Wildly Curious

Send us Fan MailMost birds are harmless.This one is poisonous.In this minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into one of the strangest birds on Earth: the pitohui, a brightly colored songbird from New Guinea that carries powerful neurotoxins in its skin and feathers.  The toxin is chemically similar to the same compounds found in some poison dart frogs, making the pitohui one of the very few known poisonous birds in the world. But how does a bird become poisonous in the first place?🐦 What a pitohui actually looks like☠️ How this bird stores toxins in its feathers and skin🪲 The beetles responsible for its poison🧠 Why scientists think the toxins may help defend against parasites🤧 Why handling one can cause numbness, sneezing, burning skin, and watery eyes🌴 Why indigenous communities call them “rubbish birds”Along the way, the episode explores toxic animals, warning coloration, bird evolution, and the bizarre ecosystems of New Guinea—home to some of the weirdest wildlife on Earth.If you love birding, ornithology, toxic animals, weird nature facts, or evolutionary biology, this is one bird you’ll never forget.🎧 Part of our “Animals You’ve Probably Never Heard Of” minisode series. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.What if “zombies” weren’t just fiction?In this Season 14 kickoff episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the real science behind “nature zombies”—organisms that can hijack behavior, manipulate brains, and turn animals into living tools for their own survival.From parasitic fungi to mind-altering parasites, this episode explores how evolution has produced some of the most disturbing—and fascinating—strategies in the natural world.🧠 How parasitic fungi infect insects and control their behavior down to the exact moment of death  🐜 The infamous zombie ant fungus (Ophiocordyceps) that forces ants to climb and die in precise locations for spore release  🦗 How hairworms manipulate insects into seeking water—something they would normally avoid—just to complete their life cycle  🐭 The parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which alters fear responses in rodents and may even influence human behavior  🦟 Cicada infections that turn insects into walking, mating, spore-spreading machinesThese aren’t just gross curiosities—they’re real examples of how parasites can alter nervous systems, change decision-making, and reshape behavior at a biological level. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailWhy are crows called crows… and ravens called ravens?In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Laura explores the surprisingly simple—and fascinating—origins behind the names of two of the most intelligent and culturally iconic birds in the world: crows and ravens.These birds are often associated with mystery, mythology, and even death—but their names didn’t come from legend. They came from something much simpler: the sounds they make.-Why the word “crow” dates back over 1,000 years and mimics their iconic “caw” call  -Why crows and ravens are considered some of the most intelligent birds on Earth, capable of problem-solving, tool use, and even recognizing human faces  -How the word “raven” evolved from ancient languages trying to imitate their deep, throaty calls  -Why these birds became symbols of mythology, prophecy, and folklore across cultures-How early humans used sound to name animals long before scientific classification existedDespite their dark reputation in stories and pop culture, the names “crow” and “raven” are actually some of the most straightforward in the bird world—just ancient humans trying to describe what they heard.If you love birding, animal intelligence, ornithology, or natural history, this episode reveals how even the most mysterious birds have surprisingly simple origins.Subscribe for more episodes of Wildly Curious, where science, nature, and curiosity collide. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailWhy do birds have such unusual names?In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Laura dives into the fascinating origins behind two of the most familiar backyard birds in North America: chickadees and titmice.These small, curious songbirds aren’t just cute—they’re also incredibly intelligent and highly vocal, with communication systems that scientists are still studying today.Chickadees get their name directly from their famous “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call—but that sound is more than just noise. It’s a complex communication system where the number of “dees” can signal different levels of danger to other birds. These tiny birds can even increase their brain size seasonally to remember thousands of food caches, making them some of the most impressive memory specialists in the animal world. Titmice, on the other hand, have a name that sounds confusing today—but it actually comes from old English words meaning “small bird.” Over time, language evolved, and “titmase” eventually became “titmouse,” even though it has nothing to do with mice at all. In this episode, we explore: How chickadees use sound to communicate danger  Why bird calls are different from bird songs  The surprising evolution of the word “titmouse”  How language, culture, and sound shaped bird names  Why some birds are literally named after the noises they make If you love birding, ornithology, backyard birds, or animal communication, this episode reveals how even the smallest birds have big stories behind their names. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailWhy are birds named what they’re named?In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss explores the fascinating naming history behind two giant flightless birds that look like they walked straight out of the dinosaur era: cassowaries and emus.Both birds are massive, powerful, and deeply tied to the evolutionary story of modern birds—but their names come from very different linguistic journeys.Cassowaries, found in the tropical forests of New Guinea and northern Australia, are famous for their bright blue necks, dagger-like claws, and the mysterious helmet-like casque on their heads. Their name likely comes from Southeast Asian languages describing the bird’s distinctive “horned head.”Emus, the shaggy runners of the Australian outback, inherited a name that originally referred to many large flightless birds—including ostriches and cassowaries. Early European explorers often confused these giant birds, and for a time emus were even called “New Holland cassowaries.”In this episode we explore:Why cassowaries are sometimes called the most dangerous bird in the worldWhat the mysterious cassowary casque might be used forHow early explorers confused emus, ostriches, and cassowariesWhy the word “emu” once referred to multiple species of giant birdsHow language, exploration, and first impressions shaped bird namesIf you love birding, ornithology, wildlife science, or natural history, the Bird Name Game series reveals how the names of birds tell stories about exploration, language, and the way humans first encountered the natural world.Subscribe for more episodes of Wildly Curious, where science, nature, and curiosity collide. