Explore every episode of the podcast What The Duck?!

Mum says it’s ok to be angry. But it’s not ok to take over a whole island state.

Featuring: 

• Andrew Barron - Comparative Neuroscientist from Macquarie University, NSW
• Tim Low - Biologist and a founder of the Invasive Species Council

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Sarah Prosser, Producer
• Harvey O'Sullivan, Mastering Engineer

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

How will we survive the cosmic void? Scientists have a superfood diet in mind, but will the smallest flowering plant on Earth REALLY save humanity? 

Featuring:

• Jenny Mortimer - Professor of Plant Synthetic Biology in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at Adelaide University. Chief investigator in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space
• Gareth Prosser – Professional Voice Over Artist whose wife roped him in 

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Sarah Prosser, Producer
• Mastering Engineer, Emyrs Cronin  

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Why is it that bird names seem so… childishly misogynistic? 

Featuring: 

Professor Andrew Cockburn, bird watcher and word batcher, ANU

Jeannie Gray, Author, Australian Bird Names: Origins and Meanings.

Ian Fraser, Author, Australia Bird Names:  Origins and Meanings.

Stephen Downes, the brains behind @Parrotoftheday social media accounts

Stephen Moss, Author, Mrs Moreau's Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names.

Nola Turner-Jensen, Culture Inclusion Specialist and Wiradjuri Historian

Dr Ayesha Tulloch, Research Fellow, QUT.

This episode was first broadcast in 2022.

Featuring extra sounds from listeners:

Large-tailed Nightjar from Briony Barnett.

Cat Bird from Scott Fisher. 

And extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:

Marc Anderson, XC287030. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/287030 ( Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0)

Yong Ding Li, XC57231. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/57231 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5)

Phil Gregory, XC690345. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/690345 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.

Petria Ladgrove, Producer.

Joel Werner, Script Editing.

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

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 and Technology at Curtin University. 

PRODUCTION:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering:  Hamish Camilleri

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

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 Internet: Nikolai Beilharz. 

PRODUCTION: 

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Joel Werner, Script Editor.
• Additional mastering: Brendan O'Neill.

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Does Australia have a BEST wildflower? Hang on... what even is a flower? Dr Ann Jones and Belinda Smith count down the top 10 best wildflowers as voted by YOU in a special live show, The Hour of Flower.  

FEATURING: 

• Tim Entwisle – Author, The Sceptical Botanist. Former CEO of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne
• Chantelle Doyle - Research Associate, Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW
• Kingsley Dixon - Professor, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia
• Mira Jordan - PhD candidate, Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Centre for Ecosystem Science and Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW
• Costa Georgiadis - Presenter, Gardening Australia

PRODUCTION: 

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Belinda Smith, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer
• Sarah Prosser, Producer
• Studio Engineer, Carey Dell 

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Quackery and Catfishing. Fake news doesn’t only happen on the human internet. Welcome to nature’s dark web.

We didn’t TRY to make a spooky and disturbing episode... we just wanted to talk about plants with DUCK in the title. But oh boy, these flowers are savage!  One of them has become internet famous for a detox that could literally kill you. Another catfishes its pollinators by pretending to be (and even feeling like) the ‘private’ parts of a female fly!  Nature isn’t safe from this algorithm.

Featuring:

• Tim Entwisle – Author, The Sceptical Botanist. Former CEO of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne
• Katherine Isoardi - Associate Professor, University of Queensland. Senior Staff Specialist Emergency Physician and Clinical Toxicologist
• Julie Radford - Threatened Species expert
• Gareth Prosser – Professional Voice Over Artist whose wife roped him in 

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Sarah Prosser, Producer
• Mastering Engineer, Harvey O’Sullivan 

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

WTF NATURE. I give up.

||A Message from Dr Ann - the What the Duck?! host and general dork.||

I don't really give up. The recording I took for the latest season of Nature Sounds by Ann Jones was a ripper (in terms of wombat farts).

This bit  got edited out of the longer soundscape over there, because, it was determined, that a wombat walking in and scratching its butt ON THE MICROPHONES in the middle of a meditation soundscape would harsh the high of the listener.

So. What the Duck?! subscribers.

