Wildly Curious
Wildly Curious is a comedy podcast where science, nature, and curiosity collide. Hosted by Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole, two wildlife experts with a combined 25+ years of conservation education experience, the show dives into wild animal behaviors, unexpected scientific discoveries, and bizarre natural phenomena. With a knack for breaking down complex topics into fun and digestible insights, Katy and Laura make science accessible for all—while still offering fresh perspectives for seasoned science enthusiasts. Each episode blends humor with real-world science, taking listeners on an engaging journey filled with quirky facts and surprising revelations. Whether you're a curious beginner or...
Good News! We Found New Species!
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A new penguin species AND a tiny wildcat mistaken for a house kitten? Science is delivering some seriously good news and we need it!
We're kicking off Season 15's Good News! minisodes with two fascinating animal discoveries: the southeastern gentoo penguin and the newly identified wildcat from Bolivia's cloud forests, Leopardus tilcayo (commonly known as the tilcayo cat or tilcayo).
Katy and Laura dive into how DNA and genetics are changing what we know about animal species, why scientists are still discovering new...
The World's Okayest Dog Trainer
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What do dog trainers, invasive insects, and cheese sticks have in common? More than you'd think.
Wildly Curious is BACK for Season 15! We're joined by longtime friend, professional dog trainer, and author Melissa McCue-McGrath to explore the fascinating science of dog training, canine behavior, and scent detection.
From the hilarious realities behind her new book, Misadventures of the World's Okayest Dog Trainer, to training dogs to sniff out invasive spotted lanternfly eggs, we're discovering just how extraordinary our four-legged friends really are.
It's...
Nature's Worst Nightmares: The Creepiest Animals on Earth
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Some animals are majestic.
Others...
...should probably stay very, very far away.
In this hilariously horrifying episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole debate the animals they could absolutely live without. From parasites that replace organs to frogs that break their own bones, this episode dives into some of evolution's strangest—and most disturbing—creations.
Along the way you'll meet:
The Hairy Frog—a frog that br...
The Real-Life Dragon You've Never Heard Of
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What if dragons were real... and they could run across water?
In this minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore one of the most incredible reptiles you've probably never heard of: the sailfin dragon, also known as the sailfin lizard (Hydrosaurus). Native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia and New Guinea, this dragon-like reptile combines the best features of an iguana, a basilisk, and a dinosaur.
With giant s...
How Scientists Track Wild Animals (Without Ever Seeing Them)
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How do scientists study animals that spend their lives hiding, migrating thousands of miles, or living deep underwater?
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore the incredible technology that's transforming wildlife research. From radar that detects millions of migrating birds to satellites tracking whales from space, conservation has become a real-life spy mission.
Discover how researchers can monitor animals without disturbing them—and sometimes without ever see...
The Real-Life Dragon You've Probably Never Heard Of
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What if dragons were real?
In this minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore one of the strangest reptiles on Earth: the Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus), a tiny armored lizard from South Africa that looks like it crawled straight out of a fantasy novel.
Covered in spiky scales and equipped with one of the most unusual defense strategies in the animal kingdom, this reptile doesn't run from danger. Instead, i...
Mutations Explained: The Tiny DNA Changes That Can Change Everything
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What happens when your DNA makes a typo?
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the strange, fascinating world of genetic mutations—the tiny changes in DNA that can shape evolution, alter proteins, create disease, or sometimes do absolutely nothing at all.
From harmless genetic quirks to serious inherited disorders, this episode breaks down some of the most important mutation types in a way that act...
The Poisonous Bird You've Probably Never Heard Of
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Most birds are harmless.
This one is poisonous.
In this minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into one of the strangest birds on Earth: the pitohui, a brightly colored songbird from New Guinea that carries powerful neurotoxins in its skin and feathers. 
The toxin is chemically similar to the same compounds found in some poison dart frogs, making the pitohui one of the very few known poisonous birds in the world. But how does a bird become poisonous in the first place?
