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PODCAST

Strange by Nature Podcast

Strange by Nature

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.

science nature

All Episodes

47:17

Load the Fish Cannon!

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/12/24

Look, we get it. This is a busy week with family for a lot of people. If you are one of those people, we sincerely hope this episode helps you hide from family and obligations and take a moment for your weird selves. We're all in this together.On this week's show, Victoria kicks things off with a deep dive on Bats. We often think of them as predators but they are prey animals as well. She talks about some of the animals that hunt bats and then stare some bizarre new research showing that even rats

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44:49

The Only True Blue in Nature

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/12/17

Rachel keeps things light as we start off the show with a discussion of Botulism toxin just in time for the holidays. Watch out for those bulging cans.Victoria is up next and she talks about how rare blue is in nature. She shares the very few examples of true blue pigments found in nature. Finally, Kirk talks about birds decorating their nests with predator scat to keep away predators. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! Support us:

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46:47

A Nuclear Bunker of Cannibal Ants

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/12/10

This week, Kirk starts us off with a strange story about mushrooms being used as computer parts. He sincerely hopes he never has to pronounce the word memristor again. Rachel brings us the tale of a group of 100,000 cannibal ants living in a nuclear bunker. Victoria rounds things out this week with research proving that at least one species of bat can catch and eat birds all while both are flying. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode

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44:01

Don't Stick Your Head in the Particle Accelerator

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/12/03

Victoria starts us off this week with a bizarre story about how some animals can see without having eyes.Kirk is up next and he tells us about Fugu, a.k.a. the pufferfish and we learn about these highly toxic fish people like to eat. Their poison seems to come from a strange source. Rachel is up last this week and she tells us all why we should not stick our head into an active particle accelerator. Just in case, you know, you were thinking of doing that. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our

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44:58

When Fish Climb Cliffs

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/11/26

Welcome to our 250th episode!Rachel kicks things off with a discussion of Carrion Beetles. Victoria then tells us about fish that can climb cliffs. Say what? Kirk finishes up with the story of how one predator uses static electricity to attract themselves to their prey like a homing missile. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at:

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42:46

Visit the Spider Megacity

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/11/19

What a wild show this week. Well, it finally happened. After approximately 700 topics, we finally had two hosts come with the same secret topic. Kirk and Victoria both brought the same story. Kirk kicks things off talking about researchers finding the largest spider web in the world in a sulfur cave. Victoria adds in some fun extra facts from her research on the topic.Rachel is up next and she discusses some of the weird things we all should know about the Pronghorn. Turns out they are so fast

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44:10

Can a Snake be Venomous AND Poisonous?

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/11/12

Victoria starts the show this week with a look at the cyclops (cyclopses?). From Greek legend to modern reality, Victoria traces a few of the possible origins of this legendary creature.As promised last week, Kirk brings us the mighty Cave Lion. It seems strange but humans of the past living in Europe lived alongside cave lions longer than they have lived without them. Rachel rounds out this week's show with a snake that is both venomous AND poisonous. Great, now we get to worry about that. Join us

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44:54

Vampire Squid from Hell

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/11/05

Rachel starts the show this week with a topic that almost made the Halloween show last week. She brings us the Vampire Squid from Hell. That's literally what the scientific name of this bizarre deep-sea creature means. Victoria brings us the story of the most deadly body of water in the world. She's talking about none other than The Strid in England. It looks like an idyllic stretch of water but this river is deadly. Kirk wraps up this week's show by talking about some of the amazing megafauna

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42:08

Death by Potatoes

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/10/29

We've been building to it all month, it is time for Halloween and we have some great topics.Kirk kicks off the show with a topic that may have you think twice about the candy you pop in your mouth this year. He talks about all of the ways that insects end up in your candy. Red food coloring from ground up beetles, excretions from the Lac beetles in your hard candy coating and maybe some bee vomit, insects are an important part of the candy business. Are your potatoes trying to kill you? Time to

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51:19

Ghosts in the Lab

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/10/22

Victoria kicks things off this week with the terrifying topic of Prion diseases. These bizarre infections can take years to manifest, are incurable, and can turn your brain into a sponge. Charming.Kirk is up next with a ghost story for this spooky season. Science wins out over superstition and in the end it ends up being a tale of how infrasound can affect human physiology and may be to blame for many ghost reports. Rachel rounds out the show with a creature feature on the most venomous and