Enjoy. A wombat scratching its butt on my very VERY expensive recorder.

RECORDING: Ann Jones

MASTERING ENGINEER: Isabella Tropiano

In fact, most dinosaurs never got the chance to stop and smell a flower... and it was all because of bad timing. Sad face.

The meteor that killed all the dinosaurs (rude) actually kicked off flower supremacy on planet earth. 

Flowering plants are only about 135 million years old, yet they’re the most bio-diverse plants on the planet. Without them, no birds, no bees. Again, sad face. 

So where did flowers come from? And how did they end up being top bud? 

 FEATURING:

•  Mario Vallejo-Marin - Professor in Evolutionary Ecology, Uppsala University, Sweden.
• Professor Michelle Waycott - Chief Botanist at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens State Herbarium / Professor in Systematic Biology, Adelaide University.
• Morris Lake - Author, Australian Rainforest Woods.
• Gareth Prosser - Professional Voice Over Artist whose wife roped him in. 

PRODUCTION:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Sarah Prosser, Producer
• Mastering Engineer: Tegan Nicholls

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawurrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

It was a perfect night. But this duck had other ideas.

The scene: A perfect, wonderful, windless night at a wetland.

You couldn't ask for better conditions. The sun sets and the insects hum and eventually you hear a boobook and it's lovely… except one very loud duck keeps on yelling periodically the whole way through.

It's like the thing KNEW I was recording. It goes on for hours.

Anyway, I've got a passion project at the ABC.

A podcast called Nature Sounds by Ann Jones.

It's all these looooong form sounds scapes. The idea is that you can use them to relax, or go to sleep, or drown out your colleagues or whatever.

You can find it on the ABC listen app or any other podcast app. I promise this screaming duck didn't make the cut. 

RECORDING: Ann Jones

MASTERING ENGINEER: Isabella Tropiano

This flower takes needy to a whole new level! 

It was almost extinct. That was, until 2015, when a woman called Julie took it upon herself to make sure we didn’t lose the species altogether, and as it happened (baby) Ann Jones went along with a microphone. 

Now, it’s 10 years on, and Ann is older, greyer and more closely resembles a bearded orchid. But, given she hasn’t been made redundant yet, we can revisit the forest to ask – was all that effort worth it? Did the orchids survive? 

Featuring:

• Julie Radford, Threatened species ecologist in Central Victoria

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Sarah Prosser, Producer
• Mastering Engineer: Tegan Nicholls

This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. 

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

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 for helping us get the facts right.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Hamish Camilleri.

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2023 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Flies have rhythm and choreography, could their moves make the next TikTok dance fad?

Dune flies groove to their own beat in dance-circles and hoverflies use rhythmic movements in mating.

Researchers found the dancing dune fly’s repertoire has specific moves for impressing a female and others for rival dance battles.  Pretty fly for a dune fly.

In Costa Rica the male red hoverfly rhythmically squeezes and strokes his mate during copulation.

They also have a pattern of coupling and uncoupling as many as 17 times during the act!

Featuring:

• Dr Keith Bayless, research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO
• Professor William Eberhard, emeritus scientist, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; emeritus professor, Universidad de Costa Rica

Further reading:

• Genital behaviour in Menidon falcatus (Diptera, Syrphidae) and the possible significance of repeated, rhythmic movements
• Courtship choreography is stabilized among genetically isolated populations

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Tegan Nicholls, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?!  was recorded on Ngunnawal Country and produced on the lands of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Live from the World Science Festival Brisbane What the Duck?! is playing a game and you get to decide: duck, marry, avoid, or friendzone.

You'll hear about the natural world's romance, reproduction, and relationships

Once you've listened you can email whattheduck@abc.net.au to vote for how you would categorise snakes, birds, insects and mammals.

Featuring:

• Dr Chstina Zdanek, Australian Reptile Academy
• Dr Cesar Puechmarin, wildlife veterinarian and podcaster
• Dr Bryan Lessard, entomologist
• Jacinta Bowler, ABC Science journalist

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer
• Recorded by Steve Fieldhouse and Daniel Shapland
• With thanks to the World Science Festival Brisbane 

This episode of What the Duck?! was recorded on the land of the Turrbal and Jagera people and produced on the lands of the Kulin Nation.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

It seems absolutely bonkers that an animal can muster ELECTRICITY, especially enough to send out a zap like a taser.

