From the rolling hills of country Ireland to rolling waves beneath her boat docked in Hobart, Dr Diane Purcell has explored the most extreme places algae survive.

She's also explored the prospect of its survival away from Earth when she worked at NASA studying extremophiles.

Some of Diane's earliest research was looking at algae behaviour when it's kind of sleep deprived, and algae that will eat so much it will literally explode!

She's also dealt with the ebb and flow of research work by moving to Darwin and working as a high school science teacher.

Featuring:

• Dr Diane Purcell, Project Manager of the Remediation Section, Science and Technical Branch, at the Environment Protection Authority

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

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

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Peter Menkhorst is the mammalogist who wrote the birding bible, The Australian Bird Guide.

As a boy, Peter would go birdwatching with his dad, setting up in a hide before dawn to observe malleefowl tending their mounds — and ignoring ongoing attacks from mosquitoes!

His professional work ranged from surveying mammals and developing National Parks, to ecological research and managing over-abundant koalas, while also leading conservation work to protect the orange-bellied parrot, the regent honeyeater and the helmeted honeyeater.

Peter still keeps a list of the birds he sees, in the hardcover notebook his grandmother gave him when he was 11.

Featuring:

• Peter Menkhorst, zoologist and author

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

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

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of science is no different…

From watching slater bugs and catching non-venomous snakes in her garden just outside Toronto in Canada, to harnessing lizards with palm fronds in the Caribbean, Tanya Latty was always going to study animals.

But it wasn't until an invertebrate zoology class that her "mind exploded" and her passion for entomology became clear.

She went to the Rocky Mountains to study mountain pine beetles for her PhD — where she also accidentally studied bears and cougars up close.

These days Tanya is based in Australia and raises awareness and understanding of invertebrates after bushfires.

This is the origin story of Associate Professor Tanya Latty.

Featuring:

• Associate Professor Tanya Latty, entomologist and insect ecologist at the University of Sydney

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

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

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Nineties kids didn't dawdle on the way home from school in the afternoon. This was the age of appointment television, and that appointment was with Totally Wild.

From 1992 it was beloved afternoon viewing for almost 30 years, hosted with a massive smile (and a decent fringe) by Ranger Stacey.

Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of environmental education is no different…

From the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, to holding her own with cranky carpet-faced puppet Agro, and then hosting her own TV show for 29 years.

This is the origin story of Ranger Stacey Thomson.

Featuring:

• Ranger Stacey Thomson, environmental educator, Redland City Council

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer

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

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

The influence of selective breeding by humans has created a doggo for every occasion, but it's not without problematic results.

Some breeds have breathing difficulties, hip problems, aggression, or anxiety. There are dogs with ADHD and others with depression.

Does our longest-term relationship need couples therapy?

Featuring:

• Dr. Annika Bremhorst, founder of Dogs and Science, and canine scientist at the University of Bern
• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne
• Professor Chris Johnson, the University of Tasmania
• Michael Worboys, Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester

With thanks to Paula Pérez Fraga at Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary for audio from Family pigs' and dogs' reactions to human emotional vocalizations:a citizen science study

Further reading:

• Associations between Domestic-Dog Morphology and Behaviour Scores in the Dog Mentality Assessment
• Solitary working hunting dogs show a higher tendency for magnetic alignment, with decreased alignment in older dogs

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Jacinta Bowler, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

This is the story of the domesticated animal that feralised itself.

Where did dingoes come from and when?

Where does a wild dog stop and a dingo begin?

How much can genetics really tell us about Australia's only native dog — and how long do you have to live somewhere to be 'native'?

Featuring:

• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
• Kelly Ann Blake, Wadawurrung woman, and Jack the Dingo
• Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
• Professor Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Jacinta Bowler, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Are puppy dog eyes really a sign of love, or does Fido just want a lil snack?

Can dogs really "speak" by pressing talking buttons, or do they just make great content for TikTok?

There's more to canine communication than howls and growls — and a wagging tail could be telling you more than you think.

Featuring:

• Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne
• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Associate professor Federico Rossano director of the comparative cognition lab at the University of California San Diego

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

'Man's best friend' sure sounds better than 'obligatory symbiont', but what are the true dynamics at play?

There's no denying the bond people feel and the attachment dogs have for their humans, but if we put that beautiful relationship under scientific scrutiny, does it hold up?

Can any dog go 'full Lassie' if you (or Timmy) get stuck down a well?

Will your dog save you?

Featuring:

• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
• Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne
• Professor Chris Johnson, the University of Tasmania
• Dr. Annika Bremhorst, founder of Dogs and Science, and canine scientist at the University of Bern

Further reading:

• Importance of a species' socioecology: Wolves outperform dogs in a conspecific cooperation task
• Pet dogs release their trapped and distressed owners: Individual variation and evidence of emotional contagion
• Good dog! Using livestock guardian dogs to protect livestock from predators in Australia's extensive grazing systems

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

There's designer clothes, but they have nothing on designer dogs!

They come in a huge range of shapes and colours and sizes, from the tiny Chihuahua to the Great Dane.

In the animal world this much variation usually means different species, but not for dogs — so where did they all come from?

And what role did Victorian-era rats play in the development of 'breed standards'?

Featuring:

• Joyce Sullivan, papillon breeder
• Wayne Douglas OAM, Afghan Hound breeder
• Esther Joseph, all breeds judge
• Michael Worboys emeritus professor the University of Manchester
• Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
• Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
• Dr. Elaine Ostrander, geneticist at National Institutes of Health (US)
• Dr Heidi Parker, geneticist at National Institutes of Health (US)

Further reading:

• Canine Genomics and Genetics: Running with the Pack
• The invention of the basset hound: breed, blood and the late Victorian dog fancy

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

The relationship between humans and big scary wolves has come a long way to give us tiny fluffy lap dogs with very discerning tastes in expensive food.

Whose idea was it? Was it the wolves who wanted the warmth of the fire, or the humans who wanted protection from the other scary carnivores?

And take a look at the first archaeological evidence of a beloved family pet preserved with its human family for almost 15,000 years!

Featuring:

• Luc Janssens, Specialist in small animal surgery and archaeologist
• Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
• Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University

Further reading:

• A new look at an old dog : Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered
• Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication
• Dog domestication and the dual dispersal of people and dogs into the Americas

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.