Just the Zoo of Us
Ellen and Christian Weatherford review animal species, rating them on effectiveness, ingenuity, and aesthetics. Listeners can submit species for review and receive a shoutout. The podcast features cover art by Mrs. Brainbow and theme music by Louie Zong.
Episodes
351: False Water Cobra w/ Harpreet Singh Sethi!
Joined Ellen & special guest, conservationist and herpetologist Harpreet Singh Sethi, for a look at the snake appropriately named the Giant Lord of the Water. While the false water cobra is the main topic of the episode - and is even a silent but very much present guest for recording - we discuss a lot, like multifaceted approaches to conservation, taking a snake in a box on the bus, convergen
190: Pom-Pom Crab & Mourning Dove (REPLAY)
In this week's re-broadcast of an episode from April of 2023, Christian cheers for pom-pom crabs & Ellen explains what makes mourning doves so coo-l. We discuss how crabs clone their own pets, what type of milk pigeons order in their lattes, and a suspicious pattern of criminal activity.Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the
350: Monarch Butterfly
It's fall yall - time for Ellen and Christian to embark on a multi-generational odyssey with monarch butterflies. We discuss why butterflies are total heartstoppers and their style twins, real-life shinies, what's going on inside a chrysalis, an annual journey that takes multiple generations to finish, how to best support wild monarch butterflies, and so much more.
Works Cited:
"Danaus plexippus
349: Clouded Leopard w/ Alice Vassallo!
Join Ellen & very special guest zookeeper and conservationist Alice Vassallo for the inside scoop on one of the world’s most mysterious not-so-big cats. We discuss differences between zookeeping practices in Europe and the US, swiping right if you have rotatable ankles, marshmallows as a last resort, have an eclipse interlude, and so much more.
Links:
Check out Alice's podcast (profanity war
348: Sociable Weaver
Ellen weaves her magic on sociable weavers. We discuss the three pillars of science communication, trick entrances, plane cabin pressurization, bullying for the greater good, lizard gossip, and more.
Works Cited:
"The Sociable Weavers of the Kalahari" - Ultimate Safari, YouTube
"Kapokvoel, Cape Penduline-Tit.(Anthoscopus-minutus)" - Coerie Ferreira, YouTube
“Largest bird’s nest” - Guinness Boo
347: Sea Otters w/ Kristyn Plancarte!
Join Ellen & special guest marine biologist Kristyn Plancarte for a review of the world’s wettest weasels. We discuss beluga whales’ fake six packs, the unique challenges of caring for animals who so desperately crave chaos and destruction, dolphin MLMs, how adorable animals could save the world, and so much more.
Links:
Follow Kristyn on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch!
Learn more about
346: Pufferfish
Ellen is blowing up about pufferfish. We discuss what pufferfish have in common with chameleons, seafloor crop circles, culinary applications of deadly neurotoxin, and so much more.
Works Cited:
“All puffed out: Do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated?” - Georgia Evelyn McGee & Timothy Darren Clark, Biology Letters, Dec 2014
“Treatment of Tetrodotoxin Poisoning” - Sophie Yushuo Li, Theor
345: Conservation Stories w/ Sharon Guynup!
Join Ellen & special guest, journalist and writer Sharon Guynup, for stories from the world of conservation. Our guest’s career has taken her all over the world, from the forests of India to the highways of rural America, where she has experienced both ends of the spectrum of human relationships to nature. She’s been part of busting wildlife trafficking rings and abuse and she’s seen communities j
344: Kid Questions with Isaac!
Ellen & special guest Isaac answer questions from young listeners! We discuss bug guts, milking squids, the blobfish's secret Final Form, getting upped, ancient sharks with table saws for faces, and so much more.
Links:
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky
343: Synanthropes w/ Dan Werb!
Join Ellen & special guest, writer and scientist Dan Werb, for a look at the animal neighbors that have made themselves at home in our own backyards: synanthropes. The word means a wild, undomesticated animal that lives closely alongside humans, whether that means scurrying through subway tunnels or curling up in an old refrigerator at the bottom of the sea or quietly roosting right over your head
342: Mongoose
Ellen and Christian return from their travels to review the good, the bad, and the ugly of the mongooses. We discuss the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum, historical plurals, neurotoxin Darth Vader, checking in with Pliny the Elder, the most "mean girls" scientific study ever, mysteriously weird pupils, the global issue of mongoose-induced ecological destruction, and so much more.
