Quirky, Creepy, and Freaky

12/10/2025

Episode 69 has just been published, and we're venturing into spooky invasive species time! This episode we talk about the nutria, introduced in the United States mostly in the 1930s and 40s for fur and nuisance plant control, now wreaking havoc on our wetlands. Tune in to learn more about when and why it was introduced, the impacts it can have on our wetlands, and hear me accidentally talk about 850 pound beavers!

22/09/2025

Summer has past (passed?), and was chock full of adventures! The podcasting break was unplanned, but we (I) am gearing back up for a fun series of new episodes! Invasive species, even MORE crustaceans, some funky birds, and more! They will be coming soon, and I hope for the next season of the podcast to be ready to go by next week.

In the meantime, here are a few of the critters I encountered this summer! In the brook behind my lab we found dragonfly, stonefly, and caddisfly larvae, and even some wee lil salamanders (in the ice cube tray), all signaling a happy, healthy habitat! We even spotted a couple of leeches this summer! I was quite a bit more excited to see them than the middle schoolers, but there's still time for these little guys to worm their ways into their hearts.

The goldenrod spider was also a fun spot! I have yet to see one on a goldenrod flower, but around here the black eyed Susan's seem to make a good home for them to hide and hunt on.

And right now, we're hoping for rain to refill our river friend's brook. It's been so dry the brook is largely dry, and isn't really flowing anymore. Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, but to help make it happen, join me in performing your favorite rain ritual!

14/06/2025

It's pride month, and here we are with a surprise frog themed episode!

If you've been spending time on social media in the last 10 years, or at least in the memes, you've probably seen memes about the chemicals turning the frogs gay. This week we're going over the paper and the science that triggered at all! And surprise, said no one, the truth is a wee bit different, way more complicated, and does not involve chemical warfare conspiracies. Tune in to learn about herbicides, s*x reversals happening in frogs, and the complicated and mysterious world of frog s*x determination.

18/05/2025

Here's to the social media manager (me) remembering the Facebook account this time! After a series of recording setbacks, Episode 67 is finally released! In this episode, we babble about the Blue Crab, a tiny bit about fiddler crabs, and their expanding range due to climate change and warming oceans. Will this be the year of the crab episodes? Only time will tell!

18/05/2025

30/04/2025

Someone's social media manager forgot we had a page!! Whoopsies! I will make sure said social media manager that is definitely not also me and is waaaay better at social media posts updates here in the future. We've had some new episodes lately about how everything evolves to be crabs, the history of the National Park Service, and more!

Some new episodes are also coming up soon as I play catch up after my injured pinky gets all healed up. My PSA for the last few weeks has been to not try catching a fallen glass, that's how you end up getting stitches 😅

22/12/2024

We're back with a holiday-themed episode! Who wants to talk about reindeer at Christmas time when we can talk about Christmas Tree Worms! These festive little polychaete worms can be found in reefs around the world, with their little tree-shaped plumes. Listen to this week's episode to find out more about their name, their friendship with coral, and even how old they can get!

As a bonus, Coco joined me for this recording and was hard at work during the editing process. You can see for yourself just how hard she works for this podcast!!

16/10/2024

Have you ever looked at an ant on your floor and thought it looked suspiciously spidery? Or a spider that looked suspiciously anty? Turns out ant mimicry is pretty big in the spider world!

Is this post two ants, or is one an ant in disguise? While you're figuring it out, take a listen to our new episode and learn all about the critters pretending to be ants! Out everywhere you listen to podcasts