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailWhy do birds have the names they do?In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss kicks off a new mini-series called “Bird Name Game”, exploring the fascinating origins behind bird names. Each episode looks at two birds, their natural history, and the surprising linguistic stories behind what we call them.This episode dives into two iconic seabirds: the albatross and the gull.The albatross, one of the largest flying birds on Earth, can glide across the ocean for thousands of miles with barely a wingbeat. But its name didn’t start in English. It traveled through Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and Latin, changing spelling and even switching which bird it referred to before becoming the name we know today.Gulls, on the other hand, have a much simpler origin. Their name likely comes from ancient Celtic and Norse roots that imitate the bird’s loud, wailing call—the same cry that echoes across beaches, harbors, and parking lots everywhere.Along the way, we explore:How albatrosses travel thousands of miles using ocean windsWhy many albatross species form lifelong partnershipsThe surprising linguistic journey from “alcatraz” to “albatross”Why gulls were named after the sound they makeHow bird names reflect human language, culture, and first impressionsIf you love birding, natural history, ornithology, or wildlife science, this mini-series reveals how the names of birds tell stories about exploration, language, and the people who first encountered them.Subscribe for more episodes of Wildly Curious, where science, nature, and curiosity collide. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and prepare to realize your cat has been training you this whole time.In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the fascinating research of Dr. Susanne Schötz, a phonetics professor at Lund University—and the scientist behind some of the most groundbreaking work on cat–human communication.Her research explores how cats use meows, purrs, trills, and intonation to communicate with humans, how those sounds change based on emotion and context, and why domestic cats are far more vocal than their wild or feral relatives.🐾 Why cats use short, high-pitched meows when happy or requesting 😾 Why vet-meows sound long, low, and dramatic (as they should) 🎵 How cats adjust melody and pitch specifically for their humans 🧠 What “solicitation purring” is—and why it mimics a human baby’s cry 🗣️ Why every cat–human pair develops its own unique dialectThe big takeaway? Cats aren’t just making noise. They’re fine-tuning a language to get what they want—and humans are surprisingly good at understanding it, especially if they’ve lived with cats before.🎧 This episode is part of our Niche Scientists minisode series—short, weird, and full of research that makes you a better, more informed pet parent. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.In this deep-dive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole crack open the bizarre, beautiful world of echinoderms—the “spiny-skinned” sea creatures that are hard on the outside, squishy on the inside, and powered by a literal hydraulic system.We’re talking sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, brittle stars, feather stars, and sea cucumbers—a group that looks like it shouldn’t make sense… until you learn the rules.🌊 The water vascular system and how tube feet work like living suction hydraulics  ⭐ Why echinoderms don’t have a centralized brain (and why that doesn’t mean “no thoughts”) 🧬 The wild symmetry twist: larvae start bilateral, then reorganize into radial body plans 🥒 Sea cucumbers and their most unhinged defense move: evisceration (yes, it’s what it sounds like)  🌿 Species spotlight: the sunflower sea star—a major predator of sea urchins that helps keep kelp forests alive  ⚠️ And the real-world crisis: sea star wasting syndrome, which caused catastrophic declines, including over 90% loss of sunflower sea stars in much of their range If you’ve ever looked at a sea star and thought “that thing has no business being real,” this episode is your guide to why it does—and why losing them changes entire ecosystems. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and prepare to root for the slowest athletes on Earth.In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the bizarre but brilliant world of snail racing—and the scientists who study it to unlock secrets of movement, slime, and survival.Every summer in England, snails compete in the World Snail Racing Championships. It sounds ridiculous… until you realize researchers are using these races to study animal locomotion, non-Newtonian fluids, and biomimicry.🐌 Why snail slime is both sticky and slippery 🧪 How snail mucus behaves like a non-Newtonian fluid 🏃‍♂️ How snails move using muscular waves instead of steps 🩹 Why snail-inspired adhesives could revolutionize wound closure and surgery 🤖 How snail movement is inspiring soft robotics for medicine and rescue techScientists from engineering, biomechanics, and ecology use snail racing data to understand friction control, climate adaptation, and even how future robots might crawl through collapsed buildings or blood vessels.It’s slow science. It’s weird science. And it turns out… it’s incredibly important.🎧 This episode is part of our Niche Scientists minisode series—short episodes spotlighting the wonderfully specific research quietly shaping the future. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and rediscover a skill humans were never meant to lose.In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore natural navigation—the ancient human ability to find direction by reading the land, sea, sky, plants, and animals instead of relying on GPS.Long before maps and satellites, humans navigated forests and oceans using patterns, movement, and observation. And the wild part? That ability never disappeared—we just stopped practicing it.🌿 How plants and trees reveal direction through sunlight and wind 🕷️ Why spiders, lichens, and grazing animals act as natural indicators 🌞 How the sun, stars, and seasonal patterns guide movement on land 🌊 How Polynesian wayfinders navigated the open ocean without instruments 🧭 Why navigation isn’t about knowing where you are—but knowing how to moveFrom reading asymmetry in trees to feeling ocean swells beneath a canoe, this episode reframes navigation as presence, pattern recognition, and attention—not coordinates on a screen.🎧 Whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast, birder, hiker, paddler, or just someone craving a slower, more grounded way of moving through the world, this episode will change how you look at nature forever. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and prepare to learn something you will never un-know.In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole spotlight two researchers whose work sounds ridiculous… until you realize it’s brilliant.Meet Dr. David Hu and Dr. Patricia Yang, engineers who study fluid dynamics by asking the questions no one else would:Why do almost all mammals pee in the same amount of time?Why is wombat poop shaped like a cube?And how can studying animal waste improve engineering, medicine, and early cancer detection?🚽 Why mammals over 3 kg empty their bladders in ~21 seconds 🐘 How urethra length turns gravity into an efficiency tool 🧊 The real reason wombat poop is square (and it’s NOT the sphincter) 🏆 How this research earned two IG Nobel Prizes 🧠 Why “weird” science often leads to the biggest breakthroughsWhat starts as slow-motion videos of animals peeing ends up influencing biomimicry, manufacturing, plumbing systems, and colon cancer diagnostics.🎧 This episode proves that curiosity-driven science—even the gross kind—can quietly change the world. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.DNA isn’t magic—but it is one of the most powerful instruction systems in the universe.In this deep-dive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole break down genetics, DNA, and inheritance in a way that actually makes sense—no lab coat required. From the tiny molecular code inside your cells to the ethical questions surrounding modern gene editing, this episode connects the science to real life.🧬 What DNA actually is (and what it doesn’t do) 🧠 The difference between DNA, genes, RNA, and proteins 🧬 How traits are inherited—and why genetics isn’t destiny 🧪 How modern genetics is used in medicine, conservation, and forensics ✂️ What CRISPR can do—and why ethics matter more than everAlong the way, we untangle common myths, explain why humans are more just as similar as we are complex and explore how environment, stress, and experience interact with your DNA.🎧 Whether you’re a science nerd, a biology student, or someone who just wants to understand how their body works, this episode gives you the basic tools to think critically about genetics—and why it matters far beyond the classroom. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and prepare to learn something you absolutely did not know existed.In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss dives into one of the strangest—and most important—jobs in science: whale earwax archivist.Yes. That’s a real thing.Certain whales build massive earwax plugs over their lifetime, adding a new layer every six months. And scientists have learned how to read those layers like tree rings—revealing a whale’s age, stress levels, exposure to pollution, and even the history of human impact on the ocean.🐋 What whale earwax is actually made of 📏 Why these plugs can grow over 10 inches long 🧪 How scientists read them like biological timelines 🌍 What they reveal about climate change, pollution, and industrialization 📉 And why whales are basically the ocean’s canaries in a coal mineIt’s gross. It’s fascinating. And it turns out to be one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding long-term ocean health.🎧 This episode is part of our Niche Scientists minisode series—short episodes spotlighting the wildly specific research that quietly changes how we understand the world. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and let your curiosity swear a little. We won’t tell. 😉In this Wildly Curious minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole kick off their new Niche Scientists series with a deep dive into Dr. Richard Stephens—a psychologist who studies something we all do (sometimes loudly): swearing.From pain tolerance to powerlifting, Dr. Stephens’ research shows that strategic cursing can actually make you stronger, tougher, and maybe even a little bit smarter about when to drop an F-bomb.🤬 Can swearing really reduce pain? 💪 Does cursing make you physically stronger? 🧠 What happens in your brain when you let it fly? 🚫 And why swearing too often makes it less effective?It’s the perfect mix of science, psychology, and sass—because sometimes the best way to say “ouch”... is to not say “ouch.”🎧 This is our first episodr of our Niche Scientists minisodes—short, weird, and full of science you didn’t know you needed. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and stuff your brain before you stuff your turkey. 🦃🥧In this Wildly Curious Thanksgiving special, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole serve up the surprisingly scientific and hilariously human history of America’s favorite feast. From how pumpkins nearly went extinct after the Ice Age to why turkeys were almost wiped out (and then made a comeback), this episode is a buffet of weird facts, origin stories, and seasonal science.🍂 How mastodons helped evolve pumpkins 🦃 Why Benjamin Franklin thought turkeys were “more respectable” than eagles 🥧 The secret history of pumpkin pie (and the rise of pumpkin spice) 🇺🇸 How Thanksgiving became a national holiday—and a marketing goldmineIt’s history, biology, and nostalgia all rolled into one big, slightly chaotic, pumpkin-scented audio pie.