How many geese?

Listeners, allow us to welcome you to a podcast 166 million years in the making... 

Like most people interested in nature, we absolutely had a dinosaur phase (Jack arguably never left it). It's been an aim of ours to do some sort of dinosaur special on the show for a while, but never in our wildest dreams did we think we'd actually get to JOIN AN EXCAVATION. 

Have a listen as we visited a quarry in Oxfordshire to meet Dr Duncan Murdock and a team of experts, that are carefully uncovering dinosaur footprints for the first ti...

In a masterpiece of editorial writing from Master Shaw, he rounds out the finale of season 9 with a deep dive into nature's finales - lost species and endlings. We're also setting foot into uncharted territory as we welcome the first Great Ape into the fight arena, as we make war (not love) with those promiscuous primates - the Bonobos. 

We finish our calibration with Green Feathers by looking at which bird has the whitest white feathers known to science before getting our James Cameron on and mulling over which animal we'd want to be turned into an A...

We're running around like headless chickens this week as the penultimate episode for Season 9 takes a trip to mid century America and meets a most unlikely celebrity - Mike the headless chicken. 

Roddy does battle with one of the most fearsome fish in freshwater in the Asian Arowana, Jack busts some myths on penguins for our sponsors Green Feathers and we get our best Hollywood agent acts on as we hire animals for their sound effects. 

Get your digital window to the natural world here with Green Feathers - https://www.green-feathers.co.uk<...

Something a little different for you today listeners, as we're delving into the uncomfortable truths surrounding bird feeding and whether it's the right thing to do... 

For more reading on the subject, you can download this excellent paper that talks about the potential ecological impacts of bird feeding here: www.researchgate.net/publication/353996228_Killing_with_kindness_Does_widespread_generalised_provisioning_of_wildlife_help_or_hinder_biodiversity_conservation_efforts

This segment is from our Patreon show. Subscribe for £3 a month for bonus episodes here: www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

It's time to salute the flag and sing your national anthem with gusto listeners, as Roddy takes us on a tour of some of the world's national animals. Quizmaster Shaw is hosting Geese's answer to Eurovision as he unleashes an iconic animals Euroquiz upon your ears. 

In today's fight we welcome Patreon member Tom Hone into the ring, as he tag teams with Roddy in the frozen wastes of the Antarctic Ocean to do battle with a fearsome feathered foe from the high seas. 

Our Green Feathers segment looks at how feathers were integral to th...

Ready the tea leaves and polish your crystal balls, we are discussing divination with doves and dodos as Jack takes us through the ancient practice of bird augury - beginning in the most unlikely of places, and with a snail...

But that's not all of course as Roddy does battle with a hellish giant of the deep - the deep sea isopod - and the pair discuss which animals would make the best gang for a dream blunt rotation. 

That's not all of course as our sponsored segment with pals at Green Feathers sees the h...

In a throw back to when we disarmed the bat bomb in Season 5, we are donning our combat gear and heading to the front lines to look at how and when animals have been involved in war throughout history. With everything from a cat receiving an award for gallantry, to battle dolphins, through to how modern conflict is - in some instances - helping preserve parts of the natural world, we uncover the goose juice in some of history's darkest times. 

Then it's time for the fight segment as Roddy does battle with one of nature's flattest f...

BOOM! Today's episode is blowing biology wide open as we take a look at exploding animals and why some species have evolved the most hardcore defensive behaviours on Planet Earth. 

Our journey into the world of feathers continues as we hop in the goose time machine to look back to their origins and see what the dinosaurs were dressed in. Then it's time for our fight segment where we welcome Patreon member Nellie nto the ring to help Roddy tackle the fluffiest combatant that's ever stepped into the arena - Chinchillas. 

And, after all that ex...

Listener, what's the craziest thing you've found growing where it shouldn't...? 

Whilst you get to leaving your answers in the comments, Roddy is taking us all through some of the wildest things that 

Then it's time for another feather segment with our pals Green Feathers, where we go all shmancy and don our Eider down jackets to learn about the extraordinary feathers (and prices) that these ducks are responsible for. 

Then it's our fight segment where the feathers will literally fly as Roddy does battle with the terminator finch hell bent on making us...

WE. ARE. BACK - and season nine (NINE!) is off to a flying start as Jack takes us through just what all those salmon hat wearing orcas were up to in the news - and used the topic to ask questions about culture in other creatures. If the fashion news of the century passed you by, then you can take a look at them strutting their salmon-y stuff here.

