “killer bees”—a.k.a. Africanized honeybees. Spoiler: they don’t look scary, but they’ll chase you, sting in overwhelming numbers, and sometimes even wait above water for you to come up for air.
But is the fear justified?
🐝 What makes Africanized honeybees so aggressive?
🌎 How did a 1950s experiment in Brazil lead to bees chasing joggers in Arizona?
🧬 Why breeding for honey production + heat tolerance went very, very wrong
🏃♀️ And what to actually do if you’re attacked (yes, you should run—fast)
This episode unpacks the biology, history, and real risk of one of the world’s most feared swarming insects—and how they became a punchline and a public safety issue.
🎧 This is episode 4 of our Swarms series—short, punchy episodes exploring the wildest group behaviors in nature.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Ever wonder how birds, eels, whales, or even bugs find their way without a GPS? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the jaw-dropping science behind animal navigation.
From locusts using sky maps and magnetic fields, to eels migrating thousands of miles to a secret oceanic birthplace no one’s ever seen (seriously), and birds that may be using quantum mechanics to see the Earth’s magnetic field—it’s a global tour of natural way-finding.
🌎 How do animals "see" magnetic fields?
🧭 What is magnetoreception and how does it work?
🌌 Can birds actually use quantum mechanics to navigate?
🐟 Why do we still not know how eels reproduce?
This episode explores what researchers are learning—and why the military, ocean shippers, and conservationists are all paying attention.
🎧 Perfect for curious minds, nature nerds, and anyone who's ever questioned how animals seem to have better internal GPS than humans with smartphones.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe if you love science, chaos, and bugs that are way too confident.
In this Swarms Minisode, Katy dives into the desert locust, a grasshopper that transforms—literally—into one of the most devastating swarm creatures on Earth.
🦗 What causes a peaceful insect to go full apocalypse mode?
🌾 How do they morph from shy loners to yellow, muscle-bound sky-hulks?
🌪 What triggers a swarm so massive it consumes everything in its path—eating its body weight daily?
📈 And why can’t we stop them, even with modern tech?
From serotonin surges to plague-level salad destruction, this episode unpacks the shocking science behind locust swarms, how they form, what fuels them, and why the only thing that can stop them is literally nature itself.
🎧 This is episode 3 of our 6-part Swarms series—bite-sized, bizarre, and biologically unhinged. We know we had two mini episodes in a row, that was not intended, but sometimes life just gets in the way of our fun!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
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.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
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.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
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!
Send us a text
Subscribe and let your inner science goblin move into its own weird little ecosystem. 🦠
In the Season 12 kickoff of Wildly Curious, Katy and Laura reveal the bizarre—but very real—ecosystems thriving inside your house. From the Amazon rainforest of your belly button to the bug-filled biome behind your fridge, your home is alive in more ways than you think.
🦠 Why scientists swabbed hundreds of belly buttons to study bacteria
🍄 How household fungi can go from harmless to harmful
🪳 Which invertebrates are living behind your fridge—and why it’s a full ecosystem
🕷 And how centipedes and silverfish play unexpected roles in your home’s food web
This episode takes you room by room, crevice by crevice, revealing how even your cleanest spaces might be teeming with microbial life. But don’t panic—some of your grossest roommates might actually be the good guys.
🎧 Listen now to discover how your home is more alive than you thought—and what you can do to keep the ecosystem in balance.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and let your brain go on a weekly field trip. No permission slip required.
In this Volcano Minisode, Laura and Katy dive into the dramatic, deadly, and never-quite-dormant history of Mount Vesuvius, one of the most iconic volcanoes on Earth. From burying Pompeii in ash and pyroclastic waves to raining debris across the Mediterranean during WWII, Vesuvius has earned its title as the angriest volcano in history.
🌋 What makes Vesuvius so volatile?
🏛 What actually happened in 79 AD—and why didn’t anyone leave?
🔥 How has it erupted 31 times since forming only 17,000 years ago?
🌲 And why might trees be our new secret weapon in predicting eruptions?
From Roman cities turned to ash to trees tipping us off from space, this episode is a molten-hot blend of science, history, and nature’s chaos.
👉 This is episode 5 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bubbling with explosive facts.
🎧 Listen now and meet the volcano that refuses to hit snooze.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this Volcano Minisode, Katy introduces one of the most extreme animals on Earth: the scaly-foot gastropod, a deep-sea snail that literally builds metal armor from volcanic hydrothermal vents. Found over a mile below the ocean’s surface, this snail survives crushing pressure, toxic heat, and total darkness—all thanks to a symbiotic relationship with bacteria and its one-of-a-kind iron shell.
🧪 How does a snail use volcanic metals to build armor?
🌋 What makes hydrothermal vents so hostile—and so essential to life?
🧫 And who’s really in charge here… the snail or the bacteria living inside it?
This episode is a deep dive into extreme evolution, powered by volcanoes and gut flora. It’s weird, real, and one of the coolest stories in nature.
👉 This is episode 4 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts.
🎧 Listen now to meet Earth’s most metal mollusk.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
In this third Volcano Minisode, Katy digs into one of the coolest things a volcano has ever made: obsidian—a rock so sharp it's been shaping human history for 30,000 years and is still used in modern surgery. 🔪🖤
🌋 What exactly is obsidian and how is it formed?
⚡ How can lava turn into volcanic glass in a flash?
🩺 Why are obsidian scalpels sharper than steel—and still used today?
🛡 How did ancient people turn this into tools, weapons, and even mirrors?
From Stone Age scrapers to eye surgery scalpels, obsidian proves that volcanoes don’t just destroy—they create tools that changed the course of human evolution.
👉 This is episode 3 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts.
🎧 Listen now to discover why this rock deserves way more credit.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this second Volcano Minisode, Laura dives deep (literally) into one of Antarctica’s strangest secrets: how volcanic heat has carved out entire networks of hidden ice caves—warm, alien worlds tucked under the frozen surface. 🧊🔥
🌋 Why does Antarctica have 18 volcanoes?
🌡 How can you go from -30°F outside to 70°F inside a cave?
🧬 What strange DNA have scientists discovered in these hidden spaces?
🚪 And could these caves hold more life—or ancient secrets—than we realize?
From steaming caves to undiscovered species, it’s a chilling (and thrilling) glimpse into one of Earth's least understood frontiers.
👉 This is episode 2 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts.
🎧 Listen to find out why you’ll never look at Antarctica the same way again.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In the first Volcano Minisode of our season break, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover one of the wildest stories you've probably never heard: how an active volcano in Mexico accidentally buried—and preserved—the world’s largest pyramid. Yes, really.
🌋 What is Popocatépetl, and why is it still puffing smoke?
🏛 How did the Great Pyramid of Cholula disappear beneath volcanic ash?
📜 What ancient secrets were hiding under a grassy hill with a church on top?
🔥 And how can something as destructive as a volcano also protect history?
From drinking murals and five miles of hidden tunnels to short-stocky "unit pyramids" (you’ll get it), this minisode has all the chaos, science, and sarcasm you’ve come to expect.
👉 This is episode 1 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.
In this Season 11 finale of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole blow the lid off volcanoes—literally and figuratively. From earth-shaking eruptions and blue lava to the creation of entirely new islands, this episode dives into the molten madness of how volcanoes destroy, preserve, and even give life.
🌋 What exactly is a volcano?
🌎 Why do they erupt, and where can you find them?
⚡️ What’s up with volcanic lightning, blue lava, and weather eruptions?
🌱 And how do these fiery monsters build ecosystems in their wake?
Plus, the duo kicks off a new miniseries: all things found in volcanoes—from fossilized creatures to ancient civilizations.
👉 This episode is your launch point into that deep, explosive world.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this out-of-this-world episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tell the incredible—and deeply emotional—story of Ham the Chimp, the first hominid to survive spaceflight.
🧠 How was Ham trained to perform tasks during a rocket launch?
🚀 What made his 1961 mission so important to Project Mercury?
💔 And what did it cost to send an intelligent animal into space?
