Educate a Mate

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🐟 The Seelo, Coleo, Coelacanth — The Fish That Came Back From Extinction

For millions of years, the coelacanth existed in the fossil record.

Then it disappeared.

Scientists believed it had gone extinct around the time the dinosaurs did.

Fair enough.

Until 1938, when someone pulled one out of the bloody ocean.

In this episode of Educate a Mate, we're diving into the extraordinary story of the coelacanth — one of the most famous examples of a species being declared extinct only to turn up very much alive.

When museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer examined a strange fish caught off the coast of South Africa, she realised there was something extremely unusual about it.

She was looking at a creature scientists knew primarily from fossils millions of years old.

And suddenly...

It wasn't extinct anymore.

So how did an enormous prehistoric-looking fish manage to avoid scientific attention for so long?

We explore the discovery of the living coelacanth, its unusual lobed fins, strange anatomy, deep-water habitat and its important place in the story of vertebrate evolution.

How closely are coelacanths related to the ancestors of land animals? Why did scientists think they'd disappeared? How many species are alive today? What else is hiding in the deep ocean? And most importantly...

How the hell do you actually pronounce coelacanth?

Because apparently discovering a supposedly extinct fish was easier than agreeing how to say its name.

🎧 Follow/subscribe to Educate a Mate for more deep dives into animals, evolution, science, history and creatures that apparently forgot to tell us they weren't extinct.

Listener Notice: This episode may contain strong language, swearing and informal expressions used for humour, emphasis and natural conversation.

Views and opinions shared by hosts or guests are for discussion and educational purposes.

Learn something. Share something. Educate a mate.

📧 Contact: [email protected]

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

📺 Oh No, My TV Licence Has Expired! — What Are You Actually Paying For?

IMPORTANT: YOUR PROPERTY IS UNDER INVESTIGATION.

Well.

That's the afternoon ruined.

For generations of British households, the TV Licence has been part public broadcasting, part legal requirement and part collection of increasingly ominous-looking envelopes landing on the doormat.

But what are you actually paying for?

In this episode of Educate a Mate, we're diving into the wonderfully British world of the TV Licence — where it came from, why it exists, what it funds and when you genuinely need one.

We explore the history of British broadcasting, the rise of the BBC, how licence-fee funding works and how the rules have changed as television has moved from aerials and chunky boxes to iPlayer, streaming services, phones and laptops.

Do you need a licence just because you own a television? What if you only watch Netflix? What about YouTube? Can TV Licensing actually come into your house? What are those detector vans everyone remembers hearing about? And what happens if you simply don't have a licence?

We also look at enforcement, some of the myths surrounding TV Licensing and the surprisingly long history behind Britain asking households to pay for the privilege of receiving broadcasts.

Because nothing says British entertainment quite like sitting down to watch television while wondering whether there's a mysterious van outside detecting The Great British Bake Off through your walls.

📺 Follow/subscribe to Educate a Mate for more deep dives into history, science, psychology, bizarre systems and everyday things you've never stopped to question.

Listener Notice: This episode may contain strong language, swearing and informal expressions used for humour, emphasis and natural conversation.

Rules surrounding television licensing can change. Information discussed in this episode reflects the circumstances at the time of recording and should not be treated as legal advice.

Views and opinions shared by hosts or guests are for discussion and educational purposes.

Learn something. Share something. Educate a mate.

📧 Contact: [email protected]

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