But that's exactly what electric eels can do, and the world record holder more than doubles the voltage of the Australian electricity supply.

More than that, electric eels inspired the design of Volta's first batteries, but (hold onto your socks so they don't get blown off) they're not the only ones who've got electricity pumping through their bodies.

Featuring:

• Professor Will Crampton, University of Central Florida.
• Professor Ken Catania, Vanderbilt University.
• Professor Kate Trinajstic, Curtin University.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Emrys Cronin

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

For around 700 years scientists observed same-sex pairings in as many as 1500 different species, but didn't record or publish their findings due to public perceptions.

Now research is catching up and many papers on queer behaviour in nature have been published in the past two decades.

This discussion was recorded live at Mardi Gras 2026 and presented by the Royal Zoological Society of NSW for Wildlife at the Watering Hole.

Featuring :

• Daphne Willemsen, behavioural ecologist, PhD candidate at the University of NSW
• Lucien Alperstein, microbial ecologist, PhD candidate at the University of NSW
• Dr Caitlin Creak, behavioural ecologist and arachnologist, University of NSW
• Cody Williams, marine biologist, PhD candidate at the University of NSW
• With research by Neve Kelly, geneticist, PhD candidate at the University of NSW

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer
• Recording by Harvey O'Sullivan

This episode of What the Duck?! was recorded and produced on the lands of the Eora and Kulin Nations.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Sex comes at a cost, there's energy, time, risks of predators, and diseases… so do we even need it?

Asexual organisms don't seem to miss the dating scene, and yet here we are putting a whole lot of energy into sex, even when it doesn't lead to babies when same sexes attract.

Of course, sex is a chance to genetically repair faults and outrun threats, but is the pay-off really enough?

Sex is Weird is a series of What the Duck?! with Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the animal kingdom.

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Featuring:

• Associate Professor Kevin Teather, Author, The Evolution of Sex
• Assistant Professor Amanda Gibson, University of Virginia
• Professor Joseph Heitman, Duke University
• Professor Jenny Graves, La Trobe University

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

It turns out not everyone was listening when it was written 'it takes two to tango' and some species can go it alone in their quest to reproduce. And then there's the plants that decided THREE or ONE was for them, never an even number.

Why is sex so… suspiciously complicated?

Sex is Weird is a series of What the Duck?! with Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the natural world.

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Featuring:

• Dr Meredith Lake, Presenter, Soul Search ABC Radio National
• Dr Michael Whitehead, Evolutionary Ecologist
• Libby Eyre, Biologist, Macquarie University
• Associate Professor Andrew Durso, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida
• Professor Michael Kearney, University of Melbourne
• Dr Christine Dudgeon, University of Queensland

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

What is the role of pleasure in successful reproduction?

Evolution says it's mightily important: every female vertebrate has a clitoris.

Snakes have two!

Female pleasure has been selected for.

Making sex fun and pleasurable is a biologically sensible thing to do, more sex means more potential babies.

Some studies of pigs and dairy cows have found an increase of up to 6% in successful conception when the females are stimulated during artificial insemination.

Sex is Weird is a series of What the Duck?! with Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the animal kingdom.

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Featuring:

• Dr Bruno Buzatto, Flinders University, South Australia
• Lynette Greenwood, Dairy farmer, Victoria
• Associate Professor Andrew Durso, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida
• Lucy Cooke, Author and Film maker
• Associate Professor Patty Brennan, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, US
• Emeritus Professor Susan Suarez, Cornell University, New York

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Do animals fall in love at first sight?

Every species has different traits that are 'attractive' — they're showing off their DIY skills making a bower, vibrating sexy fruit fly songs, puffing up a wattle, or just having really massive moose… antlers.

Is this innate attraction like falling in love or is it more like meeting a (really hot) investment advisor?

Because these attractive traits are also messages about genes — who will make a good investment to partner with for the next generation.

Of course, one species beauty is another's turn off, and some species have a very low bar (looking at you guppies), so Hot or Not could end up being a very individual thing.

Sex is Weird is a series of What the Duck?! with Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the animal kingdom.

