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:

326: Moth Flies w/ Emily, your Certified Bug Friend! Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, science communicator and Certified Bug Friend Emily, for a review of the tiny little bugs that fly around your nearest kitchen sink. We discuss what Big Pest doesn’t want you to know, convergent evolution between bugs and fish, the drain gods, secret spy languages that only bugs can read, and so much more.

Links:

Follow Emily on Instagram, YouTube, and more!
Learn more about the Entomology Box!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

325: Triops (AKA Tadpole Shrimp) Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

Ellen goes on a journey through time and space with Triops, the tadpole shrimp. We discuss book fairs, vernal pools, whether saltwater or freshwater came first, trips to space, prehistoric scampi, surprise guests at Burning Man, and so much more.

Sources:

"Ontogenetic sequence comparison of extant and fossil tadpole shrimps: no support for the “living fossil” concept" - Philipp Wagner et al., Paläontologische Zeitschrift, August 2017
“Survival of dormant organisms after long-term exposure to the space environment” - N. Novikova et al., Acta Astronautica, June 2010
“From antibiotics to yeast: Latest student science heads for space” - NASA, Science Daily, July 2014
“Hundreds of three-eyed 'dinosaur shrimp' emerge after Arizona monsoon” - Laura Geggel, LiveScience, October 2021
“What are the three-eyed ‘dinosaur shrimp’ resurfacing after Burning Man?” - Faiza Saqib, The Independent, September 2023
They Might Be Giants song “Triops Has Three Eyes”
“Adult Triops cancriformis (Pancrustacea: Notostraca) mediates the hatching rate of its resting eggs” - Alžbeta Devánová et al., Hydrobiologia, March 2022
“Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming for Your Rice” - PBS Deep Look

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

324: Egg-Eating Snake w/ Lyn! Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest artist and reptile keeper Lyn for an up close and personal look at a little snake with a big appetite. We discuss how it feels to handle a snake, stress dreams specific to pet owners, gastoning it, spine teeth, snacktivities, how snakes flirt with each other, and so much more.

Links:

Check out Lyn's art and comic on Instagram!
Denver folks, check out Lyn's upcoming snake shed jewelry & painting workshop!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

323: Banana Slug Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Ellen takes things slow with the iconic banana slug. We discuss mobile slip 'n' slides, recreationally poisoning yourself, liquid crystals, oobleck, robosnail, slime trains, moisture farming, apophallation, college mascots, and so much more.

Works Cited:

"Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime" for Mallory Pickett, KQED, February 2015
"Mechanical Devices for Snail-like Locomotion" - Brian Chan et al., Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, February 2007
"Tough adhesives for diverse wet surfaces" - J. Li et al., Science, July 2017
"Emerging biotechnology promises to transform the materials we use to work and live" - L.G. Blanchard, University of Washington Magazine, September 1993
"She studies slug sex by the seashore: UCSC researcher works to unlock secrets of banana slug sex" - Elise Overgaard, Lookout Santa Cruz, June 2023
"Our Mascot: Sammy the Banana Slug", UC Santa Cruz (uscs.edu)

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

322: The Bird Hall w/ Shannon Hackett & John Bates! Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guests, power couple Shannon Hackett and John Bates from the Field Museum, here to talk about the intersection of science, history, and of course, birds in a love letter to the natural history museum. We discuss working alongside SUE the T. rex, specimen pickles, harlequin romance novels, and explore bigger questions like how museum collections can reveal evolution happening around us right now in real-time and help us look into the future, what the average everyday person can learn about themselves and what science actually looks like from a museum, and the hotly contested debate as to whether grey vireos are interesting or not.

Links:

Check out Birds of a Feather Talk Together on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Instagram!
Learn more about the Field Museum on their website!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

321: Norway Lemmings Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Ellen sets the record straight on Norway lemmings, busting over 400 years of myths. We discuss rodent audacity, ecological impacts that can be seen from space, spontaneous generation, Ole Worm, Atlantis, a Disney lie, and so much more.

Works Cited:

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

320: Vinny Thomas's Top 3 Urban Wildlife Species! Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest comedian, writer, and nature enthusiast Vinny Thomas for a review of some of the furry, feathered, and scaly neighbors making themselves at home right in our very own cities. We discuss domestication, dogs with human feet, inflatable snoods, ostriches for self-defense, kaiju battles at the park, life in a shipwreck, and so much more.

Links:

Follow Vinny on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

319: Tasmanian Devil Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

Ellen gives the Tasmanian devil his due. We discuss mythbusters, cranial real estate, the masculine urge to bite your fingers off, which came first: the chicken or the egg, dump stats, contagious cancer, and so much more.

Works Cited:

"Too hot for the devil? Did climate change cause the mid-Holocene extinction of the Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii from mainland Australia?" - Shane D. Morris et al., Ecography, Dec 2021
"Holocene Demographic Changes and the Emergence of Complex Societies in Prehistoric Australia" - Alan N. Williams et al., PLOS One, June 2015
"Bite club: comparative bite force in big biting mammals and the prediction of predatory behaviour in fossil taxa" - Stephen Wroe, Colin McHenry & Jeffrey Thomason, Proc Biol Sci, March 2005
"Saving our darling devils", Esme Mathis, Australian Geographic, January 2026

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

318: Jungle Jordan's Top 3 Friend-Shaped Carnivores! Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, wildlife educator and zookeeper Jungle Jordan, as we round up his top 3 friend-shaped carnivores, all the cutest critters that could absolutely wreck you. We discuss hidden mickeys, toxic friend groups, modern-day sabertooths, delicious hair, an unlikely pair of woodland best friends, and so much more.

Links:

Learn more about Jordan's work at his website: https://www.junglejordan.com/
Follow him on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

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

317: Sea Angel Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

Ellen gets into the festive spirit with sea angels. We discuss Christian's beachfront disaster, secret tentacles, teeny titan battles, undismissable companions, Hello Kitty merch, and so much more.

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

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

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