The Infinite Monkey Cage - Australia’s Scary Spiders

Brian Cox and Robin Ince end their Australian science adventure with an episode all about spiders. They are joined by ecologists Dieter Hochuli and Mariella Herberstein and comedian Claire Hooper. They learn about the strange physiology of spiders, including skin shedding, weaving sperm webs and having hundreds of babies at once. They find out exactly how spiders copulate - a process full of surprises - from males having two penises to females cannibalizing the males once the deed is done. Dieter comes to the defence of spiders: despite their deadly venom, they haven’t killed anyone in Australia in over fifty years. Perhaps they aren’t deserving of their fierce reputation after all.

Producer: Caroline Steel Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

Published on Saturday, 25th February 2023.

Available Podcasts from The Infinite Monkey Cage

Subscribe to The Infinite Monkey Cage

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Infinite Monkey Cage webpage.