What The Duck?!

For years we've barely even talked about the human clitoris let alone the fact that snakes have TWO.

This program has adult themes.

Featuring:

Belinda Smith, ABC Science Online Reporter.

Lucy Cooke, Author and Film maker.

Megan Folwell, University of Adelaide.

Dr Jenna Crowe-Riddell, La Trobe University.

Production:

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

This program was first broadcast in 2023.

This episode ofWhat the Duck?!was produced on the land of the Wadawarrungand Kaurna people.

Would you meet a stranger in a park with a pile of snakes?

Comedian Craig Quartermaine took the risk in an attempt to overcome his fears.

Featuring:

• Craig Quartermaine, comedian.
• Sandy Dickinson, Urban Reptiles.
• Jonathan Wright, announcer's voice.

Production:

• Ann Jones, presenter/producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, producer.
• Joel Werner, script editor.
• Field recording: Dylan Prins.
• Additional mastering: Angie Grant.

This episode was originally broadcast in 2023.

This episode ofWhat the Duck?!was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Yuggera, Turrbal and Kaurna people.

Could a legless lizard be 'minimalist of the year' for famous podcaster T. K. Coleman?

Ann Jones leads an unlikely gang of animal experts on a tidy dance through the philosophy of minimalism. There are moths without mouths, flies without wings, and a worm-lizard that will even declutter its own tail.

Move over Marie Kondo, Minimalist Mother Nature is in town.

Featuring:

• T. K. Coleman, Co-host of the Minimalists Podcast.
• Dr. Bryan Lessard, aka Bry the Fly Guy, entomologist and author of 'Eyes on Flies'.
• Dr. George Binns, Entomologist, Macquarie University.
• Dr. David Wong, Ecologist.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Russell Stapleton.

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

ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) is a tingly sensation that can bring relaxation, and it's spawned a growing industry of videos online of whispering, tapping, mouth noises and soft speaking.

But, if you wanted quiet, intimate sounds, well, Nature does it so. much. better.

Ann Jones goes on an ASMR journey with vibrating caterpillars, whispering monkeys and birds who want to keep secrets.

Featuring:

• Dr Giulia Poerio, University of Sussex.
• Thanh Sagris, ASMR artist, Melbourne.
• Associate Professor Rachel Morrison, University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
• Associate Professor Rindy Anderson, Florida Atlantic University.
• Associate Professor Mandy Ridley, University of Western Australia.
• Professor Jayne Yack, Carleton University.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Russell Stapleton.

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

Imagine you've just been cancelled for a controversial opinion about Taylor Swift's musical output, and you have to go to ground.

You can act like the Olsen twins, and hide behind big glasses and a big coat.

Or you could take a lesson from nature and blend in, like a proverbial spotty quoll into the bush.

When it comes to camouflage and animal markings, there's a lot we can learn from the animal kingdom.

Featuring:

• Dr Belinda Wilson, The Australian National University.
• Associate Professor Tanya Latty, University of Sydney.
• Dr Quentin Fogg, University of Melbourne.
• Dr Kaia Tombak, Purdue University.
• ProfessorMarc Holderied, Bristol University.

Production:

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

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

Right now, you’re probably sitting on one of the most unique things about humans. One thing that separates us from the apes, from the birds, from EVERYTHING on earth. The thing that allows us to walk upright, on two legs.We have big butts and I cannot lie,This sort of exceptionalism doesn’t deny,That when a bird walks in with a little bit of hasteAnd drumsticks in your face, you have to admit that bipedalism ISN’T what’s interesting.It's actually our peachy butts.

Featuring:

Professor Daniel Lieberman, Harvard University, US.

Professor Jo Setchell, Durham University, UK.

Dr Peter Bishop, Harvard University, US.

Lauren Thornton, University of Sunshine Coast.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Russell Stapleton.

How many species live around your house?

In the COVID lockdown of 2020, three housemates decided to count.

They thought there’d only be a handful, but the number kept rising and rising.

Could their simple suburban Queenslander house be the next candidate for a new national park?

What the Duck?! is back for Season 6.

Featuring:

Dr Matt Holden, Mathematician, University of Queensland.

Dr Andrew Rogers, Ecologist, University of Melbourne.

Dr Russell Yong, Taxonomist.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Nathan Turnbull.

Fruit flies, guinea pigs, frogs, monkeys, turtles, cats and dogs… all sorts of animals have been to space.

Find out who made small steps for mankind before we could even spacewalk as Ann goes through the emotional turmoil of hearing animals in space.

Featuring:

James Foley, Author and Illustrator.

Kerrie Dougherty OAM, Senior Heritage and Outreach Officer, Australian Space Agency.

Emeritus Professor John P. Gluck, University of New Mexico andKennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University.

Michael Coggan, News Voice.

What the Duck?! Season 6 will be back next week.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Matthew Crawford.

An ornithologist, a veterinarian and a religious devotee must find the serial killer before every last vulture in India is dead.

The episode was first published on the 2nd of September 2023.

Featuring:

Dr Campbell Murn, Head of Conservation at Hawk Conservancy Trust and University of Reading, UK.

Dr Kishor Rithe, Interim Director, Bombay Natural History Society.

Dr Andrea Santangeli, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, Spain.

Dr Percy Avari, Mumbai Vetinarary College.

Sherally Munshi, Georgetown.

Vulture sounds provided by Nikita Mathur, India.

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.

Petria Ladgrove, Producer.

Additional mastering: Hamish Camilleri.

This episode ofWhat the Duck?!was produced on the land of the Wadawarrungand Kaurna people.

They look like… 'sabre-toothed sausages', they can barely see, they live for a really long time and have a queen who oppresses them.

Find out all about the Naked Mole-rat this week and let us know your weirdest animal on earth suggestions at [email protected].

Featuring:

Dr Alison Barker, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.

Adjunct Professor Rochelle Buffenstein, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Extra information: Professor Gary R. Lewin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine.

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.

Petria Ladgrove, Producer.

Additional mastering: Angie Grant

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