<...Real Life Zombies: How Parasites and Fungi Control Animal Minds
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What if “zombies” weren’t just fiction?
In this Season 14 kickoff episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the real science behind “nature zombies”—organisms that can hijack behavior, manipulate brains, and turn animals into living tools for their own survival.
From parasitic fungi to mind-altering parasites, this episode explores how evolution has produced some of the most disturbing—and fascinating—strategies in the natural world.
🧠 How parasiti...
Why Are They Called Crows and Ravens?
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Why are crows called crows… and ravens called ravens?
In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Laura explores the surprisingly simple—and fascinating—origins behind the names of two of the most intelligent and culturally iconic birds in the world: crows and ravens.
These birds are often associated with mystery, mythology, and even death—but their names didn’t come from legend. They came from something much simpler: the sounds they make.
-Why the word “crow” dates back over 1,000 years and mimics their i...
Why Is It Called a Chickadee? The Surprising Story Behind Bird Names
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Why do birds have such unusual names?
In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Laura dives into the fascinating origins behind two of the most familiar backyard birds in North America: chickadees and titmice.
These small, curious songbirds aren’t just cute—they’re also incredibly intelligent and highly vocal, with communication systems that scientists are still studying today.
Chickadees get their name directly from their famous “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call—but that sound is more than just noise...
Cassowary vs Emu: The Surprising Origins of Their Bird Names
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Why are birds named what they’re named?
In this mini episode of the Bird Name Game series from Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss explores the fascinating naming history behind two giant flightless birds that look like they walked straight out of the dinosaur era: cassowaries and emus.
Both birds are massive, powerful, and deeply tied to the evolutionary story of modern birds—but their names come from very different linguistic journeys.
Cassowaries, found in the tropical forests of New Guinea and northern Australia, are famous for their brig...
Why Is It Called an Albatross? The Surprising History of Bird Names
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Why do birds have the names they do?
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss kicks off a new mini-series called “Bird Name Game”, exploring the fascinating origins behind bird names. Each episode looks at two birds, their natural history, and the surprising linguistic stories behind what we call them.
This episode dives into two iconic seabirds: the albatross and the gull.
The albatross, one of the largest flying birds on Earth, can glide across the ocean for thousands of miles with barely a wingbeat. But its...
Can Cats Talk? The Science Behind Meows, Purrs, and Human Manipulation
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Subscribe and prepare to realize your cat has been training you this whole time.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the fascinating research of Dr. Susanne Schötz, a phonetics professor at Lund University—and the scientist behind some of the most groundbreaking work on cat–human communication.
Her research explores how cats use meows, purrs, trills, and intonation to communicate with humans, how those sounds change based on emotion and conte...
Echinoderms Explained: Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, and the Ocean’s Weirdest Hydraulics
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In this deep-dive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole crack open the bizarre, beautiful world of echinoderms—the “spiny-skinned” sea creatures that are hard on the outside, squishy on the inside, and powered by a literal hydraulic system.
We’re talking sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, brittle stars, feather stars, and sea cucumbers—a group that looks like it shouldn’t make sense… until you learn the rules.
🌊 The water...
Snail Racing Science: Why Studying Slime Is a Big Deal
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Subscribe and prepare to root for the slowest athletes on Earth.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the bizarre but brilliant world of snail racing—and the scientists who study it to unlock secrets of movement, slime, and survival.
Every summer in England, snails compete in the World Snail Racing Championships. It sounds ridiculous… until you realize researchers are using these races to study animal locomotion, non-Newtonian fluids, and biomimicry.
🐌 Why snail slime is both sticky...
Natural Navigation: How Humans Find Direction Without GPS
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Subscribe and rediscover a skill humans were never meant to lose.
In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore natural navigation—the ancient human ability to find direction by reading the land, sea, sky, plants, and animals instead of relying on GPS.
Long before maps and satellites, humans navigated forests and oceans using patterns, movement, and observation. And the wild part? That ability never disappeared—we just stopped practicing it.
