Nature

Just the Zoo of Us

Join us, Ellen and Christian Weatherford, while we review your favorite species of animals and rate them out of ten in the categories of effectiveness, ingenuity and aesthetics.
More information can be found at justthezooofus.com 😊
Got a species you want us to review? Submit your animal friend to us at ellen@justthezooofus.com and when we review your animal we’ll give you a shoutout! 😊
Cover art by Mrs. Brainbow (Taylor Gordon-Wood). Theme music by Louie Zong.

Latest Episodes:

160: Marine Iguana & Colugo Sep 14, 2022

Show notes

Join the Weatherfords for a weekly animal review! This week, Christian gets salty over the marine iguana & Ellen glides along with the literally treehugging colugo. We discuss archipelagos, snot rockets, Darwin's garbage takes, Godzilla, skin parachutes and baby hammocks.

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord!

Cover photos: Patrick_Gijsbers via Getty images (marine iguana) & Didasteph via Wikimedia commons (colugo)

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

159: Moon Jellyfish w/ Sophie Wolvin! Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, marine biologist Sophie Wolvin, for a review of the ocean's little jello casseroles full of live bees: moon jellyfish! We’re gonna talk about what to do if you get stung by a jellyfish, what it’s like to care for the delicate jellies, their vortex of death, jellybeans and blooms, and I confess to some heinous jellyfish crimes.

Follow Sophie on Twitter and learn more about her work at her website!

Listen to Sophie discuss young adult fiction with biologists on the Midlight Crisis podcast!

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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

158: Pallas's Cat & Kiwi Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

Join the Weatherfords for a weekly animal review! In this week's episode, Ellen lets Pallas's cat out of the bag & Christian probes into the world of the sensitive kiwi. We discuss grumpy cats, spawncamping, chilly beans, buff legs and giant eggs.

Check out Benjamin Lancer's paper on dragonfly attention in Nature!

Watch Wildlife Instincts: Pallas's Cat - Master of the Plains on YouTube!

Learn more about how you can help the kiwi!

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord!

Cover photos: Radovan Zierik via Getty images (Pallas's cat), Lakeview Images via Getty (kiwi)

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

157: Fleas w/ Tom Sharpe! Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, podcaster and invertebrate enthusiast Tom Sharpe, as we leap into the world of the tiny menace: fleas! We discuss the intersection of entomology and Pokemon, blind leaps of faith, tiny little cowboys riding their trusty steeds up cave walls, the history of fleas on leashes, and more.

For more of Tom's invertebrate podcasting, check out Grubbing in the Filth: An Invertebrate Podcast! Follow along on Twitter & Instagram.

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord & join Ellen for weekly video game streams on Twitch!

Cover photo: Jugas via Getty images

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

156: California Sea Lion & Giant Isopod Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

Join the Weatherfords for a weekly animal review! In this week's episode, Christian barks about the loud wet dog of the Pacific coast, the California sea lion, and Ellen gets to know her bottomfeeding best friend, the giant isopod. In this episode, we discuss our recent trip to Monterey Bay, pinniped evolution, whale falls, and Hello Kitty Darth Vader.

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord & join Ellen for weekly video game streams on Twitch!

Cover photos: cwinegarden via Getty images (sea lion), Monterey Bay Aquarium via Twitter post (giant isopod)

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

155: Dolphins w/ Drew Smith! Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, anthropologist & cetologist Drew Smith, for a review of the adorable little apex predators zipping through the waves: dolphins! We talked about animal charisma, dolphin culture and society and play, a West Side Story-style rivalry, a whale’s favorite ice cream flavor, and how these animals so different from us have flipped and whistled their way into our human hearts.

Follow Drew on Twitter!

Learn more about upcoming Paleolithic historical fiction novel Jih's Journey here!

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord & join Ellen for weekly video game streams on Twitch!

Cover photo provided by Drew Smith

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

154: Hognose Snake & Cone Snail Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

Join the Weatherfords for a weekly animal review! In this week's episode, Ellen brings a flair for drama with the hognose snake & Christian shatters expectations with the lightning-fast strike of the cone snail. We discuss feigning death, longleaf pine forests, and stealthy assassins of the reef.

For more information on longleaf pine forest conservation, check out the Longleaf Alliance.

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord & join Ellen for weekly video game streams on Twitch!

Cover photos: Mark Kostich (hognose snake) via Getty images, Richard Ling (cone snail) via Wikipedia

Audio from Don Giovanni via Wikimedia Commons

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

153: Sandhill Crane w/ Tommy Siegel! Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest musician from Jukebox the Ghost, comic artist behind "Candy Hearts" and "I Hope This Helps," and birder Tommy Siegel for a review of the touring musicians of the North American skies: sandhill cranes. We talk about the mental health benefits of birding, how crane couples keep the romance alive, what a musical interpretation of their iconic call might sound like, and more.

Follow Tommy on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Learn more about his work on his website. Calendars, prints and stickers of Extremely Accurate Birds can be ordered here!

Learn more about Jukebox the Ghost at their website & listen to their new album Cheers wherever you get your music!

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord & join Ellen for weekly video game streams on Twitch!

Tune in to Science & Sorcery at 2pm eastern on Friday, July 22nd for a D&D adventure!

Cover photo: bookguy via Getty images

Crane sound effect recorded by Tim Kahn, obtained via freesound.org

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

152: Rough-Skinned Newt & Pumpkin Toadlet Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

Join the Weatherfords for a weekly animal review! In this week's poisonous amphibian showcase, Christian takes competition to a whole new level with the rough-skinned newt and Ellen takes a leap of faith with the pumpkin toadlet. We discuss an evolutionary grappling match, the drawbacks of being too tiny, and glowing bones.

Learn more about how you can help the Atlantic Forest by visiting Copaíba's website.

Check out Ellen's guest appearances this week:

"Don’t Go in the Water: A Guide to the Wonderful & Wacky Animals of Florida" on Pangolin: The Conservation Podcast

"Manatees" on Secretly Incredibly Fascinating

"Top 10 Most Popular Animals in the World" on the 10ish Podcast

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Discord!

Join Ellen for weekly video game streams on Twitch!

Cover photos: Carlos Otávio Gussoni via iNaturalist (pumpkin toadlet), randimal via Getty images (newt)

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

151: Nominating the National Bird w/ Nick Lund! Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, science writer Nick Lund, for a special episode nominating our very own top 3 candidates for the national bird of the United States of America! In addition to our bird selections, Nick gives us insight into the process that actually goes into designating official state birds, the history behind the bald eagle’s use as the country’s symbol and why the turkey was once famously suggested to be America’s Next Top Wattle.

Follow The Birdist on Twitter!

Check out our guest's books:

The Ultimate Biography of Earth: From the Big Bang to Today! - Told in a lively, illustrated biography form to deliver its cutting-edge science in the most compelling way, here is the story of Earth, from the chaotic Hadean eon with its huge oceans of molten rock to today’s Cenozoic era, aka the Age of Mammals (and that includes us humans). Great for young curious minds!

American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Maine -A photographic field guide with one bird featured per page. Each concise species account includes measurements, scientific name, identification description, voice, behavior, and the habitat it is likely to be found in. Photographs by Brian E. Small.

More of Nick's writing and science communication work can be found at his website.

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram & join Ellen for weekly video game streams on Twitch!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

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