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Featuring:

• Dr Bruno Buzatto, Flinders University, South Australia
• Nathan Finger, Bird of the Week podcast host
• Jason Graham, Pacific black duck conservation group, Tasmania
• Dr Victoria Austin, Western Sydney University
• Professor Rob Brooks, University of New South Wales
• Dr Judy Wang, Queensland Brain Institute

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

The energy required to grow, birth and raise young is intense, so it's only fair that the female body has some tricks to make sure reproducing is worth it.

From cryptic choice to immune system sperm blockers, the female reproductive system can be a literal maze for those seeking to gain access to her eggs.

In the battle of the sexes, this is females fight back.

Sex is Weird is a series of What the Duck?! with Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the animal kingdom.

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Featuring:

• Professor Sarah Robertson, University of Adelaide 
• Dr Diane Kelly, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Associate Professor Patricia Brennan, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, US
• Emeritus Professor Susan Suarez, Cornell University, New York
• Professor Mariana Wolfner, Cornell University, New York

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

When it comes to sexual organs, the penis is really 'out there.' Name another organ that can change its form AND function in a matter of seconds!

There's a lot of variety in the animal kingdom; from spikes and nails to coils and collagen — so, this appendage is worth investigating… close up.

Sex is Weird is a series of What the Duck?! With Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the animal kingdom.

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Featuring:

• Dr Emily Willingham, biologist, journalist and author
• Dr Diane Kelly, Senior Research Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Associate Professor Andrew Durso, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida
• Associate Professor Patty Brennan, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, US
• Dr Bruno Buzatto, Flinders University, South Australia
• Philippa Holm, HFR Performance Horses, Victoria

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

When you really think about it, sex to make babies is WEIRD! You take an outie that has to get stuck inside an innie that links into a production line of eggs to assemble a perfect tiny being. It's so damn complicated!

So why does it work like that?

Join us at What the Duck for the first episode of a series where we figure out how living things went from splitting ourselves in half to double the population, to periodically feeling compelled to copulate in such a vigorous, sometimes highly embarrassing, manner.

Earth — this is your sexual history!

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Featuring:

• Emeritus Professor David Siveter, University of Leicester, UK
• Assistant Professor Emily Mitchell, University of Cambridge, UK and curator of non-insect invertebrates, University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, UK
• Dr Marissa Betts, geologist and palaeontologist at the University of New England, Armidale, Australia
• Dr Emily Willingham, biologist, journalist and author
• Associate Professor Patty Brennan, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, US

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano and Russell Stapleton
• Thanks also to Will Ockenden, Belinda Smith, Corey Hague and Joel Werner.

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

In 2002 Gigoo became the world's wealthiest chicken when her owner left her £10 million in his will.

How does a chook even open a bank account?

Within legal limitations there are ways to provide your pets the lifestyle they're used to after you die.

But what about divorce?

Can you have visitation rights to see your goldfish?

And when a dog's day in court climbs though the tiers of the Australian legal system, it might surprise you how little the pet is mentioned.

Featuring:

• Professor Katy Barnett, Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, and co-author of Guilty Pigs
• Professor Prue Vines, Faculty of Law and Justice, the University of New South Wales
• Ian Charman, family law specialist, consultant solicitor, Adelta Legal

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Isabella Tropiano, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

A lost monkey in an Ikea carpark is an illegally traded pet, so does he have a legal owner?

When it comes to animal ownership, courts turn to Roman-era laws to try and figure out if an animal is tame or wild.

It may work sometimes, but leaves out the modern idea of the animal's best interests.

And it doesn't explain how an elephant can have a criminal rap sheet.

Content warning: This program contains stories where animals are punished as if they are criminals. Some listeners may find this confronting.

Featuring:

• Professor Katy Barnett, Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, and co-author of Guilty Pigs
• Dr Michelle Granden, psychologist
• Mary Roach, author of Animal, Vegetable, Criminal
• Professor Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced studies in Bengaluru, India

With thanks to Dr Michelle Granden whose research inspired the title of this episode

And extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:

• Mike Dooher, XC402422. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/402422 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

How much booze does it take to intoxicate an elephant?

