The underwater punk straight out of the realm of science fiction
In this final episode of Look at Me, we dive into the ocean’s to discover a creature that is perhaps the most bizarre animal Rae has ever seen. This dazzling group of sea slugs adapts to its dynamic environment using colourful headdresses, stinging cells and lungs that can exist outside the body. Little is still known about the nudibranch but we meet the researcher and the citizen scientist wading though the tidal zones to find out more
14 April 2022, 1:30 am
34 minutes 29 seconds
The scientist who dedicated her life to the mysterious springtail – Look at Me podcast
In the 1950s Dr Penelope Greenslade became one of the few women to study at Cambridge University. She then travelled to Solomon Islands where her love affair with the springtail began, a tiny acrobatic animal that you’ll find almost everywhere in Australia but have probably never recognised Rain reveals the creatures that walk on water
7 April 2022, 1:00 am
33 minutes 57 seconds
The tenacious bird abandoning its young in a giant thermal mound
In some of the most harsh habitat in Australia, you’ll find what looks like giant piles of dirt. But dig deeper and you’ll find the eggs of the malleefowl, buried in leaf litter and sand at the exact depth needed to keep them warm until they hatch and are left to fend for themselves, newborn birds fighting to survive
31 March 2022, 12:10 am
34 minutes 4 seconds
The weird, wonderful and ultimately exhausting life of the antechinus
This marsupial mouse enters its first mating season with a thirty-fold increase in testosterone. It copulates at a frenetic rate, only to collapse afterwards, dying from its exertions. But now climate change is posing a much more serious threat to the species than sex
24 March 2022, 12:35 am
25 minutes 47 seconds
The gym junkie of the sky
Imagine flying thousands of kilometres to avoid getting cold. Meet the bird that starts its migration journey at a Siberian bush doof and ends up on the mudflats of eastern Australia. In this episode of Look at Me, we hitch a ride with the eastern curlew and meet the zoologist who learnt to fly a plane so she could track their flight path
17 March 2022, 12:00 am
34 minutes 45 seconds
The ants keeping an endangered butterfly alive
Imagine outsourcing childcare to a nest of ants? This may not be the best idea for humans but a certain insect is making it work. Now the Eltham copper butterfly’s amazing use of surrogate ant parents has attracted human fans who are using a song to try to save it from extinction
10 March 2022, 12:00 am
2 minutes 31 seconds
Introducing Look at Me season 2
When it comes to Australian native animals, everyone thinks about koalas and kangaroos and drop bears and wombats. But what about the creepy ones? What about the niche ones? The ones that don’t make it on to coins or Bluey? Join your hosts Rae Johnston and Chris McCormack to meet the incredible animals other people don’t talk about.
4 March 2022, 12:00 am
37 minutes 21 seconds
Our rare tiny marsupial, hanging on in the mountains – Look at me podcast
When we think of the effects of climate change it’s easy to focus on rising sea levels – but what about the changes happening much higher up? At Mount Hotham in Victoria a unique creature spends months under the snow: Australia’s only hibernating marsupial, the mountain pygmy possum. This tiny animal was once thought extinct. Now, zoos and ski-resorts are doing everything they can to keep it alive, but it faces a changing climate, which may create insurmountable challenges
4 April 2019, 5:00 pm
32 minutes 12 seconds
The 3-metre worm you will never have seen – Look at me podcast
Eastern Victoria is home to a strange creature that few have seen and even fewer have researched. You may be able to hear its gurgles under the ground but the 1.5- to 3-metre-long Giant Gippsland earthworm never comes to the surface in its natural life. In this episode of Look at me, Chris McCormack finds the only world expert on this creature and asks: why would you devote your life to a giant worm?
28 March 2019, 1:52 am
37 minutes 44 seconds
Searching for Australia's most elusive marsupial – Look at me podcast
If you’ve ever travelled to an Australian desert, you may have been in the presence of one of Australia’s most elusive marsupials. The Anangu people call it the itjaritjari but it is more commonly known as the marsupial mole – even though it is not actually a mole. Living entirely underground, this eye-less creature with pincer-like limbs has mostly defied scientific study until one scientist decided to bury some microphones ... Benjamin Law talks to Chris McCormack about his trip to Uluru in pursuit of this remarkable animal
20 March 2019, 5:00 pm
28 minutes 43 seconds
The mind-blowing life of the gateway bee – Look at Me podcast
When you think about bees you probably thinking about honey, hives and yellow and black stripes, but these traits aren’t present in the majority of Australian bees. The bee you usually think of is the European honey bee. Yet Australia actually has more than 2,000 species of natives bees. In this episode of Look at Me we find out about the amazing life of a hardworking single mother, the blue-banded bee