We will all go to trouble to get a good meal, but some animals take it to the extreme. Some build architectural masterpieces to entrap their prey, or use body parts as lures. But what is your cat doing when it makes the 'ek ek ek ek?' Is it trying to bewitch the birds? Featuring: Professor Kris Helgen, Australian Museum. Julia Henning, PhD candidat…

Despite spending years and millions of dollars, the Tasmanian Fox Eradication team never, not once, not ever, spotted a live fox on the Apple Isle. While their efforts yielded zero foxes, it spawned a tale of lies, alleged corruption, and more scats than you could poke a stick at. Featuring: Ian Townsend, former ABC Radio National Journalist. David…

You have a lot to thank sheep for. Yes, sheep. More than just wool and meat — sheep have played a part in the development of contraception and reproduction in humans. It's not as dodgy as it sounds, but it is absolutely surprising. Listening to this show will have you thanking every sheep you see from here on out. Featuring: Tara Farms, YouTuber, a…

For years we've barely even talked about the human clitoris let alone the fact that snakes have TWO. This program has adult themes. Featuring: Belinda Smith, ABC Science Online Reporter. Lucy Cooke, Author and Film maker. Megan Folwell, University of Adelaide. Dr Jenna Crowe-Riddell, La Trobe University. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.…

Would you meet a stranger in a park with a pile of snakes? Comedian Craig Quartermaine took the risk in an attempt to overcome his fears. Featuring: Craig Quartermaine, comedian. Sandy Dickinson, Urban Reptiles. Jonathan Wright, announcer's voice. Production: Ann Jones, presenter/producer. Petria Ladgrove, producer. Joel Werner, script editor. Fiel…

Could a legless lizard be 'minimalist of the year' for famous podcaster T. K. Coleman? Ann Jones leads an unlikely gang of animal experts on a tidy dance through the philosophy of minimalism. There are moths without mouths, flies without wings, and a worm-lizard that will even declutter its own tail. Move over Marie Kondo, Minimalist Mother Nature …

ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) is a tingly sensation that can bring relaxation, and it's spawned a growing industry of videos online of whispering, tapping, mouth noises and soft speaking. But, if you wanted quiet, intimate sounds, well, Nature does it so. much. better. Ann Jones goes on an ASMR journey with vibrating caterpillars, whi…

Imagine you've just been cancelled for a controversial opinion about Taylor Swift's musical output, and you have to go to ground. You can act like the Olsen twins, and hide behind big glasses and a big coat. Or you could take a lesson from nature and blend in, like a proverbial spotty quoll into the bush. When it comes to camouflage and animal mark…

Right now, you’re probably sitting on one of the most unique things about humans. One thing that separates us from the apes, from the birds, from EVERYTHING on earth. The thing that allows us to walk upright, on two legs.We have big butts and I cannot lie,This sort of exceptionalism doesn’t deny,That when a bird walks in with a little bit of hasteA…

How many species live around your house? In the COVID lockdown of 2020, three housemates decided to count. They thought there’d only be a handful, but the number kept rising and rising. Could their simple suburban Queenslander house be the next candidate for a new national park? What the Duck?! is back for Season 6. Featuring: Dr Matt Holden, Mathe…

Fruit flies, guinea pigs, frogs, monkeys, turtles, cats and dogs… all sorts of animals have been to space. Find out who made small steps for mankind before we could even spacewalk as Ann goes through the emotional turmoil of hearing animals in space. Featuring: James Foley, Author and Illustrator. Kerrie Dougherty OAM, Senior Heritage and Outreach …

An ornithologist, a veterinarian and a religious devotee must find the serial killer before every last vulture in India is dead. The episode was first published on the 2nd of September 2023. Featuring: Dr Campbell Murn, Head of Conservation at Hawk Conservancy Trust and University of Reading, UK. Dr Kishor Rithe, Interim Director, Bombay Natural Hi…

They look like… 'sabre-toothed sausages', they can barely see, they live for a really long time and have a queen who oppresses them. Find out all about the Naked Mole-rat this week and let us know your weirdest animal on earth suggestions at whattheduck@abc.net.au. Featuring: Dr Alison Barker, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. Adjunct Profes…

He loved gold, so he robbed stagecoaches in South Australia and used an ostrich as a getaway car. OR DID HE?! This episode was first published on the 11th of February 2023. Featuring: Denice Mason, teacher and Meningie resident. Associate Professor Rohan Clarke, Monash University and co-author of the Australian Bird Guide. Jacob Fiebig, Meningie re…

For thousands of years eels have made people rich and powerful, literally. Now it's time to pay it back. This episode was originally published on the 18th of March 2023. Featuring: Dr. John Wyatt Greenlee, Historian Cornell University. Erin Rose, Budj Bim World Heritage Executive Officer at Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.…

A tiny penis, a 12-hour annual fertilisation window, picky females and strawberry bubble bath – these are just a few of the issues that pop up when making a panda cub. This is a repeat of an episode first published on the 1st of April 2023. Featuring: Chad Crittle, Acting Assistant Curator for Carnivores and Ungulates at Zoos SA. Mr Li Zhang, Consu…