The answer isn't as much as you might expect, because not all guts are created equal when it comes to metabolising alcohol.

This explains why an elephant might be considered a lightweight and your donkey got into a fight last weekend.

But alcohol isn't the only cause of misbehaviour — so what motivated the legless serial doorbell pranksters?

Featuring:

• Dr Mareike Janiak,  postdoctoral associate at the University of Calgary
• Dr Christine Sutton, particle physicist and past editor of CERN Courier
• Kate Connolly, Berlin correspondent for the Guardian Newspaper
• Dr Imogen Cavadino, freelance malacologist

With news audio thanks to NPR

And extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:

• Mike Dooher, XC355140. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/355140 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
• Lonnie Bregman, XC373738. Accessible at  www.xeno-canto.org/373738 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
• Mike Dooher, XC402422. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/402422 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
• Frank Lambert, XC1031363. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1031363 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0)

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?!  was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Forget feathered friends — these are our feathered foes.

They can wield knives, get involved in the world of organised crime and drug dealing, and even shut down the Large Hadron Collider.

But the most pressing question is, why did the duck cross the road at speeds so high local law enforcement was on the case?

Featuring:

• Dr Christine Sutton, particle physicist and past editor of CERN Courier
• Mary Roach, author of Animal, Vegetable, Criminal
• Dr Laura Adams, psychology instructor at Langara College
• Professor Dina Siegel, criminology at Utrecht University
• Dr Amber Lee, avian & exotic animal veterinarian at The Unusual Pet Vets
• Sven Montgomery, Police Inspectorate, municipality of Köniz

With extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:

• David m, XC116357. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/116357 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0)
• David m, XC164431. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/164431 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0)
• Romuald Mikusek, XC912877. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/912877 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
• Daniel Parker, XC949456. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/949456 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
• Ray Cooke, XC1058578. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1058578 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Harvey O'Sullivan, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

The fear of being eaten by an animal is so visceral that a mass psychosis, featuring a monkey man, once swept across Delhi.

But in the event of an actual attack, investigators look for specific forensic clues to identify which predator was responsible.

Was the perpetrator human or animal? Or in one infamous case in the US, was it human … or owl?

Featuring:

• Phoebe Judge, host of the podcast Criminal
• Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University
• Mary Roach, author of Animal Vegetable Criminal
• Professor Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced studies in Bengaluru, India
• Professor Satish Kr. Verma, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Amrita University in Faridabad, India

With extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:

• Barry Edmonston, XC1001471. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1001471 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Leonardo da Pinchy is a literal cat burglar with more than 350 pieces of evidence against him — evidence that's easy to confirm because when he steals his neighbour's underwear, he brings it home with a satisfied look of great pride.

Steven Seagull is banned from the local corner store after a six-year beef-flavoured-chip-thieving spree.

Then there are the monkeys holding phones hostage for fruit juice.

These aren't the only creatures with a criminal record — far from it

So when animals steal, what is driving their behaviour?

Featuring:

• Dr Neeltje Boogert, associate professor in animal behaviour at the University of Exeter
• Helen North and Leonardo da Pinchy
• Julia Henning, PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide
• Professor Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced studies in Bengaluru, India

With extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:

• Romuald Mikusek, XC912877. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/912877 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
• Мітла Андрій Володимирович, XC915767. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/915767 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
• Eetu Paljakka, XC1087274. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1087274 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)

And thanks to Dr Neeltje Boogert for sounds used in the study:

• Herring gulls respond to the acoustic properties of men's voices

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Pigs tried for murder, weevils expelled from heaven and how a bloke dressed as an executed French monkey became mayor of an English town.

Topsy the elephant travelled the US performing for cheering circus-goers, but when her drunken trainer rode her into town wreaking havoc, was that her poor decision-making … or his?

Content warning: This program contains stories where animals are punished as if they are criminals. Some listeners may find this confronting.

Featuring:

• Professor Katy Barnett, Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, and co-author of Guilty Pigs
• Dr Michelle Granden, psychologist
• Stuart Drummond, former Mayor of Hartlepool UK

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Dr Ann Jones is bringing true crime and natural history together with Nature's Most Wanted, a new series from What the Duck!? investigating when animals get on the wrong side of the law.