Then, in our new sponsored segment - where we'll be featuring all things feathers this season - Roddy gets us started by taking a look at just what...

We are popping up on Christmas eve to share a sneak peek (sneak hear?) of our Christmas special which has just dropped over on the Goose Patreon!

The full episode covers everything from 14th century Sardinian Queens, to Octopi on Christmas cards and a recasting of some nativity guests with wildlife's wisest wonders! (IS this the one time we will accept a chimp??)

Sign up by the 10th of January and get 20% off your first month with coded "G00SE" - just head to www.patreon.com/howmanygeese 

Have a very Merry Christmas a...

Join us before the year ends as we doff our caps and bend the knee in a chat with Peter Kaestner - ex American diplomat and man who has seen more bird species than anyone else in the world!

Peter takes us through the world of bird watching at the elite level, and how his love for birds led him to a career that saw him serve his country and travel the globe in search of birds. With a life thoroughly well lived, his story to see his 10,000th bird species is nothing short of Hollywood ready!<...

Much like the sun setting on a seaside town, season 8 draws to a close with the raucous cries of seagulls as we take on a newspaper article that set out to find Britain's hardest gulls. It wouldn't be How many geese? though if we didn't meander to Melbourne or detour to Darwin, and true to form our friends down under have their own tales to tell of tackling seaside seagull shenanigans in trying to keep snacks on the shoreline safe*. 

That's not all, as Roddy fights a bird so obscure that not only was Jack unaware of i...

I can guarantee to you listeners that the start of this week's episode is going to leave you completely baffled as to where it's going, as Roddy embarks on an exploration of what on earth dry cleaners are and the sorcery that goes along with their dark arts. But, stick with us, and we promise it eventually finds its way back to the nature vibe as we explore the world of cleaning behaviour in the animal kingdom. (see what he did there?)

If that wasn't enough then there's also photography tales from the deep from a...

How many geese? has seen its fair share of drugged up animals - from the Hollywood sensation that is cocaine bear, through to Pablo Escobar's cocaine hippos - but in this episode we're here to see the effects of things slightly more "over the counter" as Jack takes us through the impact of excess anti-depressants on the environment. If you've ever wondered about the internet claiming "they're turning the frigging frogs gay", this ones for you!

Also in this episode, Roddy fights a the red triangle slug, Jack recaps a drunken moose and the pair discuss which...

Cast your minds back Goose fans and you may well remember an episode entitled "Hot bear summer", where our own Roddy Shaw went on a mission to prove that Antelope were animals worth our attention and shouldn't just be consigned to being eaten by a big cat on a David Attenborough show. The conclusion of his mission was that they were indeed incredibly dull, and so proclaimed them one of the most boring animals on the planet.  

Well, fast forward to today's episode and Jack has brought him to the Watatunga Wildlife Reserve to meet som...

We've accidentally curated an episode laden with slime as we talk all things deep sea and mucus!

Following last week's chat that went to the roof of the world in search of how yak's can live so high, we've done a full 180 and are going deep, deep DEEP down in the sea to understand why life there is just so difficult and hear about some of the crazily named fish that call the ocean depths home. 

Sticking with the (genuinely accidental) theme, Roddy fights a lungfish, Jack recaps what it takes to photograph a coelacanth i...

HMG gets high as this episode sees us heading into the mountains to meet one of the maddest animals you've all heard of but never given a thought to - Yaks. 

Today's episode also sees us invite our first listener on the show! Patreon member Beth joins Roddy in battle against the world's wildlife as she steps into the ring in a tag team bout against the Greater Hedgehog Tenrec.

And if all that wasn't enough, then we've got drunken Mountain Gorillas, a misbehaving Orangutan and a debate to decide which bear is best... 

...

For the past seven seasons, How many geese? has flourished atop the twin foundations of whimsy and shenanigans. Well, Jack has decided that season eight is when that comes crashing to a halt - as he blasts through our whimsical bedrock and holds a mirror up to us all to have us question what makes a society... and can utopias exist? He does this, in true Goose fashion, through the medium of some research on rodents in the 20th century. You will never look at an influencer the same again once you've heard what he's uncovered...

It's...

We're back! A new season is dawning in Gooseland as we kick off series 8 with a banger. We stumble across lots of awesome people in making this show, and when we heard the stories that one of them had to tell, we knew we needed to get him on the show. Enter Ben Callison - CEO of Borneo Orangutan Survival UK, builder of hurricane proof tiger enclosures and carer of one-armed Kangaroo boxers. We sit down with him to learn about how his career unfolded and sending Orangutans to school is helping to return them to the jungle. 