Ham wasn’t just a passenger—he was a pioneer who proved humans could survive and function in zero gravity. But his journey, from capture in the wild to high-speed spaceflight and life in a cage, raises profound questions about ethics, science, and the legacy of animal astronauts.
Whether you're a space exploration buff, an animal lover, or just someone who appreciates the messy intersection of science and humanity, this final episode of Cosmic Critters is one you won’t forget.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this out-of-this-world episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole unravel the story of two unexpected astronauts: Anita and Arabella, the garden spiders launched aboard Skylab 3 in 1973.
🕸️ Can spiders spin webs in zero gravity?
🕷️ How do they adapt without gravity to guide them?
🛰️ What can eight-legged astronauts teach us about behavior and resilience in space?
Anita and Arabella weren’t just part of a quirky science experiment—they were pioneers in understanding how instinctual behavior and motor coordination function in microgravity. From chaotic silk chaos to stunning symmetrical webs in just two days, these space spiders proved life can adapt in the most alien environments.
Whether you're an arachnid enthusiast, a space nerd, or just love weird science history, this episode is for you.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Why do we sleep? What’s going on in our brains while we dream about flying bagels and dolphin taxis? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole stay up late to explore the science of sleep, REM cycles, lucid dreaming, and why getting less than 5 hours can mess with your memory, mood, and metabolism.
🧠 From brain waves and neurotransmitters to memory formation and emotional resets
😴 The truth about sleep deprivation, circadian rhythms, and why you might be hallucinating
💭 Plus: weird dreams, sleepwalking, dream interpretation, and the neuroscience of it all
Whether you're curious about why sleep matters, how your brain detoxes overnight, or what dreams really mean, this episode has you covered—with science, laughter, and a few too many dolphin references.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Before astronauts, there were monkeynauts. In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the bizarre and often tragic history of the first primates sent to space—Albert I, II, III, and IV.
The U.S. was determined to test the limits of space travel, and what better way than by strapping a rhesus macaque to a rocket? Unfortunately for the Alberts, early spaceflight engineering wasn’t exactly foolproof (seriously, how hard is it to pack a working parachute?!). From launch failures to unexpected explosions, these monkeys became unwilling pioneers in the quest to understand weightlessness, high-altitude survival, and just how many things can go wrong in a single mission.
Join us as we unpack the history, science, and ethics of these doomed primate test pilots. If you love space history, weird animal experiments, and questioning past scientific decisions, this episode is for you!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
From sky-high lightning bolts that span hundreds of miles to walls of sand swallowing cities whole, extreme weather is wild—and sometimes, just plain weird. 🌩️💨 In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy and Laura break down some of nature’s most shocking meteorological events, including lightning that’s hotter than the sun, haboobs that turn day into night, and actual raining animals (yes, really).
But that’s not all! We also dive into pink snow (that smells like watermelon), blood rain, and the terrifying reality of firestorms that create their own weather systems. Whether you love a good thunderstorm or prefer to stay inside during a drizzle, this episode will have you looking at the sky in a whole new way.
🔊 Tune in for science, comedy, and the most bizarre weather facts you never knew you needed!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Frogs. In. Space. Yep, you read that right! In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole take you on a hilarious and mind-blowing journey into the weirdest space experiment you’ve probably never heard of—the Orbiting Frog Otolith mission.
Back in the 1970s, NASA decided that launching two bullfrogs into orbit was a great idea. Why? To study how weightlessness affects the inner ear and balance. But the story doesn’t stop there—these amphibian astronauts, named Pierre and Tinam, endured some wild conditions, from pressure changes to a rather unfortunate fate.
Join us as we dive into the bizarre, laugh at the absurd, and uncover why frogs were chosen for space travel in the first place. If you love strange science, history’s quirkiest experiments, or just want to hear about a frog named Pierre floating in space, this episode is for you!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Could dinosaurs be the next great delivery workers, pest control experts, or even search-and-rescue heroes? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole take a deep dive into the wild world of dinosaur training—imagining what it would take to turn prehistoric creatures into modern-day workers. From speedy compies delivering packages through city streets to armored Borealopelta stopping high-speed car chases, they explore the science behind animal training, intelligence, and behavior.
Packed with humor, science, and the ultimate “what if” scenarios, this episode is a must-listen for dinosaur lovers, science buffs, and anyone who’s ever wondered: Could you actually train a dinosaur?
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Blast off into the strange world of space-bound critters with Wildly Curious! In this episode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the bizarre true story of Félicette—the first (and only) cat launched into space. From rigorous astronaut training (including high-G centrifuge spins) to a suborbital flight with no windows, Félicette’s journey was as weird as it was historic.
Why did France decide to send a stray tuxedo cat into the cosmos? What did scientists hope to learn? And how does Félicette’s story compare to other space animals like Laika? With a mix of humor and deep dives into science history, this episode explores one of the most unexpected tales of the space race.
Whether you’re a space buff, science enthusiast, or just love a wild story, this episode has something for everyone!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy and Laura dive deep into the prehistoric past to separate dinosaur fact from fiction. From Hollywood myths to groundbreaking discoveries, they explore how our understanding of dinosaurs has evolved over time. Were all dinosaurs cold-blooded? Did they all go extinct at the same time? What even is a dinosaur? Prepare to have your dino knowledge challenged as they break down the latest fossil evidence, debunk common misconceptions, and reveal the fascinating science behind these ancient creatures.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Blast off with Wildly Curious as Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole launch into the incredible story of Laika, the first living creature to orbit Earth. This fearless stray dog from the streets of Moscow became a space pioneer aboard Sputnik 2, forever changing our understanding of space travel. But her journey wasn’t just about science—it was a tale of sacrifice, Cold War competition, and the early days of the space race.
From the first fruit flies sent skyward to the wild world of animal astronauts, this episode kicks off our explores the unexpected ways animals shaped human spaceflight. With a mix of humor and history, Katy and Laura unravel the legacy of Laika and the groundbreaking (and sometimes heartbreaking) missions that paved the way for human exploration beyond our planet.
Whether you’re a space enthusiast, science history buff, or just love a good underdog story, this episode is a must-listen!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Dive into the mysterious world of freshwater ecosystems with Wildly Curious! In this episode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover some of the strangest and most fascinating creatures lurking in rivers and lakes worldwide. From the razor-toothed vampire fish of the Amazon to the ancient Chinese giant salamander, and even the armored Arapaima of the Amazon River Basin, each bizarre species has evolved incredible adaptations for survival. With a mix of humor and deep dives into science, this episode reveals why freshwater ecosystems are home to some of the most freaky and fascinating creatures on Earth.
Whether you’re a nature enthusiast, science buff, or just curious about the weird wonders of water, this episode has something for everyone!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this final episode of the Bog Banter mini-series, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the story of the Gundestrup Cauldron—a massive silver artifact found buried in a Danish bog. Dating back to 150 BC, this intricately carved cauldron features mysterious depictions of gods, warriors, and mythical creatures from Celtic and Thracian cultures. Was it a sacred offering, war treasure, or something even more ominous? Katy and Laura delve into the theories behind its dismantling, burial, and its journey from southeastern Europe to Denmark. Join them as they explore the fascinating blend of archaeology, mythology, and history surrounding this incredible find.
Perfect for history lovers, archaeology enthusiasts, and anyone captivated by ancient mysteries and cultural connections!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into a truly mind-boggling discovery—literally! Learn about the astonishing find of a fossilized dinosaur brain, uncovered in a tide pool in southern England. Preserved by bog-like conditions over 133 million years, this rare fossil reveals intricate details of a plant-eating dinosaur’s brain, including its cortex, capillaries, and even the folds and wrinkles. Katy and Laura explore how the unique chemistry of bogs led to this extraordinary preservation and what it tells us about dinosaur intelligence and evolution.
Perfect for paleontology fans, science enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the marvels of fossilization and prehistoric life!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this eerie mini-sode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the hauntingly well-preserved story of the Tollund Man. Found in a Danish peat bog in 1950, this Iron Age figure still has intact skin, facial features, and even his last meal in his stomach! Katy and Laura explore the mysterious rituals surrounding his death, why bogs preserve bodies so well, and what his discovery reveals about Iron Age life. Was he a human sacrifice to appease the gods, or does his peaceful expression suggest something more profound?
Perfect for fans of archaeology, history buffs, and anyone fascinated by the macabre wonders of our natural world.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this festive episode of Wildly Curious, Laura sits down with food scientist Sarah Oster to explore the science behind staying safe in the kitchen during the holidays. From understanding the microbial risks of your favorite dishes to food safety tips that can prevent holiday disasters, Sarah shares insights from her 10+ years in food science. Learn about the surprising truths of food contamination, the "danger zone," and why cross-contamination is a bigger issue than you think. Whether you’re hosting a feast or simply reheating leftovers, this episode is packed with practical advice and quirky science facts to keep you informed (and healthy!) this season.
Perfect for anyone curious about the science of food or looking to avoid food poisoning over the holidays!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this fascinating episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole unravel the eerie tale of ancient bog bodies found in South Uist, Scotland. These Bronze Age remains aren’t your typical archaeological find—they’re stitched-together puzzles of multiple individuals, preserved in bogs and buried beneath a 3,000-year-old house. Explore the mysteries behind these Frankenstein-like creations, how bogs preserve bodies with their unique chemistry, and the theories about why ancient people may have created such bizarre ancestral fusions.
Perfect for history buffs, archaeology enthusiasts, and anyone who loves a strange, unsolved mystery, this episode will leave you wondering about the secrets bogs still hold.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss teams up with a special guest (her son, Lukas!) to kick off a mini-series exploring the bizarre and fascinating things found in bogs. Discover the strange world of bog butter—a 3,500-year-old lump of butter preserved so well that it’s technically still edible. Learn why bogs are nature's refrigerators, the ecological importance of these wetland wonders, and the cultural significance of butter in ancient times. Packed with fascinating insights and hilarious commentary brought by Lukas, this episode is perfect for curious minds and those who love a good laugh with their science.
Perfect for history buffs, nature enthusiasts, and anyone intrigued by the oddities of our world.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole wrap up their cave mini-series with an awe-inspiring journey into Son Doong, the world’s largest cave located in Vietnam. Discovered in 1990 and mapped just over a decade ago, this cave is a geological marvel with skylights revealing lush rainforests, rivers winding through its depths, and colossal stalagmites towering 80 meters high. Join Katy and Laura as they delve into the science, history, and sheer wonder of this breathtaking underground world. From exploring its endemic species to dreaming of visiting its unspoiled beauty, this episode takes you straight into the heart of one of Earth’s most extraordinary places.
Perfect for adventurers, nature enthusiasts, and anyone captivated by the unknown!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this insightful episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive deep into the world of ADHD. From the brain’s unique wiring to the day-to-day challenges and incredible strengths of those with ADHD, this episode explores it all. Learn about the science behind impulsivity, forgetfulness, and hyperfocus, as well as how reframing ADHD can uncover the power and potential within. Whether you have ADHD, love someone who does, or simply want to learn more, join Katy and Laura for a heartfelt and humorous exploration of what it means to live with an ADHD brain.
Perfect for anyone curious about neuroscience, personal growth, or strategies for thriving with ADHD!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this captivating episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole delve into the ancient history of Cheddar Man, a 9,000-year-old skeleton discovered in the Cheddar Gorge caves of England. Known for his unexpectedly dark skin, blue eyes, and curly hair, Cheddar Man has puzzled scientists and enthusiasts alike. Uncover the story of his discovery, what his remains reveal about Mesolithic life, and the astonishing connection to a modern-day descendant still living in Somerset. Join Katy and Laura as they explore the fascinating world of ancient Britain and the surprising clues that human remains can hold about our past.
Perfect for fans of archaeology, British history, and mysteries that bridge the ancient and modern worlds!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the mesmerizing world of bioluminescence, exploring how animals, plants, fungi, and even bacteria light up the natural world. From deep-sea fish with built-in flashlights to fungi glowing in forests, discover the surprising science and evolution behind nature’s glow. Why do creatures glow? Is it a defense mechanism, a hunting tactic, or a way to find love? Uncover the fascinating reasons bioluminescence has evolved and how these light-producing marvels use their radiance to survive.
Perfect for anyone enchanted by the mysteries of nature or curious about what lights up our planet in the dark!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole venture into one of Earth’s most extreme environments: the Cave of Crystals in Naica, Mexico. Discovered in 2000, this surreal underground world holds colossal gypsum crystals, some reaching over 30 feet in length and weighing as much as 55 tons. With temperatures soaring up to 122°F and nearly 100% humidity, the cave is as hostile as it is mesmerizing. Discover the science behind these mammoth crystals, the unique conditions that allowed them to form, and the challenges scientists face while studying them. Join Katy and Laura as they delve into the mysteries of this geological wonder.
Perfect for science enthusiasts, geology buffs, and anyone captivated by the extreme and unusual wonders of our planet!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu, a massive subterranean metropolis in Turkey. Accidentally discovered in the 1960s, this hidden city could house up to 20,000 people and features everything from stables to chapels. Learn how this Byzantine-era marvel was used as a refuge from invaders and natural disasters, and uncover the innovative engineering that still amazes archaeologists today. Tune in as Katy and Laura dive deep into this underground wonder and discuss what life would have been like for its ancient inhabitants.
Perfect for history enthusiasts and anyone curious about underground mysteries!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this laugh-out-loud episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole put their stealth skills to the test in a hilarious exploration of what animals they think they could sneak up on and jump. From cows to quokkas, and even houseflies, the duo breaks down the science, strategy, and surprises behind the animals' senses and reflexes. They dive into fun animal facts and make bold claims—could you really jump a deer, or maybe even a manatee? Whether you’re a nature lover or just curious about bizarre challenges, this episode is packed with humor and wild possibilities!
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
Join Katy and L in this Wildly Curious episode as they dive into the Qumran Caves, home to the Dead Sea Scrolls, one of the most significant finds in biblical archaeology. Discover the ancient Jewish sects, including the Essenes, who may have lived in these caves, and the remarkable manuscripts they left behind. From the Isaiah Scroll to the mysterious Copper Scroll—a treasure map etched in metal—the episode explores the religious, cultural, and historical significance of these 2,000-year-old artifacts. Whether you’re fascinated by ancient history, archaeological treasures, or the mysteries of the past, this episode is packed with insights into the rich legacy of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Support the show
🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!
Send us a text
In this episode of Wildly Curious, we dive into the fascinating world of bird flight and explore the physics behind it. From the elegant gliding of the albatross to the record-breaking speed of the peregrine falcon and the astonishing agility of the hummingbird, these birds have evolved extraordinary adaptations that allow them to navigate the skies with ease. We'll break down how feathers, wings, and body shape evolved to create these flying pros. Plus, we’ll tackle some fun hypotheticals—like what happens when you drop an elephant from a plane! Whether you're a nature enthusiast or a physics fan, this episode is sure to soar to the top of your playlist.
Wild Times: Wildlife Education
Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
Be sure to check us out and support us on Patreon!
Send us a text
In this special episode, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the big decision behind changing the podcast name from For the Love of Nature to Wildly Curious. After 3.5 years of exploring quirky nature facts, science, and conservation, the hosts share why this renaming was crucial for expanding their reach and improving discoverability. Listen in as they discuss their roots in nature education, their success climbing the podcast charts, and how they stumbled upon the new name. If you’ve been part of the Nature Nerd Nation, don’t worry—same science, same stories, same goofy cohost duo. Join the conversation and stay curious as Laura and Katy take Wildly Curious to the next level!
Support the show
Be sure to check us out and support us on Patreon!
Send us a text
In this episode of For the Love of Nature, Katy and Laura continue their Cave Chronicles series, uncovering one of nature’s coolest and most unexpected secrets—the Siberian Unicorn! Found in a remote cave in Kazakhstan, this massive creature is more rhino than fairy tale, boasting an 8-foot-tall, 15-foot-long frame with a 6-10 foot keratin horn.
