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What The Duck?!: Daily Summaries Delivered
by ABC Australia
Australia is full of weird plants and animals. And Dr Ann Jones is on speaking terms with most of them! Each week Ann explores the most unusual elements of our natural world — the ones that make you go What the Duck?! Like why do quolls have spots? Who farts (and who doesn't)? And how do snakes climb trees? Join Ann alongside experts and ordinary Aussies alike to solve mysteries, smash myths and uncover the bizarre truth about nature down under.
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- 4 days ago26 min
It it just me, or is that sheep glow in the dark?
Ann heads to a hunting shop (stay with us) to pick up a UV torch. What she discovers? Ewe won’t believe it.Featuring:Linda Reinhold, Zoologist at James Cook University.Professor Simon Lewis, Curtin University.Dr. Kenny Travouillon, Western Australian Museum.Caitlin Grieve, Hillend Dorsets.Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Joel Werner, Script editing.Additional mastering: Simon Branthwaite.This is the final episode of Season 4 for What the Duck?! Season 5 will begin in November.This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and 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 ABC Listen (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.
- 1 weeks ago26 min
Killer whales attack boat
Martin was part of a crew sailing from the UK to Greece. Everything was on track… until a group of Orcas tried to sink the boat. You’d be forgiven for thinking this scenario was a one-off, but you’d be wrong. Killer whales have been terrorising ships since the 6th Century. After all this time, have we worked out why?Featuring:Martin Evans, UK Sailor.Professor Peter Keegan, History and Archaeology at Macquarie University. Dr Rebeca Wellard, Curtin University.Dr Luke Rendell, University of St Andrews, Scotland. Anna Selbmann, University of Iceland.Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Additional mastering: Hamish Camilleri.This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and 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 ABC Listen (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.
- 2 weeks ago26 min
Fully sick plants
Can plants get cancer? Do they get tumours? WAIT.. is that what those big knobbly bits are on trees? Dr Ann Jones pulls on her experience as a broadcaster with a brain, to find out what's going on with plants and cancer. Won't someone think of the eucalypt!Featuring:Associate Professor Andrew Geering, University of Queensland.Professor John Rathjen, Australian National University. Dr Amy MacKenzie, University of Adelaide.Belinda Smith, ABC Science reporter.Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Additional mastering: Emrys CroninThis episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and 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 ABC Listen (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.
- 3 weeks ago26 min
Butts. What are they good for?
Two million years ago, our ancestors had tiny ape-like butts. Then something strange happened.. our butts grew bigger. Butt, why?It turns out humans aren’t the only primates whose butt took a bizarre evolutionary turn.These peaches have a lot to answer for.Featuring:Professor Daniel Lieberman, Harvard University, US.Professor Jo Setchell, Durham University, UK. Dr Peter Bishop, Harvard University, US.Lauren Thornton, University of Sunshine Coast.Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Additional mastering: Russell Stapleton.This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.
- Oct 2, 202626 min
Flaco the owl escapes cage in Central Park Zoo
A superhero origin story would absolutely be 12 years in a cage and then set free by secretive criminals.That’s the story of Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle Owl, released from his vandalised cage in Central Park Zoo, New York City. But how long could Flaco possibly last in the graveyard of bird diversity that is the city? How long could he fly without confusing a window for the sky?Featuring:Ed Shanahan, Metro reporter, The New York Times.Julia Wang, Project Leader, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.Brendon Samuels, Fatal Light Awareness Program and Western University in Canada.Dr Kylie Soanes, Urban ecologist at The University of Melbourne.Mat Howard, Midjuburi Ward (Marrickville), Inner West Council, NSW.Kat and Zach, Flaco Song.Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Additional mastering: Hamish Camilleri.This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.
- Sep 25, 202626 min
Bumblebees have BIG feelings
Mum says it’s ok to be angry. But it’s not ok to take over a whole island state.Featuring: Andrew Barron - Comparative Neuroscientist from Macquarie University, NSWTim Low - Biologist and a founder of the Invasive Species CouncilProduction:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerSarah Prosser, ProducerHarvey O'Sullivan, Mastering EngineerThis episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.
- Sep 18, 202625 min
What will we eat in space?
How will we survive the cosmic void? Scientists have a superfood diet in mind, but will the smallest flowering plant on Earth REALLY save humanity? Featuring:Jenny Mortimer - Professor of Plant Synthetic Biology in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at Adelaide University. Chief investigator in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plants for SpaceGareth Prosser – Professional Voice Over Artist whose wife roped him in Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerSarah Prosser, ProducerMastering Engineer, Emyrs Cronin This episode of What the Duck was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.
- Sep 11, 202625 min
Tits, boobies and hooters
Why is it that bird names seem so… childishly misogynistic? Featuring: Professor Andrew Cockburn, bird watcher and word batcher, ANUJeannie Gray, Author, Australian Bird Names: Origins and Meanings.Ian Fraser, Author, Australia Bird Names: Origins and Meanings.Stephen Downes, the brains behind @Parrotoftheday social media accountsStephen Moss, Author, Mrs Moreau's Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names.Nola Turner-Jensen, Culture Inclusion Specialist and Wiradjuri HistorianDr Ayesha Tulloch, Research Fellow, QUT.This episode was first broadcast in 2022.Featuring extra sounds from listeners:Large-tailed Nightjar from Briony Barnett.Cat Bird from Scott Fisher. And extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:Marc Anderson, XC287030. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/287030 ( Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0)Yong Ding Li, XC57231. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/57231 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5)Phil Gregory, XC690345. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/690345 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)Production:Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Joel Werner, Script Editing.This episode of What the Duck?! 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 ABC Listen (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.
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About What The Duck?!
Australia is full of weird plants and animals. And Dr Ann Jones is on speaking terms with most of them! Each week Ann explores the most unusual elements of our natural world — the ones that make you go What the Duck?! Like why do quolls have spots? Who farts (and who doesn't)? And how do snakes climb trees? Join Ann alongside experts and ordinary Aussies alike to solve mysteries, smash myths and uncover the bizarre truth about nature down under.
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