How many species live around your house?

In the COVID lockdown of 2020, three housemates decided to count.

They thought there’d only be a handful, but the number kept rising and rising.

Could their simple suburban Queenslander house be the next candidate for a new national park?

Featuring:

Dr Matt Holden, Mathematician, University of Queensland.

Dr Andrew Rogers, Ecologist, University of Melbourne.

Dr Russell Yong, Taxonomist. 

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Nathan Turnbull.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

This episode of What the Duck?! was first broadcast in Feb 2024 and is produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a Christmas classic... but how much do we really know about reindeer? 

In the last instalment of "Hollywood lied to us" for 2024, Ann Jones fact-checks the festive fairytale for biological accuracy.

What would it take for a reindeer to fly? What are their noses really like? Would a glowing nose even make a decent fog light??

Featuring:

• Belinda Smith, ABC Science Online reporter
• Tim Horstkotte, Staff scientist at Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Isabella Tropiano, additional mastering

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the lands of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Kaurna people.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

The Lion King (1994), aka Hamlet with Cats, is an iconic family classic. But would The Lion King's portrayal of a pride make biologists proud?

Ann Jones presents “Hollywood lied to us” - a What The Duck?! podcast that takes your favourite movies and puts them under the microscope to work out what would happen in the real world and what’s just Hollywood magic.

Would Simba really end up with Nala?

Would the hyena henchmen really fall in line for a lion?

They’re the big questions and Ann Jones has all the answers."

Featuring:

• Amanda Finn, The Lion King super fan,  Theatre, travel, and lifestyle journalist.
• Dr Neil Jordan, Conservation Scientist in the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of New South Wales and Taronga Conservation Society Australia, and researcher with Botswana Predator Conservation.
• The Lion King, 1994, Disney Studios.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

Check out our Hyena episode here!

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

The movie is fictional but Groundhog Day (asking a groundhog for a long-term weather report)  IS A REAL THING!

But wait, what even ARE groundhogs? AND do they have any qualifications in meteorology?

Ann Jones is examining the biological accuracy of classic movies with the help of scientists and fans in the series "Hollywood Lied to Us."

Featuring:

• Link Olson, Curator of Mammals, University of Alaska Museum.
• Dr Adam Daniel, Western Sydney University. 
• Associate Professor Mike Rennie, Lakehead University.
• Groundhog Day by Columbia Pictures 

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

Yes, the Little Mermaid is an animated movie, but if it were real, where would this mermaid paradise be?

 Is it plausible that Ursula the Octo-woman would have henchmen in the form of eels? 

Ann Jones is examining the biological accuracy with the help of scientists and fans  of classic movies in the series "Hollywood Lied to Us."

Featuring:

• Flo Rama- The Little Mermaid super fan. 
• Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith, Sydney University. 
• The Little Mermaid, Disney Studios.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

Jaws (1975) was a massive hit that also created a whole lot of fear, but does anything in the film really stand up to shark science? Do sharks stalk humans? Do they roar? What can they sense? There are so many misconceptions when it comes to sharks that even now, 50 years later, these are impacting shark policies in Australia, and have come to be known as 'the jaws effect.'

Featuring:

• Sophie Maycock, shark obsessive and founder of SharkSpeak. 
• Chris Pepin-Neff – Shark policy expert at the University of Sydney. 
• Jaws (1975) Universal Studios.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

Did you know that pigeons make milk? 

The pigeon gets a bad rap, but it is actually an incredible bird with a rich history.

It is related to the dodo and even played a role in the French Revolution!

Surely this bird deserves some recognition?

Featuring:

• Rosemary Mosco, Science writer and author of 'The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching'.
• Nathan Finger, Host of 'Bird of the Week' podcast 
• Dr Robin Leppitt, Ornithologist.
• April Broadbent, Pigeon Rehabber.
• Aaron and Aria, Pigeon Fanciers.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering:  Hamish Camilleri.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

This episode of What the Duck?! was first broadcast in Dec 2023 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

Are you high, or is that a sheep glowing?

Yep- sheep glow, but that's not all... when it comes to glowing the list of animals includes the platypus, dolphin teeth, bilby ears and Tasmanian Devil feet. 

Featuring:

• Linda Reinhold, Zoologist at James Cook University.
• Professor Simon Lewis, Curtin University. 
• Dr. Kenny Travouillon, Western Australian Museum. 
• Caitlin Grieve, Hillend Dorsets.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Joel Werner, Script editing.
• Additional mastering:  Simon Branthwaite.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

This episode of What the Duck?! was first broadcast in October 2023 and is produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

There's a statue of an ostrich wearing a saddle in Meningie, South Australia.

The large bird statue is dedicated to the legend of "John Francis Peggotty", the Birdman of the Coorong. 

He loved gold, robbed stagecoaches, and used an ostrich as a getaway car. OR DID HE?! 

Featuring:

Denice Mason, teacher and Meningie resident.

Associate Professor Rohan Clarke, Monash University and co-author of the Australian Bird Guide.

Jacob Fiebig, Meningie resident and composer of "The ballad of John Peggotty". 

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Joel Werner, Script Editor. 
• Additional mastering: Angie Grant.

This episode of What the Duck?! was first broadcast in Feb 2022 and is produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna people.

If you want to hear more "What the Duck?" episodes- please like and subscribe here.

What makes a true fly and do we really need them? 

As per usual the What the Duck?! team is elbow-deep in crap looking for a way out.

And the way out, is flies!

Featuring:

• Dr Bryan Lessard, Entomologist, Author of Eyes on Flies. 

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Joel Werner, Script Editing.

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in September 2022 and is produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.