Strange by Nature Podcast
by 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. Chosen as one of the best science podcasts of 2021 by Find That Pod.
Episodes
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The Halloween Episode!
It's that time, Halloween is here. In a Spooky coincidence, somehow it finally happened. Rachel and Kirk brought the same topic to the show! Not the fear though, they took different angles on it so we ended up with a supercharged mega topic of The Plague and how it influenced Halloween. Victoria...
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Australian Soil Robots
Kirk takes us to Africa this week to meet the Bat-eared fox. This strange pseudo-fox has more teeth than other foxes and is the fastest chewer in the world. Rachel talks about weaver ants and some of their incredible feats. Finally, Victoria brings us the strange story of robots that are being…
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The Muppet of Birds
This week Victoria starts us off with one of the weirdest looking birds in the world. She presents...the Potoo. This strange muppet-looking bird can see with closed eyes and looks like a tree stump. Kirk then brings us the Longest Animal in the World, siphonophores, specifically, the string…
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When Bats Hibernate in Snow
Rachel starts us off with a surprising tubenose bat that hibernates where you'd least expect it...in the snow. Victoria tells us about the strange locomotion and other adaptations of the Sidewinder rattlesnake. Kirk takes us to Movile Cave, a world hidden from the rest of Earth for 5.5 million...
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Testing Soil with 2000 Pairs of Underwear
There is still a tiny bit of time to get your submission in to be a part of the 300th episode. Use your phone to create a short voice memo and email it to [email protected]. Include your name, where you listen from and a topic from the show that has been memorable for you. Kirk...
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The Animal Who Shall Not Be Named
What a fun episode this week. We didn't intend to but all of our topics nicely tie together. Victoria starts us off with a creature feature on Bee Eaters. These fascinating birds eat stinging insects as a regular part of their diet and are unharmed by the process. You know who else loves bees?…
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Barf Out the Frog Babies
Rachel starts off with a nearly unbelievable story about frogs that raise their young inside their stomachs for six weeks. Victoria brings us...the Tuna! What's strange about tuna? You'll have to listen to find out. Kirk wraps things up by revisiting the topic of the oldest animals on Earth by...
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How to Carry a Rhino
Kirk kicks off the show talking about the Rock Hyrax. These little furry critters have a wide array of strange things about them including being closely related to two very surprising and different relatives. Rachel stays in Africa with a deep dive on the White Rhino and surprising research that...
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A Strange New Kind of Spider Web
Victoria is back and she bring us the story of a new spider species with a bizarre web that flings ants into the air at incredible speed to trap them. It's a wild example of a novel solution to catching prey. Kirk then talks about how the Amazon Rainforest is made possible by dust blown from...
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Hallucinating Voices Saved Her Life
Rachel starts us off this week with an absolutely wild story about a woman who heard voices in her head that somehow knew she had a brain tumor. Kirk then goes down a mind-bending rabbit hole exploring the question of just how long can an animal live? Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our...
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Where Ice Grows in Summer
This week on the show Rachel and Kirk had a great time sharing their topics. Kirk starts off the show with a bizarre listener submitted tale of the Coudersport Ice Mine. In this bizarre mine, ice grows thicker in the heat of the summer and them, equally strangely, it melts in the cold of winter....
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Copper, Trees, and Booze
Victoria brings us the intriguing tale of Lusitanian flora. These are plants only found in Iberia AND southern Ireland. The reason they are in Ireland at all is a tale that goes back thousands of years and involves copper, trees, and booze. Kirk brings back a topic from last December because it...
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The Amazing Jumping Snails
Rachel kicks things off this week with a fascinating look at the ancient relationship between moss and fungus. Victoria brings us a story about a bizarre form of locomotion. She brings us... Jumping snails (and slugs). Kirk's story this week is about the Japanese Tree Frog and how new research...
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Mushrooms Made Me See Pixies
We had a ton of fun with this week's show. Kirk starts us off with a story about the bizarre evidence for Heat Bursts. This strange weather phenomenon can create oven-like blasts of air seemingly out of nowhere. Rachel comes back to the ocean and tells us about Basking Sharks just in time for…
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The Bat that Eats Fish
Victoria brings us into the strange medical world of autosomal dominant diseases. Kirk brings us the strange sad tale of nutmeg. Sometimes a great plant turns into a curse. Rachel tells us about strange Fish Eating Bats. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every...
