Oh, hey, it's the lady next to you at the salad bar covering up her iceberg lettuce with spring greens, Alley Ward. And this is Ologies. This is big squirrels. We got marmots. We got groundhogs. We got facts, figures, tongue twisters, and scandals. But first, thank you so much to patrons of the show. And make it possible. And you too can submit your questions before we record. And you can join Patreon for a dollar a month at patreon.com slash ologies. Thank you to everyone out there in Ologiesmerch from Ologiesmerch.com. And for zero dollars, you can support us just by leaving a review. And to prove that I read them all, here's one from the scheming rat who wrote, this show is the best, not an opinion. P-S, if you hate the

swears and stuff, guess what? They write in all caps. She made another podcast just for you. Go to Smologis. Thank you, the scheming rat for screaming that. And yes, we have devised a classroom-safe version of Ologies. It's available in its own feed, wherever you get podcasts. It's called Smologis, S-M-O-L-O-G-I-E-S.

Also, thank you to all the sponsors of the show

who make it possible for us to donate to a cause of theologists choosing each week. Okay, so marmotology, the word marmot, goes back to the Latin root, meaning mountain mouse. And this week, we have a true expert. They did their undergrad at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and then went to UC Davis for a master's and a PhD in animal behavior.

They are now a researcher and a professor. expert. They did their undergrad at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and then went to UC Davis for a

master's and a PhD in animal behavior. They are now a researcher and a professor at UCLA's Department

of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. They've spent years and years and years studying the complex

communication of marmits and integrating that into conservation efforts to influence environmental

policy. And on a rainy January day here in

LA a few weeks ago, I got over to the university to lob some questions. First, just got to UCLA.

I'm here to interview the Groundhog expert. I got out of my car and I spilled 20 ounces of cold ice tea onto my crotch.

It's so soaked.

Like, it's not a little wet.

It's soaked like I had hosed myself off.

This is what happens when you do in a reason person.

You really never know what you're going to get.

Hey, I'm Allie. You waiting for me?

Sorry about my pants.

We're already off to a memorable start. But clearly, our ologist and the lovely Holly

Ober in UCLA Media Relations, they were chill, they were down to clown. We went up to his

office where he has all sorts of skulls and

marmot art, even a roadkill groundhog that he and his wife, Janice, taxidermied themselves.

...