That's Just Wild

About That's Just Wild

Steve Backshall, Lizzie Daly and Sarah Roberts bring you a wildly entertaining nature show filled with adventure, behind-the-scenes stories, and fascinating facts. Think: unexpected encounters, jaw-dropping science, and nature like you’ve never heard it before. Every Tuesday join adventurer, explorer and broadcaster Steve Backshall, wildlife biologist Lizzie Daly, and journalist Sarah Roberts as they dive deep into the wonders of the natural world. From braving Arctic extremes to swimming with sharks, each episode begins with a bold superlative—Flamboyant, Freezing, Venomous—and unfolds into their remarkable tales of the wild. Then, every Friday, it’s your turn. Our Q&A episodes tackle your most need-to-know nature questions—from how not to become bear food to how long is an elephant’s trunk? Because the world is wild, its wonders are endless—and we’re here to tell the stories that prove it. For ad-free listening and special episodes, support the podcast at thatsjustwild.com. (https://www.thatsjustwild.com.) Produced in the wild by Fresh Air. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Fresh Air

Category

kids & family · science · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 May 2025

Latest episode

7 May 2026

Latest episodes

91 of 98 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   7 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Q&A: Ancient Fish Eyes, Chowing Chimps and the Deserts That Mimic Mars

   This week on That’s Just Wild, Steve, Sarah and Lizzie tackle more of your wildest questions one last time, as the show wraps up — going out with a curious bang (and probably a few weird facts for good measure). 💥🐾✨ 🌊 Ever noticed how things seem to vanish into the distance underwater? We explore whether marine animals see the same murky limits we do — or if life beneath the surface has evolved to see further, clearer, and in ways we can barely imagine. 🐠👀 🐜 We always hear about the strongest creatures for their size… but what about the weakest? We take a closer look at sloths — famously slow, surprisingly weak, and spending most of their lives hanging from their toes. 🌿 🌳 🌵🦂🪲Are there places on Earth so extreme that life simply can’t survive? We head to scorching deserts in northern Chile and the Lut Desert — some of the closest environments to Mars — where, against all odds, microbes still find a way to thrive. 🔥🧬 A huge thanks to all our wonderful listeners — while we’re wrapping things up here, the series isn’t going anywhere, so you can dip back into all our favourite (and slightly wild) episodes anytime 🎧✨ Go to thatsjustwild.com (thatsjustwild.com) to get ad-free listening, special deep-dive episodes and exclusive That's Just Wild goodies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   5 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Moist: Slime Highways, Snot Bubble Beds, and a Legendary Orca Sighting

   Hosts Steve, Sarah, and Lizzie explore nature's bizarre adaptations, from honey ant "living reservoirs" to hagfish slime defenses and water-holding frog survival.

3. 

   1 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Q&A: Vertical Sleepers, Sky Dances and the Infamous Worm Dance

   Hosts Steve and Lizzie explore fascinating animal behaviors, from starling murmurations and gull worm dances to sperm whale vertical sleeping, in this interview episode.

Inside a recent episode

Q&A: Ancient Fish Eyes, Chowing Chimps and the Deserts That Mimic Mars

Published 7 May 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] But I massively digress. I mean, could I get further away from the topic? Seriously. So anyway, yes, aquatic animals have evolved to rely on their powerful internal lens rather than the cornea for focusing, which makes them much more dependent on a corrected external medium. And yeah, so essentially you've got a high level of adaptations for animals underwater, a tougher exterior to the eye so they're not going to desiccate in the presence of salt or be irritated by the presence of chemicals like chlorine in the water. And then lots of aquatic animals will have extra senses like the lateral line in fish, echolocation in cetaceans, the ampullae of Lorenzini in sharks. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

72,289

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

249 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 70 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

91

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

50

Contact That's Just Wild

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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