Ann Jones does a DNA test to see if she is a dog! This is the final episode for Season 5 of What the Duck?! We will be back in February with new episodes. Featuring: Skyla Seltzer, What The Duck?! listener. Beanz and Henry the dog. Link Olson, Curator of Mammals, University of Alaska Museum. Dr Nicola Rivers, Monash University. Professor Paul Heber…

It is related to the dodo, makes milk and even played a role in the French Revolution. Surely this bird deserves some recognition? Featuring: Rosemary Mosco, Science writer and author of 'The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching'. Nathan Finger, Host of 'Bird of the Week' podcast Dr Robin Leppitt, Ornithologist. April Broadbent, Pigeon Rehabber. Aaron a…

Someone get a translator app because the fish are ready to speak. Featuring: Lauren Hawkins, Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University. Dr Aaron Rice, Research Scientist at Cornell University. Featured sounds : Thanks to Aaron and Lauren for providing sounds as well as Professor Robert McCauley and the Centre for Marine Science …

They make THEMSELVES scream. Featuring: Dr. Perry Beasley Hall, Adelaide University. Ernesto Caliari Pinheiro, Acoustic biologist, Brazil. Professor Mario Vallejo-Marin, University of Uppsala, Sweden. Lisa Schonberg, Ecological sound artist, New York. Professor Link Olson, University of Alaska Museum. Dr Andy Reid, University of Strathclyde, Scotla…

Can animals create, or even enjoy music? Ann rips through the animal kingdom to check out the musical talent of some likely and unlikely animals. Featuring: Dr. Stuart Watson, University of Zurich. Dr. Chiara De Gregorio, University of Torino. Assistant Professor Adena Schachner, University of California. David Teie, Musician and composer, Music fo…

Are you high, or is that a sheep glowing? Featuring: Linda Reinhold, Zoologist at James Cook University. Professor Simon Lewis, Curtin University. Dr. Kenny Travouillon, Western Australian Museum. Caitlin Grieve, Hillend Dorsets.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A group of Killer whales have been hassling boats around Spain over the last few years. They've been nibbling the rudders and even sinking yachts, but why? Has anyone considered that it might be revenge? How dangerous are Orcas anyway? Featuring: Martin Evans, UK Sailor. Professor Peter Keegan, History and Archaeology at Macquarie University. Dr Re…

They smell like a squid in a wool jumper, they sound like a duck on helium, and devoted 'Petrel Heads' travel thousands of kilometres just to hear them moan. Featuring: Peter Vaughan, Monash University. Stephen Totterman, Northern NSW Naturalist and seabird enthusiast. Rolenas Tavue Baereleo, Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation,…

The simulation hypothesis proposes that what we experience as the world is actually a simulated reality, such as a computer simulation in which we ourselves are constructs. There has been much debate over this topic, ranging from philosophical discourse to practical applications in computing.Par Shadow

The simulation hypothesis proposes that what we experience as the world is actually a simulated reality, such as a computer simulation in which we ourselves are constructs. There has been much debate over this topic, ranging from philosophical discourse to practical applications in computing.Par Shadow

Have the crabs been lying to us? There are true crabs, false crabs, and even shame-faced crabs which implies that some of them, at least, are guilty. Featuring: Dr Rachael King, SA Museum. Professor Judith Weis, Rutgers University, Newark. Dr Annabel Dorrenstein, University of Western Sydney. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladg…

You probably have a daddy-long-legs in your house right now. But when is having a weird housemate in the corner ACTUALLY a good thing? Dr Ann Jones investigates. Featuring: Dr Samantha Nixon, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr Lizzy Lowe, Invertebrates Australia. Thanks also to Dr Bernhard Huber, Arachnid Curator at Museum Koenig. P…

The Mandela Effect is an observed phenomenon in which a large segment of the population misremembers a significant event or shares a memory of an event that did not actually occur. Fiona Broome, a paranormal researcher, coined the term to describe collective false memory when she discovered that a significant number of people at a conference she wa…

An extra special, podcast only, five-minute story for you! A bird that stands over a metre tall hardly seems like it'd bow down to a rock star, but Johnny Cash played a burning role in the near-extinction of Californian Condors. Featuring: Dr. Maggie Watson, Zoologist at Charles Sturt University Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. This epi…

An ornithologist, a veterinarian and a religious devotee must find the serial killer before every last vulture in India is dead. Featuring: Dr Campbell Murn, Head of Conservation at Hawk Conservancy Trust and University of Reading, UK. Dr Kishor Rithe, Interim Director, Bombay Natural History Society. Dr Andrea Santangeli, Mediterranean Institute f…

The Mandela Effect is an observed phenomenon in which a large segment of the population misremembers a significant event or shares a memory of an event that did not actually occur. Fiona Broome, a paranormal researcher, coined the term to describe collective false memory when she discovered that a significant number of people at a conference she wa…

