Sex, Death and Spiders

Update: 2025-10-01

Description

Warning: This episode contains the unusual mating habits of spiders.

Autumn is the time for spiders, and the colder months mean our eight-legged friends are searching for something vital: sex.

Join arachnologist Anna Maka and author and broadcaster Lucy Cooke to uncover the fascinating and freaky sex lives of spiders and what it teaches us about evolution itself.

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Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts

Production

Presenter: Rosie Holdsworth

Producer and sound designer: Marnie Woodmeade

Contributors:

Lucy Cooke

Anna Maka

Discover more

You can find Lucy’s book Bitch: On the female of the species here.

You can find out more about Anna’s work with rare diamond back spiders here.

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If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk