Just the Zoo of Us

This week’s episode is a little different from our usual format, because it is a little more human-oriented, but the topics we discuss are crucial to conservation and ecology and our own relationships as humans to the environments we live in. Our guest is a writer and comedian whose work on projects like Paw Patrol and Spirit Rangers you might already familiar with, and we discuss Native representation in media, impacts of colonialism on ecosystems throughout North America and how indigenous practices are helping to heal them, what the landback movement means and how it’s restoring populations of some of our most iconic keystone species, how cultural values can influence our perceptions of wildlife, and more.
Links:
Find We’ve Been Here The Whole Time! A Not So Sacred Guide To All Things Native America wherever you get books!
Learn more about Joey's work on his website!
Follow Joey on Instagram
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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After being haunted by an egregious error for over seven years, we are wading back into the nudibranch waters. We discuss what plankton actually is, purging your vowels, bunnies and sheep, stolen venom, detachable organs, learning in slugs, and so much more.
Works Cited:
"Getting to know nudibranchs" - Seattle Aquarium
"Social Predation by a Nudibranch Mollusc" - K. Otter et al., Integrative Organismal Biology, April 2025
"Disposable penis and its replenishment in a simultaneous hermaphrodite" - Ayami Sekizawa et al., Biology Letters, April 2013
"Nudi Sex-Ed!" - California Academy of Sciences
"Cannibalism, self-cannibalism and autotomy in the non-indigenous nudibranch Godiva quadricolor" - Armando Macali et al., Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali, April 2023
"Retention of an Associative Behavioral Change in Hermissenda" - Terry J. Crow and Daniel L. Alkon, Science, September 1978
"Classical conditioning of Hermissenda: origin of a new response" - Il Lederhendler et al., Journal of Neuroscience, May 1986
"Expanding the repertoire for molluscan structural colors" - Suzanne T. Williams and Abigail L. Ingram, PNAS, April 2026
Links:
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on YouTube, BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
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Join Ellen & special guest, wildlife photographer and author Mark Smith, for a review of the worldwide masters of sea and sky. Ospreys almost disappeared from our coasts during the 20th century, as our guest shares with us, making us even luckier than ever to share the planet with them today. Through his years traveling the world to capture the beauty of these raptors, our guest has learned a lot of valuable life lessons that he is here to share with you. We discuss optional thumbs, how birds can use the physics of the ocean to their advantage and even turn prey into their ride home, designs for a modern family crest, and more.
Links:
Get The Spirit of Birds wherever you buy books!
Follow Mark on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

The arc of history is long, but it bends towards shrew. We discuss tasks that require zero cats, supercontinents, venom and cancer research, iron-plated teeth, load-bearing spines, what shrews have in common with a hostile Minecraft mob, and more.
Works Cited:
“In Vivo Detection of Human TRPV6-Rich Tumors with Anti-Cancer Peptides Derived from Soricidin” - Chris V. Bowen et al., PLoS One, March 2013
“Deciphering an extreme morphology: bone microarchitecture of the hero shrew backbone (Soricidae: Scutisorex)” - Stephanie M. Smith, Proc R. Soc. B, April 2020
“Dehnel's phenomenon is not a simple reduction of size: seasonal change in skull shape of the long-clawed shrew (Soricidae, Mammalia)” - Yugo Ikeda et al., Proc R. Soc. B., August 2026
"Why Do Some Shrews Have Dark Red Teeth?" - John Wible, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
“Moving Nose to Tail, Shrew 'Conga Line' Shimmies Online” - Laura Geggel, LiveScience, July 2017
“Acoustic behavior in the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda): Ultrasonic click production in a novel environment” - Margaret E. Gleason, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, July 2023
“Sorex palustris underwater Sniffing - Vanderbilt University” - Luis Azevedo Rodrigues, YouTube
“Water Shrew Walks on Water” - MyBackyardBirding, YouTube
Links:
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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Join Ellen & special guest, wildlife ambassador and returning guest Marco Wendt of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, to shine a spotlight on the world’s most famous amphibian. From Mesoamerican legend to medical research labs to the lush caves of Minecraft, axolotls have inspired stories and innovation and wonder in humans all over the world but their story starts in the heart of Mexico, which is why our guest has chosen them as the frilly little faces of this episode in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. We discuss the axolotl’s indigenous name and its roots in a mythological prop hunt, some possible designs for custom skins, what human metamorphosis might look like, setting your future reincarnations up for success, and more.
Links:
Follow Marco on Instagram and TikTok!
Plan your next trip to see axolotls at the San Diego Zoo!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo