Strange by Nature Podcast

This week we ended up with the accidental theme of things being bigger than we expected.

Kirk tells us the tale of coming face to face with enormous coastal manta rays while swimming in the ocean at night and Rachel blows Kirk's mind with the world's tallest sunflower.

Everything's huge.

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This week Victoria tells us all about the strange bird, the Pelican. Did you know they can fit 5 gallons of water in their mouth?

Kirk is up next and blows our minds when it comes to a new find that teaches us about the very last minute dinosaurs spent on Earth.

Rachel is up last and tells us about one of her favorite flowers, the very useful Jewelweed.

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This week Rachel brings the amazing story of the relationship between humans and birds called Honeyguides. Victoria looks into the strange story of bird respiration and Kirk discusses the process of how volcanic islands become lush and green.

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This week, Kirk talks about how scientists found a way to double or even triple your lifespan. The catch? You have to be an ant and you have to be infected with tapeworms. 

Keeping with the gross topics. Rachel serves up a disgusting bouquet of Ambergris. One of the most valuable substances on earth that smells both wonderful and awful. 

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Rachel's up first this week with a deep dive on the largest toothed whale in the world, the Sperm whale. How did they get that weird name? You'll have to listen to find out.

Kirk shares the bizarre story of the time Idaho parachuted 76 beavers into a remote wilderness as part of operation Beaver Drop. It's an amazing story with some long-term benefits you can even see from space!

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This week, Kirk starts us off with an unbelievable story about a recent science expedition to one of the most remote jungles in the world where scientists bizarrely discovered a terrestrial shrimp. That's right a shrimp that lives on land. 

Rachel is up next and tells us about a beautiful and rare phenomenon, hair snow. This strange creation requires a fungus and exactly the right weather. When they come together, something magic...

This week, Victoria spins a tale of a mystery creature inflicting terrible pain swimmers and the strange unorthodox researcher who solved the mystery. Kirk then tells us about strange obelisks living in our mouths. Rachel rounds out the week by diving down 16,000 feet under the ocean to track down a bizarre eel with a giant mouth.   Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad free!   ...

It's that time again, the end of another year of Strange by Nature. So, as usual, we're joined by professional naturalist Brett Sieberer and he takes over the show to quiz us about the past year of shows and other bizarre nature knowledge. Yes, we play the ever popular game, Eat, Ride, Jacket.

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This week Rachel kicks of the show talking about the bizarre theoretical phenomenon of Spaghettification, the process of your body being stretched out into a line of sub-atomic particles inside a black hole. Victoria then takes us to the ocean where we learn about how the ear-wax plugs of whales can teach us about their life-histories. Kirk then wraps it all up by telling us about the horrific experience of bing stung by the m...

This week Kirk kicks us off with a discussion of Samurai Crabs and realizes they sound familiar because of a strange childhood connection involving a cartoon rabbit. 

Rachel then dives into prions and Chronic Wasting Disease. Fear not, she has good news. 

Victoria rounds out this week by telling us about the missing continent of Zealandia. 

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Victoria kicks off this week with a charged up salute to caffeine. Sure, you can find it in Coffee and Tea but there are other plants from around the world with caffeine including a Holly from North America.   Kirk is up next and he shares multiple examples of times humans have unintentionally caused the evolution of species.   Rachel rounds out this week's episode with a Valentine's treat of pearls. Where do they come from? W...

This week we Rachel and Kirk both head to the ocean but or very different reasons.   Rachel tells us all about the Portuguese Man-O-War, one of the strangest creatures in the sea. Upon hearing the story, Kirk decides he may never swim in the ocean again.   Kirk brings us back to the sea again with a story about the time his ship almost fell victim to the North Sea and then fills us in on the phenomenon of Rogue Waves that can ...

This week Kirk kicks things off with details of a fascinating study that determined which perfume tigers find most alluring. The implications for research are surprisingly useful.   Rachel takes on a listener suggestion and covers new research into the bizarre ability of Reindeer to eat while they sleep!   Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad free!   Support us: patreon.com/...

This week Victoria starts us off by having us think about dinosaurs and why we haven't updated our portrayals of them based on new science. It turns out, T-Rex probably had lips.   Kirk then tells the tale of a time in the far distant past when birds ate our ancestors.   Rachel wraps things up this week with the bizarre tale of a moth with a surprising diet.   Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon...

Rachel kicks off this week with a bizarre tale of a parasite that invades the nests of red ants, pretends to be their queen, works the ants to death, and eats their young all in a quest to become a beautiful butterfly. 

Victoria takes us to Australia and asks the question, why are there so many poisonous animals there?

Kirk rounds out the episode with the strange story of how volcanoes may be changing the color of owls. 

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This week on the show, Kirk talks about how Beer saved his life (and yours.) Rachel then has a mystery animal that isn't anything like you would suspect from the name. The Mountain Chicken doesn't live in mountains, and isn't a chicken. It isn't even a bird. It is the biggest frog in the world. Weird. 

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This week, Kirk kicks things off by sharing some incredible research that shows it may be possible to induce a torpor/hibernation state in mammals with ultrasound. Rachel lets us know all about the Gopher Tortoise, and Victoria tell us all about the strange world of Mussel reproduction. 

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Hello Dear Listeners. Here's what we have for you this week. Victoria kicks things off by telling the tale of her recent encounter with one of the world's few venomous mammals and you'll never guess where she found it...her basement!

Kirk invents a weird quiz about strange ways nature might try to kill you. Which is more likely, getting hit in the face by a duck while jet skiing or being gored by a bison?

Rachel shares about a rela...