FULL EPISODE: What Color's Your Best Nest? - February 26, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Unfiltered discussions.
What color do zebra finches prefer for their nests?
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Is teasing among friends a sign of affection or harm?
You'll learn a lot. Here are some of the topics we'll hit. Is teasing your friends, joking around with them, a sign of closeness, a way to bond, or is it low-grade emotional warfare with a giggle? There's psychology behind when just kidding builds connection with your friends and when it crosses a line. In 10 minutes time, we'll unpack the difference. Then a look at the viral monkey that was rejected by other monkeys in its pen in Japan. And everyone on the internet's heart sunk. Don't worry, that story that we'll cover halfway through the hour has a happy ending. But for now, let's dive into the show. Our top story tonight, answering the question on the top of everybody's mind.
What can a viral monkey's attachment to a plushie teach us?
Do birds prefer pink nests? Because new research suggests some zebra finches would rather defy their flock than compromise on decor. And honestly, same. I'm here with someone who's done research in this area. She's an animal cognition researcher at the University of Alberta. Her name is Julia Self. Julia, what a joy it is to have you here. Thank you. It's great to be here. I love that you chose as your research area, the color, the preferred color of a certain type of bird's nest.
How does sepsis relate to pet interactions?
What got you interested in this as a research area? Yeah. So I got into this in my undergrad and I just love animals. And I think birds and the way that they build is just so cool to have this architect in a different species. And I was also interested in how birds make decisions. And so we used color as a stimuli, but it's just really exciting to see how they build and who doesn't want to know what an animal's favorite color is. Right? Mine's sparkle. Is that even a color?
What insights does tracking the phrase 'feeling sexy' reveal?
I don't know. How do you even discover whether a bird wants a certain color of nest? Like, how do you set up an experiment like that? Yeah, so we give them different choices of material, and we found that some birds just very strongly preferred one over the other. Like, they would spend hours and hours playing and interacting with and building with pink, for instance, and they wouldn't even, you know, glance at the green string. And so it was cool because we saw that some birds had these very strong preferences. And anytime you see this variation in what animals do, it's exciting because you're wondering why. they have this variation. And so, yeah, giving them these options allowed us to see their favorite colors.
What does it actually mean to say that this bird, the zebra finch, has a color preference?
How does the presence of eyes on robots affect our perception?
Like, how do you know it's not just random or just that string was closer to me? That's a great question. So we know this because we can change a bunch of other variables like where in the cage the string is and have these birds build multiple nests and they'll just keep choosing the same color. It doesn't matter where it is. And so we also see that, you know, if you're a bird who likes green, you're going to keep liking green, you know, like my experiment finds, even if, you know, you're in a group that all builds with pink. So, these preferences are robust over time within these individuals, and there's variation among birds in terms of what they like, which is cool. And how much do these birds like these colors?
Are they basically like ignoring what all their peers are doing, getting obsessed with the color, or are they just kind of like, yeah, I guess I prefer pink, but whatever? Yeah, so that's the cool part is it depends on the strength of the preference. So some birds are kind of ambivalent.
Should dating be viewed as a marketplace?
They're kind of like, eh, you know, whatever. Whereas others are just, they will not even, you know, look at the other color or touch the other color. And so it really depends. The birds who have really strong preferences will just ignore you know, what their friends are doing.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:03
2
What color do zebra finches prefer for their nests?
0:03–0:28
3
Is teasing among friends a sign of affection or harm?
0:28–1:08
4
What can a viral monkey's attachment to a plushie teach us?
1:08–1:36
5
How does sepsis relate to pet interactions?
1:36–2:04
6
What insights does tracking the phrase 'feeling sexy' reveal?
2:04–2:47
7
How does the presence of eyes on robots affect our perception?
2:47–3:39
8
Should dating be viewed as a marketplace?
3:39–1:20:10
Speakers
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