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39:29

The Door to Hell

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/10/17

This week's show starts of with Rachel telling us about the Door to Hell. Seems like a fitting topic as we approach Halloween. But what is it? The Door to Hell is also known as the Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan. It is a pit of fire that has burned for perhaps 50 years. It is the result of a drilling project gone horribly wrong. It reminds us a bit of the Burning Mountain in Australia from Episode 68 called "Dead Man's Fingers." Victoria is up next with the strange fish the Arctic Char. We're

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49:11

The Beetle with a Fake Termite on its Back

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/10/08

Kirk keeps the Halloween month theme going by talking a bit about Black Cats big and small. What makes them strange? Why do they exist? Why were they the preferred color of cat to have on ships? All questions are answered.Rachel is up next and she brings us to...the ocean. I know, we're all shocked. This week it is to talk about Sea Urchins. They are truly some of the strangest creatures in the ocean. Victoria takes us underground into a termite colony to find a strange new Rove Beetle just

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51:31

Fixing Blindness with a Tooth in the Eye

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/10/01

Happy October! We've got quite a show for you this week. Victoria kicks Spooky Month off with the Worm Pearlfish. At first they don't sound too bad but it turns out that they sneak though the anus of sea cucumbers and eat their gonads. Yikes. No thanks. Kirk keeps the ick going with an absolutely wild story about doctors restoring blind people's vision by putting their tooth in their eye. Say what? It is as weird as it sounds. Warning, this segment contains graphic descriptions of eye surgery and

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38:59

Can Plants Hear Insects?

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/09/24

This week Rachel kicks things off with a discussion of Cloud Forests. This rare habitat is found only in specific parts of the world and many unique plants and animals live there. Okay, so really Rachel is just setting the scene for where next week's strange topic lives.Victoria is up second and brings us fascinating research. Can plants hear? We've talked about this on the show when Kirk talked about plants hearing running water. This new research suggests that some plants can not only hear insect

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44:31

Jewelry Poisonous Enough to Kill

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/09/17

Kirk kicks off this week with predatory fungus that hunts for animals. Say what?Rachel tells us about the massive northern elephant seal. Victoria lets us know about the beautiful but incredibly powerfully poisonous rosary pea that is still used for jewelry to this day. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com where you

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41:53

Robotic Mushrooms!

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/09/10

This week, Victoria takes us to the ocean to learn about a truly bizarre creature, Sea spiders!Kirk then shares a story about the scientists giving robotic bodies to mushrooms so they can move around. Finally, Rachel takes us back to the ocean once again to share what makes Bonnethead sharks strange. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com Visit us at:

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44:31

Do Bees Play?

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/09/03

This week, Rachel starts us off with an interesting question. Can bees play? A team of researchers thinks they can. Find out what happens when they gave them balls of wood.Kirk then makes us all thirsty with a dive into the roots of Root Beer. From medicinal medicine to soft drink, Kirk traces the history of this drink and the many natural ingredients that make it up. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! Support us:

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51:36

The Stone Cold Steve Austin of Wasps

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/08/27

What a wild show this week. Kirk starts things off with a listener submitted story about how researchers created fake fiddler crabs to better understand sexual signaling.CRAB VIDEO: https://youtu.be/UOFtsJkiRmE?si=eWpbJzBPtIGCpb8I Our special guest Brett Sieberer then brings us the amazing story of a wasp that can consume enormous amounts of alcohol with seemingly no effects. Rachel then wraps up the show with a wild mystery in a German aquarium. Something lives there that has never been seen. Join

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43:45

Testing the Frog Glue

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/08/20

What a wild ride this week! Victoria is up first with a bizarre story about how researchers looked into frog glue. Kirk then builds off last week by talking about the origins of gold in the universe. Finally, Rachel tells us about the weird history of blood transfusions and how they were initially used to cure syphilis! They are older than you think! Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature Email us:

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39:39

Pharaoh's Curse Cures Leukemia

Strange by Nature Podcast ·

2025/08/13

This week we explore the Pharaoh's tomb with Rachel and possibly discover the cause of the Curse of the Pharaoh. What's more, can it cure cancer? Rachel takes a look at Aspergillus fungus, how it causes disease but also has been used in experiments to cure Leukemia.Victoria is up next with a fascinating look at how spiders might be manipulating the flashing of fireflies in order to attract more prey. It's brand new research and wild. Kirk rounds out the show this week with a look at Mt Erebus in

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256 results

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