WTD Presents Twitch the Rise and Fall. We are talking about how Twitch does not follow their own guidelines dealing with Nudity/Sexual Content. Should age verification become a thing? Should Twitch ban all hot tub streams? Come and listen and decide for yourself! Thank you for watching our video! We hope you enjoyed! If you have any comments or sug…

We get a bit philosophical and try to find out that if animals do dream, will we ever be able to know what they’re dreaming about? Featuring: Cassie, Claire and Pidgey the Parrot. Associate Professor Nicole Lovato, Flinders University. Associate Professor John Lesku, La Trobe University. Professor David Pena Guzman, author of ‘Animal Dreaming’ and …

Birds can fly while half their brain is sleeping and some spiders sleep dangling on a silk thread, but what about worms. Do worms sleep? Featuring: Associate Professor John Lesku, La Trobe University. Dr Shauni Omond, @shauniomond.sleepsci on Instagram, La Trobe University. Professor Niels Rattenborg, Research leader on Avian Sleep, Max Planck Inst…

Boob-shaping hiccups are very sexy in the sage grouse world, but whose chesticles are in charge? Featuring: Lucy Cooke, Zoologist and author of Bitch A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal. Professor Gail L Patricelli, University of California, Davis. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Add…

Female lab mice have been bred to be passive and breed with ease. But, in the wild they're feisty and even pugnacious. How much of our biological understanding of the world is based on misogyny? Featuring: Lucy Cooke, Zoologist and author of Bitch A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal. Professor Arthur Georges, University of…

A tiny penis, a 12-hour annual fertilisation window, picky females and strawberry bubble bath – these are just a few of the issues that pop up when making a panda cub. Featuring: Chad Crittle, Acting Assistant Curator for Carnivores and Ungulates at Zoos SA. Mr Li Zhang, Consul, Head of Bilateral Section at the Chinese Consulate-General in Adelaide…

Forget ancestry searches online. Shells can tell you the history of the world. Featuring: Amy Prendergast, University of Melbourne. Jann Vendetti, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Dr Paul Butler, Researcher at the University of Exeter.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

For thousands of years eels have made people rich and powerful, literally. Now it's time to pay it back. Featuring: Dr. John Wyatt Greenlee, Historian Cornell University. Erin Rose, Budj Bim World Heritage Executive Officer at Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Braydon Saunders, Tour Guide Coordinator at Budj Bim Cultural La…

For years we've barely even talked about the human clitoris let alone the fact that snakes have TWO. This program has adult themes. Featuring: Belinda Smith, ABC Science Online Reporter. Lucy Cooke, Author and Film maker. Megan Folwell, University of Adelaide. Dr Jenna Crowe-Riddell, La Trobe University. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.…

They look like... 'sabre-toothed sausages', they can barely see, they live for a really long time and have a queen who oppresses them. Find out all about the Naked Mole-rat this week and let us know your weirdest animal on earth suggestions at whattheduck@abc.net.au. Featuring: Dr Alison Barker, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. Adjunct Prof…

Would you meet a stranger in a park with a pile of snakes? Comedian, Craig Quartermaine, took the risk in an attempt to overcome his fears! Featuring: Craig Quartermaine, Comedian. Sandy Dickinson, Urban Reptiles. Jonathan Wright, Announcer voice. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Joel Werner, Script Editor. Fi…

Who made small steps for man before man could even space walk? Featuring: James Foley, Author and Illustrator. Kerrie Dougherty OAM, Senior Heritage and Outreach Officer, Australian Space Agency. Emeritus Professor John P. Gluck, University of New Mexico and Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. Michael Coggan, News Voice. Production:…

He loved gold, so he robbed stage coaches in South Australia and used an ostrich as a getaway car. OR DID HE?! Welcome to the first episode of 'What The Duck?!' Season 2. Featuring: Denice Mason, teacher and Meningie resident. Associate Professor Rohan Clarke, Monash University and co-author of the Australian Bird Guide. Jacob Fiebig, Meningie resi…

The show with a mission to explore the mysteries of nature.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

If you think that cow politics is just about the live export business, you are wrong. Cows have politics of their own – machinations to sort out who is the leader and who will be led. Featuring: Dr Rebecca Doyle, Faculty of Veterinary & Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne. Joe Gelonisi - the voice of cow facts. Derek Klingenberg, cat…

Here’s a field guide you probably don’t have — “Introduced Dung Beetles in Australia".Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Grabbing a lift can go from bad to worse when your uber drops you outside your evolutionary niche. FEATURING Dr Matt Greenlees, Sydney University. Arthur White, NSW frog and tadpole study group. David Chapple, Monash University. Dr Maggie Watson, Charles Sturt University. Dr Robert Streit, Reef Function Hub at James Cook University. Voice of the In…

Ever wondered about the spiders in your car mirror? How they got there and ‘where the duck’ they’re going? FEATURING Dr Ken Walker, Senior Curator of Entomology, Museums Victoria Research Institute. Dr Laurent Keller, University of Lausanne Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Joel Werner, Script Editor. Additiona…