From cats stealing underwear to roosters accused of witchcraft; human-eaters to parrots with opioid addiction; this series promises to get to the bottom of why animals turn to crime.

Dr Ann Jones examines the history of animals on trial in human courts, the responsibilities humans take when an animal goes rogue, and ultimately how we think of animals and ourselves.

Hear the evidence of episode one on Friday, March 20.

What the Duck?! is recorded and produced on the lands of the Kulin Nation.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Join What the Duck?! at a science comedy debate called Sci Fight.

Sci Fight brings scientists and comedians together to examine serious topics in a silly way.

The topic up for debate is that nature doesn't care where an animal is from.

Featuring:

• Alanta Colley, science communicator, host and founder of Sci Fight

Affirmative:

• Aaron Agostini, biologist and researcher at the University of Melbourne
• Rose Bishop, stand-up comedian and writer
• Lukian Adams, aquatic ecologist and PhD student at the University of Melbourne

Negative:

• Trish Koh, fish ecologist at the University of Melbourne
• Rowan Thambar, stand-up comedian and writer
• Adam McKenzie, actor, writer, and comedian

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer
• With thanks to Richard Girvan and Luke Woollett

This episode of What the Duck?! was recorded and produced on the land of the Kulin Nation.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

At first, you might think it is a plot from a zombie movie: that undead animals are coming for you.

But it turns out that Australia's animals aren't just dangerous when they're alive — they can be deadly even when they're dead.

Ann Jones is joined by science reporter Belinda Smith to examine why snakes can still bite up to 45 minutes after death and are potentially dangerous for years.

Think we're lying? Belinda found a guy whose great aunt (and her dog) were killed by a decapitated snake!

So if a snake could commit multiple murders from beyond the grave, what other animals are going to get you?

Featuring:

• Ray Miller, relative died after being bitten by a dead snake
• Dr Christina Zdenek, Australian Reptile Academy
• Professor Kylie Pitt, Griffith University
• Dr Olaf Meynecke, Griffith University
• Len Zell, retired marine scientist and author of Australian Wildlife — Roadkill

Production:

• Belinda Smith, ABC Science Reporter/Producer
• Ann Jones, Presenter/Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Additional mastering: Hamish Camilleri

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri and Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Bush rats are not black rats — that's the first thing you need to know.

Ann Jones is joined by ABC Top 5 scientist Dr Patrick Finnerty to understand why researchers are going around sniffing bush rats — and how it might help reintroduce them to Sydney's nature reserves.

Find out more about the Top 5 science media residency here.

Featuring:

• Dr Patrick Finnerty, conservation ecologist at the University of Sydney
• Professor Peter Banks, conservation ecologist at the University of Sydney
• Associate Professor Thomas Newsome, conservation ecologist at the University of Sydney
• Mareshell Wauchope, PhD student at University of Sydney

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Eora and Kulin Nations.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Marion Anstis pursued her love of tadpoles and frogs on afternoons and weekends, writing papers for scientific journals despite not studying zoology at university.

When she retired from her job as a music teacher, she finally had the time to pack her campervan and travel the country, chasing wet seasons and documenting the frogs she found.

The result of that fastidious research venture is her PhD and the froggy bible, Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia.

In 2022 her contribution to the field was recognised with the genus Anstisia named after her, a group of frogs that lay their eggs on the ground.

Featuring:

• Dr Marion Anstis, herpetologist and author

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

From the rolling hills of country Ireland to rolling waves beneath her boat docked in Hobart, Dr Diane Purcell has explored the most extreme places algae survive.

She's also explored the prospect of its survival away from Earth when she worked at NASA studying extremophiles.

Some of Diane's earliest research was looking at algae behaviour when it's kind of sleep deprived, and algae that will eat so much it will literally explode!

She's also dealt with the ebb and flow of research work by moving to Darwin and working as a high school science teacher.

Featuring:

• Dr Diane Purcell, Project Manager of the Remediation Section, Science and Technical Branch, at the Environment Protection Authority

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Peter Menkhorst is the mammalogist who wrote the birding bible, The Australian Bird Guide.

As a boy, Peter would go birdwatching with his dad, setting up in a hide before dawn to observe malleefowl tending their mounds — and ignoring ongoing attacks from mosquitoes!

