Just the Zoo of Us

Ellen & special guest Isaac answer questions from young listeners! We discuss the smallest animals, giraffe sounds, polar bear buoyancy, sturgeon skin, metabolism, and more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Join Ellen & corvid scientist Dr. Kaeli Swift for a review of the clever little goths rummaging through a trash can near you: American crows. We discuss the twists and turns of a career in science, what crows can learn from funerals, how to tell a crow from a raven, and lessons in crucial skills like cheeto thievery and pizza crust gardening.Links:Learn more about Dr. Kaeli Swift and her work on her blog, corvidresearch.blog!Follow Dr. Kaeli Swift on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or Twitter!Follow Marianas Nature to learn more about the wildlife of the Mariana Islands!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Christian explains why not to mess with the coral snake & Ellen puts the common cuckoo on blast. We discuss deadly neurotoxin, microfarts, what's up with those annoying flickering lightbulbs, sneaky disguises, evolutionary arms races, brood parasitism, bird genetics, and so much more. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Join Ellen & evolutionary morphologist Dr. Kassandra Ford as we get amped up about electric fishes. We discuss fish who use electricity to make mind maps, sabotage each other by jamming their signals, starve themselves with their own teeth, and ask the important questions like, “do you have a favorite fish skull?”Links:Learn more about Dr. Ford's work at her website: https://www.kassandraford.com/Follow Dr. Ford on Instagram or Twitter!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Curious about the exclusive bonus content for Maximum Fun members? Enjoy some free samples from special episodes: "The Dewlap-Foraging Slug," Let's Learn Everything's "RATS! Cheddar Heist," "The Fakémon Lab," and "Our Favorite Animal." If you like what you hear, head over to https://maximumfun.org/join and sign up to get access to the entire bonus content library and SO much more!

Ellen & Christian answer questions from the audience! We discuss the podcast's humble origins, magical spells, our favorite ducks,  and more.Be a part of the MaxFunDrive & sign up to become a supporting member of the network and get access to exclusive content and beautiful gifts!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Ellen softens up to the chinchilla & Christian breaks the ice with the walrus. We discuss Jackie Chan Adventures, fur slips, dust baths, tusks, whiskers, bells & whistles, Odysseus, and Lewis Carroll. Goo goo g'joob.Links:Get involved with the MaxFunDrive & check out this year's awesome gifts & bonus content!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

This special network wide event is a celebration of the MaxFunDrive! If you’d like to support podcasts you love for just $5 a month and get bonus gifts in the process, go to maximumfun.org/join. We’re kicking off the most exciting time of the year for the MaxFun Network with a trivia game show featuring hosts from tons of great podcasts!J. Keith van Straaten and Helen Hong from “Go Fact Yourself” are joined by:Ellen & Christian Weatherford - “Just the Zoo of Us” Alex Schmidt & Katie Goldin - “Secretly Incredibly Fascinating”If you’d like to hear more hosts competing for trivia supremacy, visit Maximumfun.org for the full version of this show.

Ellen & special guest, marine biologist Amani Webber-Schultz, suck up to the brilliant little moochers of the ocean: remoras. We discuss shark scales, suction cups, the most efficient way to eat tacos, scrapped Pokemon designs, and so much more.Links:Check out Amani's podcast, Sharkpedia!Follow Amani on Instagram and TikTok!Learn more about MISS!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok! 

Join Ellen & special guest Owen Klessel for some well-deserved PR for the most bizarre and fascinating and incredible animal you’ve never heard of: solenodons. This episode, much like the animal itself, is full of surprises like nose bones, echolocation, an unexpected defense mechanism, butt nipples, and a scourge of mongooses.Links:Follow Owen's work on YouTube and TikTok!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Christian fishes for compliments about the fishing cat & Ellen goes rock climbing with rock hyraxes. We discuss cat eyes, fishing strategies, buck toothed vampires, toe shoes, Wikipedia drama, and more.For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Join Ellen & special guest Shannon Roivas who brings us first-hand insight straight from her time spent in the forests of Tanzania studying our very own wild cousins: chimpanzees! On top of fascinating topics like the primate family tree, toe thumbs, termite popsicles and fear grimaces, our guest shares her unique experiences like naming chimpanzees, getting punched by one, and having the opportunity to watch them grow and learn in their very own home.Links:Follow Shannon on Instagram!Learn more about Roots & Shoots and how you can get involved with conservation over at their website!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Romance is in the air as Ellen commits to the trumpeter swan & Christian catches the lovebug bug. We discuss clown shoe runways, air horn duets, bird monogamy, a mysterious case of missing bugs, and the true meaning of going out with a bang.Links:Trumpeter swan sound found here via freesound.orgLearn more about native swan conservation & how you can help: Trumpeter Swan SocietyFor more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Join Ellen & science educator and nature hype man Nick VanAcker to sing praises for some of our favorite true bugs: cicadas! We discuss how and why cicada choruses sing the song of the summer, why they spend so much of their lives underground before emerging and what’s so special about prime numbers anyway, the real parasitic fungus that inspired a cicada-themed Pokémon, and so much more.Links:Follow Nick on TikTok!Check out more of Nick's work at his website!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Christian makes some noise for the Freddy Kreuger frog & Ellen picks a bouquet of bone-eating snot flowers. We discuss life as a mouth with legs, being born into literal Hunger Games, meme lore, whalefalls, and eating the bones.Links:It Is Wednesday My DudesWhale Fall (After Life of a Whale) by Sweet Fern ProductionsFor more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Join Ellen & special guest, deep sea biologist Dr. Thom Linley, for a literal deep dive into an animal that just might change the way you think about the creatures of the abyss: the ethereal snailfish. We discuss what it’s like to be among the first humans to ever see a species, life in the trenches - like, the actual Mariana trench, freedom from beauty norms and justice for the blobfish, slurping up meat-flavored jellybeans off the ocean floor, and the adorable side of the hadal zone.Links:Check out Thom's podcast, Deep Sea Podcast!Follow the podcast on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!Follow Thom on Twitter or Instagram!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Ellen gets the zig-zagging zoomies with tiger beetles & Christian has an existential crisis over the giant siphonophore. We discuss the REAL fastest land animal on Earth, literally blinding speed, reverse Naruto running, world record technicalities, zooids (not Zoids),  and what it means to be an organism.Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Join Ellen & special guest, environmental educator Jamison Cole, for a review of our very own backyard apex predators: bobcats! We discuss topics including but not limited to tail nubs, ear tufts, coyote pee, the bobcat’s Final Smash, relationship tips from nature, tomcat jowls, and the interconnectedness of every member of the ecosystem from the tiniest rodent all the way up to the bald eagle.Links:Check out the Ocean Advocacy Workshop and Plastic Ocean ProjectFor more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Ellen & Christian share stories, observations and inspiration from special guest: you! We discuss what sounds fish make, memory transfer via cannibalism, and what to do when you're attacked by a zebra. Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!

Join Ellen & returning special guest, wildlife biologist Alex Troutman, for a review of some of our favorite mohawked chatterboxes: belted kingfishers. We discuss topics including but not limited to the vicious mockery of birds who fish better than us, biomimicry in train engineering, the truth behind Hollywood bird calls and lion roars, and stories from the field including spooky sounds in the forests of Borneo.Links:Check out Alex's books, including Critters of Georgia: Pocket Guide to Animals in Your State!Learn more about Alex and his work over at his website!Follow Alex on Instagram and Twitter!For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on TikTok!