It's the second part of our live Global Birdfair specials and we're coming out swinging as we try to answer the ultimate question - what is the worst bird in the world?  

But we couldn't hope to answer such a question alone, so we've called in the expert when it comes to cretinous creatures and are joined by our pal Alice Vassallo off "Asshole Animals with Alice".

There's 16 species up for discussion, but only one will be left spitting feathers when we present it with the trophy for being atrocious... 

Make sur...

How Many Geese has been on the road again listener, this time pitching up at the UK’s biggest nature festival – Global Birdfair!

For this episode, we’re bringing you two chats we had with some very cool people.

Up first is naturalist, TV presenter and time traveller – the legendary Nigel Marven. He’s been sprayed in the eyes by spitting cobras, he’s free-dived with Great White Sharks and, most impressively of all, he’s tracked down some of the most fearsome creatures from prehistory. We sit down with Nigel to hear all about how he became...

Roddy and I often reflect on where this silly little show has taken us as we've found ourselves in increasingly absurd places over the years. Standing in a top secret warehouse in Liverpool, holding 2500 year old Ancient Egyptian animal mummies was one of those times. 

Join us as we're welcomed to the vaults of the National Museums Liverpool by Ashley Cooke, their Lead Curator of Antiquities. Hear all about why the Ancient Egyptians were so hooked on making mummies from the animals around them, what it all meant and how tens of thousands ended up ge...

Gather the hive and listen in - we're buzzing into your ears with a whole episode on bees! We've travelled to the World Museum in Liverpool to meet bee expert Leanna Dixon for an awesome apine* hour, and just in the nick of time too - as it was world bee day on the 20th May. With everything from the bumbling to the buzzing, we cover carpenter, mason, honey, pantaloon and even VULTURE bees! 

Our new Patreon is up and running which you can sign up to here - new bonus episodes coming every month, and two l...

Listeners, there's no other way to put this than simply saying that you are in for one of the finest episodes of How Many Geese? that there has ever been. We're down to Joseph's Amazing Camels to meet Daisy Fossett on her very unusual farm. to learn all about the truly wild world of being a camel farmer/trainer/chocolatier/(add your own mad profession here). 

Our new Patreon is up and running which you can sign up to here-  with Monday marking our first members exclusive episode dropping.  

You can check out mpb p...

We've travelled up to Scotland to visit Europe's biggest penguin pool - why? Because it's none other than World Penguin Day!

Join us as we head to Edinburgh Zoo to meet the people behind the penguins and learn about the home of over 130 Antarctic avians, including none other than Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Islands - officially the world's highest ranked military penguin. We also go behind the scenes at the zoo to learn more about their scientific work with genetics to study penguins on some of the most remote islands in...

Order in the courts! 

Today we're hopping back into the Goose Time Machine as Roddy tells us all about the many and varied times throughout history that animals were put on trial. PLUS

- we have an update on our team up with Birdfy as we commence Operation Parakeet

- we work out what the best radioactive animal would be to be bitten by

- Roddy gets a sense of Déjà vu as he does battle with a very specific (and very famous) groundhog.   

This episode was sponsored by Bi...

It's calcium o'clock at Goose HQ as we talk all things milk in How many geese's very first PREQUEL episode, diving deep into dairy and marvelling at just what makes mammals so....mammal-y. We're not skimming on this episode either, as we go from milk's origin right up to a recent evolutionary step in (none other than our very own) human kind that makes us completely unique among our mammalian family in how we deal with milk. 

We then welcome new sponsors Birdfy to the show, fix all of Britain's public transport infrastructure via the animal kingdom, a...

Today we're diving into one of the most badass ways of fighting back against the overexploitation of the seas as technology teams up with nature with some pretty awesome outcomes. Meet the Ocean Sentinels tracking down illegal fishing vessels down in the Southern Oceans in one of the coolest bits of research we've ever covered.

There's a slight change to the genre in today's fight as Roddy has to do battle with a BILLION insects before we head back to the ocean to recast the Pirates of the Caribbean characters as animals...

Check u...

With the Academy Awards behind us, the world may be moving on from awards season... but Team Goose is here to deliver one more trophy as we take a look and present the award for one of the most insane movies you've probably never heard of - 1981's "Roar"! It's lions, lions and more lions as we look at one couple's passion project that got A LITTLE out of hand.... just ask the seventy members of cast and crew who got injured on set by their clawed co-stars!

