Filthy Animals
Filthy Animals is a sex, drugs, and ecology podcast for grown-ups. Every month, science educators discuss the unusual adult activities of the natural world that your high school science teacher was too embarrassed to talk about. This podcast features hosts Rachel Roth, Nicole Brown, and Allan Saylor of Kansas-based nonprofit Grassland Groupies.
Catnip (Don't make it weird.)
Content Warning: Drug use, including recreational drugs. Moral panics. Sexual references. Spoiler: ((it's not the cats))
Nicole's Sources:
Shi, X., et al. Repellency of Novel Catnip Oils Against the Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) | Journal of Medical Entomology. Oxford Academic. Batume, C., et al. 2024. Evaluating repellence properties of catnip essential oil against the mosquito species Aedes aegypti using a Y-tube olfactometer. Scientific Reports. EspĂn-Iturbe, L., et al. 2017. Active and passive responses to catnip (Nepeta cataria) are affected by age, sex and early gonadectomy in male and female cats. Behavioural Processes. Johns Hopkins Medicine. 2019. Deet Gives Humans a...RANKED: Love (The Dangerous and The Dumb)
Content Warning: cannibalism, suicide, coercive/violent sexual behavior, death during pregnancy, partner death, drowning, necrophilia
(start the episode at 36:12 to avoid our discussion of all of the above, which are discussed in the context of "most dangerous courtship behaviors". we promise, it gets much sillier after that!)
Filthy Animals is back! We open Season 2 with some very important data-driven nonsense to settle some burning questions about the world of animal courtship. TO WIT: Which animals are mating in the most dangerous way possible, AND who is doing it the most obnoxiously? Danger and stupidity abound...
Bees Do It Sweeter
Content Warning: Discussions about sexual acts and copulation rituals in bees, including some graphic "traumatic mating events." :) "It can't always be roses." - Nicole Brown, 2024
THIS IS OUR LAST EPISODE OF THE SEASON! We're taking a winter break, and we'll be back at the end of March with a new slate of episodes. Thanks for tagging along with us this year.
Wasp orgy videos [Source 3]: https://summit.sfu.ca/item/12712
Nicole's Sources:
Buchmann, S. 2023. What a Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories, and Personalities of Bees. Island Press. Marshall, L., Alcock, J. 1981...Boom, Boom, Babies
The miracle of life is straightforward and simple, right? Sperm. Egg. BOOM. Babies. That's what they taught us in science school!
In actuality, it's much more complicated, as pregnancy and childbirth in the wild leave mother and embryo alike vulnerable to environmental conditions, social constraints and hypercompetitive males. In this episode, Rachel tells us the many fascinating adaptations for reproductive control in mammals, showing the incredible capacity of animals to navigate the dangers of life before it even begins.
Content Warning: sexual content, abortion, pregnancy loss, infanticide (sensitive content begins at 31:28 of the episode)
<...The Pantry of Nightmares: The Eastern Mole's Guide to Prepping Like a Psychopath
Content Warning: Body horror, existential dread, "nature is metal" prey-predator interactions. This Halloween episode is about predators who stash their prey for later... alive.
Nicole's Sources:
Eleonora's Falcons imprison live birds for a later meal. 2015. MaghrebOrnitho. BirdLife Cyprus. 2022. Eleonora's Falcon - Life in the Balance. YouTube. Gayahan, G., Tschinkel, W. 2008. Fire Ants, Solenopsis invicta, Dry and Store Insect Pieces for Later Use. Journal of Insect Science. BBC Earth. David Attenborough Eats a Honeypot Ant. YouTube.+++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch
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Let's Talk About (Not) Sex
Content Warning: References to sex and nonviable pregnancies.
Spending every moment of waking life trying to get laid has its downsides, and for some organisms, the business of reproduction is just too much of a hassle. So why bother with mating at all? If you want something done right, sometimes you just have to do it yourself. In this episode, Nicole runs down the fascinating asexual strategies of plants and animals, from self-printing bananas to all-female lizards to condor virgin birth.