His professional work ranged from surveying mammals and developing National Parks, to ecological research and managing over-abundant koalas, while also leading conservation work to protect the orange-bellied parrot, the regent honeyeater and the helmeted honeyeater.

Peter still keeps a list of the birds he sees, in the hardcover notebook his grandmother gave him when he was 11.

Featuring:

• Peter Menkhorst, zoologist and author

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of science is no different…

From watching slater bugs and catching non-venomous snakes in her garden just outside Toronto in Canada, to harnessing lizards with palm fronds in the Caribbean, Tanya Latty was always going to study animals.

But it wasn't until an invertebrate zoology class that her "mind exploded" and her passion for entomology became clear.

She went to the Rocky Mountains to study mountain pine beetles for her PhD — where she also accidentally studied bears and cougars up close.

These days Tanya is based in Australia and raises awareness and understanding of invertebrates after bushfires.

This is the origin story of Associate Professor Tanya Latty.

Featuring:

• Associate Professor Tanya Latty, entomologist and insect ecologist at the University of Sydney

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Nineties kids didn't dawdle on the way home from school in the afternoon. This was the age of appointment television, and that appointment was with Totally Wild.

From 1992 it was beloved afternoon viewing for almost 30 years, hosted with a massive smile (and a decent fringe) by Ranger Stacey.

Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of environmental education is no different…

From the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, to holding her own with cranky carpet-faced puppet Agro, and then hosting her own TV show for 29 years.

This is the origin story of Ranger Stacey Thomson.

Featuring:

• Ranger Stacey Thomson, environmental educator, Redland City Council

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

The influence of selective breeding by humans has created a doggo for every occasion, but it's not without problematic results.

Some breeds have breathing difficulties, hip problems, aggression, or anxiety. There are dogs with ADHD and others with depression.

Does our longest-term relationship need couples therapy?

Featuring:

• Dr. Annika Bremhorst, founder of Dogs and Science, and canine scientist at the University of Bern
• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne
• Professor Chris Johnson, the University of Tasmania
• Michael Worboys, Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester

With thanks to Paula Pérez Fraga at Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary for audio from Family pigs' and dogs' reactions to human emotional vocalizations:a citizen science study

Further reading:

• Associations between Domestic-Dog Morphology and Behaviour Scores in the Dog Mentality Assessment
• Solitary working hunting dogs show a higher tendency for magnetic alignment, with decreased alignment in older dogs

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Jacinta Bowler, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

This is the story of the domesticated animal that feralised itself.

Where did dingoes come from and when?

Where does a wild dog stop and a dingo begin?

How much can genetics really tell us about Australia's only native dog — and how long do you have to live somewhere to be 'native'?

Featuring:

• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
• Kelly Ann Blake, Wadawurrung woman, and Jack the Dingo
• Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
• Professor Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Jacinta Bowler, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Are puppy dog eyes really a sign of love, or does Fido just want a lil snack?

Can dogs really "speak" by pressing talking buttons, or do they just make great content for TikTok?

There's more to canine communication than howls and growls — and a wagging tail could be telling you more than you think.

Featuring:

• Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne
• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Associate professor Federico Rossano director of the comparative cognition lab at the University of California San Diego

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

'Man's best friend' sure sounds better than 'obligatory symbiont', but what are the true dynamics at play?

There's no denying the bond people feel and the attachment dogs have for their humans, but if we put that beautiful relationship under scientific scrutiny, does it hold up?

Can any dog go 'full Lassie' if you (or Timmy) get stuck down a well?

Will your dog save you?

Featuring:

• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne
• Professor Chris Johnson, the University of Tasmania
• Dr. Annika Bremhorst, founder of Dogs and Science, and canine scientist at the University of Bern

Further reading:

• Importance of a species' socioecology: Wolves outperform dogs in a conspecific cooperation task
• Pet dogs release their trapped and distressed owners: Individual variation and evidence of emotional contagion
• Good dog! Using livestock guardian dogs to protect livestock from predators in Australia's extensive grazing systems

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

There's designer clothes, but they have nothing on designer dogs!

They come in a huge range of shapes and colours and sizes, from the tiny Chihuahua to the Great Dane.

