What The Duck?!

Diane Purcell on how algae grows on you

From the rolling hills of country Ireland to rolling waves beneath her boat docked in Hobart, Dr Diane Purcell has explored the most extreme places algae survive.She's also explored the prospect of its survival away from Earth when she worked at NASA studying extremophiles.Some of Diane's earliest research was looking at algae behaviour when it's kind of sleep deprived, and algae that will eat so much it will literally explode!She's also dealt with the ebb and flow of research work by moving to Darwin and working as a high school science teacher.Featuring:Dr Diane Purcell, Project Manager of the Remediation Section, Science and Technical Branch, at the Environment Protection AuthorityProduction:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerRebecca McLaren, ProducerHamish Camilleri, Sound EngineerThis 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.

The field guide to a birding life: Peter Menkhorst

Peter Menkhorst is the mammalogist who wrote the birding bible, The Australian Bird Guide.As a boy, Peter would go birdwatching with his dad, setting up in a hide before dawn to observe malleefowl tending their mounds — and ignoring ongoing attacks from mosquitoes!His professional work ranged from surveying mammals and developing National Parks, to ecological research and managing over-abundant koalas, while also leading conservation work to protect the orange-bellied parrot, the regent honeyeater and the helmeted honeyeater.Peter still keeps a list of the birds he sees, in the hardcover notebook his grandmother gave him when he was 11.Featuring:Peter Menkhorst, zoologist and authorProduction:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerRebecca McLaren, ProducerHamish Camilleri, Sound EngineerThis 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.

Creepy crawlies across continents: why Tanya Latty loves bugs

Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of science is no different…From watching slater bugs and catching non-venomous snakes in her garden just outside Toronto in Canada, to harnessing lizards with palm fronds in the Caribbean, Tanya Latty was always going to study animals.But it wasn't until an invertebrate zoology class that her "mind exploded" and her passion for entomology became clear.She went to the Rocky Mountains to study mountain pine beetles for her PhD — where she also accidentally studied bears and cougars up close.These days Tanya is based in Australia and raises awareness and understanding of invertebrates after bushfires.This is the origin story of Associate Professor Tanya Latty.Featuring:Associate Professor Tanya Latty, entomologist and insect ecologist at the University of SydneyProduction:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerRebecca McLaren, ProducerHamish Camilleri, Sound EngineerThis 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.

Ranger Stacey's totally wild life on and off TV

Nineties kids didn't dawdle on the way home from school in the afternoon. This was the age of appointment television, and that appointment was with Totally Wild.From 1992 it was beloved afternoon viewing for almost 30 years, hosted with a massive smile (and a decent fringe) by Ranger Stacey.Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of environmental education is no different…From the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, to holding her own with cranky carpet-faced puppet Agro, and then hosting her own TV show for 29 years.This is the origin story of Ranger Stacey Thomson.Featuring:Ranger Stacey Thomson, environmental educator, Redland City CouncilProduction:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerRebecca McLaren, ProducerHamish Camilleri, Sound EngineerThis 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.

Modern dogs: What have we created?

The influence of selective breeding by humans has created a doggo for every occasion, but it's not without problematic results.Some breeds have breathing difficulties, hip problems, aggression, or anxiety. There are dogs with ADHD and others with depression.Does our longest-term relationship need couples therapy?Featuring:Dr. Annika Bremhorst, founder of Dogs and Science, and canine scientist at the University of BernProfessor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State UniversityDr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of MelbourneProfessor Chris Johnson, the University of TasmaniaMichael Worboys, Emeritus Professor at the University of ManchesterWith thanks to Paula Pérez Fraga at Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary for audio from Family pigs' and dogs' reactions to human emotional vocalizations:a citizen science studyFurther reading:Associations between Domestic-Dog Morphology and Behaviour Scores in the Dog Mentality AssessmentSolitary working hunting dogs show a higher tendency for magnetic alignment, with decreased alignment in older dogsProduction:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerNat Tencic, ProducerRebecca McLaren, ProducerJacinta Bowler, ProducerPetria Ladgrove, Executive ProducerThis episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 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.