Works Cited:
Terrestrials: The Trio w/ Lulu Miller!
Ellen & special guest, science journalist and host of Radiolab and Terrestrials Lulu Miller, discuss the lifelong impact of science communication, review bald eagles, and share a very special podcast treat. Terrestrials: The Trio originally aired on July 26, 2024: https://radiolab.org/podcast/terrestrials-the-trio240726
From the original episode description:
"High above the banks of the Mississipp
341: Elephant Mosquito w/ Cassandra Fieldson!
Join Ellen & special guest science communicator, infectious disease researcher, and the Khaleesi of Mosquitos for a review of some of the animal kingdom’s most controversial creatures. We discuss whether our guest would rather fight 10,000 mosquitos or a gorilla, evil squiggles and how malaria works, larval cannibalism and mosquito-on-mosquito crime, what the insectary is doing with all those soup
340: Fiddler Crab
We add another string to our bow by learning about the fiddler crab. We discuss the arc of history bending towards crab, the MogBot 2000, bad dating advice, non-orientable wormholes, and so much more.
Works Cited:
“The Design of a Beautiful Weapon” - John Christy, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
“On the Other Hand: The Myth of Fiddler Crab Claw Reversal” - Judith S. Weis, BioScience, Apr
339: Binturong w/ Rick Schwartz!
Join Ellen & special guest science communicator and ambassador for wildlife Rick Schwartz for a review of the wise old wizards of Asian forests: binturongs. We discuss career paths for yappers, monkey software on weasel hardware, the chemical coincidence that makes binturongs smell like snacks, the fulfilling experience of finally being considered one of the girls, and so much more.
Links:
Lear
338: Seriema
Ellen gets her claws out for seriemas. We discuss terror birds, reverse mullets, sickle claws, weird scenes from Jurassic Park, golf ball physics, and so much more.
Works Cited:
“Observation of Claw Use and Feeding Behavior of the Red-Legged Seriema and Its Implication for Claw Use in Deinonychosaurs” - Oswald et al., Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, January 2023
"Seriema - mod
337: Tree Kangaroos w/ Lisa Dabek!
Join Ellen & special guest, senior conservation scientist at Woodland Park Zoo and founder of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Lisa Dabek, as we celebrate World Tree Kangaroo Day by putting these charming ghosts of the forest in the well-deserved spotlight. We discuss the diversity of Papua New Guinea’s cloud forests where dinosaurs still have the run of the place, life as a joey in the towe
336: Crawfish w/ Jack Koch!
Join Ellen & special guest, technobiologist and professor Jack Koch, for a review of the iconic crustacean known and loved by many names: the crawfish. We discuss sea hare ink, a genetically modified super-soldier kaiju battle, the taxonomic classifications of rocks, bugs and squishy bags, the perils of growing up under the tail of a cannibal mom, and so much more.
Links:
Learn more about Jack'
335: Sand Cat
Ellen lets the sand cat out of the bag. We discuss dangerously approaching Hey Arnold, refusal to poop on unfamiliar toilets, blood gushers, a myth of dirty underwear, Cat Premium, and so much more.
Works Cited:
“The Carnivores of West Africa” - Donovan Reginald Rosevear, 1974. Page 396
“Mammalian ear specializations in arid habitats: structural and functional evidence from sand cat (Felis marg
Bonus Content Free Samples! (2026)
Curious about the exclusive bonus content for Maximum Fun members? Enjoy some free samples from special episodes: "All Fun and Games with Isaac," "Just the Two of Us," and Let's Learn Everything's "Frogs! II A Royal Rescue"
If you like what you hear, head over to https://maximumfun.org/join and sign up to get access to the entire bonus content library and SO much more!
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334: Animals in Space w/ Let's Learn Everything!
Ellen & special guests, Ella Hubber and Tom Lum of Let’s Learn Everything, turn our gazes to the skies and talk animals in space. We discuss the fruit fly fan club, the great big farm on the moon, which earthlings were ACTUALLY the first to make the trip around the moon and back, a spider escape where you least want it, why dentistry researchers had a snake room, shooting tardigrades out of a gun,
333: Great White Shark
Ellen jaws away about the great white shark. We discuss making our own planetary rings, performance-enhancing Speedos, how sharks sleep, the White Shark Café, IRL baby shark, and so much more.
