Naturebang
Episodes
Riverbeds and the Sedimentation of Ideas
05 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if all the ideas and values surrounding our lives are like pieces of sediment in a river? Some never quite settle and get swept away, lost to the...
Giant Anteaters and Power Posing
04 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight look to the animal world to question why we "power pose". Anteaters are masters of it. When feeling threatened, they rea...
Grooming Apes and the Origins of Kissing
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight discover the hairy history of the human kiss. Where did it come from? Why do we like doing it? And how is it good for us...
Photosynthetic Clams and the Problem of Power
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do we extract the maximum amount of power from the sun? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight enlist the help of a giant, thousand-year old clam. And end ...
Running Wild and the Science of Endurance
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do animals move the way they do? And why do we humans love to run? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight enlist dogs, horses, armadillos, and some uncoope...
Red Deer and Authority of Voice
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do lower voices demand more power? Do we take them more seriously? And is this a bias that needs to be challenged more in today’s world? Becky Riple...
Magpies and Altruism
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we help each other out? Even when it gets us nothing in return? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight explore the existence of altruism, with the help ...
Underground Fungi and the Market Economy
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight dig deep into the underground web of plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi networks. Here lies a 400 million year old market...
Crafty Cuttlefish and Theory of Mind
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight explore whether we can ever know what others know, and how we figure out if they're telling fibs. Beneath the surface of...
Burying Beetles and the Politics of Parenting
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight tackle a topic we love to fight about: parenting. How should we raise our kids? How much love is too much?Good parenting...
Dr Orangutan and the Evolution of Medicine
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight explore the ancient origins of medicine. What makes us sick? What makes us well again? And do animals medicate like we d...
Rainbowfish and the Mysteries of Memory
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight dive into the watery world of rainbowfish to confront the age-old myth that fish have bad memories. In actual fact, they...
Drunk Moose and the Drive to Get Loose
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight tackle a serious question. One of supreme scientific importance: do animals get wasted?From drunk moose stuck in trees, ...
Zebra Finches and Learning a Language
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight find out what it takes to learn the language of your people, with the help of some extremely chatty little birds.The son...
Buff Geese and Gym Rats
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight investigate physical fitness in the animal kingdom, and ask why animals never seem to have to go to the gym.Consider the...
Killer Whales and the Mystery of the Menopause
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight dive into the underwater world of killer whales, where tight-knit family pods are led by the eldest post-reproductive ma...
Chuckling Chimps and the Evolution of Laughter
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight look to the giggles and guffaws of the animal kingdom to ask where human laughter has come from. At least 65 species hav...
Cockatoos and the Power of the Beat
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rhythm is everywhere in the biological world. The rhythm of heartbeat, the rhythm of breathing, the rhythm of gait and walking. In fact, in 'The Desce...
Frozen Frogs and Preserved People
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight look to the freeze-thaw abilities of the North American wood frog to ask whether we can freeze ourselves in order to ret...
Great Tits and Group Think
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You may think 'culture' is one of those peculiar things unique to humans, like dancing to pop music or yelling at the TV. But you'd be wrong. Animals ...
Lazy Ants and the Power of Doing Nothing
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We've all seen the Attenborough documentaries, full of the hurrying and scurrying of life on earth, the drama constantly unfolding. The natural world ...
Rivers and the Rights of Nature
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight ask whether giving legal rights to things like rivers and forests changes how we think about the world that lives around...
Screaming Marmots and the Sound of Fear
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why are some sounds more frightening than others? Are there evolutionary origins behind the things we find scary? And is there anything more blood-cur...
Mongooses and the Magic of Trust
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As our global society becomes ever more mobile, with people migrating across borders and making new homes among strangers, how do we figure out how to...
Cuckoo Chicks and the Supernormal Stimulus
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we want the things we want? What really drives us? And how in control of our instincts are we? All questions you might ask the humble cuckoo. T...
Bull Elephants and the Importance of Dads
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight get to grips with fatherhood in the animal kingdom by way of the largest land animal on earth, a fully grown bull elepha...
Octopuses and the Mind-Body Problem
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is this thing we call "consciousness"? It feels like a non-physical thing that somehow exists as a separate entity to our physical body. We might...
Dragon Lizards and the Gender Spectrum
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sex is simple. Or so we're taught; animals can be male or female. But even the briefest glance at the animal kingdom tells us that this simply isn't t...
Slime Mould and Problem Solving
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight celebrate the intelligence of a brainless slime mould. As single-cell protists, with no brain and no nervous system, sli...
Naked Mole Rats and Life Extension
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight examine the naked mole rat, a saber-toothed sausage of a rodent, which seems to defy the mammalian laws of aging. It liv...
Ants and Social Distancing
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight find out what ants teach us about surviving a pandemic. As social animals, we're particularly susceptible to disease, so...
Dog Poo and the Challenge of Navigation
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Naturebang is back. Becky Ripley and Emily Knight are again trying to make sense of what we humans are all about, with a little help from the natural ...
Vole-love and Fidelity
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ah, true love. Who can quantify that heady rush, the joy of another’s company, the unshakable bonds between one lover and another? Well, vole expert...
Parasites and Personality
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you think you’re in control, think again.What invisible forces might be guiding your behaviour, your decisions, your most intimate emotions? Beck...
The Portuguese Man O'War and the Individual
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Strange things dwell out in the open ocean. Bobbing atop the waves, Becky Ripley and Emily Knight meet one such creature, the Portuguese Man O’War. ...
Sea-Sponges and the Illusion of Self
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The humble sea sponge has been around for over 500 million years. We may think of them as ‘simple’ animals, with no brain, no nerves and no organs...
Starlings and Social Networks
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Starling murmurations, those swirling, shifting sky-patterns made by hundreds of birds moving in synchrony, are one of nature’s greatest spectacles....
Welcome to Naturebang
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight look to the natural world to answer some of life's big questions. Science meets storytelling, with a philosophical twist...