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PODCAST

What The Duck?!

The show with a mission to explore the mysteries of nature - especially the ones that make you go What the Duck?!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

0:25:17

Hollywood lied to us: Babe

What The Duck?! ·

2025/02/28

Aussie classic Babe turns 30 this year, and its story of the little pig that achieves his dream of being a sheep dog is still as uplifting as the day it premiered. But we can't say "that'll do, pig" when it comes to the science....By now, we know pigs aren't "definitely stupid", but how smart are they? Would an orphaned pig be taken in by a family of dogs? Could a pig really learn to herd sheep? And would Babe really stay so small for so long?Dr Ann Jones sniffs out the porkies

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0:25:18

Hollywood lied to us: The Birds

What The Duck?! ·

2025/02/21

If you have a fear of getting swooped by magpies, mobbed by seagulls or blinded by crows, perhaps Alfred Hitchcock is to blame.His 1963 horror classic The Birds created a generation of ornithophobes, and played on our fears of death by feathered fiend. But how accurate are his creepy corvids? Do birds of a feather flock together exclusively? Can a bird go all 'Here's Johnny' on a locked door? Do birds hold grudges?Dr Ann Jones gets a bird's eye view of Hollywood's avian

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0:25:18

Hollywood lied to us: Antz

What The Duck?! ·

2025/02/14

Remember that 1998 film Antz? The one about an ant named Z?The one where the ants had nightmare-inducing human teeth? The one we probably have to blame for the existence of Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie?Considering the movie is all about ants, you'd think it'd get SOMETHING right about ants. But Hollywood has once again LIED TO US.Do male ants have any jobs outside the boudoir? Can ants breathe? Do ants have creepy little human teeth?Ann Jones sets out to be pedANTic and find the

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0:25:16

Hollywood lied to us: Cocaine Bear

What The Duck?! ·

2025/02/07

In 1985, a real American black bear consumed a bunch of cocaine that'd been dropped from a plane into the forest, and died.Nearly 40 years later Hollywood stepped in the rewrite the story. What would happen if the bear survived? Maybe it'd go on a coke-fueled rampage. That's how it works, right?Cocaine Bear (2023) launched a lot of memes, but does it get anything right about bears, or how they'd act under the influence of blow...or did Hollywood lie to us?Would a black bear really

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0:25:17

Hollywood lied to us: Jurassic Park

What The Duck?! ·

2025/01/31

Quick! Think of a ‘dinosaur movie’. Chances are Jurassic Park (1993) was first to mind. Steven Spielberg’s genetic nightmare/theme park gone wrong classic is so iconic that it inspired a generation of kids to study palaeontology, and reinvented our modern popular idea of dinosaurs. But does that idea still stack up? Could you really clone a triceratops from DNA found in an ancient mozzie? Did dilophosaurus really look like a frill-necked lizard? And aren’t dinosaurs supposed

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0:25:16

Summer: Sex is Weird: Ep 1- The world’s first d*ck pic

What The Duck?! ·

2025/01/24

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

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0:25:16

Summer: Minimalist animals

What The Duck?! ·

2025/01/17

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

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0:25:17

Summer: Mother Nature does it better (ASMR edition)

What The Duck?! ·

2025/01/10

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,

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0:25:16

Summer: Why do Quolls have spots?

What The Duck?! ·

2025/01/03

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.The animal kingdom has a lot to teach us about camouflage and animal markings.Featuring:Dr Belinda Wilson, The Australian National University.Associate Professor Tanya Latty,

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0:25:17

Summer: Butts- what are they good for?

What The Duck?! ·

2024/12/27

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

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0:25:17

Summer: How many animals REALLY live in your house?