🌿 How plants and trees reveal direction through...
The Scientists Who Studied Pee, Poop, and Won Prizes
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Subscribe and prepare to learn something you will never un-know.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole spotlight two researchers whose work sounds ridiculous… until you realize it’s brilliant.
Meet Dr. David Hu and Dr. Patricia Yang, engineers who study fluid dynamics by asking the questions no one else would:
Why do almost all mammals pee in the same amount of time?Why is wombat poop shaped like a cube?And how can studying animal waste improve engineering, medi...DNA Explained: How Genetics Shape Who You Are (and Why It Matters)
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DNA isn’t magic—but it is one of the most powerful instruction systems in the universe.
In this deep-dive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole break down genetics, DNA, and inheritance in a way that actually makes sense—no lab coat required. From the tiny molecular code inside your cells to the ethical questions surrounding modern gene editing, this episode connects the science to real life.
🧬 What DNA actua...
Whale Earwax Holds a Hidden History of the Ocean
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Subscribe and prepare to learn something you absolutely did not know existed.
In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss dives into one of the strangest—and most important—jobs in science: whale earwax archivist.
Yes. That’s a real thing.
Certain whales build massive earwax plugs over their lifetime, adding a new layer every six months. And scientists have learned how to read those layers like tree rings—revealing a whale’s age, stress levels, exposure to pollution, and even the histor...
The Science of Swearing: Can Cursing Actually Help You?
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Subscribe and let your curiosity swear a little. We won’t tell. 😉
In this Wildly Curious minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole kick off their new Niche Scientists series with a deep dive into Dr. Richard Stephens—a psychologist who studies something we all do (sometimes loudly): swearing.
From pain tolerance to powerlifting, Dr. Stephens’ research shows that strategic cursing can actually make you stronger, tougher, and maybe even a little bit smarter about when to drop an F-bomb.
🤬 Can swearing really reduce pain...
The Science (and Chaos) Behind Turkeys, Pumpkins, and Thanksgiving
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Subscribe and stuff your brain before you stuff your turkey. 🦃🥧
In this Wildly Curious Thanksgiving special, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole serve up the surprisingly scientific and hilariously human history of America’s favorite feast. From how pumpkins nearly went extinct after the Ice Age to why turkeys were almost wiped out (and then made a comeback), this episode is a buffet of weird facts, origin stories, and seasonal science.
🍂 How mastodons helped evolve pumpkins
🦃 Why Benjamin Franklin thought turkeys were “more respectable” than eagles
🥧 The secret h...
Could You Fight That? Round 2 – Science, Strategy & Total Chaos
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Season 13 is here… and it’s fight night. (Hypothetically, of course.) 🥊
Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole are back with Could You Fight That? Part 2, the follow-up to one of Wildly Curious’ most beloved (and ridiculous) episodes.
This time, the matchups get even wilder—from kangaroos and cassowaries to anteaters and octopuses—as the duo debates whether they could theoretically survive these encounters.
It’s all fun, all hypothetical, and all rooted in animal science and pure chaos.
⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This episode is 100% for fun. Do NOT<...
The Taos Hum: The Sound Science Can’t Explain
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Subscribe and listen closely… if you can. 👂
In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tune into one of the strangest modern mysteries: the Taos Hum.
Since the 1990s, people in Taos, New Mexico have reported a low, constant humming sound that only a small percentage of the population can hear. The rest? Silence.
🎧 What is the Taos Hum—and why can only some people hear it?
🌍 Is it microseismic vibrations from the Earth itself?
⚡ Could it come from hidden elect...
The Hessdalen Lights: Science’s Strangest Unexplained Glow
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Subscribe and embrace the glow of curiosity. 🔦
In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole investigate one of the most baffling natural light shows on Earth—the Hessdalen Lights of Norway. For over a century, glowing orbs have danced through a remote valley, pulsing, hovering, and splitting apart with no clear cause. Scientists have studied them for decades… and still, no one really knows what they are.
