Listen to the Ask A Biologist Podcast

A Biology Podcast for Everyone

You have been reading about the biologists behind the Ask A Biologist website. Now you can listen to them in our popular biology podcast show. Dr. Biology has been speaking with many of the biologists that are discovering new worlds and exploring new frontiers in biology. There are over 100 episodes and we continue to add more interviews. Each show includes a full written transcript and content log.

Want to watch some of our biologists in action? We are also building a collection of biologists in the lab and the field. Pick the "Watch" tab and pick one of the shows featuring our biologists.!

Katie Hinde

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 123
Guest: Katie Hinde

March Madness in the past has been reserved for college basketball. But in 2013, biologist Katie Hinde and a group of scientists, writers, and other creative souls started the ultimate animal competition that expanded beyond humans – March Mammal Madness. Don’t worry, the competition is virtual. No animals are harmed. Though there might be some embarrassing defeats and even some upset fans, March Mammal Madness is all about science and learning. It is also a fun way to learn about the living world. Dr. Biology grabs a few minutes with Katie Hinde before this year’s tournament gets underway.

Heather Throop

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 122
Guest: Heather Throop

It is surprising how much of the land on Earth is what scientists call drylands. You might think that these areas are not crucial to life on the planet, but in fact, they are. They are also some of the most challenging places to do research. Part of the challenge is what we see above ground is only a fraction of what is underground. And investigating what is going beneath the surface comes with its own set of challenges. Dr. Biology gets the inside story, what you might also say is the upside-down story of drylands from ecosystems scientist Heather Throop.

Microbiologist John McCutcheon

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 121
Guest: John McCutcheon

There are many types of relationships that exist in the living world. This episode dives into one special relationship that an insect has with some tiny microbes. It is a life and death story that microbiologist John McCutcheon has been exploring. Dr. Biology gets the inside story about this relationship that has been evolving for millions of years and continues to evolve today.

Doug Kenrick and David Lundberg-Kenrick

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 120
Guest: Doug Kenrick and David Lundberg-Kenrick

Even though we live in a modern world how we act and what we do many times is controlled by our Stone Age brain. This impacts our diet, friendships, love and more. Dr. Biology sits down with authors Doug Kenrick and David Lundberg-Kenrick to get the inside story on their book - Solving Modern Problems with a Stone Age, Brain, Human Evolution and the Seven Fundamental Motives. This lively conversation can help you wrap your Stone Age brain around the challenges we face today and give you some solutions as you navigate our modern world.

Evolutionary biologist Silvie Huijben

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 119
Guest: Silvie Huijben

This animal lives in almost every part of the world and kills hundreds of thousands of people each year. What might surprise you is that you certainly have had a close encounter with the world’s most dangerous creature. Dr. Biology catches up with evolutionary biologist Silvie Huijben to talk about this killer animal that is the focus of her research as well as many other scientists around the world. Be sure to make your guess about the identity of the world’s most dangerous animal before you listen to this episode.

Whitney Hansen

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 118
Guest: Whitney Hansen

There is more to our memory than you might think. In fact, we have three types of memory. Just how these memory systems work, and work together is the subject of this episode. We also learn that there are sometimes errors in our memory. Take a few minutes to learn how we remember things and even how to improve your memory. Dr. Biology and cognitive psychologist Whitney Hansen explore our amazing but flawed memory.

Ecologist Charles Brown

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 117
Guest: Charles Brown

Part of what makes science fun and challenging is solving puzzles and investigating mysteries. For this episode, Dr. Biology sits down with ecologist Charles Brown and the two talk about his 40-year journey of discovery and rediscovery. This is a curious story that involves an acrobatic animal and how it is evolving to battle a six-legged villain. Like a good mystery, this one has yet to be fully solved.

Scientists Kim Hoke and Nate Morehouse

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 116
Guest: Kim Hoke, Nate Morehouse

We peek behind the curtain of SICB and the band of scientists who are investigating the world of animal communication. Scientists Kim Hoke and Nate Morehouse sit down with Dr. Biology and talk about how the Spatio-temporal Dynamics in Animal Communication group started and some of the key areas they are investigating. The two also share a little bit about their favorite study animals that use color, dance, and sound to communicate. There is even talk of real cooking and its role in science. This episode is part of a series of podcasts recorded at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology conference– also called SICB

Valarie Williams and Talmo Pereria

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 115
Guest:

No, that is not a typo in the episode title. My guests today are collaborating on the study of animal movement, including humans. Both researchers use tools to document and analyze movement in animals. One tool is a symbolic language that has been in use since 1928 and the other is a new software tool called SLEAP that uses A.I. to capture animal and plant movements. In this show, Dr. Biology gets the inside story about these tools from guests Valarie Williams and Talmo PereiraThis episode is part of a series of podcasts recorded at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology conference– also called SICB.

John Truong - artist, animator, and ant keeper. In front of a Frozen poster.

Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 114
Guest:

Changing careers can be a challenge. It can also be rewarding. And for some people it is an opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream. This is the case for John Truong who has been an artist and animator on some of the popular movies produced by Pixar, DreamWorks, and Disney. While he was and will always be an artist, he also has been hiding a secret from his friends and family. Dr. Biology sits down to talk with John about his secret that led him to his current role in a science laboratory at Caltech. This episode is part of a series of podcasts recorded at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology conference– also called SICB.

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Are plants made from thin air?
Have you ever wondered where plants get their mass? All those leaves and branches have to come from somewhere, but where?

Building Your Own Ant Farm is a 2-part Ask A Biologist video with Dr. Biology and Rebecca Clark on how to build an ant farm with two recycled CD cases. Watch part two.

ant farm image

Building Your Own Ant Farm (Part 2 of 2). Ask A Biologist video with Dr. Biology and Rebecca Clark on how to build an ant farm with recycled CD cases. Watch part one.

Ice drilling image

Imagine you want to pull a long cylinder-shaped piece of soil (called a core) out of the ground in your backyard. What kind of tools would you need? Find out how researchers collect cores in the Frozen Arctic.

Dr. Biology drops in on biologist Michael Angelletta and the researchers in his labortory. Besides getting a fun tour of the place, he learns how they study animals and their methods of heating and cooling their bodies.

Jon Harrison image

Giant beetles, flying treadmills, oxygen and prehistoric insects are just a few of the things that Dr. Biology learns about when visiting with biologist Jon Harrison.

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Sliced citrus fruits
What is Organic Food?

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