Ann Jones

I was born in the American South in 1942 “ in the land of the free and the home of the brave” (as the final stanza of the national anthem puts it). Francis Scott Key wrote those words in 1814. However, they were not true then, or in 1942, or today in Donald Trump’s all too reactionary America. My Blackness consigned obstacles to me (as it would have in 1814 and 1942) that White people simply don’t have.

War against Iran. Kidnapping the president of Venezuela. Threatening to take over

How much booze does it take to intoxicate an elephant? The answer isn't as much as you might expect, because not all guts are created equal when it comes to metabolising alcohol.

Or How Defeat in the Iran War Will Accelerate American Global Decline

A lost monkey in an Ikea carpark is an illegally traded pet, so does he have a legal owner?

In 2002 Gigoo became the world's wealthiest chicken when her owner left her £10 million in his will. How does a chook even open a bank account?

When you really think about it, sex to make babies is WEIRD! You take an outie that has to get stuck inside an innie that links into a production line of eggs to assemble a perfect tiny being. It's so damn complicated!So why does it work like that?Join us at What the Duck for the first episode of a new series where we figure out how living things went from splitting ourselves in half to double the population, to periodically feeling compelled to copulate in such a vigorous, sometimes highly embarrassing, manner.Earth — this is your sexual history!Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended.Featuring: Emeritus Professor David Siveter, University of Leicester, UK Assistant Professor Emily Mitchell, University of Cambridge, UK and curator of non-insect invertebrates, University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, UK Dr Marissa Betts, geologist and palaeontologist at the University of New England, Armidale, Australia Dr Emily Willingham, biologist, journalist and author Associate Professor Patty Brennan, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USProduction: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Petria Ladgrove, Producer Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano and Russell Stapleton Thanks also to Will Ockenden, Belinda Smith, Corey Hague and Joel Werner.This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Health and agriculture authorities continue to investigate whether bird flu has spread beyond the three currently confirmed cases, but how much do you know about the disease and it's impacts?

Is there no greater symbol of Australia than the koala? While there are more scientific papers and government reports on koalas than any other Australian animal, what do we all really know about this elusive tree-dwelling animal?

A new series from What the Duck?! is coming soon. Dr Ann Jones is exploring the connection between humans and dogs and asking how our destinies became intertwined.