🎧 Listen in for the laughs, the learning, and the reminder to use your pumpkins wisely. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSeason 13 is here… and it’s fight night. (Hypothetically, of course.) 🥊Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole are back with Could You Fight That? Part 2, the follow-up to one of Wildly Curious’ most beloved (and ridiculous) episodes.This time, the matchups get even wilder—from kangaroos and cassowaries to anteaters and octopuses—as the duo debates whether they could theoretically survive these encounters. It’s all fun, all hypothetical, and all rooted in animal science and pure chaos.⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This episode is 100% for fun. Do NOT approach or engage with wildlife—ever. Be smart, be respectful, and please don’t be the next person trending for trying to hug a bison.🐜 Giant anteater vs. human tactics 🐺 Lone wolves, red kangaroos, and cassowary chaos 🦑 Octopus escape plans and questionable chokeholds 😂 Laughs, science, and bad life choices (imagined only!)🎧 Kick off Season 13 with science, strategy, and sheer nonsense. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and listen closely… if you can. 👂In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tune into one of the strangest modern mysteries: the Taos Hum.Since the 1990s, people in Taos, New Mexico have reported a low, constant humming sound that only a small percentage of the population can hear. The rest? Silence.🎧 What is the Taos Hum—and why can only some people hear it? 🌍 Is it microseismic vibrations from the Earth itself? ⚡ Could it come from hidden electrical or industrial sources? 🌬 Or is it all in the mind—a psychological echo that science can’t detect?From tectonic tremors to infrasound, Katy and Laura explore every theory behind the hum that refuses to be recorded—and why some ears might just be more tuned to the planet than others.🎧 This is part of our Nature Mysteries series—short, eerie, and full of science that’ll make your brain vibrate. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and embrace the glow of curiosity. 🔦In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole investigate one of the most baffling natural light shows on Earth—the Hessdalen Lights of Norway. For over a century, glowing orbs have danced through a remote valley, pulsing, hovering, and splitting apart with no clear cause. Scientists have studied them for decades… and still, no one really knows what they are.✨ What are the Hessdalen Lights, and how long have they been appearing? 📡 What did researchers discover using radar, magnetometers, and lasers? 🧲 Are they ball lightning, plasma, or something stranger? 👽 And what happens when you shine a laser at one (spoiler: it blinks back)From magnetic anomalies to possible plasma reactions underground, this episode explores one of nature’s most haunting unsolved mysteries—where science meets the supernatural.🎧 This is part of our Nature Mysteries series—short, weird, and scientifically unexplainable (for now). Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and let your curiosity get lost at sea (but like, safely). 🌊In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into one of Earth’s most famous unsolved legends: the Bermuda Triangle—also known as the Devil’s Triangle.For over a century, this stretch of ocean between Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico has been blamed for the mysterious disappearances of ships, planes, and the people aboard them. But is it really cursed—or just misunderstood?🛩️ What really happened to Flight 19 in 1945? 🌊 Could methane bubbles or rogue waves swallow ships whole? 🧭 What’s up with those compasses that go haywire? 🌪 And why the Bermuda Triangle might not be as dangerous as everyone thinksFrom magnetic anomalies to human error (and a sprinkle of 90s X-Files nostalgia), this episode separates science from sea legends—because sometimes the truth is stranger than the conspiracy.🎧 This is part of our Nature Mysteries series—short, weird, and full of scientific “wait, what?!” moments. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tackle one of the biggest unanswered questions in planetary science: how was the Moon formed?We look at what we do know—like why lunar rocks look almost identical to Earth’s, why one side of the Moon is thicker than the other, and why it’s slowly drifting away at 1.5 inches per year. Then we dig into the wild theories scientists are still testing:🌑 The Giant Impact Hypothesis (a Mars-sized planet colliding with Earth) 🌋 Evidence that the Moon was once covered in a magma ocean 🧲 Why the Moon has less iron than Earth 🌀 And how some new models suggest the Moon formed in just… hoursIt’s science, it’s speculation, and it’s the perfect reminder that even our closest neighbor in space is still one big mystery.🎧 This is the first in our Nature Mysteries series—four bite-sized episodes digging into the weird questions science hasn’t solved (yet). Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.In this final Swarms Minisode of the season, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole lose their minds (in the best way) over the most chaotic, moon-synced crab love party on Earth: the migration of Christmas Island red crabs.We’re talking: 🦀 50 to 100 million land crabs 🌧 Timed to what we're convinced is a witches curse.... 🚧 Roads shut down 🌊 Pina colada breaks (probably) 💥 And babies launched off seaside cliffs like nature’s carpet bombThis migration is so massive, locals build crab bridges and the entire island turns into one giant crustacean mosh pit.But here’s the kicker—these crabs know how far they are from the ocean… AND what phase the moon is in. With brains the size of a Tic Tac.🎧 Listen in for weird crab romance, the female egg drop of the century, and a surprising twist: these babies? They’re not just adorable—they’re lunch. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.In this explosive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole reveal the surprising truth: sometimes, nature chooses to self-destruct—and it's all part of the plan.From exploding ants to salmon that spawn and die, and fungi that launch spores like botanical cannons, this episode dives into how death in nature isn't always failure—it's strategy.