Animal science from a cast that admits it's still learning.
Varmints! is a playful animal-science podcast whose cast members say up front that they are not experts, then do the homework anyway. Its frog series, 'A Frog a Day', moves between solo species profiles, a four-part interview with a Lincoln Park Zoo guest, and a group read of a genetics article.
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Varmints! opens each episode by lowering expectations, then spends the rest of it working to beat them. The cast repeat the same premise every time: they are not animal experts, and they intend to do their best to learn alongside the listener. It is an honest framing, and it shapes how the show sounds. Nobody is lecturing from a podium. Instead, people who did the reading report what they found. The frog episodes collected under 'A Frog a Day', a special series for National Podcast Posting Month, show how many shapes that reporting can take. Some are solo species profiles from Moss, billed as Science Dude. The Wallace's flying frog profile covers a frog that can glide 15 meters or more. It also covers a female that beats fluid into a foam nest with her hind legs, whipped up like meringue, before the tadpoles drop from the branches into the water below. It also notes that the species is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. The American green tree frog profile opens on a pun, then turns to males that eavesdrop on their neighbors, adjust their calls to compete, and sometimes fall silent to intercept a rival's signal. Other episodes bring in an outside voice. Henry Adams, MS, of the Lincoln Park Zoo, appears across a four-part interview series that runs from ranids, the so-called true frogs, to how many North American places are named Frogtown. A question about whether all frogs are edible gets a firm no, because many would make a person sick. The cast discussion of an article titled 'How Genes Can Leap from Snakes to Frogs in Madagascar' is where the show's candor pays off. One cast member admits the article never explained how the gene actually makes the jump, and the transposon at its center gets called a grifter. In 'Wrap-up Chat with Henry the Herpetologist!', Donna, Moss, Kurt and Henry trade what stayed with them. There is a zombie frog, named because its discoverer, Raphael Ernst, thought fellow researchers climbing out of the pit where they dug for the frogs looked like zombies. A cast member recalls a segment on the Suriname toad, which keeps its eggs under the mother's skin, and sets it against frogs that incubate in their mouths, on leaves or in funnel plants. Not every loose end gets tied: someone admits they still have not worked out what the zombie frog's scientific name translates to. The humor stays nerdy and affectionate, with words like 'fantabulous' and one creature summed up as 'a mouth with feet'. The same sign-off, be nice to animals, recurs across the series. For a first listen, a species profile shows the show's fact-driven side, and the wrap-up chat brings the cast and their guest together.
Made for: Suits a listener who wants real natural history, such as foam nests, gliding frogs and jumping genes, served with puns and an honest account of what the cast does not know. Also a good fit for anyone curious to hear a Lincoln Park Zoo guest take offbeat questions.
What sets it apart: Rather than posing as authorities, the cast present themselves as curious readers, and they mix their own species research with a multi-part conversation with a zoo guest and a frank group reading of a genetics article. It suits a listener who would rather learn alongside enthusiasts than be lectured.
The Varmints! podcast is an education/comedy podcast that’s all about animals! Every week a bunch of nerds a do a whole bunch of reading to bring you a mix of science, education, pop culture and comedy about all things that creep, crawl, slither, fly, jump, hop and swim on this planet one animal at a time.
Frog babies once emerged from a parent's mouth; your follow-up questions are welcome here.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A friendly frog-series finale where unusual anatomy and reproductive strategies make the month's learning stick.
Varmints!'s wrap-up chat turns a month of frog learning into a loose, companionable review, as Donna, Moss, Kurt, and Henry, the herpetologist from the Lincoln Park Zoo, gather around one last question from Kate with Walinga and talk through what stayed with them.
A frog-focused reading group makes a strange genetic jump feel approachable without sanding off the mystery.
Genes act less like obedient instructions than opportunists in this Varmints! discussion of a Quanta Magazine article about Bob V, a stretch of DNA that appears to jump from snakes into frogs in Madagascar.
A lively frog primer connects big amphibian scale with the surprisingly personal question of what counts as a jump.
Frog biology comes through with a useful sense of scale, moving from the Goliath frog's up-to-seven-pound size to the mechanics that help some species leap 30 to 50 body lengths.
Strange claims, tested cleanly.
Plainspoken sermons for faithful Christian life.
A group of self-described nerds educate listeners about a different animal each episode, blending science with pop culture and comedy.
A group of nerds discuss a scientific article about genes jumping from snakes to frogs in Madagascar, blending science with comedy.
The hosts interview a herpetologist from Lincoln Park Zoo about reptiles and amphibians.
Bill says his sheep recognize up to 50 human or sheep faces for as long as two years.
Varmints!
A comedic educational podcast where hosts research and discuss a different animal each week.