What The Duck?! ·

2024/12/20

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?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,

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0:25:02

Hollywood lied to us: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

What The Duck?! ·

2024/12/13

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a Christmas classic... but how much do we really know about reindeer? In the last instalment of "Hollywood lied to us" for 2024, Ann Jones fact-checks the festive fairytale for biological accuracy.What would it take for a reindeer to fly? What are their noses really like? Would a glowing nose even make a decent fog light??Featuring:Belinda Smith, ABC Science Online reporterTim Horstkotte, Staff scientist at Department of Ecology and Environmental

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0:25:18

Hollywood lied to us: The Lion King

What The Duck?! ·

2024/12/06

The Lion King (1994), aka Hamlet with Cats, is an iconic family classic. But would The Lion King's portrayal of a pride make biologists proud?Ann Jones presents “Hollywood lied to us” - a What The Duck?! podcast that takes your favourite movies and puts them under the microscope to work out what would happen in the real world and what’s just Hollywood magic.Would Simba really end up with Nala?Would the hyena henchmen really fall in line for a lion?They’re the big questions and Ann

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0:25:17

Hollywood lied to us: Groundhog Day

What The Duck?! ·

2024/11/29

The movie is fictional but Groundhog Day (asking a groundhog for a long-term weather report) IS A REAL THING!But wait, what even ARE groundhogs? AND do they have any qualifications in meteorology?Ann Jones is examining the biological accuracy of classic movies with the help of scientists and fans in the series "Hollywood Lied to Us."Featuring:Link Olson, Curator of Mammals, University of Alaska Museum.Dr Adam Daniel, Western Sydney University. Associate Professor Mike Rennie,

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0:24:39

Hollywood lied to us: The Little Mermaid

What The Duck?! ·

2024/11/22

Yes, the Little Mermaid is an animated movie, but if it were real, where would this mermaid paradise be? Is it plausible that Ursula the Octo-woman would have henchmen in the form of eels? Ann Jones is examining the biological accuracy with the help of scientists and fans of classic movies in the series "Hollywood Lied to Us."Featuring:Flo Rama- The Little Mermaid super fan. Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith, Sydney University. The Little Mermaid, Disney Studios.Production:Ann Jones,

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0:24:59

Hollywood lied to us: Jaws

What The Duck?! ·

2024/11/15

Jaws (1975) was a massive hit that also created a whole lot of fear, but does anything in the film really stand up to shark science? Do sharks stalk humans? Do they roar? What can they sense? There are so many misconceptions when it comes to sharks that even now, 50 years later, these are impacting shark policies in Australia, and have come to be known as 'the jaws effect.'Featuring:Sophie Maycock, shark obsessive and founder of SharkSpeak. Chris Pepin-Neff – Shark policy expert at

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0:25:17

Everything you wanted to know about Pigeons!

What The Duck?! ·

2024/11/08

Did you know that pigeons make milk? The pigeon gets a bad rap, but it is actually an incredible bird with a rich history.It is related to the dodo and even played a role in the French Revolution!Surely this bird deserves some recognition?Featuring:Rosemary Mosco, Science writer and author of 'The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching'.Nathan Finger, Host of 'Bird of the Week' podcast Dr Robin Leppitt, Ornithologist.April Broadbent, Pigeon Rehabber.Aaron and Aria, Pigeon

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0:25:17

Glowing Animals

What The Duck?! ·

2024/11/01

Are you high, or is that a sheep glowing?Yep- sheep glow, but that's not all... when it comes to glowing the list of animals includes the platypus, dolphin teeth, bilby ears and Tasmanian Devil feet. Featuring:Linda Reinhold, Zoologist at James Cook University.Professor Simon Lewis, Curtin University. Dr. Kenny Travouillon, Western Australian Museum. Caitlin Grieve, Hillend Dorsets.Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Joel Werner, Script

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0:25:18

The ostrich-riding bushranger- John Francis Peggotty

What The Duck?! ·

2024/10/25

There's a statue of an ostrich wearing a saddle in Meningie, South Australia.The large bird statue is dedicated to the legend of "John Francis Peggotty", the Birdman of the Coorong. He loved gold, robbed stagecoaches, and used an ostrich as a getaway car. OR DID HE?! Featuring:Denice Mason, teacher and Meningie resident.Associate Professor Rohan Clarke, Monash University and co-author of the Australian Bird Guide.Jacob Fiebig, Meningie resident and composer of "The ballad of John

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0:25:18

Everything you need to know about flies

What The Duck?! ·

2024/10/18

What makes a true fly and do we really need them? As per usual the What the Duck?! team is elbow-deep in crap looking for a way out.And the way out, is flies!Featuring:Dr Bryan Lessard, Entomologist, Author of Eyes on Flies. Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Joel Werner, Script Editing.This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in September 2022 and is produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

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