💥 Why some creatures explode on purpose 🐟 How salmon die to feed the next generation 🌱 Which fungi use pressure to shoot spores into the wind 🐜 The gluey, horrifying world of exploding ants 🧬 And why your own body kills its own cells—on purposeWhether it’s defending the colony, escaping danger, or creating new life, these self-destruct systems show just how weird, strategic, and shockingly brilliant evolution can be.🎧 Listen in to learn how destruction can be nature’s ultimate power move. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and prepare yourself—because this time, the swarm doesn’t just chase... it devours.In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the world of army ants, some of the most strategic, aggressive, and terrifyingly coordinated hunters on Earth. From building living bridges to raiding the forest floor with military precision, these ants don't forage… they sweep, and anything that can’t move fast enough is gone.🐜 Why army ants don’t build nests—but become one 🚨 How their raids dismember prey in minutes 🧭 Why they create living bridges and run two-lane traffic systems 🌪 And how other species follow their swarms for leftovers (like antbirds!)This is more than an ant episode—it’s a masterclass in swarm strategy, evolutionary teamwork, and why being organized is deadly.🎧 This is episode 5 of our Swarms series—quick, chaotic, and scientifically intense. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.In this seed-sational episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dig into the unexpectedly wild world of seed dispersal. From coconuts floating across oceans to violets launching their seeds like botanical cannons, this episode explores the many weird and wonderful ways plants get around without walking.🌊 How coconuts evolved to sail thousands of miles 🌬️ The physics behind parachuting and helicoptering seeds 🧲 The sticky science of clingers like burdock and chia 💥 Which plants explode their seeds like t-shirt cannons 🌍 And how human activity spreads (and sometimes ruins) plant travelWhether you're a plant nerd or just into nature's weirdest survival tactics, this one's for you.🎧 Listen to learn how seeds conquer new territory, how evolution shaped their rides, and why your burr-covered dog is basically a nature Uber. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe if you love science, chaos, and being mildly afraid of your backyard. 🐝In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover facts around the infamous “killer bees”—a.k.a. Africanized honeybees. Spoiler: they don’t look scary, but they’ll chase you, sting in overwhelming numbers, and sometimes even wait above water for you to come up for air.But is the fear justified?🐝 What makes Africanized honeybees so aggressive? 🌎 How did a 1950s experiment in Brazil lead to bees chasing joggers in Arizona? 🧬 Why breeding for honey production + heat tolerance went very, very wrong 🏃‍♀️ And what to actually do if you’re attacked (yes, you should run—fast)This episode unpacks the biology, history, and real risk of one of the world’s most feared swarming insects—and how they became a punchline and a public safety issue.🎧 This is episode 4 of our Swarms series—short, punchy episodes exploring the wildest group behaviors in nature. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailEver wonder how birds, eels, whales, or even bugs find their way without a GPS? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the jaw-dropping science behind animal navigation.From locusts using sky maps and magnetic fields, to eels migrating thousands of miles to a secret oceanic birthplace no one’s ever seen (seriously), and birds that may be using quantum mechanics to see the Earth’s magnetic field—it’s a global tour of natural way-finding.🌎 How do animals "see" magnetic fields? 🧭 What is magnetoreception and how does it work? 🌌 Can birds actually use quantum mechanics to navigate? 🐟 Why do we still not know how eels reproduce?This episode explores what researchers are learning—and why the military, ocean shippers, and conservationists are all paying attention.🎧 Perfect for curious minds, nature nerds, and anyone who's ever questioned how animals seem to have better internal GPS than humans with smartphones. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe if you love science, chaos, and bugs that are way too confident.In this Swarms Minisode, Katy dives into the desert locust, a grasshopper that transforms—literally—into one of the most devastating swarm creatures on Earth.🦗 What causes a peaceful insect to go full apocalypse mode? 🌾 How do they morph from shy loners to yellow, muscle-bound sky-hulks? 🌪 What triggers a swarm so massive it consumes everything in its path—eating its body weight daily? 📈 And why can’t we stop them, even with modern tech?From serotonin surges to plague-level salad destruction, this episode unpacks the shocking science behind locust swarms, how they form, what fuels them, and why the only thing that can stop them is literally nature itself.🎧 This is episode 3 of our 6-part Swarms series—bite-sized, bizarre, and biologically unhinged. We know we had two mini episodes in a row, that was not intended, but sometimes life just gets in the way of our fun! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and brace yourself—because this week, the swarm has teeth. 🦈In this second episode of our Swarms Minisode Series, Laura and Katy dive into a lesser-known swarm behavior: shark aggregations. From 1,400 basking sharks off New England to over 15,000 spinning sharks off the Florida coast, this episode explores the science (and chaos) behind why some of the ocean’s most feared predators travel in giant, synchronized groups.🦈 Why do basking sharks—normally loners—form feeding spirals? 🌊 What caused 15,000 blacktip and spinner sharks to swarm near Florida in 2013? 🧲 Could Earth’s magnetic fields (or sonar) influence shark migration patterns? 🎯 And do predators swarm for the same reasons as prey?This minisode is a fast, fascinating look at how even apex predators can get caught up in the group dynamic—and what it means for scientists, beachgoers, and Shark Week fans alike.👉 This is episode 2 of 6 in our Swarms series—short, science-packed episodes exploring how and why animals move as one. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and let your nose lead the way. This episode stinks—in the best way possible.In this surprisingly deep dive into all things scent, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore how your sense of smell works, why it’s wildly underappreciated, and what makes certain smells feel amazing (or like a chemical attack).🧠 How does smell connect to memory and emotion? 🦨 What makes skunk spray so powerful—and impossible to wash off? 🌺 Why do corpse flowers pretend to be rotting meat? 🍪 And why can one person love the smell of cookies while someone else smells… socks?From pregnancy nose powers to extinct olfactory genes, this episode blends biology, psychology, and botany into a surprisingly aromatic mix of weird science and fun facts.🎧 This is Season 12, Episode 2 of Wildly Curious—and your nostrils will never forget it. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. It’s time for Swarms.In the kickoff to our Swarms Minisodes, Katy and Laura dive into one of nature’s most mesmerizing spectacles: the murmuration of starlings. These jaw-dropping bird formations swirl through the sky like smoke or liquid—but behind the beauty is a stunning system of rules, physics, and evolutionary strategy.🐦 What exactly is a murmuration—and why do starlings do it? 🌪 How can thousands of birds turn on a dime with no leader? 🧠 What’s “scale-free correlation” and how does it keep the group alive? 🎭 And what does Shakespeare have to do with a Central Park starling invasion?From predator evasion to 3D modeling, this minisode explores the science, chaos, and choreography behind one of nature’s most hypnotic behaviors.👉 This is episode 1 of our Swarms series—six short episodes exploring how animals move together, from birds to bugs to bacteria. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and let your inner science goblin move into its own weird little ecosystem. 🦠In the Season 12 kickoff of Wildly Curious, Katy and Laura reveal the bizarre—but very real—ecosystems thriving inside your house. From the Amazon rainforest of your belly button to the bug-filled biome behind your fridge, your home is alive in more ways than you think.🦠 Why scientists swabbed hundreds of belly buttons to study bacteria 🍄 How household fungi can go from harmless to harmful 🪳 Which invertebrates are living behind your fridge—and why it’s a full ecosystem 🕷 And how centipedes and silverfish play unexpected roles in your home’s food webThis episode takes you room by room, crevice by crevice, revealing how even your cleanest spaces might be teeming with microbial life. But don’t panic—some of your grossest roommates might actually be the good guys.🎧 Listen now to discover how your home is more alive than you thought—and what you can do to keep the ecosystem in balance. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and let your brain go on a weekly field trip. No permission slip required.In this Volcano Minisode, Laura and Katy dive into the dramatic, deadly, and never-quite-dormant history of Mount Vesuvius, one of the most iconic volcanoes on Earth. From burying Pompeii in ash and pyroclastic waves to raining debris across the Mediterranean during WWII, Vesuvius has earned its title as the angriest volcano in history.🌋 What makes Vesuvius so volatile? 🏛 What actually happened in 79 AD—and why didn’t anyone leave? 🔥 How has it erupted 31 times since forming only 17,000 years ago? 🌲 And why might trees be our new secret weapon in predicting eruptions?From Roman cities turned to ash to trees tipping us off from space, this episode is a molten-hot blend of science, history, and nature’s chaos.👉 This is episode 5 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bubbling with explosive facts.🎧 Listen now and meet the volcano that refuses to hit snooze. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn this Volcano Minisode, Katy introduces one of the most extreme animals on Earth: the scaly-foot gastropod, a deep-sea snail that literally builds metal armor from volcanic hydrothermal vents. Found over a mile below the ocean’s surface, this snail survives crushing pressure, toxic heat, and total darkness—all thanks to a symbiotic relationship with bacteria and its one-of-a-kind iron shell.🧪 How does a snail use volcanic metals to build armor? 🌋 What makes hydrothermal vents so hostile—and so essential to life? 🧫 And who’s really in charge here… the snail or the bacteria living inside it?This episode is a deep dive into extreme evolution, powered by volcanoes and gut flora. It’s weird, real, and one of the coolest stories in nature.👉 This is episode 4 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts.🎧 Listen now to meet Earth’s most metal mollusk. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.In this third Volcano Minisode, Katy digs into one of the coolest things a volcano has ever made: obsidian—a rock so sharp it's been shaping human history for 30,000 years and is still used in modern surgery. 🔪🖤🌋 What exactly is obsidian and how is it formed? ⚡ How can lava turn into volcanic glass in a flash? 🩺 Why are obsidian scalpels sharper than steel—and still used today? 🛡 How did ancient people turn this into tools, weapons, and even mirrors?From Stone Age scrapers to eye surgery scalpels, obsidian proves that volcanoes don’t just destroy—they create tools that changed the course of human evolution.👉 This is episode 3 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts.🎧 Listen now to discover why this rock deserves way more credit. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn this second Volcano Minisode, Laura dives deep (literally) into one of Antarctica’s strangest secrets: how volcanic heat has carved out entire networks of hidden ice caves—warm, alien worlds tucked under the frozen surface. 🧊🔥🌋 Why does Antarctica have 18 volcanoes? 🌡 How can you go from -30°F outside to 70°F inside a cave? 🧬 What strange DNA have scientists discovered in these hidden spaces? 🚪 And could these caves hold more life—or ancient secrets—than we realize?From steaming caves to undiscovered species, it’s a chilling (and thrilling) glimpse into one of Earth's least understood frontiers.👉 This is episode 2 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts.🎧 Listen to find out why you’ll never look at Antarctica the same way again. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn the first Volcano Minisode of our season break, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover one of the wildest stories you've probably never heard: how an active volcano in Mexico accidentally buried—and preserved—the world’s largest pyramid. Yes, really.