✨ What are the Hessdalen Lights, and how long have they been appearing?
📡 What did researchers d...
The Truth About the Bermuda Triangle: Science vs. Mystery
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Subscribe and let your curiosity get lost at sea (but like, safely). 🌊
In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into one of Earth’s most famous unsolved legends: the Bermuda Triangle—also known as the Devil’s Triangle.
For over a century, this stretch of ocean between Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico has been blamed for the mysterious disappearances of ships, planes, and the people aboard them. But is it really cursed—or just misunderstood?
🛩️ What really happened...
How the Moon Was Formed: A Science Cosmic Mystery
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In this Nature Mysteries Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole tackle one of the biggest unanswered questions in planetary science: how was the Moon formed?
We look at what we do know—like why lunar rocks look almost identical to Earth’s, why one side of the Moon is thicker than the other, and why it’s slowly drifting away at 1.5 inches per year. Then we dig into the wild theories scient...
Crabs on the Move: The World’s Strangest Mass Migration
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In this final Swarms Minisode of the season, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole lose their minds (in the best way) over the most chaotic, moon-synced crab love party on Earth: the migration of Christmas Island red crabs.
We’re talking:
🦀 50 to 100 million land crabs
🌧 Timed to what we're convinced is a witches curse....
🚧 Roads shut down
🌊 Pina colada breaks (probably)
💥 And babies launched off seaside cliffs like nature’s carpe...
Nature’s Self-Destruct Button: When Death Means Survival
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In this explosive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole reveal the surprising truth: sometimes, nature chooses to self-destruct—and it's all part of the plan.
From exploding ants to salmon that spawn and die, and fungi that launch spores like botanical cannons, this episode dives into how death in nature isn't always failure—it's strategy.
💥 Why some creatures explode on purpose
🐟 How salmon die to feed the next generation
🌱 Whic...
Swarms: Why Army Ants Are the Forest’s Most Ruthless Hunters
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Subscribe and prepare yourself—because this time, the swarm doesn’t just chase... it devours.
In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the world of army ants, some of the most strategic, aggressive, and terrifyingly coordinated hunters on Earth. From building living bridges to raiding the forest floor with military precision, these ants don't forage… they sweep, and anything that can’t move fast enough is gone.
🐜 Why army ants don’t build nests—but become one
🚨 How their raids dis...
Seeds on the Move: How Plants Travel the World Without Legs
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In this seed-sational episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dig into the unexpectedly wild world of seed dispersal. From coconuts floating across oceans to violets launching their seeds like botanical cannons, this episode explores the many weird and wonderful ways plants get around without walking.
🌊 How coconuts evolved to sail thousands of miles
🌬️ The physics behind parachuting and helicoptering seeds
🧲 The sticky science of clingers like burdock and chia
💥 W...
Swarms: Why Killer Bees Are So Scary (and So Misunderstood)
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Subscribe if you love science, chaos, and being mildly afraid of your backyard. 🐝
In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover facts around the infamous “killer bees”—a.k.a. Africanized honeybees. Spoiler: they don’t look scary, but they’ll chase you, sting in overwhelming numbers, and sometimes even wait above water for you to come up for air.
But is the fear justified?
🐝 What makes Africanized honeybees so aggressive?
🌎 How did a 1950s experiment in Brazil lead to bees...
How Animals Navigate Without GPS (Magnetic Fields, Instinct & More)
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Ever wonder how birds, eels, whales, or even bugs find their way without a GPS? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the jaw-dropping science behind animal navigation.
From locusts using sky maps and magnetic fields, to eels migrating thousands of miles to a secret oceanic birthplace no one’s ever seen (seriously), and birds that may be using quantum mechanics to see the Earth’s magnetic field—it’s a global tour of natural way-finding.
🌎 How do animals "see" magnetic fields?
🧭 What is magneto...
