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Life is strange, naturally you want to hear about it. Strange by Nature is your guide to the strange, weird and unbelievable side of nature. Professional naturalists present weekly curated stories about just how strange nature can get.
Episodes
Mar 19, 2025
Mar 19, 2025
47 min
Welcome to the beginning of year 5 of the podcast. We're happy to have all of our amazing listeners along for the ride.
Rachel kicks things off this year with the bizarre story of a fish that spends more time on land than in water. Welcome to the world of mud skippers.
Victoria probes the depths of the ocean to unravel the mystery of Dark Oxygen. This finding has big implications for rare earth mining.
Kirk wraps things up this week by asking the question, can frogs see rainbows? The answer may explain why Kermit the Frog wants to know why people sing some many songs about them.
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Mar 12, 2025
Mar 12, 2025
58 min
It's the end of our 4th year doing the show so that means it is time for our annual quiz show! Our Special guest Brett Sieberer is here once again to ask us strange questions that all relate to the past year of the show. Don't worry, your favorite game, "Eat, Ride or Jacket" is back for another round!
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Mar 5, 2025
Mar 5, 2025
40 min
Kirk kicks things off the the Medlar, an ancient fruit with a decidedly NSFW nickname. Maybe this one isn't for the kids.
Rachel then gets to the bottom of why people put grape leaves in pickle jars.
Victoria then bring us the horrifying story of the Loa Loa, otherwise known as the Eye Worm.
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Feb 26, 2025
Feb 26, 2025
45 min
Victoria starts things off with a bang this week and that bang is ants that explode their bodies releasing a toxic yellow goo epoxy to trap their attackers. It's just...wow.
Kirk is up next with the strange case of disappearing stars. There are stars vanishing in the night sky and astronomers aren't sure why.
Rachel rounds out this very strange episode with a story about a trapper who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to an American Martin.
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Feb 19, 2025
Feb 19, 2025
40 min
Rachel tells us an astounding fact, the metal of the Titanic is being eaten by bacteria and could collapse in just 6 years.
Victoria helpfully lets us know that beautiful beach sand is actually Parrotfish poop.
Kirk is up last and he introduces us to the mystery of Fast Radio Bursts from outer space.
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Feb 12, 2025
Feb 12, 2025
47 min
Kirk gets to start us out this week and he's all ears. Ears are weird but all those shapes actually mean something. Learn how the shape of an animal's ears can tell us about their habitat and behavior.
Rachel is up next and she goes on on the ice to tackle the question of why does ice on lakes crack in the winter? It turns out it relates to some of the very strange properties of frozen water.
Victoria introduces us to The Hot Chocolate Effect. Did you know that hot water sounds different than cold water when it is poured, stirred or moved through pipes? It all comes down to bubbles.
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Feb 5, 2025
Feb 5, 2025
34 min
Victoria is up first with a mystery part of the cell and we have no idea what it does or why it is there but it is inside you right now. Learn more about the strange "Vaults" in our cells.
Kirk is second this week and he brings us some new research into the strange social urination of animals.
Rachel rounds out the episode with a creature feature on Kangaroo Rats/Kangaroo Mice.
Jan 29, 2025
Jan 29, 2025
41 min
On this week's show, Victoria kicks things off with a discussion of Chirality and how the study of the "handedness" of molecules could actually lead to the creation of completely new forms of life. It's a bizarre thought experiment with very real and dangerous consequences.
Rachel brings us a creature feature, the fish-scaled gecko. This strange creature has an amazing defense mechanism that is both fascinating and gross.
Kirk ends things with a salute to Groundhog Day and he dives into the possible science behind why we think these giant ground squirrels can predict the weather.
Jan 22, 2025
Jan 22, 2025
1hr 4 min
On this week's show 2/3 of us talk about animal defenses.
Kirk starts us off with the Giant Vinegaroon, an acid shooting whip scorpion.
Rachel then also talks defenses with the Fulmar, a bird that covers enemies with stinking projectile vomit.
Victoria takes us in an all new direction by talking about Left-handedness.
Thanks for joining us this week!
Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad free!
Jan 15, 2025
Jan 15, 2025
34 min
Victoria kicks things of this week with a fascinating new study on Potter wasps showing that the males actually can defensively "sting" even though they don't have a classic stinger. If you are a fan of defensive genitalia, this story's for you!
Kirk keeps it with insects and defense this week and tells us a bit about the irritating hairs of caterpillars, how some of them have toxins and and how they can get into your eyes. No thanks.
Rachel takes us to a small island off the coast of Yemen to introduce us to the endangered Dragon's Blood Tree. It isn't just rare, it is strange too.
Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad free!