Join the duo as they dive into the science of this prehistoric beast, its Ice Age survival, and its mysterious extinction. Was it climate change, human interference, or something else? Discover how this find changed everything we thought we knew about the timeline of ancient megafauna. Plus, Katy hilariously attempts to pronounce its scientific name (and fails)! 🤣
If you love crazy cave discoveries and prehistoric animals, this episode is for you!
Support the show
Be sure to check us out and support us on Patreon!
Send us a text
In this feel-good episode of For the Love of Nature, Laura and Katy explore the unexpected friendships between animals that defy the laws of nature. From capybaras cuddling with all kinds of creatures to the famous bond between Koko the gorilla and her beloved kitten, All Ball, get ready for heartwarming tales of animals showing that friendship knows no species. Whether it’s a protective donkey guiding a blind cow or a giraffe and ostrich forming an unusual bond, these odd animal pairs will melt your heart. Tune in for some "chicken soup for the soul" nature stories!
Wild Times: Wildlife Education
Wildlife mysteries, crazy news, and daring animal stories—listen now!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
Be sure to check us out and support us on Patreon!
Send us a text
Explore the hidden wonders of Movile Cave, a 5.5 million-year-old subterranean world cut off from sunlight and life as we know it. Join Laura and Katy as they dive into the mysteries of this unique ecosystem, where life thrives through chemosynthesis and over 51 species have adapted to an extreme environment. Discover the fascinating science behind this UNESCO World Heritage Site and the astonishing creatures that call it home. Tune in for this thrilling episode of 'For the Love of Nature.'
Support the show
Be sure to check us out and support us on Patreon!
Send us a text
After a 10-month break, Laura and Katy return with a deep dive into the fascinating world of microecosystems. In this episode, they explore the tiny but mighty environments of epiphytes and mosses, revealing how these miniature ecosystems are teeming with life and play a crucial role in larger ecological systems. Discover the incredible biodiversity of these small worlds, from tardigrades to moss piglets, and learn how these overlooked habitats contribute to our planet's health. Join us as we kick off the new season of For the Love of Nature with laughter, science, and a renewed passion for the wonders of nature's tiny miracles.
Support the Show.
Be sure to check us out and support us on Patreon!
We’ve all heard of climate change, but what does that really mean? Katy and Laura explain what climate change is and human-induced climate change is the largest threat our world faces right now. Don’t worry though, it isn’t all bad news! Learn about how we can all take actions toward making a better future.
Support the Show.
For over 100,000 years, humans have developed a wide variety of rituals and practices after the death of their loved ones. But are humans the only animals that have these practices or exhibit grief? Katy and Laura dig into how elephants and lemurs are just two species that show that non-human animals mourn their dead in ways very similar to us.
Warning: this episode contains examples and anecdotes of death and loss regarding both humans and animals.
Support the Show.
Not all top predators have to be as large as tigers and bears. As "fun size" humans, Katy and Laura have an appreciation for animals that are small but fierce. In this episode, they discuss some of nature's most incredible and deadly tiny predators.
Support the Show.
Join Laura and Katy for....we don't know what week it is.....but this week on Beastly Ballers we're going to face off University of Georgia vs. University of Kentucky for college football. For the NFL this week, the Philadelphia Eagles take on the LA Rams......or is it the other way around? Find out who Laura and Katy pick and why they suddenly have become mini Tennessee Titans fans.
Support the Show.
Week 3 of the football mascot battle is here! This week in college football it’s Colorado State vs Colorado, and in the NFL, Houston Texans vs Indianapolis Colts. Mascot Chaos vs Actual Reason, is tied in the series, so let’s see who will come out victorious in today’s episode!
Support the Show.
How much do you really know about sharks? Can you tell fact from fiction? In this week's episode, Laura and Katy go snout to snout to see who can spot the lies when it comes to these amazing aquatic predators!
Support the show
Join Laura and Katy, hosts of For the Love of Nature, for a fun miniseries: Beastly Ballers. They will be joined by a special guest Donnie "Hail Mary Hootenanny" Martin, a football analyst, as they dive into the quirky world of college football and NFL predictions based on mascots. In this episode, they dissect the showdown between Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns. Get ready for hilarious mascot battles and some football insights. Who will emerge victorious on the field and in the cage? Tune in to find out!
Support the show
Join Laura and Katy, hosts of For the Love of Nature, for a fun miniseries: Beastly Ballers. They will be joined by a special guest Donnie "Baton Rouge Bruiser" Martin, a football analyst, as they dive into the quirky world of college football predictions based on mascots. In this episode, they dissect the showdown between North Carolina's Tar Heels and South Carolina's Gamecocks, followed by the clash between Penn State's Nittany Lion and West Virginia University's Mountaineer. Get ready for hilarious mascot battles and some football insights, with a touch of Southern charm and humor. Who will emerge victorious on the field and in the cage? Tune in to find out!
Support the show
In this episode of For the Love of Nature, hosts Laura and Katy dive into the world of renewable energy, spotlighting geothermal and solar power. Discover the process of harnessing Earth's heat for clean energy and explore how much Laura and Katy really don't know about electricity. Join us in understanding these eco-friendly energy sources and their role in nurturing nature.
Support the show
Discover the truth behind common animal myths in this engaging episode of 'For the Love of Nature.' Hosted by Laura and Katy, this nature comedy podcast takes a dive into the world of animal misconceptions. From bear hibernation to chameleon color-changing abilities, lone wolf behaviors, and even Ted Lasso's slip-up about goldfish memory, Laura and Katy separate fact from fiction with a humorous twist. Tune in to unravel the mysteries of nature and have a laugh along the way. Get ready to challenge what you know about animals in this enlightening and entertaining podcast episode.
visit our website and merch!
Support the show
Step into the world of Disney as we explore the accuracy of nature in films like The Emperor's New Groove, Robin Hood, A Bug's Life, and The Jungle Book. From waterfalls to prehistoric animals being brought back to life, join Laure & Katy as they separate fact from fiction and discover the true wonders of the natural world behind these beloved classics.
Support the show
Let's do a throwback episode to one of our more aggressive episodes...
Another "Could You...?" episode. This time Laura and Katy ask each other "Could You Fight That?" They're not looking to pick a fight, but could they survive one if the fight comes to them? Listen to find out!
No animals were harmed in the research done for this episode.
Support the show
While many of us have seen a chiropractor for our aches and pains, did you know that animals can see a chiropractor too? In this episode, Laura interviews Dr Lauren Alexander, co-founder of Champion Chiropractic Clinic. Lauren explains how similar chiropractic care is for both humans and animals, how it can improve overall quality of life and how to tell if your animal companion could use a visit. From snakes to horses, and all animals in between, animal chiropractic care might be just what your pet needs.
For more information check out:
www.championchiropracticclinic.com
www.facebook.com/championchiropracticofarkansas
www.animalchiropractic.org
ivca.de
Support the show
Fireworks have entranced humans for over 2000 years and continue to be a part of many celebrations. Join Katy and Laura as they go over the origin of fireworks and the science behind what creates those beautiful, loud explosions.
Happy Independence Day to all our American listeners! Because nothing says "America" like blowing stuff up...
Support the show
Today we're talking about Katy's brain child and company, The Curiosity Network!🧠 Discover a world of curiosity and creativity with The Curiosity Network, a platform empowering individuals to unleash their creative potential. Join us in this insightful podcast episode as we sit down with The Curiosity Network's founder (our very own Katy!), to explore their comprehensive podcast solutions, online learning & workshops, merchandise & product support, and tailored strategies & consultations...and how YOU can be a part of it all.
Tune in for inspiring conversations, fuel your creative journey and unlock new realms of possibility. Don't miss out on this captivating episode with The Curiosity Network, your gateway to unlimited inspiration, learning, and connection.
The Curiosity Network website
The Orca Alliance Hat (part of the proceeds going to orca conservation)
The Curiosity Network's Twitter
Support the show
Minerals have always been essential to life on Earth, but they have taken on greater meaning and value to humans throughout the ages. From creating the first sparks of a manmade fire and cave painting, to making a call on a cell phone or telling the time on your watch, minerals have shaped our culture. In this episode, Laura and Katy discuss what minerals are and what makes gems so special.