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The Ancient Whale Graveyard
This week, Rachel continues her series on bears, this time with the utterly strange Panda Bear. Victoria tells us about the mysterious and recently discovered whale graveyard that has been around for millions of years. Kirk tells us about the Coldest Trees in the World. Join us weekly for more...
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Stay Out of the Water!
Kirk starts us off with a strange nematode parasite that causes spiders to drown themselves. Rachel also takes us to the water but we don't want to get in. She tells us about Lake Natron, a lake that will calcify anything that dies it in it and turn you to stone. Victoria tells us about cordyceps...
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The Mystery of Mars
Victoria takes a page from Kirk and brings us to space with some weird facts about Mars and how it got where it is. Kirk breaks our brains with a genealogy puzzle. When was the most recent common ancestor to all humans alive? The answer is bizarre. Rachel doesn't want to break our brains so she...
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When Flowers go Wrong
Rachel tells us this week about spiny rats. These strange little mammals can actually drop their tails when in danger. Victoria brings us the fascinating topic of fasciation, when plant flowers go a bit wrong. These blooms get really weird. Kirk rounds out the show by talking about how plants are...
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Glowing Termite Mounds of Brazil
Rachel shocks no one when she goes back to the ocean this week and comes up with the rather strange looking Goosefish. Not to be outdone, Victoria takes us to Brazil to see glowing termite mounds. It turns out, the glowing is actually click beetles. Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our...
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Birds with Ants in their Pants
This week Victoria tells us all about the bizarre process of Anting. What's that? That's when birds cover themselves with ants. Yeah, it's strange. Rachel follows that up with a story about the Hero Shrew, this cunning little guy is incredible and tough. Join us weekly for more strange nature.…
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Guard Duty Turns Dad into Cannibal
This week, Victoria brought us the Sand Bubbler Crab. These guys are wild. Native to the Indo-pacific, they breathe though their legs and they hide out underground in a bubble of air during high tide. That's just one of the reasons this strange little animals is called the Sand Bubbler Crab. Kirk...
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Mike the Headless Chicken
Once again we're back with weird tales from thsi amazing planet we live on. This week, Rachel tells us about Ichneumon wasps. They may look like they are out of a horror movie but these giant insects don't harm humans. Victoria delves into the history books to tell us about a famous celebrity…
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Toad Licking
Kirk is up first this week and he brings us the wild truth behind Toad Licking. Rachel brings us a weird story of two unlikely buddies. Frogs and Tarantulas. Their relationship turns out to be beneficial to both. Victoria rounds out the show with a story of caterpillars that mimic snakes! The...
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Exceptions to the Rules
Welcome to another week of strange nature! Victoria goes first and brings us a story of an absolutely bizarre insect that seems to defy our rules of what an insect is. It has no common name so we give it one. We call this alien-like chest burster the Peek-a-boo Twisted-wing. Kirk takes the middle...
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Happy Mother's Day. Let's Eat Mom!
Rachel starts us off this week with the totally awesome Honey Badger. They have abig reputation and they completely live up to it. From fighting lions to killing some of the most venomous snakes in the world, Honey Badgers are simply amazing. Victoria wasn't thinking this episode would come out...
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Lizards of the Arctic Circle
Kirk revisits the Loneliest Tree in the World to tell us all about the (former) Loneliest Tree in the World. This week he tells us about the Tree of Ténéré. Rachel then brings us a completely nonsense endoparasitic crustacean that lives INSIDE of sea stars. Turns out Dendrogasters are truly...
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A Herd of Jackhammers
Victoria is up first this week and she talks about the incredibly loud Pistol Shrimp. These little creatures make a sound as loud as a jackhammer with their claw. She shares more incredible facts about these wild critters as well. We're all impressed. Kirk is up second and also heads to the ocean...
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The Loneliest Tree in the World
Hello Everyone and a big THANK YOU to our patrons for making this episode possible. Rachel starts off the show this week with another installment on her series about bears. This week, the Sun Bear. They are cool and all but they have a secret that is...just...it's so much. Victoria gets us into a...
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She had WORMS in her nose?
This one is wild. Kirk brings us the disturbing tale of a woman in Greece who ended up with botfly maggots living up her nose. Rachel has a hard time making it though this story but we believe in you dear listeners. Rachel predictably goes back to the ocean and brings us a creature feature on the...