🌋 What is Popocatépetl, and why is it still puffing smoke? 🏛 How did the Great Pyramid of Cholula disappear beneath volcanic ash? 📜 What ancient secrets were hiding under a grassy hill with a church on top? 🔥 And how can something as destructive as a volcano also protect history?From drinking murals and five miles of hidden tunnels to short-stocky "unit pyramids" (you’ll get it), this minisode has all the chaos, science, and sarcasm you’ve come to expect.👉 This is episode 1 of 6 in our Volcano Minisodes series—bite-sized, bizarre, and bursting with molten-hot science facts. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailSubscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.In this Season 11 finale of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole blow the lid off volcanoes—literally and figuratively. From earth-shaking eruptions and blue lava to the creation of entirely new islands, this episode dives into the molten madness of how volcanoes destroy, preserve, and even give life.🌋 What exactly is a volcano? 🌎 Why do they erupt, and where can you find them? ⚡️ What’s up with volcanic lightning, blue lava, and weather eruptions? 🌱 And how do these fiery monsters build ecosystems in their wake?Plus, the duo kicks off a new miniseries: all things found in volcanoes—from fossilized creatures to ancient civilizations.👉 This episode is your launch point into that deep, explosive world. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn this out-of-this-world episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tell the incredible—and deeply emotional—story of Ham the Chimp, the first hominid to survive spaceflight.🧠 How was Ham trained to perform tasks during a rocket launch? 🚀 What made his 1961 mission so important to Project Mercury? 💔 And what did it cost to send an intelligent animal into space?Ham wasn’t just a passenger—he was a pioneer who proved humans could survive and function in zero gravity. But his journey, from capture in the wild to high-speed spaceflight and life in a cage, raises profound questions about ethics, science, and the legacy of animal astronauts.Whether you're a space exploration buff, an animal lover, or just someone who appreciates the messy intersection of science and humanity, this final episode of Cosmic Critters is one you won’t forget. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn this out-of-this-world episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole unravel the story of two unexpected astronauts: Anita and Arabella, the garden spiders launched aboard Skylab 3 in 1973.🕸️ Can spiders spin webs in zero gravity? 🕷️ How do they adapt without gravity to guide them? 🛰️ What can eight-legged astronauts teach us about behavior and resilience in space?Anita and Arabella weren’t just part of a quirky science experiment—they were pioneers in understanding how instinctual behavior and motor coordination function in microgravity. From chaotic silk chaos to stunning symmetrical webs in just two days, these space spiders proved life can adapt in the most alien environments.Whether you're an arachnid enthusiast, a space nerd, or just love weird science history, this episode is for you. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailWhy do we sleep? What’s going on in our brains while we dream about flying bagels and dolphin taxis? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole stay up late to explore the science of sleep, REM cycles, lucid dreaming, and why getting less than 5 hours can mess with your memory, mood, and metabolism.🧠 From brain waves and neurotransmitters to memory formation and emotional resets 😴 The truth about sleep deprivation, circadian rhythms, and why you might be hallucinating 💭 Plus: weird dreams, sleepwalking, dream interpretation, and the neuroscience of it allWhether you're curious about why sleep matters, how your brain detoxes overnight, or what dreams really mean, this episode has you covered—with science, laughter, and a few too many dolphin references. Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailBefore astronauts, there were monkeynauts. In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the bizarre and often tragic history of the first primates sent to space—Albert I, II, III, and IV.The U.S. was determined to test the limits of space travel, and what better way than by strapping a rhesus macaque to a rocket? Unfortunately for the Alberts, early spaceflight engineering wasn’t exactly foolproof (seriously, how hard is it to pack a working parachute?!). From launch failures to unexpected explosions, these monkeys became unwilling pioneers in the quest to understand weightlessness, high-altitude survival, and just how many things can go wrong in a single mission.Join us as we unpack the history, science, and ethics of these doomed primate test pilots. If you love space history, weird animal experiments, and questioning past scientific decisions, this episode is for you! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailFrom sky-high lightning bolts that span hundreds of miles to walls of sand swallowing cities whole, extreme weather is wild—and sometimes, just plain weird. 🌩️💨 In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy and Laura break down some of nature’s most shocking meteorological events, including lightning that’s hotter than the sun, haboobs that turn day into night, and actual raining animals (yes, really).But that’s not all! We also dive into pink snow (that smells like watermelon), blood rain, and the terrifying reality of firestorms that create their own weather systems. Whether you love a good thunderstorm or prefer to stay inside during a drizzle, this episode will have you looking at the sky in a whole new way.🔊 Tune in for science, comedy, and the most bizarre weather facts you never knew you needed! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailFrogs. In. Space. Yep, you read that right! In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole take you on a hilarious and mind-blowing journey into the weirdest space experiment you’ve probably never heard of—the Orbiting Frog Otolith mission.Back in the 1970s, NASA decided that launching two bullfrogs into orbit was a great idea. Why? To study how weightlessness affects the inner ear and balance. But the story doesn’t stop there—these amphibian astronauts, named Pierre and Tinam, endured some wild conditions, from pressure changes to a rather unfortunate fate.Join us as we dive into the bizarre, laugh at the absurd, and uncover why frogs were chosen for space travel in the first place. If you love strange science, history’s quirkiest experiments, or just want to hear about a frog named Pierre floating in space, this episode is for you! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailCould dinosaurs be the next great delivery workers, pest control experts, or even search-and-rescue heroes? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole take a deep dive into the wild world of dinosaur training—imagining what it would take to turn prehistoric creatures into modern-day workers. From speedy compies delivering packages through city streets to armored Borealopelta stopping high-speed car chases, they explore the science behind animal training, intelligence, and behavior.Packed with humor, science, and the ultimate “what if” scenarios, this episode is a must-listen for dinosaur lovers, science buffs, and anyone who’s ever wondered: Could you actually train a dinosaur? Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailBlast off into the strange world of space-bound critters with Wildly Curious! In this episode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the bizarre true story of Félicette—the first (and only) cat launched into space. From rigorous astronaut training (including high-G centrifuge spins) to a suborbital flight with no windows, Félicette’s journey was as weird as it was historic.Why did France decide to send a stray tuxedo cat into the cosmos? What did scientists hope to learn? And how does Félicette’s story compare to other space animals like Laika? With a mix of humor and deep dives into science history, this episode explores one of the most unexpected tales of the space race.Whether you’re a space buff, science enthusiast, or just love a wild story, this episode has something for everyone! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy and Laura dive deep into the prehistoric past to separate dinosaur fact from fiction. From Hollywood myths to groundbreaking discoveries, they explore how our understanding of dinosaurs has evolved over time. Were all dinosaurs cold-blooded? Did they all go extinct at the same time? What even is a dinosaur? Prepare to have your dino knowledge challenged as they break down the latest fossil evidence, debunk common misconceptions, and reveal the fascinating science behind these ancient creatures.  Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailBlast off with Wildly Curious as Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole launch into the incredible story of Laika, the first living creature to orbit Earth. This fearless stray dog from the streets of Moscow became a space pioneer aboard Sputnik 2, forever changing our understanding of space travel. But her journey wasn’t just about science—it was a tale of sacrifice, Cold War competition, and the early days of the space race.From the first fruit flies sent skyward to the wild world of animal astronauts, this episode kicks off our  explores the unexpected ways animals shaped human spaceflight. With a mix of humor and history, Katy and Laura unravel the legacy of Laika and the groundbreaking (and sometimes heartbreaking) missions that paved the way for human exploration beyond our planet.Whether you’re a space enthusiast, science history buff, or just love a good underdog story, this episode is a must-listen! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailDive into the mysterious world of freshwater ecosystems with Wildly Curious! In this episode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover some of the strangest and most fascinating creatures lurking in rivers and lakes worldwide. From the razor-toothed vampire fish of the Amazon to the ancient Chinese giant salamander, and even the armored Arapaima of the Amazon River Basin, each bizarre species has evolved incredible adaptations for survival. With a mix of humor and deep dives into science, this episode reveals why freshwater ecosystems are home to some of the most freaky and fascinating creatures on Earth. Whether you’re a nature enthusiast, science buff, or just curious about the weird wonders of water, this episode has something for everyone! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn this final episode of the Bog Banter mini-series, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the story of the Gundestrup Cauldron—a massive silver artifact found buried in a Danish bog. Dating back to 150 BC, this intricately carved cauldron features mysterious depictions of gods, warriors, and mythical creatures from Celtic and Thracian cultures. Was it a sacred offering, war treasure, or something even more ominous? Katy and Laura delve into the theories behind its dismantling, burial, and its journey from southeastern Europe to Denmark. Join them as they explore the fascinating blend of archaeology, mythology, and history surrounding this incredible find.Perfect for history lovers, archaeology enthusiasts, and anyone captivated by ancient mysteries and cultural connections! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Wildly Curious, hosts Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into a truly mind-boggling discovery—literally! Learn about the astonishing find of a fossilized dinosaur brain, uncovered in a tide pool in southern England. Preserved by bog-like conditions over 133 million years, this rare fossil reveals intricate details of a plant-eating dinosaur’s brain, including its cortex, capillaries, and even the folds and wrinkles. Katy and Laura explore how the unique chemistry of bogs led to this extraordinary preservation and what it tells us about dinosaur intelligence and evolution.Perfect for paleontology fans, science enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the marvels of fossilization and prehistoric life! Support the show🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!Track a real wild animal. Support conservation. Feel slightly cooler than you did five seconds ago. Visit the Fahlo tracking bracelets website to get 20% off tracking bracelets with code WildlyKaty.