Support the show
As incredible, complicated and sometimes even brutal as nature is, we don't have to always take it seriously. Join Katy and Laura for a "try not to laugh" challenge and hear some of the corniest nature jokes out there. Suns out puns out!
Support the show
We humans have social ties to family, friends, communities, and other human beings. These bonds can be complicated and convoluted, but we are by no means the only animal to have complex social lives. Katy and Laura explore the social intelligence of of several different species who have more in common with us than many would think.
Support the show
We are jumping in the deep end to start of Season 8 with another Living Things taxonomy episode! Jellyfish, coral, and anemones all have one thing in common....they're all cnidarians. Katy and Laura explain that although cnidarians may seem alien and unknown, they are some of the most fascinating creatures in our oceans. From nematocysts to immortality, you won't want to miss our 100th episode!
Support the show
In this mini episode of For the Love of Nature, Allison Black and her guest, Amanda Jacobson, talk about what it's like to work as a biological science technician and plankton lab technician on one of NOAA's ship. Amanda explains how she collects plankton samples and shares some of the surprising creatures they've found. She also talks about the challenges of working on a ship, such as adjusting to the nocturnal schedule. Tune in to learn about the fascinating world of plankton and what it's really like to work on a ship.
Support the show
In part 3 of this mini episode series of "For the Love of Nature", Alison Black joins us from aboard a NOAA ship at sea once again. Allison and her guest, Mary Applegate, a marine mammal observer, discuss the two teams of observers on the survey, their typical day on the ship, and how they record sightings in the ocean. Mary also talks about the acoustics part of their work, where they deploy a recorder to listen to ocean noise and marine mammals.
Support the show
In this episode, we continue our mini-series aboard NOAA's ship and join Allison Black and her guest Heidi Malicia, a marine mammal scientific observer, as they discuss their work in counting protected species like whales, and dolphins. Heidi talks about how they use the "big eyes" to contribute to an ongoing research project. This project, the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program, is focused on identifying and counting protected species. Heidi shares her favorite aspect of her job, and what people would think might be surprised to know about life at sea.
Follow us as we continue on our journey with NOAA!
Support the show
It's a season break here on For the Love of Nature, so that means it's minisode time!
In this episode of the mini series, guest Allison Black, a seabird Observer and contractor for NOAA, discusses what it's like to work offshore on NOAA's research vessels, recording seabirds and other birds. Allison shares her experiences of identifying and observing a variety of seabirds for extended periods of time, gaining valuable skills and experience, and seeing rare birds that most people never get the chance to see. She also reveals what life on a ship is really like, including the duration of research cruises, the differences between research vessels and cruise ships, and the challenges of being at sea for an extended period of time.
Support the show
In the Season 7 finale episode of "For the Love of Nature," host Katy speaks with Jeff Seevers about the harmful impact of zebra mussels on Texas waters. Zebra mussels are an invasive species that have spread rapidly across North America and can cause significant damage to aquatic ecosystems. Jeff shares his expertise on the topic, explaining why zebra mussels are a threat and what can be done to prevent their spread. Tune in to learn more about the importance of protecting our natural resources from harmful invasive species.
Support the show
Humans have always been nervous about nocturnal creatures, and bats are no exception. Fear not dear listeners! Laura and Katy will help you to appreciate, and potentially even love, bats as much as they do. Find out all about flying foxes and flittermice in today’s episode!
Support the show
In today’s episode Laura and Katy talk to horticulturalist and Texas Tech lecturer Dr. Vikram Baliga! Vikram, Laura and Katy talk about everything from hydroponic systems and urban community gardens, to Vikram’s best plant voice and his new book coming out this July: Plants to the Rescue. Listen in and then jump over to Vikram’s podcast Planthropology!
To learn more about Dr Vikram Baliga
- https://www.planthropologypod.com/
- Instagram @planthropologypod and @the.plant.prof
- Twitter and Facebook @Planthropology
- TikTok @theplantprof
- https://www.depts.ttu.edu/plantresources/Pages/contacts/baliga_v.php
Support the show
To kick off National Amphibian Month, Laura and Katy are joined by Dr Kerry Kriger from SAVE THE FROGS! This incredible non-profit is the most effective amphibian conservation organization in the world. Hear about the many projects they are involved in and learn ways that you too can help save the frogs.
To learn more about SAVE THE FROGS!
- https://savethefrogs.com/
- Subscribe to their newsletter at https://savethefrogs.com/newsletters/
- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Discord, Pinterest, LinkedIn @savethefrogs
Support the show
All over the world there are tales of creatures that science hasn’t yet acknowledged. Many of us have heard about Bigfoot, but this week Katy and Laura want to introduce you to some of the lesser-known cryptids. Could they be real?
Support the show
Spruces, ginkgos, cycads, and all the other gymnosperms have no problem with vulnerability even though their seeds are naked. These hearty plants have been around for over 300 million years with some individuals more than 2000 years old! Laura and Katy explain what makes these plants unique and how they can be considered “fine lookin trees.”
Support the show
Who doesn’t like a good survivor story? Today, Laura and Katy talk about some species who have survived mass extinctions and remain relatively unchanged. These living fossils help us to imagine what our planet looked like millions of years ago and how evolution has changed things. They are the embodiment of the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Support the show
Many of us are familiar with measurements such as feet, kilometers per hour, and pounds, but what about donkeypower? Laura and Katy each explain some unusual units of measurement that include natural objects. Can you figure out what the measurement means?
Support the show
This Valentine’s Day, Katy and Laura are throwing away the romance in exchange for the cold, unfeeling science behind “love.” Romantic love impacts both our brains and our bodies, sometimes in permanent ways. Is love just a chemical cocktail, or something more?
Support the show
Laura and Katy are starting off Season 7 with a bite!
Both of these nature nerds will do a lot for food, but it is nothing compared to the animals they discuss in today’s episode. Discover some incredible adaptations animals have developed to fit their “foodie” lifestyles.
Support the show
In the final minisode of the Season 6 break, Katy & Laura play a ridiculously noisy game. Each mimics several animals while the other guesses what it might be. Can you guess the animal before they do?
And remember, next week starts Season 7! This will be one for all our fellow foodies...
Support the show
Did you know that salamanders were once thought to be mythical creatures? Born from fire, these little amphibians could strike terror into the hearts of grown men. Find out the truth behind the myth in this week's minisode.
Support the show
Horse girls unite! This week, Kim turns her attention to, arguably, the most well-known mythical creature: the unicorn. Unsurprisingly, this majestic horse with a horn has way more to its story than what meets the eye.
Support the show
This week, Kim releases the kraken.
The kraken is a behemoth creature that looms in the oceans, waiting for unsuspecting sailors to fall victim to its grasp. Let’s just put it this way: The kraken gives the “ten tickles” joke a whole new meaning.
Support the show
With the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, the griffin is a formidable creature. But where on earth did the idea of the griffin come from, and how did this great animal mashup become a staple of human history?
Support the show
While Laura and Katy take some time off to prepare for season 7, Kim is back with another round of mini episodes! For the next four weeks, she’ll cover the real origins of mythical creatures. This week, Kim overcomes her deep-seeded fears to discuss the many-headed hydra.
Support the show
Why do you love nature? Is it the cool animals? The beautiful sunsets? Peaceful birdsong? In the Season 6 finale, we hear from not only Laura, but many younger listeners as to why they love nature. Let their passion inspire you!
Thank you to everyone who submitted audio clips and emails!
Support the show
Sometimes the nature around us can feel totally random, but is there more organization than what meets the eye? This week, Laura and Katy explore their least favorite subject (mathematics), but in the context of their most favorite subject (nature)! Though the beauty and complexity of nature can be explained through math, is this a human construct or a fundamental law of the physical world? Tune in to find out!
Support the show
**Since Katy has been out of town with family and Laura has been drowning in school work, adult responsibilities and baby snot, they decided to give themselves a break and do a minisode this week.