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The Deepest Spot on Earth
This week Victoria takes us to the depths of the Mariana Trench. After taking us to the deepest cave in the world she felt it was only fair to visit the deepest spot on Earth! Kirk then brings us new research about how bumblebees survive having their homes flooded by spring snow melt. It turns…
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How to Remove Your Own Appendix
What a wild ride this week. We've all heard stories of someone needing their appendix removed but what if the only surgeon available is you? Rachel brings us a horrifying tale of a doctor in Antarctica who had to remove their own appendix. Victoria tells us the tale of African sleeping sickness....
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The Everest of Caves
Kirk starts the show this week with an odd story about Perceptual Narrowing. The long and short of it is that babies are better at remembering monkeys than you are. Rachel takes the second slot this week and bring us a story of one of the cutest little bats in the world. These odd creatures are…
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5-Year Anniversary Show
It's that time again, our annual anniversary show. Guest naturalist and friend of the show Brett Sieberer takes control of the snow and quizzes us about our past year of shows. He challenges us to pronounce nearly unpronouncable latin names, makes us make tough choices about the animals we talked...
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Zombie Snails for Lunch
This episode was made possible by our Patrons. Thank you! Victoria starts off today's show with a completely bizarre parasite. Usually parasites are secretive and don't want to be seen but the amazing Green Banded Broodsac absolutely loves attention and goes great lengths to be seen. Kirk is up...
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The Wolves that Pollinate Flowers
This episode was made possible by our Patrons. Thank you! Rachel kicks off the show this week by talking about the strange pollinators of the beautiful Red Hot Poker flowers. Turns out it is the Ethiopian wolf! This is an incredible and rare example of pollination by large mammals. Victoria is up...
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The Fungus that Eats Radiation
Kirk starts us off this week with the bizarre story of a form of life that literally feeds on radiation. Found growing in Chernobyl, radiotrophic fungi are strange and amazing. Rachel tells us about a medieval potion from Bald's Leechbook containing garlic, onion, wine, and ox bile that…
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Why Redheads Have Secret Powers
Victoria is back with us this week and she kicks things off with a doozy of a story about a species of bark lice that has undergone a complete swapping of genitals between males and females. It's a very cool story but has frank discussions of reproductive parts so parents feel free to decide if...
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Flipping the Earth's Poles
Kirk kicks things off this week with a wild story about how the magnetic field of the Earth has completely flipped in the past. The European Space Agency recently used data sonification to help people better understand this bizarre event. Rachel heads to South America to let us know about a new...
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I Yam What I Yam
Rachel starts us off this week with the strange Box Jellyfish. This is an animal you don't want to get mixed up with. Kirk never wants to go in the ocean again. Speaking of Kirk, and speaking of strange, this week he's talking about Yams. Not any old yam, this one particular species does…
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Vampire Bats and Cinnamon Blood
Hello Everyone and thanks for listening this week. Kirk kicks things off with a story about Vampire bats that just won't learn their lesson. In fact, they aren't able to. New research shows vampire bats may be the only mammal that doesn't develop food aversions after eating bad food. Rachel is up...
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A Six Legged Whoopin!
Victoria starts us off this week with barnacles! I know, they may not sound that interesting but it turns out they are being used by researchers to help narrow the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370. Kirk bring us the unbelievable tale of a wasp that uses pheromones to...
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A Zombie Cockroach Baby Snack
Welcome to 2026! Rachel starts off the year with horrifying wasps that sting cockroaches, turn them into zombies and then lay their eggs in them so their young can devour them from the inside. You're welcome. Victoria takes on the fascinating topic of all the animals that beat us to the idea of...
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The Smallest Animals on Earth
The final episode of 2025. Here's what we have for you: Kirk kicks off the show by looking into the very strange world of insect hearing. Turns out some flies use a rotating nose to hear. Rachel is then up and she talks about the arms race between Bats and Moths. This conflict has lead to some...
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Load the Fish Cannon!
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…
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The Only True Blue in Nature
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....
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A Nuclear Bunker of Cannibal Ants
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…
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Don't Stick Your Head in the Particle Accelerator
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...
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When Fish Climb Cliffs
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.…
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Visit the Spider Megacity
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...
About this show
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. Chosen as one of the best science podcasts of 2021 by Find That Pod.
Hosted by
Strange by Nature