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In this explosive episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole reveal the surprising truth: sometimes, nature chooses to self-destruct—and it's all part of the plan.

From exploding ants to salmon that spawn and die, and fungi that launch spores like botanical cannons, this episode dives into how death in nature isn't always failure—it's strategy.

💥 Why some creatures explode on purpose
🐟 How salmon die to feed the next generation
🌱 Which fungi use pressure to shoot spores into the wind
🐜 The gluey, horrifying world of exploding ants
🧬 And why your own body kills its own cells—on purpose

Whether it’s defending the colony, escaping danger, or creating new life, these self-destruct systems show just how weird, strategic, and shockingly brilliant evolution can be.

🎧 Listen in to learn how destruction can be nature’s ultimate power move.

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Subscribe and prepare yourself—because this time, the swarm doesn’t just chase... it devours.

In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the world of army ants, some of the most strategic, aggressive, and terrifyingly coordinated hunters on Earth. From building living bridges to raiding the forest floor with military precision, these ants don't forage… they sweep, and anything that can’t move fast enough is gone.

🐜 Why army ants don’t build nests—but become one
🚨 How their raids dismember prey in minutes
🧭 Why they create living bridges and run two-lane traffic systems
🌪 And how other species follow their swarms for leftovers (like antbirds!)

This is more than an ant episode—it’s a masterclass in swarm strategy, evolutionary teamwork, and why being organized is deadly.

🎧 This is episode 5 of our Swarms series—quick, chaotic, and scientifically intense.

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Subscribe and unleash your inner science goblin. We see you. We respect it.

In this seed-sational episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dig into the unexpectedly wild world of seed dispersal. From coconuts floating across oceans to violets launching their seeds like botanical cannons, this episode explores the many weird and wonderful ways plants get around without walking.

🌊 How coconuts evolved to sail thousands of miles
🌬️ The physics behind parachuting and helicoptering seeds
🧲 The sticky science of clingers like burdock and chia
💥 Which plants explode their seeds like t-shirt cannons
🌍 And how human activity spreads (and sometimes ruins) plant travel

Whether you're a plant nerd or just into nature's weirdest survival tactics, this one's for you.

🎧 Listen to learn how seeds conquer new territory, how evolution shaped their rides, and why your burr-covered dog is basically a nature Uber.

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Subscribe if you love science, chaos, and being mildly afraid of your backyard. 🐝

In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover facts around the infamous “killer bees”—a.k.a. Africanized honeybees. Spoiler: they don’t look scary, but they’ll chase you, sting in overwhelming numbers, and sometimes even wait above water for you to come up for air.

But is the fear justified?

🐝 What makes Africanized honeybees so aggressive?
🌎 How did a 1950s experiment in Brazil lead to bees chasing joggers in Arizona?
🧬 Why breeding for honey production + heat tolerance went very, very wrong
🏃‍♀️ And what to actually do if you’re attacked (yes, you should run—fast)

This episode unpacks the biology, history, and real risk of one of the world’s most feared swarming insects—and how they became a punchline and a public safety issue.

🎧 This is episode 4 of our Swarms series—short, punchy episodes exploring the wildest group behaviors in nature.

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Ever wonder how birds, eels, whales, or even bugs find their way without a GPS? In this episode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover the jaw-dropping science behind animal navigation.

From locusts using sky maps and magnetic fields, to eels migrating thousands of miles to a secret oceanic birthplace no one’s ever seen (seriously), and birds that may be using quantum mechanics to see the Earth’s magnetic field—it’s a global tour of natural way-finding.

🌎 How do animals "see" magnetic fields?
🧭 What is magnetoreception and how does it work?
🌌 Can birds actually use quantum mechanics to navigate?
🐟 Why do we still not know how eels reproduce?

This episode explores what researchers are learning—and why the military, ocean shippers, and conservationists are all paying attention.

🎧 Perfect for curious minds, nature nerds, and anyone who's ever questioned how animals seem to have better internal GPS than humans with smartphones.

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Subscribe if you love science, chaos, and bugs that are way too confident.

In this Swarms Minisode, Katy dives into the desert locust, a grasshopper that transforms—literally—into one of the most devastating swarm creatures on Earth.

🦗 What causes a peaceful insect to go full apocalypse mode?
🌾 How do they morph from shy loners to yellow, muscle-bound sky-hulks?
🌪 What triggers a swarm so massive it consumes everything in its path—eating its body weight daily?
📈 And why can’t we stop them, even with modern tech?

From serotonin surges to plague-level salad destruction, this episode unpacks the shocking science behind locust swarms, how they form, what fuels them, and why the only thing that can stop them is literally nature itself.

🎧 This is episode 3 of our 6-part Swarms series—bite-sized, bizarre, and biologically unhinged. We know we had two mini episodes in a row, that was not intended, but sometimes life just gets in the way of our fun!

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Subscribe and brace yourself—because this week, the swarm has teeth. 🦈

In this second episode of our Swarms Minisode Series, Laura and Katy dive into a lesser-known swarm behavior: shark aggregations. From 1,400 basking sharks off New England to over 15,000 spinning sharks off the Florida coast, this episode explores the science (and chaos) behind why some of the ocean’s most feared predators travel in giant, synchronized groups.

🦈 Why do basking sharks—normally loners—form feeding spirals?
🌊 What caused 15,000 blacktip and spinner sharks to swarm near Florida in 2013?
🧲 Could Earth’s magnetic fields (or sonar) influence shark migration patterns?
🎯 And do predators swarm for the same reasons as prey?

This minisode is a fast, fascinating look at how even apex predators can get caught up in the group dynamic—and what it means for scientists, beachgoers, and Shark Week fans alike.

👉 This is episode 2 of 6 in our Swarms series—short, science-packed episodes exploring how and why animals move as one.

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Subscribe and let your nose lead the way. This episode stinks—in the best way possible.

In this surprisingly deep dive into all things scent, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole explore how your sense of smell works, why it’s wildly underappreciated, and what makes certain smells feel amazing (or like a chemical attack).

🧠 How does smell connect to memory and emotion?
🦨 What makes skunk spray so powerful—and impossible to wash off?
🌺 Why do corpse flowers pretend to be rotting meat?
🍪 And why can one person love the smell of cookies while someone else smells… socks?

From pregnancy nose powers to extinct olfactory genes, this episode blends biology, psychology, and botany into a surprisingly aromatic mix of weird science and fun facts.

🎧 This is Season 12, Episode 2 of Wildly Curious—and your nostrils will never forget it.

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🎉 Support us on Patreon to keep the episodes coming! 🪼🦤🧠 For more laughs, catch us on YouTube!