Works Cited:
“Shark evolution: a 450 million year timeline” - Josh Davis, Natural History Museum
“SPEEDO FASTSKIN – A HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST SWIMSUITS” - SwimSwam.com, November 2023
“White Shark
Casters on Casters: Teylor Smirl and Ellen Weatherford
It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters.
In this episode, Teylor Smirl (Still Buffering) and Ellen Weatherford (Just the Zoo of Us) bond over the media they consumed that shaped who they are today, and how that media informs their perspectives on their shows. Plus, each host reveals their
332: Asian Elephants w/ Kartick Satyanarayan!
Join Ellen & special guest, co-founder and CEO of conservation organization Wildlife SOS Kartick Satyanarayan, for a review of Asian elephants. We discuss the harm caused by wildlife exploitation, how they protect animals by uplifting human communities, how education can help tourists make more ethical choices, and of course our guest shares some stories of what it’s like living and working alongs
331: Jackrabbits
Follow Ellen down the jackrabbit hole. We discuss facial tilt, satellite dish ears, evolutionary ghosts of predators past, touchdown dances, jackalopes, Easter, and so much more.
Works Cited:
"A Field Guide to Jackrabbits" - Matthew L. Miller, The Nature Conservancy, Nov 2022
“Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha)” - Brian Kraatz et al., PeerJ, Dec 2014
330: Cryptids w/ the Cryptonaturalist, Jarod K. Anderson!
Join Ellen & the Cryptonaturalist (Jarod K. Anderson) to talk about the ways that nature and wildlife can inspire our creativity and shape our stories, particularly the enticingly unknowable cryptids. We discuss being raised by a witch, the natural poetry in scientific facts about starfish, the value of enthusiasm, caked up Mothman and the tragic Squonk, getting emoted on by skunks, the surprising
329: Coelacanth
Don't call it a comeback, coelacanth's been here for years. We discuss life on Earth 400 million years ago, a military escort mission, our own fish ancestors, five year pregnancies, underwater handstands, an unnecessarily complicated puzzle in the third generation Pokémon games, and so much more.
Works Cited:
“The Coelacanth” - Knysna Museum
“The Discovery” - UC Museum of Paleontology’s website
328: Apollo the African Grey Parrot w/ Dalton Mason!
Join Ellen & Dalton Mason, creator and bird parent behind Apollo and Frens, for a look into life alongside the world-famous African grey parrot. You may have seen their videos on social media showing off Apollo’s incredibly impressive vocabulary, answering questions and even speaking in full sentences, which have earned the bird a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2025 - on top of all
327: Mandarin Duck
Ellen falls in love with the Mandarin duck. We discuss why waterfowl's webbed feet don't freeze in the winter, the evolutionary arms race between male and female ducks, New York City's local celebrity Hot Duck, your new favorite coffee order, and more.
Works Cited:
"Countercurrent Exchange" - Dr. Roger Lederer, ornithology.org
“Coevolution of Male and Female Genital Morphology in Waterfowl” - P
326: Moth Flies w/ Emily, your Certified Bug Friend!
Join Ellen & special guest, science communicator and Certified Bug Friend Emily, for a review of the tiny little bugs that fly around your nearest kitchen sink. We discuss what Big Pest doesn’t want you to know, convergent evolution between bugs and fish, the drain gods, secret spy languages that only bugs can read, and so much more.
Links:
Follow Emily on Instagram, YouTube, and more!
Learn mo
325: Triops (AKA Tadpole Shrimp)
Ellen goes on a journey through time and space with Triops, the tadpole shrimp. We discuss book fairs, vernal pools, whether saltwater or freshwater came first, trips to space, prehistoric scampi, surprise guests at Burning Man, and so much more.
Sources:
"Ontogenetic sequence comparison of extant and fossil tadpole shrimps: no support for the “living fossil” concept" - Philipp Wagner et al., Pa
324: Egg-Eating Snake w/ Lyn!
Join Ellen & special guest artist and reptile keeper Lyn for an up close and personal look at a little snake with a big appetite. We discuss how it feels to handle a snake, stress dreams specific to pet owners, gastoning it, spine teeth, snacktivities, how snakes flirt with each other, and so much more.Links:Check out Lyn's art and comic on Instagram! Denver folks, check out Lyn's upcoming snake s
323: Banana Slug
Ellen takes things slow with the iconic banana slug. We discuss mobile slip 'n' slides, recreationally poisoning yourself, liquid crystals, oobleck, robosnail, slime trains, moisture farming, apophallation, college mascots, and so much more.Works Cited:"Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime" for Mallory Pickett, KQED, February 2015"Mechanical Devices for Snail-like Locomotion" - Brian Chan et al., Jou
322: The Bird Hall w/ Shannon Hackett & John Bates!
