Animal Communications Part 2:
- Mar 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 25
If you’ve been enjoying The Deal With Animals, I’ve got a a quick request. Women in Podcasting Awards are as of April 1st, and it would mean a lot if you’d take a moment to vote. Independent podcasts grow because listeners champion them, and your support genuinely makes a difference.
Delving into the Hidden Worlds: Reptile Communication and Emotion: In this Fourth episode of Series 15: Animal Communications, I’m joined by Dr. Emily Taylor and Dr. Julia Riley to explore the often‑misunderstood world of reptile communication. Fear and folklore shape much of what people think they know about reptiles, but when we look closer—and listen through their sensory world—a far more complex picture emerges.
Dr. Emily Taylor, professor of biological sciences at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and author of the California Herping Guides, studies the physiology and conservation of reptiles and amphibians. Dr. Julia Riley, Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University and a Canada Research Chair in Integrative Wildlife Ecology, researches reptile behavior and evolution across three continents.
Together, we dig into how reptiles communicate through chemical cues, tactile interactions, and subtle social signals that humans often miss.
Julia shares stories of shingleback lizards showing signs of grief, while Emily explains how our sensory bias blinds us to the communication happening right in front of us. We also discuss how technologies like live‑streaming cameras reveal natural reptile behavior without disturbing it.
This episode is an invitation to shift from fear to curiosity.
Book Recommendations: An Immense World by Ed Yong, The Overstory by Richard Powers, Snakes and Snake Hunting by Carl Kauffeld
Related Links: From Strange by Nature Podcast, Please Fish Don't Eat Me
How Birds Share Information and Shape Each Other’s Worlds: In this 5th episode of Series 15: Animal Communications, I’m joined by Dr. Kaeli Swift and Dr. William Feeney to explore how birds learn from one another—sometimes within a species, sometimes across species lines. From crows passing along reputations to magpies inheriting the neighbourhood’s opinion of a cuckoo in seconds, we dive into the fast, social, and surprisingly nuanced ways information moves through bird communities, and what these systems reveal about communication, cooperation, and survival.
William Feeney currently works as a Research Fellow at Griffith University in Australia and at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany. His PhD focused on understanding the ecology and evolution of cuckoo-host arms races in Australia, and since finishing his PhD he has continued working on this as well as predator-prey relationships in coral reef fishes. His current work is split between working on fishes and birds, and in particular at two long-term projects in Australia.
Dr. Kaeli Swift is a research scientist with the University of Washington. For the past 5 years she has lived and worked on the remote island of Tinian, where she studies the ecology of the endemic Tinian monarch. She received her PhD from the University of Washington where she studied crow funerals.
Book Recommendations: Will's Recommendation- Letters to a young Scientist by EO Wilson, Kaeli's Recommendation- Any local birding book you can find! Here is one for England and Europe
Related Links: Episode 2 of Series 13, Sex and Animals
Trailer for Series 16- March 23rd, 2026
Spring Special Guest Episode April 6, 2026
First Episode of Series 16! April 20th, 2026
My Crow Speaking Video!
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