Have you wondered how these two nerds got to be such good friends? Join Laura as she recounts how she and Katy met, formed a lasting friendship and a few of their memorable moments along the way. Welcome to the formation of the nature nerd nation!**
Support the show
If you’re a fan of yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha, wine or beer, this episode is for you! This week, Katy and Laura enter the stinky, yet satisfying, world of fermentation. Originally used as a way to preserve foods, people throughout history have harnessed that power for culinary good—and created some delectable food and drink with the outcome.
One thing’s for sure: You’ll want to come hungry to this episode. Don’t forget your eatin’ pants!
Support the show
What do cephalopods and science communication have in common? None other than this week’s special guest, Dr. Sarah McAnulty! Not only is she a squid biologist, science communicator, and street artist, she’s the founder of Skype a Scientist—a nonprofit organization that connects scientists and students (and lifelong learners) around the world through live video chats..
Join Laura, Katy, and Sarah as they dissect what makes squid (and other cephalopods) so incredible and why sharing science in a compelling and easily understood way is so important.
If you’d like to learn more about Sarah:
- https://www.skypeascientist.com/
- Twitter Insta, and tiktok @SarahMackAttack
- Support the squid facts hotline with our merch at Squidfacts.bigcartel.com
- https://linktr.ee/SarahMackAttack
Support the show
Have you ever wondered how the big bad wolf managed to wear grandma’s clothing and trick Little Red Riding Hood? Or which species of bean plant could actually grow tall enough to reach giants in the sky? (And while we’re at it, why are there giants in the sky anyway?) This week, Katy and Laura take a look at the scientific accuracy of fairy tales—what they got right, what they most definitely didn’t, and what these stories would sound like if the authors couldn’t take creative liberties.
Support the show
We’ve become pretty well-acquainted with viruses in the past few years. (Thanks, worldwide pandemic.) This week, Katy and Laura take a deep dive into what a virus is, really. It feels alive, but is it? And how do they affect different species and their evolution.
Support the show
Beyond figuring out what to wear and whether we need to grab an umbrella before we head out the door, weather has a huge impact on our lives. And for centuries, humans have created all sorts of folklore to attempt to predict it. In this week’s episode, Laura and Katy explore different weather folklore expressions to see if any of them hold true—or if they’ve been debunked.
Support the show
This week, Laura is joined by Caitlin and John Michael to discuss the benefits of farming sustainably. From crop rotation to heritage breeds, learn why sustainable farming is critical to the health of not only humans, but the entire planet. Discover some organizations that are already taking steps in the right direction and how you can too!
Support the show
Reds, oranges, yellows, and even purples, the forest is ablaze with color during autumn. The true beauty of leaves are revealed as they begin to die. What causes this incredible change? Are there factors that affect the color? Where can you experience the best fall foliage? All these questions and more are answered by Laura and Katy in this week’s episode.
Support the show
Have you ever been enchanted by a lush, green patch of moss? What about a magical fern-filled forest? In today’s episode, Laura and Katy discover what makes these “primitive plants” anything but boring.
Support the show
Have you ever imagined what the world would be like if humans had a neck like a giraffe? What about a pouch like a kangaroo? Or regenerating limbs like a starfish? Laura and Katy are kicking off Season 6 by answering questions just like these. I mean, really, could you imagine if humans had a blowhole like a dolphin?
Support the show
Because they’re considered one of the most feared animals by humans, spiders tend to get a bad rap. And Kim’s relationship with them has also been…tumultuous. In today’s mini episode, Kim shares how a life-changing volunteer opportunity AND our favorite bug guy, Josh, helped her overcome her fears and learn to love these many-legged friends.
And don’t forget—Katy and Laura will be back next week with a brand new season of For the Love of Nature!
Support the show
Strong, sturdy, and sometimes bearing delicious food, trees are an underrated part of any ecosystem. In this week’s mini episode, Kim takes a closer look at her favorite tree, the maple, and the many gifts it’s given her over the years.
Support the show
Another mini episode with Kim! Kim has a storied past with outdoor plants. And it took practically chasing her boss through a field of wildflowers for her to see these brilliant blooms in a new light. In this mini episode, Kim talks about how her interest in native plants, specifically coneflowers, took root.
Support the show
**While Laura and Katy take some time off to prepare for season 6, Kim is taking over the podcast with some mini episodes! For the next four weeks, she’ll cover topics that fit into a larger theme—affectionately called “Nature Near You”.
This week is for the birds…and how Kim learned to appreciate the feathered, flighted creatures in her backyard.**
Support the show
For the season 5 finale (can you believe it?), we’ve put together a highlight reel of the FTLON team’s favorite belly laugh moments. From Katy mispronouncing all the Latin words to Laura’s T-shirt worthy “slow motion hoes,” this episode is sure to have you rolling. Did your top clip make the list?
Support us on Patreon!
Support the show
Sometimes, relationships with plants and animals can be toxic. Literally. In this episode, Katy and Laura share the difference between venoms and poisons as well as some amazing examples of those toxic traits in our natural world.
Support the show
Have you ever wondered how a space goes from empty public land to a hiking and biking trail-filled outdoor adventure? Or maybe why it seems like more people are spending time recreating outside? Join Laura and Kim—along with special guest Leah Beck, Recreational Use Manager for a global nonprofit—as they discover what it really takes to build a trail, along with human impacts to natural places and how we all can help minimize them.
Support the show
Get ready for an auditory experience from the underground! In this week’s episode, not only are Laura and Katy hanging out in person for the first time in a long time, they’re exploring the largest cave system in Pennsylvania–the Laurel Caverns. Join them in this 52-degree sandstone palace as they get their fix of stalactites, stalagmites, and other cool cave features.
Support the show
As the tide rises and falls each day, it leaves behind salty pools of ocean water in rock depressions near the shore. Though these tidal pools are quite small—and can be harsh habitats—they contain amazing, varied ecosystems. Join Katy Laura as they explore the four tidal zones and the incredible species that live there in this week’s episode.
Support the show
You may have heard about people who snack on crickets or pill-ify placenta, but have you ever had a Sourtoe Cocktail? Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. And no, we didn’t think so either.
**In this week’s episode, Katy and Laura explore the world of extreme food and drink—from their perspective as two goofy Americans. Which items would they try, and which are a hard pass?
This episode contains sexual content and human remains**
Support the show
From the boiling geysers of Yellowstone, to the frigid valleys of Antarctica, the earth is full of inhospitable habitats. Yet despite these harsh conditions, life manages to find a way to survive. Join Laura and Katy as they virtually travel to a few of these places to better understand how plants, animals, and other living things managed to thrive in these desolate environments.
Support the show
Sustainability. We hear that (very important) buzzword all the time, but when it comes to making earth-friendly choices, it can be hard to know where to start. Join Laura and Katy as they talk about what they do and what they wish they could do on their quest to live a more sustainable life.
Support the show
Yo ho, yo ho! This week, Laura is joined by guest host Paul Csomo to delve into pirates’ unique connection with nature. From using wind and currents to navigate ships to knowing which animals and plants held nutritional or medicinal value, pirates had to be familiar with nature in order to survive as a seafarer.
Check out this episode wherever you get your podcasts.
And don’t forget to check out Paul’s new podcast, Avast!, which explores the golden age of piracy and can be found on all major podcast platforms!
Support the show
In this week’s episode, Laura and Katy spar on the worst of the worst, the creatures they love to hate—the animals they could do without. Some of these you definitely have heard before (cough pandas cough), but others may come as a surprise. Find out which host condemned a dog breed on her top five list, along with all the other creatures they’d like to forget exist, wherever you get your podcasts.
Support the show
People are pretty well-versed in charismatic megafauna–lions and tigers and bears (and others) oh my! But have you thought about protists recently? We didn’t think so.
These single-celled organisms, though tiny, are essential to life on Earth. Find out more about their characteristics, purpose, and why they’re so important in today’s episode!
Support the show
Welcome back, Nature Nerds!
Let’s kick off season five with some real tools—or tool users, rather. Tool use is considered a sign of high intelligence, but did you know that more than just humans and apes can use them? Join Katy, Laura, and Kim as they discuss some of their favorite (and unexpected) tool users in today’s episode.