Join Ellen & special guests, power couple Shannon Hackett and John Bates from the Field Museum, here to talk about the intersection of science, history, and of course, birds in a love letter to the natural history museum. We discuss working alongside SUE the T. rex, specimen pickles, harlequin romance novels, and explore bigger questions like how museum collections can reveal evolution happening a
321: Norway Lemmings
Ellen sets the record straight on Norway lemmings, busting over 400 years of myths. We discuss rodent audacity, ecological impacts that can be seen from space, spontaneous generation, Ole Worm, Atlantis, a Disney lie, and so much more.Works Cited:“Genome analyses suggest recent speciation and postglacial isolation in the Norwegian lemming” - Edana Lord et al., PNAS, June 2025“Aposematism and cryps
320: Vinny Thomas's Top 3 Urban Wildlife Species!
Join Ellen & special guest comedian, writer, and nature enthusiast Vinny Thomas for a review of some of the furry, feathered, and scaly neighbors making themselves at home right in our very own cities. We discuss domestication, dogs with human feet, inflatable snoods, ostriches for self-defense, kaiju battles at the park, life in a shipwreck, and so much more.Links:Follow Vinny on Instagram, Threa
319: Tasmanian Devil
Ellen gives the Tasmanian devil his due. We discuss mythbusters, cranial real estate, the masculine urge to bite your fingers off, which came first: the chicken or the egg, dump stats, contagious cancer, and so much more. Works Cited:"Too hot for the devil? Did climate change cause the mid-Holocene extinction of the Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii from mainland Australia?" - Shane D. Morris e
318: Jungle Jordan's Top 3 Friend-Shaped Carnivores!
Join Ellen & special guest, wildlife educator and zookeeper Jungle Jordan, as we round up his top 3 friend-shaped carnivores, all the cutest critters that could absolutely wreck you. We discuss hidden mickeys, toxic friend groups, modern-day sabertooths, delicious hair, an unlikely pair of woodland best friends, and so much more.Links:Learn more about Jordan's work at his website: https://www.jung
317: Sea Angel
Ellen gets into the festive spirit with sea angels. We discuss Christian's beachfront disaster, secret tentacles, teeny titan battles, undismissable companions, Hello Kitty merch, and so much more.Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!
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316: Southern Cassowary w/ Marco Wendt!
Joined Ellen & special guest wildlife ambassador and care specialist Marco Wendt from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for a review of the towering birds that are ready to literally rumble: cassowaries. We discuss short kings and feminine rage, a secret bird language humans can’t hear, nature’s best dads, getting a modern dinosaur to be brave for his shots, and so much more.Links:Cassowary rumble aud
315: Kinkajou
Ellen irons out the kinkajous. We discuss Thomas Jefferson's giant moose sidequest, the dessert hypothesis, bad pets, who the real Frankenstein monster is, and so much more.Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
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314: Sarah Suta's Top 3 Dream Comebacks!
Join Ellen & host of Bizarre Beasts Sarah Suta for a lineup of some animals she’d like to see get a second chance, whether they’re species we’ve already lost or ones that might still have a shot. We discuss foreign exchange student accents, the ecological impact of the invention of the telegraph, bird call sheet music, the scientific fumble of the century, bison where you least expect them, and so
170: Wild Turkey (REPLAY)
In this week's re-broadcast of an episode from November of 2022, Ellen goes on an odyssey through history with the wild turkey. We discuss their path alongside humans for thousands of years, from prehistoric America to praise from Benjamin Franklin, the brink of extinction and nets fired out of cannons. Further viewing:Rocket Netting Turkeys, a video demonstration by the LSU AgCenter Paul Kelly's
313: Turkey Vulture
Ellen has a bone to pick with turkey vultures. We discuss aura farming, our gripes with the pH scale, a check-in with our resident Dragon Ball Z correspodent, screaming inside your heart, laser harassment campaigns, and so much more.Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky
312: Common Snapping Turtle w/ Emma Ratway!