Swarms: The Science Behind Biblical Locust Plagues
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Subscribe if you love science, chaos, and bugs that are way too confident.
In this Swarms Minisode, Katy dives into the desert locust, a grasshopper that transforms—literally—into one of the most devastating swarm creatures on Earth.
🦗 What causes a peaceful insect to go full apocalypse mode?
🌾 How do they morph from shy loners to yellow, muscle-bound sky-hulks?
🌪 What triggers a swarm so massive it consumes everything in its path—eating its body weight daily?
📈 And why can’t we stop them, even with modern...
Swarms: Why Thousands of Sharks Suddenly Gather
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Subscribe and brace yourself—because this week, the swarm has teeth. 🦈
In this second episode of our Swarms Minisode Series, Laura and Katy dive into a lesser-known swarm behavior: shark aggregations. From 1,400 basking sharks off New England to over 15,000 spinning sharks off the Florida coast, this episode explores the science (and chaos) behind why some of the ocean’s most feared predators travel in giant, synchronized groups.
🦈 Why do basking sharks—normally loners—form feeding spirals?
🌊 What caused 15,000 blacktip and spinner sharks to swarm near Flor...
Why You Smell What You Smell: The Science of Scents, Skunks & Memory
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Subscribe and let your nose lead the way. This episode stinks—in the best way possible.
In this surprisingly deep dive into all things scent, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore how your sense of smell works, why it’s wildly underappreciated, and what makes certain smells feel amazing (or like a chemical attack).
🧠 How does smell connect to memory and emotion?
🦨 What makes skunk spray so powerful—and impossible to wash off?
🌺 Why do corpse flowers pretend to be rotting meat?
🍪 And why can one person lo...
Swarms: Why Starlings Move Like Liquid
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Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. It’s time for Swarms.
In the kickoff to our Swarms Minisodes, Katy and Laura dive into one of nature’s most mesmerizing spectacles: the murmuration of starlings. These jaw-dropping bird formations swirl through the sky like smoke or liquid—but behind the beauty is a stunning system of rules, physics, and evolutionary strategy.
🐦 What exactly is a murmuration—and why do starlings do it?
🌪 How can thousands of birds turn on a dime with no leader?
🧠 What’s “...
The Wildlife in Your Walls: Hidden Ecosystems Inside Your Home
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Subscribe and let your inner science goblin move into its own weird little ecosystem. 🦠
In the Season 12 kickoff of Wildly Curious, Katy and Laura reveal the bizarre—but very real—ecosystems thriving inside your house. From the Amazon rainforest of your belly button to the bug-filled biome behind your fridge, your home is alive in more ways than you think.
🦠 Why scientists swabbed hundreds of belly buttons to study bacteria
🍄 How household fungi can go from harmless to harmful
🪳 Which invertebrates are living behind your fridge...
The Volcano That Won’t Quite Sleep: Vesuvius’ Eruption History
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Subscribe and let your brain go on a weekly field trip. No permission slip required.
In this Volcano Minisode, Laura and Katy dive into the dramatic, deadly, and never-quite-dormant history of Mount Vesuvius, one of the most iconic volcanoes on Earth. From burying Pompeii in ash and pyroclastic waves to raining debris across the Mediterranean during WWII, Vesuvius has earned its title as the angriest volcano in history.
🌋 What makes Vesuvius so volatile?
🏛 What actually happened in 79 AD—and why d...
This Snail Built Its Own Metal Armor (Thanks, Volcanoes)
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In this Volcano Minisode, Katy introduces one of the most extreme animals on Earth: the scaly-foot gastropod, a deep-sea snail that literally builds metal armor from volcanic hydrothermal vents. Found over a mile below the ocean’s surface, this snail survives crushing pressure, toxic heat, and total darkness—all thanks to a symbiotic relationship with bacteria and its one-of-a-kind iron shell.
🧪 How does a snail use volcanic metals to build armor?
🌋 What makes hydrothermal vents so hostile—and so essential to life?
🧫 And who’s really in charge he...