Support the show
Do you spend your free time wondering about life on other planets? Or is your ideal vacation scouring the shores of the Scottish Highlands for a glimpse of Nessie? If so, you’re in luck! This week, Katy and Laura are taking a look at cryptozoology—the study of and search for legendary creatures that may or may not exist.
Give it a listen, hear the history and evidence, and let us know what you think! Do these creatures really exist?
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Are you fond of a good crisis…well we have an episode for you! This week, Laura and Katy tackle the taxon of bacteria, making them question everything they ever knew about reality. Learn more about these microorganisms, their awesome jobs, and the big impact they have on our world!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Katy and Laura welcome fellow podcaster, dog trainer, author and mom to one of our biggest fans, Melissa McCue-McGrath to todays episode! Each shares a bit about how nature shaped who they are today and how they hope to be good nature mamas. Embrace your inner wild child and discover why the natural world is critical in the lives of all children.
Be sure to catch Melissa's podcast BewilderBeasts: https://bewilderbeastspod.podcastpage.io/
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Laura and Katy put a new spin on the Bucket List in today's episode. Instead of taking us through the nature-themed goals they want to accomplish in their lifetime, they've compiled a list of situations they absolutely do not want to encounter and will avoid at all costs. Some make logical sense. Others involve knife fights with flightless birds.
Find out more about their deepest--or most ridiculous--fears wherever you get your podcasts.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Do you want to get into birding but aren’t sure where to start? Or maybe you want to learn which birds are snacking at the feeders in your backyard? We have you covered!
This week, Katy and Laura talk with special guest–and professional bird nerd–Allison Black about the ins and outs of birding. So grab your binocs, start your life list, and get ready for this year’s spring migration!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
This week, Katy and Laura are digging into the topic of geology and how it shapes our world. From the formation of Earth, to rocks vs minerals, this episode will introduce you to what amazing nature lies right under your feet!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
You may have heard that certain animals have symbiotic relationships with each other, but did you know this also happens outside of the animal kingdom? In this week’s episode, Laura and Katy explain why they’ve taken a “lichen” to symbiosis and explore four pairs of non-animal species who help each other out (or not—some are real takers) in these close relationships.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
We can’t stress this enough: Animals are so smart! And they’ve worked side by side with humans to perform all sorts of jobs. Hang out with Katy and Laura during this week’s podcast and learn more about the human/animal working relationship throughout history.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Have you ever wondered how or why humans domesticated certain animals? We did too! And as it turns out, it’s not just because they were cute and needed love and attention. Throughout history, humans have domesticated a variety of species to suit their needs. Find out more about some of these helpful creatures wherever you get your podcasts!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Get ready to see pigeons in a new light. Not only do they love a city stroll, they have been instrumental in key military operations throughout history. Find out more about how they—and some other animals—flew under the radar to ensure military success in this week’s episode!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Happy belated International Day of Women and Girls in Science! We know, we know. We’re a little late, but we think this episode will more than make up for it. Hang out with Laura, Katy, and manager Kim (woo special guest) as they share some incredible stories of three badass science women!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Laura and Katy are back and better than ever in Season 4! It's that time of year again when "love" is professed through greeting cards, and what better way to celebrate than by discussing wacky ways that animals reproduce? From prehensile penises to sex as a bargaining tool, you won't believe the "funny business" going on in the animal kingdom.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Be prepared to have you mind blown with Season 3's final episode!
Katy and Laura have decided to revisit and introduce more "mad" scientists. These scientists, although pioneers, took part in some bizarre and somewhat disturbing research.
Be Advised
This episode contains adult content such as drug use, overdosing, animal death and sex.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
We are so excited to share this week’s episode with you! Join herpetologist Steve Allain and entomologist Josh Byrne (and hosts Laura and Kim) for our first ever specialty battle. These experts (though they may disagree on the title) duke it out to determine which grouping of animals ranks supreme.
What do you think? Let us know below on our social media @FTLONpodcast
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
You know what they say about sports and plants: The best offense is a good defense. Well, maybe they don’t say that about plants, but they should! In today’s episode, Katy and Laura take a look at amazing plant defenses--from devastating idioblasts to the madness that is the gympie-gympie plant.
While many baby animals come into this world cute as a button, some definitely do not. Today’s featured creatures have one unique trait in common: They have faces only a mother could love. Join Laura and Katy as they rank which animals have the ugliest baby mugs and discuss how looks aren't everything. Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder...right?
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Not to be a bummer, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has documented more than 38,500 species threatened with extinction. In today’s episode, Katy and Laura highlight some of the vanishing species in North America, why they’re disappearing, and how humans are trying to help.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Fall migration is in full swing! And all this bird traffic got Katy and Laura thinking: What ARE the most extreme migrations? From the skies to the seas, the animals featured in this episode make a marathon look like a walk in the park.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
We’re celebrating World Lemur Day with a special guest in this week’s episode! Sara Clark, Director of Communications at the Duke Lemur Center, joins us to talk all things lemur. Find out what makes these creatures equally cute and fascinating, why they’re the most endangered group of mammals on Earth, and how you can help conserve them!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
It’s spooky season! Laura and manager Kim get in the Halloween spirit by taking a look at a few creatures of the occult. These furry, scaly, and feathered friends each have their own valuable place in witchcraft or other mystical practices. Which one is your favorite?
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
It's back! Another "Could You...?" episode. This season Laura and Katy ask each other "Could You Fight That?" They're not looking to pick a fight, but could they survive one if the fight comes to them? Listen to find out!
No animals were harmed in the research done for this episode.
Every day our lives depend on waterways whether we realize it or not. Today Laura & Katy talk about two important waterways found in the United States, their role in society, how humans have negatively impacted them and what they are now trying to do to help.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
In today’s episode, we take a look at how brains work, what they do, and how they work with or against us. Laura and Katy then get personal and do a deep dive into their own mental health and their journey with OCD and ADHD respectively.
For the song Katy mentioned how she felt pre & post ADHD medication: Colony House- Why Even Try
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Laura and Katy start season 3 with a ‘bang’ by delving into some of the unique mating rituals of the animal kingdom. Some creatures dance, some build bedazzled love shacks, and some...stab each other with love darts? This took a turn.
Learn more about these elaborate courtships (and laugh at the rituals we couldn’t tease on social media) wherever you like to get your podcasts!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
While FTLON may be on a season break, we wanted to give our listeners a bonus episode as a thank you for the support as we wrap up season 2 and head in to our THIRD season!!! Seems crazy that it's already season 3, but we've loved this journey and excited for more things ahead.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Celebrate International Orangutan Day with Laura & Katy, and their special guest Catherine Tidwell! Being in the zoo world for more than 20 years, Catherine has turned her passion into a lifelong journey of caring for and studying great apes. Having a special place in her heart for orangs, Laura & Katy talk to Catherine about everything from orangutan husbandry to intelligence, to the struggles they face in the wild.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
There are pleeeenty of animals found throughout the world which have been poorly named for various reasons. Join Laura & Katy as they discuss some funny animal names, what they think it should be renamed as, and have a more serious discussion to renaming some species that truly do need to be renamed.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Throughout history, scientists thought they had figured out how nature worked, only to find out they were incredibly wrong later. In today's episode, Laura & Katy talk about some insane past theories and debunk maybe even some you still believe!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Continuing from our first season our "Could You...." series makes a comeback! This week Laura and Katy examine various biomes and fight for justifying what animals they each could be. Some are ones they want to be, some animals they are. Katy also finally finds her spirit animal!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Nature seems to provide us with everything we could possibly need! Join Laura and Katy this week as they discuss medicinal properties of a few plant species. Whether physical or mental healing is needed, nature has us covered!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
People have always given certain attributes or characteristics to plants, beyond that of just food or medicine. In this episode, Laura & Katy dig into a handful of examples of plant symbolism and folklore of the past. Where did the phrase "knock on wood" start? Is dowsing a real thing? Dive into these and many others in this episode of For the Love of Nature.Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Finally we devote a whole episode to fossils!! Laura & Katy frequently talk about fossils and dinosaurs in the nature news, so this is a much overdue episode. In this episode the co-hosts discuss the importance of learning the important story of our past. They'll explore what a fossil is, what we can learn about our past and apply it to today, as well as some of the most monumental fossil discoveries.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Join Laura & Katy as they talk to an Endangered Species Biologist, Kait Taylor, about Monarch butterflies! Did you know that pretty much every US state has biologists on staff to ensure as roads are paved species are not harmed? Kait talks about her unique and extremely important job, monarchs and the monarch highway, carrying on a family legacy and so much more!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Happy pollinator week everyone! In this two-part episode, Laura & Katy are going to bypass the commonly talked about bees and butterfly pollinators to talk about some of the most underrated pollinators. Including one of Katy's favorite animals! Then next week we have a special pollinator guest (of the human variety) to continue the celebration of pollinator week.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
In today's episode of For the Love of Nature, Laura & Katy explore nature-related movie icons to answer the question, "hot or not?" They go beyond just the surface to explore & justify why they think their pick for men & women of nature movies are "hot". And guess what?! We have a special guest! FTLON manager, Kim!! Sit back, enjoy some laughs, and maybe even get a movie recommendation or two.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Do you talk to animals every time you see them? Pet or wild? Well you're not the only one! Cohosts Laura and Katy go into the topic of animal communication. What have been some research topics of animal communication in the past, current ones just starting, and how we may need to look at animal communication in a whole new light given what science is finding.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
We're back! For the launch of season 2 we're taking it out of this world to talk about astrobiology! Cohosts Laura and Katy explain what astrobiology is, and how scientists are not only looking for life on other planets, but studying earth's origins to better ID life elsewhere. Astrobiology is a growing topic, and certainly a growing research field as the new age of space race has begun. Get yourself strapped in, because this is quite the topic!
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Laura and Katy are discussing some of their big plans for For the Love of Nature, Season 2. Get ready, it is going to be awesome!
Season 2 launches Tuesday, June 1st.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Season 1 flew by! Laura and Katy reflect on season 1, give a few sneak peeks for upcoming seasons, and talk about their favorite moments. Thank you to all of our listeners in season 1 and we're launching season 2 on June 1st. See you then!!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
It's TODAY!!!! Today is Earth Day and we're talking about this year's EarthDay.org theme, Restore Our Earth. Explore with Laura and Katy how you can have a positive and fun day-to-day impact on our planet.
While this is the last episode of season 1, we will still be actively posting a few episodes during the "break" until season 2 starts on June 3rd. Check us out on social media too!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Check out the helpful links below:
- https://globalearthchallenge.earthday.org/
- https://citynaturechallenge.org/
- https://www.citizenscience.gov
- https://www.nationalgeographic.org/idea/citizen-science-projects/
- https://www.inaturalist.org/
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
This week co-hosts Laura and Katy lovingly explore animals that should......well they should be extinct. We're not quite sure how they've survived all this time, yet here they are. Some of the animals talked about this week may shock you!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
In the deep dark waters of our world swim creatures that are too strange for words. Laura and Katy do a deep dive (get it?!) into this strange world to give you a glimpse of what we think are some of the most bizarre. And not to be a spoiler, but one isn't even found in the ocean!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Guys. We have been waiting for this episode for so long! First a disclaimer: this episode is meant to be for FUN, we do not condone any direct contact/harassment of wild animals and this is only meant to be hypothetical in its nature. With that out of the way, Could You Ride That? examines could Laura and Katy physically ride various animals. They go through some basic natural history of each animal, then dive into (quite literally sometimes) arguments over why they believe they could or could not ride various animals. You'd be surprised at some of the selected animals along with the reasoning! Laugh along with us, and send us your own could you ride that via our social media @Ftlonpodcast.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
What are fungi? And why are they essential? You've probably passed fungus on a walk and didn't even know it! In this episode, Laura and Katy dive into the world of fungi and why we need them in the world around us.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Not all insects & bugs are bad! We give you the cutest, most entry-level, harmless bugs & insects that will make you fall in love with these crawlers. Ok, maybe not love, but at least like!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Laura's sources:
https://bit.ly/38Ue0FX
https://bit.ly/2OBjmPz
https://bit.ly/3tvg4fb
https://bit.ly/3rYuaWg
Katy's sources:
https://bit.ly/3c1xYRb
https://on.natgeo.com/3bVgPs4
https://wwf.to/3tu4Tn6
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
It all had to start somewhere! And unfortunately all too often when it came to nature-related research, it started with the bizarre and the "mad" scientists behind it. The really really really bizarre. Join Laura and Katy as they explore the SHOCKING (this will be funny later) early research and some of the scientists behind the work.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Laura's sources:
https://bit.ly/3by5sGs
https://bit.ly/3qv9q6U
https://bit.ly/2PTmlmD
https://bit.ly/3erP2RV
Katy's resources:
https://bit.ly/2N73L9B
https://bit.ly/3chThg5
https://bit.ly/2PJiUP8
https://bit.ly/2OoGD6V
https://bit.ly/3chUkN3
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Nature can throw some pretty insane curveballs your way. Other times the situation is so extreme, it's amazing what humans can survive. In today's episode Laura and Katy share mind blowing nature survival stories highlighting some incredible women!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Laura's resources:
https://bbc.in/3rhfYXQ
https://bit.ly/2MIZpFh
https://bit.ly/3sQLkoy
https://bit.ly/3q9eGgk
https://bit.ly/30atCAh
https://bit.ly/3sMvN9p
Katy's resources:
https://bit.ly/3e6F9cb
https://bit.ly/3kHsmxU
https://bit.ly/3e6GEa9
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Have you ever wondered if that nearby tree is listening to your conversation? In this episode, Laura and Katy will address this question and many others when discussing plant sentience. Get ready to have your world view shaken as we give plants the credit they're due.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Laura's Sources:
- https://bit.ly/2O2QAGT
- https://bit.ly/2O9tMW0
- https://bit.ly/2ZTXhxp
- https://nyti.ms/3uAqZWh
- https://bit.ly/3kvyIR8
Katy's Sources:
- The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben
- https://bit.ly/3ktnNau
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
From tipsy birds to farting cows, there have been some bizarre animal studies done. In today's episode Katy and Laura discuss some of this research and how, weirdly enough, it may help humankind.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Laura's sources:
https://bit.ly/3bhEMZe
https://bit.ly/3bg732f
https://bit.ly/3rVCwNY
https://bit.ly/3av4kmh
https://bbc.in/3auCSp1
Katy's sources:
https://bbc.in/3s3lCNj
https://bit.ly/3s4kGrY
https://reut.rs/37mtOAg
https://n.pr/2NBcQqW
https://wapo.st/3u9TxFR
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! In today's episode Laura & Katy talk about animal sex. It's almost Valentine's Day so what else would you expect? Get aquatinted with some lethal animal mating rituals, as well as some cute and odd ways animals attract a mate.
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Laura's sources:
https://bit.ly/3qavIeI
https://bit.ly/370kO3H
https://ab.co/3aSHVOH
https://bit.ly/36ZtgQS
https://bit.ly/3rB5geE
https://bit.ly/3aSdZlU
https://bit.ly/3q8rFj1
https://bit.ly/2OeXJDQ
Katy's sources:
https://bit.ly/2NkyjVa
https://bit.ly/3725S53
https://bit.ly/3qdMV79
https://on.doi.gov/372SOwr
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)
Start your journey with Laura & Katy right here. Get some basic background information on the co-hosts, their previous entrepreneurial aspirations (hello goat milk soap/scorpion farm!), and why on earth they want to start a podcast where they share nature facts. Finish off this introduction episode with a little taste of the format of episodes moving forward. Laura & Katy are excited to start this journey and we hope you join them!
Visit us on Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Laura's sources:
https://bit.ly/3rxc11h
https://bit.ly/36FrK6p
https://bit.ly/3aLQF9F
Katy's sources:
https://bit.ly/39IwzxB
https://bit.ly/2My3n3p
https://wapo.st/3rxcssr
Sound:
Klankbeeld & freesound.org
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ftlonpodcast)