Join Ellen & special guest from the world of wildlife rehabilitation Emma Ratway for a review of the chompy rogues lurking at the bottom of ponds all over the country: snapping turtles. We discuss working with wildlife and getting to raise and release baby snapping turtles, a jury of one’s deers, a cat named Crunch Wrap Supreme, butt breathing, magnets, simple English wikipedia, eating board game
311: Cleaner Wrasse
Ellen comes clean about the bluestreak cleaner wrasse. We discuss trust, cheating, fish patriarchy, manipulation, deception, game theory, the prisoner's dilemma, marketing, the mirror test, the horrors of self-awareness, and so much more. Christian drinks a Capri-Sun. Works Cited:“Testing the Low-density Hypothesis for Reversed Sex Change in Polygynous Fish: Experiments in Labroides dimidiatus” -
310: Lindsay Nikole’s Top 3 Periods of Life on Earth
Join Ellen & special guest, zoology and science communication powerhouse Lindsay Nikole, for a review of some of the animal kingdom’s greatest hits throughout the history of the Earth. We discuss ecological gossip, mass extinctions, the Cambrian explosion and evolution’s “experimental” phase, swimming potatoes with googly eyes, giant bugs, bizarre prehistoric sharks, imaginary friend lore, and so
309: Hairy Frog
Ellen gets her claws out for the hairy frog. We discuss what the tooth fairy dispatch system is doing with all those teeth, frog gigging, Wolverine lore, the scariest horror of all: Chytridiomycosis, and so much more.Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
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308: Cara Giaimo's Top 3 Surprises from the Animal Kingdom!
Join Ellen & special guest, writer and science journalist Cara Giaimo, for a highlight reel of some of the animal kingdom’s biggest surprises. We discuss Lego trebuchets, the scifi potential of a projectile-based language, endangered relationships, biofluorescence, the great pacific garbage patch’s number 1 fan, and so much more. Links:Find Atlas Obscura: Wild Life and Leaving the Ocean Was a Mist
307: Jack Jumper Ants
Ellen jumps to conclusions about jack jumper ants. We discuss Metazooa, is it cake, a menace to public health, lime in the Coke, gamergate, casual abductions, learning walks, and so much more. Links:Play Metazooa: https://metazooa.com/For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
He
306: A Review of Disgust w/ Nature Disturbed!
Join Ellen & special guest artist and science communicator behind Nature Disturbed for an appropriate kickoff to the month of all things wretched with a review of disgust. We talk about phobias and ways that we can relate and empathize with even our most feared animals, why we might want to move in to a termite colony, anatomical surprises, the uncanny valley, how to make a slime meringue, and so
305: Galápagos Tortoise
Ellen comes along for the ride with Galápagos tortoises. We discuss how giant tortoises crossed 600 miles of ocean, the superpowers built into their DNA that let them live for over a century, extinction and restoration, Charles Darwin's boat snacks, Kung Fu Panda lore, and so much more.Links:Follow Poison Oak and find more of her work on Instagram: @poison.oak.nycFor more information about us & ou
304: Dr. Keriann McGoogan's Top 3 Primatology Stories!
Join Ellen & special guest, primatologist and author Dr. Keriann McGoogan, for primatology storytime! Our guest shares experiences from her time working with lemurs in Madagascar and howler monkeys in Belize, like kind gestures from people helping out their local monkeys after a hurricane. She also brings us some truly juicy tales from the study of primates, like a true crime thriller involving mi
303: American Dipper w/ Jason Hall!
Join Ellen & birder and science communicator Jason Hall for a review of a little bird full of big surprises: the American dipper. We discuss birding pre-smartphone, Philadelphia’s role in ornithological history, the wild physiological adaptations that let this tiny songbird brave mountain rapids, smooth dance moves, aura farming, and so much more.Links:Follow Jason on Instagram: @thebirdingbeards
302: Bigfin Squid
Ellen demystifies the deep sea-dwelling bigfin squid. We discuss hunting for shipwrecks, life in the trenches, spaghetti noodle fingers, unintentional cinematography, and so much more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!Sound Credit:Ted Floyd, XC460525. Accessible at
301: Lyrebirds w/ Dr. César Puechmarin!
Join Ellen & special guest, wildlife veterinarian, filmmaker and science communicator Dr César Puechmarin, for a review of Australia’s masters of song: the lyrebird. We discuss birdwatching drama, the ancient origins of songbirds, vocal anatomy, secret passwords, oral history and cultural memory passed down through generations and the ghosts remembered in birdsong, and so much more.Links:Learn mo
300: A Badger + Coyote Adventure!