Nicole's Sources:
Sexual Reproduction and the Evolution of Sex. Scitable. Asexual Reproduction In...Koala Chlamydia
Content Warning: graphic descriptions of STIs, death, some sprinkling of thinking too much about how much of a horror bodies are.
Koalas are well known for being disease ridden (at least in our circles) so lets talk about it. Chlamydia is highly contagious and deadly in koalas as well as birds, cows, and many other animals. This is a trip down sex education memory lane and details the horrible death that is untreated STIs.
Rachel's Primary Sources:
Wang, H., Jensen, J.-K., Olsson, A., Vorimore, F., Aaziz, R., Guy, L., Ellström, P., Laroucau, K...Antechinus Sex Machines
Content Warning: graphic descriptions of sex, violent acts
Turns out lots of animals just wait around till maturity and then turn into horny little guys. The genus Antechinus is no exception as males will mate over and over until exhaustion.
Allan's Sources:
Book: “The Secret Lives of Carnivorous Marsupials” by Andrew Baker and Chris Dickman. Kraaijeveld, K. et al. (2006) Does female mortality drive male semelparity in dasyurid marsupials? Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Nov 7; 270(Suppl 2): S251–S253. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2003.0082 Holleley CE et al. (2006). Size breeds success: multiple paternity, multivariate selection and male semelparity in a small marsupi...Horny Wonders (Plants)
Content Warning: This episode is WEIRDLY explicit for an episode about plants. Contains explicit discussions about sex, sexual acts, and genitalia.
Nicole's Notable Sources:
Heiduk, A., Brake, I., Tolasch, T., Frank, J., Jurgens, A., Meve, U., Dotterl, S. 2010. Scent chemistry and pollinator attraction in the deceptive trap flowers of Ceropegia dolichophylla. South African Journal of Botany. Greenhood orchid. YouTube. Shows trap mechanism.+++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: 316-512-8933 TikTok: @grasslandsrule X: @GrasslandsRule Facebook: Grassland Groupies
Eyeballs Deep (Butterflies)
Content Warning: descriptions of sexual acts and genitalia, mild body horror
Rachel's Sources:
Arikawa, K. 2001. Hindsight of Butterflies: The Papilio butterfly has light sensitivity in the genitalia, which appears to be crucial for reproductive behavior. BioScience. Arikawa, K. 2009. Genital Photoreceptors Have Crucial Role in Oviposition in Japanese Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio xuthus. Zoological Science.+++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: 316-512-8933 TikTok: @grasslandsrule X: @GrasslandsRule Facebook: Grassland Groupies
Support Us: grasslandgroupies.org/give Bonfire Merch Store
Sex as Social Grease (Bonobos)
Content Warning: descriptions of sexual acts and genitalia
Allan's Sources:
De Waal, Franz. Bonobos: The Forgotten Ape. 1st ed., published 1997. De Waal, Franz. “Bonobo Sex and Society”, Scientific American. June 1, 2006. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bonobo-sex-and-society-2006-06/ Annicchiarico, G., Bertini, M., Cordoni, G., & Palagi, E. (2020). Look at me while having sex! Eye-to-eye contact affects homosexual behaviour in bonobo females. Behaviour, 157(10-11), 949-970. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-bja10034 Gruber T, Clay Z. A Comparison Between Bonobos and Chimpanzees: A Review and Update. Evol Anthropol. 2016 Sep;25(5):239-252. doi: 10.1002/evan.21501. PMID: 27753219.+++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: 316-512-8933 TikTok: @grasslandsrule X...
Filthy Animals Premiers April 25
Filthy Animals is an ecology podcast for adults. Episodes may contain strong language and graphic descriptions of natural phenomena. A more detailed list of content warnings is included in each episode description.
Science educators will talk about the unusual adult activities of the natural world that we believe you need to know about. Every month, we’ll expose you to the latest research on all the filthy topics your high school science teacher was too embarrassed to talk about.
This podcast is produced by Grassland Groupies, and the music for this trailer is from Haydn Lo...
