Hello, friends, and welcome to episode 175 of Just the Zoo of Us.

This week I spoke with a science writer and journalist about the lumpy little tidepods,

disrupting ecosystems all over the globe, cane toads.

We discuss toxic shoulder pads, retro nature documentary excellence, poison butts and teacher toads,

ugly animals, and the complicated relationships that humans have with the wildlife around us.

Just the Zoo of Us presents Cain Toads with Bethany Brookshire.

Yeah. I'm I'm here with Just the Zoo of Us, your favorite animal review podcast this week. We're here to talk to a brand new friend. This is Bethany Brookshire. Say hi, Bethany. Hello, Bethany. Okay, you got me. I'm sorry. You gave me the opening. You come on to my podcast. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not sorry. What are your pronouns real quick? She, her. Thank you for asking.

Thank you so much.

And Bethany, you are here because you are a science writer and a podcaster who has taken on the mantle of being sort of the PR person for some quite unconventional animals that I think a lot of people look down on. They can be

kind of maligned. So I would love if you could introduce yourself for our friends listening. Let us know

a little bit about Bethany. Yeah. So I actually started out life as a scientist. I was not a scientist

of animals that we hate. I was actually a neuroscientist,

but I ended up leaving academia, and I became a science journalist. And as I became a science journalist,

I became totally fascinated with the animals that live with us, and particularly not like

domesticated animals, but the animals that live around us. And the animals that live with us and particularly not like domesticated animals, but the animals

that live around us and the animals that live in the environments we've created.

And I've also just become so fascinated by how much we hate them because we so hate them.

And it's just sad because these animals are amazing.

Like if you make it around us, you are iconic.

You have really done some amazing things with your evolution and I salute you.

So yeah, I mean, I don't necessarily always root for the pest.

Right.

...