Linnean Podcasts

In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology. Lucy Cooke introduces us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species.

The bitches in her book titled "Bitch" overturn outdated binary expectations of bodies, brains, biology and behaviour. Lucy Cooke's brilliant new book will change how you think - about sex, sexual identity and sexuality in animals and also the very forces that shape evolution.

Producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Interviewer: Ayesha Meredith-Lewis

Speaker: Lucy Cooke

Soon nothing will be untouched by the exponential growth of AI technology.

It is no surprise that museum collections and biological research has already incorporated these new advancements. So, what does it mean for our interpretation of large data and might we learn something new that was not possible before such technology existed?

Interviewer and producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Speaker: Dr. Nicolas Gauthier

The increase in demand for electric vehicles has caused an increased demand for the metals needed to produced lithium-ion batteries used in these vehicles. The extraction of these metals has caused devastating damage to the natural world on a global scale.

But what if we could extract metal from the ground without ruining the natural world and polluting our planet?

In this podcast we explore this possibility.

Interviewer and producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Speaker: Dr. Antony van der Ent

Do you wake up to early morning Twitter? Not the app that interrupts your sleep and haunts your dreams but the sweet dulcet tones of summer birds. Birdsong, the background score that heralds tropical jungles, urban parks and gardens, and wilderness. This episode will take you to the land of the vividly coloured and luminescent sunbirds in Wallacea.

But do all birds sing? Not all. This may seem unbelievable but only some birds have the anatomy to enable them to do so. In this podcast Fionn Ó Marcaigh from Trinity College Dublin takes us on a journey through the melodies of songbirds.

Interviewer and producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Speaker: Fionn Ó Marcaigh

Want to know more?

Read more about this Finding sunbird species in Wallacea

So much has been lost; so little remains.

Few people realise that Britain harbours fragments of a globally rare habitat: temperate rainforest.

This is the extraordinary tale of Guy Shrubsoles' quest to find Britain’s lost rainforests – and bring them back.

Interviewer and producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Speaker: Guy Shrubsole

Want to learn more about forests? Why not attend our lecture

"(Hybrid) How Ancient Forests Can Save Us if We Let Them"

Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hybrid-how-ancient-forests-can-save-us-if-we-let-them-tickets-536059527477?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

The redistribution of "alien species" around the world accelerated with European colonialism. European powers were responsible for the deliberate and accidental transportation, introduction, and establishment of alien species throughout their occupied territories, and the metropolitan state. These activities left a lasting imprint on the global distribution of alien plants.

The language we use today to identify, understand and communicate local ecology is often peppered with terms like 'invasives', 'aliens', 'natives'. But are there the right words, and connotations?

Interviewer and producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Speaker: Dr. Mark Spencer

Want to find out more? Why not attend our lecture "The Impact of European Colonialism on Global Plant Redistribution"

Book tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-impact-of-european-colonialism-on-global-plant-redistribution-tickets-522649527807

In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology. Lucy Cooke introduces us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species.

The bitches in her book titled "Bitch" overturn outdated binary expectations of bodies, brains, biology and behaviour. Lucy Cooke's brilliant new book will change how you think - about sex, sexual identity and sexuality in animals and also the very forces that shape evolution.

Producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Interviewer: Ayesha Meredith-Lewis

Speaker: Lucy Cooke

Predators that hunt dangerous prey require specialized predatory tactics to avoid counter-attack. Usually, these predatory tactics reduce the probability of detection. The assassin bugs Stenolemus bituberus and S. giraffa rely on stealth or mimicry to prey on dangerous web-building spiders. Paradoxically, however, these assassin bugs tap the spiders with their antennae prior to attacking, leaving the bugs vulnerable to detection and counter-attack.

Interviewer and producer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Speaker: Anne Wignall

Jared diamond's latest book upheaval discusses "How Nations Cope With Crisis And Change". These individual nations stories act as evidence of how crises can be overcome and stand as evidence for how we might seek to resolve global issues, such as climate change.

Interviewer: Ross Ziegelmeier

Speaker: Jared diamond

Look up - is there anything harder than trying to pin down a cloud? But a young chemist and future metereologist did the very exact thing - he categorised clouds for the world. His name was Luke Howard (1772-1864).

Through out his life, Howard, a quaker and self-taught naturalist, gazed at clouds - his cloud taxonomy still holds strong today for the millions of cloud lovers around the world.

Padma speaks with science historian and lecturer Dr Richard Hamblyn (Birkbeck University), who also wrote 'The Invention of Clouds: How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies', about Howard, the history of cloud taxonomy, and how clouds continue to hold centrestage in our imagination.

This episode is a special release to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Howard's birth. There is a dedicated and enthusiastic group of cloud lovers in Tottenham (https://www.tottenhamclouds.org.uk/) that is celebrating by launching the Lordship Recreation Ground as the first official "Cloud Appreciation Park" in London.

Enjoy the sky!

Director and Interviewer: Padma Ghosh

Speaker: Dr Richard Hamblyn

Producer: Ross Ziegelmeier