It's not just the chaos of collaborating with cats...

It's time to man the harpoons as we hop in the Goose Time Machine and set the dial back to the early 1900s to meet a very special Orca with a fascinating relationship with the local whalers. 

Our Birda chums shine the spotlight on one of the biggest birds in the world as we soar with the Andean Condor, before a child forces Roddy to do battle with Leopards. We round out the show with the question on everyone's minds as we work out what our chosen animal would be to use as the vehicle on Mario K...

Grab your nearest Gregorian and summon up a sharpie - we've got some key dates for your calendar this week as we ask the question: why do some days have names?

Not just Christmas, Halloween or Valentine's, we're talking World Marmot Day, World Pangolin Day and ... International Talk Like a Pirate Day? We dive deep into the calendar of the bizarre to go on a journey of all the strange days that are out there, looking at the many environmental days you've never heard of and end up trying to redeem a group of animals we've maybe...

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to falter, your pals at "How Many Geese?" are here to offer you an alternative. Suit up to meet our radioactive team of superheroes as we introduce Wales' nuclear sheep, Bavarian boar and Mutant Turtles as we turn off the lights to see which animals are glowing in the dark.

Continuing our superhero theme, our pals Birda introduce us to their very own Hawkeye as we get acquainted with the Arrow-marked Babbler before Roddy tackles the sea's sharp-toothed master of camouflage, the Tasselled Wobbegong. And finally, every superhero needs t...

Love is in the air and so too is Season SEVEN as we return to the mics refreshed and renewed for a Valentine's Day special - only.... not quite the most romantic one it turns out!

Looking to show love is all around us, Roddy tried to find the cute and loving side of creatures the world deems weird (see: not you sea otters), except it didn't quite go to plan as we hear how love in the animal kingdom takes many strange (and sometimes terrifying) forms. It's not just scary animal sex though, as we also...

We're back in your ears to kick off 2024 with the episode that was meant to close out 2023 - it's the end (beginning) of year special! So sit down, ignore your resolutions and get ready to listen to what happens when we lose a handle on the conversation...

A seemingly straightforward audience question takes us over half an hour to sift through, as we try and work out which animal would claim the title of Highlander - there can be only one! Let it never be said we are anything other than thorough, as we develop our very...

Our time in Mexico comes to an end with the final episode of the expedition! We park our usual animal heavy chat to speak to Dr Kathy Slater (Mission Mexico: Welcome to the Jungle guest) about the communities who live around the biosphere and the threats it is under. Dare we say it - but we get serious for possibly the first time ever on the show!

Firstly, we talk to Kathy about the honey production which many local communities are engaged in, and her work alongside local NGOs to help them move away from unsustainable agriculture...

Today's episode is spreading it's weird fleshy wings and echolocating into your ears as we delve into the frankly absurd world of the bats. We've woken up a trio of guests from their daytime slumber to lift the lid on the superpowered world of bats and bring us face to face with one of the largest species in the Calakmul jungle. 

Oh and yes, don't be fooled by the early outtro. For those who want a real insight into just how crazy you get in the jungle, stick behind after the end to hear HMG re...

We are swimming, sliding and hopping into your ears this week as we head out under cover of darkness to look for all things herpetological - aka reptiles and amphibians. With the help of blacksmith-come-herpetologist Stuart and PhD student Fred, we dive into the scaly world of reptiles and (the permanently moist world of) amphibians. 

As ever though, that's not all! We answer that classic jungle question of what animal would you choose to be your karaoke partner and check back in on Private Jamie Hartup from the frontlines of the (his?) war against the ants. Will h...

Today's jungle diary has got us all a-flutter as we explore the world of tropical butterflies. With the help of entomologists Liz and Holly, we're learning about why they're such important indicators for the health of the forest and heading out on a survey to get our hands on some ourselves.

Also in today's episode we join Private Jamie Hartup to get his report from the frontlines of the Ant War, unpack some of our halfway wildlife highlights, decide which Mexican animals would make good video characters, and start to panic that the podcast may never actually...

The Mayan journey continues as Jack and Roddy move deeper into the Mexican jungle and set up shop at a new camp that is not without its (small and very, very well organised....) challenges - as they reach the Western front of humanity's battle with a colony of leaf cutter ants! But before they fall prey to the colony, it's time to get the flock together and head out looking at our feathered friends - as this week we're all about birds. 

Learn about the different surveying methods used to study them, as well as that most c...