Ellen & Christian team up as a coyote and badger in a cozy duet TTRPG adventure. When a family of skunks accuse a reclusive bobcat of disturbing their peaceful home, the woodland's finest pair of peacekeepers are on the case. We use the Badger + Coyote game system by Pandion Games to improvise a collaborative story of mystery, fire, a waterfall cave, legend of stalking predators in the night, devi
299: Nightjars
Ellen gives the mysterious wing-clapping nightjars a round of applause. We discuss Pliny the Elder, bird whiskers, what it really means to "raise one's standards," ecologically accurate sound effects in The Legend of Zelda, an acoustic mystery, El Chupacabra, and so much more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook
298: Katie Goldin's 3 Weirdest Shark Facts!
Join Ellen & returning guest, science communicator and comedy writer Katie Goldin, for a roundup of her 3 weirdest facts about sharks. We discuss cage-free uranium, possible mermaid configurations, why sometimes people poop themselves when they’re scared, how fomo can conquer phobia, eye teeth, and so much more. Heads up: part of this episode’s conversation is about cocaine. When it comes up I wil
158: Pallas's Cat & Kiwi (REPLAY)
In this week's re-broadcast of an episode from September of 2022, Ellen lets Pallas's cat out of the bag & Christian probes into the world of the sensitive kiwi. We discuss grumpy cats, spawncamping, chilly beans, buff legs and giant eggs.Links:Check out Benjamin Lancer's paper on dragonfly attention in Nature!Watch Wildlife Instincts: Pallas's Cat - Master of the Plains on YouTube!Learn more abou
297: Red Fox
Ellen explains what the red fox REALLY says. We discuss a chicken shakedown, the Siberian fox domestication experiment, aim assist, quantum entanglement, genetic surprises, and so much more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!SOUND CREDIT: Fox screaming in the night.
296: Leach's Storm Petrel w/ Melina Watson!
Join Ellen & special guest, marine biologist and seabird wrangler Melina Watson, for a review of the ocean’s bravest little walkerwalkers: Leach’s storm petrel. We swap whalewatching stories, discuss snot gutters and lost feet and baby chicks that look like soot sprites, and get firsthand insight into life among the seabirds, from falling asleep to a lullaby of screams to a surprising assessment o
295: Giant Anteater
Ellen pokes her nose into the giant anteater's business. We discuss Fun Dip, sleeper builds, optical illusions, blankies, the shirshu, and so much more.Links:Learn more about the ICAS on their website and follow them on Instagram!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
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294: Speculative Evolution w/ Roxy Valdez!
Join Ellen & special guest, digital artist and character designer Roxy Valdez, for a multimedia exploration of the intersection where real-world biology and ecology meets the imagination: speculative evolution! We discuss the world of the Amphiterra Project, the academic research and creative process that goes into designing creatures for science fiction and fantasy, and even team up to roll dice
293: Rhinoceros & Bird-eating Tarantula
Christian takes charge of rhinoceroses & Ellen gives bird-eating tarantulas a hair-raising review. We discuss unicorns, mmwonk, dragon calls, Ace Ventura, becoming the Thumbtacks Guy, recipes for a bag of spiders, and more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
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292: Ivan Phillipsen's 3 Weirdest Birds!
Join Ellen and acclaimed naturalist Ivan Phillipsen to round up his top 3 weirdest birds. We discuss what makes a bird truly “weird,” the distinct silhouette of a style icon, never letting a perfectly good placenta go to waste, birds getting tipsy on fermented berries, and so much more.Links:Find more of Ivan's work at scienceofbirds.com!Go check out Ivan's podcast, The Science of Birds!For more i
291: Kid Questions with Isaac!
Ellen & special guest Isaac answer questions from young listeners! We discuss albinism, whales and dinosaurs, what makes an organism an animal, raccoon stripes, the puppification of foxes, and so much more.Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
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290: Rabbits w/ Zoe Feigen!
Join Ellen & special guest, veterinarian and rabbit parent Zoe Feigen, for an exposé on rabbits and the secret horrors they’re hiding underneath all that adorable fluff. We discuss biological warfare on an ecological menace, self-sharpening glass crunchers, eating poop, outie butts, flirting with pee, tearaway hair, haunting screams, and so much more. This truly eye-opening episode will forever ch
289: Parrotfish
Ellen bites off more than she can chew with parrotfish. We discuss the Mohs scale, Korn corn, throat teeth, crystal chainmail, sleeping bags made of snot, being terminally male, and so much more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
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288: Corals w/ Jessie Palmer!