In the animal world this much variation usually means different species, but not for dogs — so where did they all come from?

And what role did Victorian-era rats play in the development of 'breed standards'?

Featuring:

• Joyce Sullivan, papillon breeder
• Wayne Douglas OAM, Afghan Hound breeder
• Esther Joseph, all breeds judge
• Michael Worboys emeritus professor the University of Manchester
• Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
• Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
• Dr. Elaine Ostrander, geneticist at National Institutes of Health (US)
• Dr Heidi Parker, geneticist at National Institutes of Health (US)

Further reading:

• Canine Genomics and Genetics: Running with the Pack
• The invention of the basset hound: breed, blood and the late Victorian dog fancy

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

The relationship between humans and big scary wolves has come a long way to give us tiny fluffy lap dogs with very discerning tastes in expensive food.

Whose idea was it? Was it the wolves who wanted the warmth of the fire, or the humans who wanted protection from the other scary carnivores?

And take a look at the first archaeological evidence of a beloved family pet preserved with its human family for almost 15,000 years!

Featuring:

• Luc Janssens, Specialist in small animal surgery and archaeologist
• Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
• Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University

Further reading:

• A new look at an old dog : Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered
• Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication
• Dog domestication and the dual dispersal of people and dogs into the Americas

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Nematodes are found in every environment on Earth and can survive in some seriously extreme conditions.

They will come back to life after being frozen for 40 thousand years! WHAT THE DUCK?!

There's so much more to these creatures than a chocolate square for an itchy rear end…

Sign up here for the nematode appreciation society.

Featuring:

• Dr Mike Hodda, senior principal research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO
• Bethany Perry, PhD student at the ARC Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity, University of Canberra and CSIRO

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?! was recorded and produced on the land of the Ngunnawal, Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

CSIRO's National Research Collection in Canberra is where millions of dead things bring life to Australian science.

The specimens, collected over many decades, have just been very carefully moved into a new purpose-built facility named Diversity.

The What the Duck?! team had a "sticky beak" inside to find DNA extraction robots, extinct birds, predatory flies, and a few thousand slides containing insect genitalia.

This episode was recorded in September, before recent announcements were made about CSIRO funding.

Featuring:

• Dr Alicia Grealy, research projects officer, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO
• Dr Keith Bayless, research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO
• Andrea Wild, science communicator, CSIRO
• Dr Anna Kearns, research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO
• Dr Olivia Evangelista de Souza, curator and digital data manager, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO

With thanks to Thea Williams and Ian Dewar at CSIRO

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

This episode of What the Duck?!  was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

After receiving a heartbreaking email, Ann goes on a mission to prove that 'girls DO like spiders, frogs and all things nature'.'

Featuring:

• Lyra and Julie Gould from Canada
• Dr. Jodi Rowley- Australian Museum and University of NSW
• Professor Maydianne Andrade- University of Toronto
• Dr. Amber Beavis- Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer
• Associate Professor Tanya Latty- Sydney University

Plus excerpts from videos to Lyra from:

• Dr Federica Turco
• Dr Juanita Rodriguez
• Dr Kate Umbers
• Dr Perry Beasley-Hall
• Dr Jessica Fenker
• Josie Styles
• Ying Luo

Plus extra sounds from:

• Christopher MacGregor, ABC Radio National listener with an excellent frog chorus from Bayswater in Perth, WA
• Frank Lambert, with a Spot-throated Babbler recording from Thailand, via xeno canto XC200877 (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Joel Werner, Script Editing

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2022 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

It's like a classic horror film.

There are huge fangs, a segmented body, a remote location, the ocean bashing against cliffs, you're all alone and there's no one to help.

The first bodies that turn up are of the children… of petrels.

Featuring:

• Luke Halpin, PhD Researcher, Monash University

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Joel Werner, Script Editing

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2022 and produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Turns out centipedes versus millipedes isn't as simple as a numbers game.

But here at What the Duck?! we never skip leg day.

Featuring:

• Dr Juanita Rodriguez, Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO.
• Dr Bruno Alves Buzatto, Flinders University.
• Luis Villazon, Science Educator UK.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Angela Grant.

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2022 and produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.