What The Duck?!

The relationship between humans and big scary wolves has come a long way to give us tiny fluffy lap dogs with very discerning tastes in expensive food. Whose idea was it? Was it the wolves who wanted the warmth of the fire, or the humans who wanted protection from the other scary carnivores? And take a look at the first archaeological evidence of a beloved family pet preserved with its human family for almost 15,000 years! Featuring: Luc Janssens, Specialist in small animal surgery and archaeologist Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University Further reading: A new look at an old dog : Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication Dog domestication and the dual dispersal of people and dogs into the Americas Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Nat Tencic, Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Nematodes are found in every environment on Earth and can survive in some seriously extreme conditions. They will come back to life after being frozen for 40 thousand years! WHAT THE DUCK?! There's so much more to these creatures than a chocolate square for an itchy rear end… Sign up here for the nematode appreciation society. Featuring: Dr Mike Hodda, senior principal research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO Bethany Perry, PhD student at the ARC Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity, University of Canberra and CSIRO Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer This episode of What the Duck?! was recorded and produced on the land of the Ngunnawal, Wadawarrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

CSIRO's National Research Collection in Canberra is where millions of dead things bring life to Australian science. The specimens, collected over many decades, have just been very carefully moved into a new purpose-built facility named Diversity. The What the Duck?! team had a "sticky beak" inside to find DNA extraction robots, extinct birds, predatory flies, and a few thousand slides containing insect genitalia. This episode was recorded in September, before recent announcements were made about CSIRO funding. Featuring: Dr Alicia Grealy, research projects officer, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO Dr Keith Bayless, research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO Andrea Wild, science communicator, CSIRO Dr Anna Kearns, research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO Dr Olivia Evangelista de Souza, curator and digital data manager, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO With thanks to Thea Williams and Ian Dewar at CSIRO Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer This episode of What the Duck?!  was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

After receiving a heartbreaking email, Ann goes on a mission to prove that 'girls DO like spiders, frogs and all things nature'.' Featuring: Lyra and Julie Gould from Canada Dr. Jodi Rowley- Australian Museum and University of NSW Professor Maydianne Andrade- University of Toronto Dr. Amber Beavis- Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer Associate Professor Tanya Latty- Sydney University Plus excerpts from videos to Lyra from: Dr Federica Turco Dr Juanita Rodriguez Dr Kate Umbers Dr Perry Beasley-Hall Dr Jessica Fenker Josie Styles Ying Luo Plus extra sounds from: Christopher MacGregor, ABC Radio National listener with an excellent frog chorus from Bayswater in Perth, WA Frank Lambert, with a Spot-throated Babbler recording from Thailand, via xeno canto XC200877 (CC BY-NC 4.0) Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Petria Ladgrove, Producer Joel Werner, Script Editing This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2022 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

It's like a classic horror film. There are huge fangs, a segmented body, a remote location, the ocean bashing against cliffs, you're all alone and there's no one to help. The first bodies that turn up are of the children… of petrels. Featuring: Luke Halpin, PhD Researcher, Monash University Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Petria Ladgrove, Producer Joel Werner, Script Editing This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2022 and produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.