Join Ellen & special guest, champion of the reef Jessie Palmer, as we try to save the world one polyp at a time. We discuss coral wars and neural nets, aliens from a different version of our own planet, literally re-inventing the wheel with coral-inspired biomimicry, what’s up with coral bleaching and how can we help, and even surprisingly philosophical questions, like “what is an individual?” “wh
Extremely Accurate Bird Songs: Mourning Dove
Get your seeds and suet ready because it's time for a feed drop: Ellen joins birding musicians Tommy Siegel and Billy Libby for the debut episode of Extremely Accurate Bird Songs (The Podcast) on the mourning dove.Links:Follow along with Extremely Accurate Bird Songs (The Podcast)Find more of Tommy's work on his website!Find more of Billy's work on his website!For more information about us & our p
287: Mexican Jumping Bean Moth & Slow Worm
Ellen's thinking about those Mexican jumping beans & Christian takes things slow with the slow worm. We discuss bean details, the strategic value of random movement, hair pencils, the difference between snakes and legless lizards, autotomy, and so much more.Links:Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram &
286: A Review of the Animal Kingdom in Miniature w/ Dr. Mark D. Scherz!
Join Ellen & special guest, evolutionary biologist and herpetologist Dr. Mark D. Scherz, for a look through the magnifying glass at miniaturized animals. Our guest studies species who have shrunk down to incredibly small sizes, like frogs and chameleons who could gather on the tip of your finger, and he has some fascinating insights into why and how animals get so darn itty bitty and what could be
285: American Woodcock & Camel Spider
Christian walks to the beat of the American woodcock & Ellen throws shade at camel spiders. We discuss peent, walking with rhythm to attract the worm, beak smooches, chain e-mails, girl dinner, ant massacres, and so much more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
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284: African Pygmy Hedgehog w/ Sarah Bessie!
Join Ellen & special guest, animal care educator and advocate Sarah Bessie (the "Hedge Chef") for a review of the prickly little roly polies: African pygmy hedgehogs. We discuss built-in hoodie strings, standing jeans, biomimicry in sports equipment, mobile charcuterie, what to do with your skirt when you gotta go fast, all the ways hedgehogs fail to beat the witchcraft allegations, and so much mo
283: Paddlefish & Pigbutt Worm
Christian is up a creek without a paddlefish & an unusual deep-sea worm becomes the butt of Ellen's jokes. We discuss a previous guest getting electrocuted for shark science, hot takes on the whole direwolf de-extinction thing, the unexpected hybridization of the sturddlefish, why pigbutt worms are like that, statistically insignificant haters, and so much more. Links:For more information about us
282: Brooke Hartman's Top 3 Cutest Killers!
Join Ellen & special guest, author Brooke Hartman, for a look at some of the animal kingdom’s most deceptively adorable assassins. We discuss evolutionary arms race, hot ones for mice, Mr. Yuck, an insect isekai, a toxic honeypot, and so much more. These cuties are slaying more than just their prey.Links:Get your copy of Cute Animals That Could Kill You Dead wherever you buy books!Find more of Bro
281: Field Notes (2025)
Ellen & Christian share stories, observations and inspiration from special guest: you! We discuss Benedict Cumberbatch's turkey gang, my squirrel mech grandma, Twitch plays deep sea ROV dives, hear me out cakes, smuggling budgies, house vultures, and more.Links:Get involved with the MaxFunDrive & check out this year's awesome gifts & bonus content!For more information about us & our podcast, head
280: Eastern Gray Squirrel & Budgerigar (aka Parakeet)
Ellen goes nuts for the eastern gray squirrel & a little bird told Christian about the budgerigar (AKA parakeet). We discuss the MaxFunDrive, Pikachu, the e-nut, squirrel crime, fluorescent feathers, spicy air, Bluey, and so much more. Links:Get involved with the MaxFunDrive & check out this year's awesome gifts & bonus content!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Ellen joins MFD Spring Break
It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky ‘90s- and Spring Break-themed mini games!!Featuring: Dave Holmes, Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya, Dimitry Pompée, Hal Lublin, Tom Lum, Ellen Weatherford, Alex Schmidt, Brenda Snell, Drea Clark, Alonso Duralde, Dan McCoy, Jord
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