S05E21 - Dragons & Trolls of the Marsh

MonsterTalk

Monster House LLC

Natural Sciences, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We are delighted to talk with Dr. Christopher Beatty about his research into Dragonflies. From ancient times these insects have been the subject of wonder, fear and misinformation. Let's keep the wonder but get rid of some of the other stuff as we dive in on a creature whose lifecycle, morphology, and effectiveness as a hunter elevate its place in the lore of humanity.

Why this title for the episode? Tune in and find out.

Petroglyphs of Dragonflies 1000y/o (Atlas Obscura)

Dragonflies in Japan - Akitsu Shima

Dragonfly Helmet (Japanese)
Those are from a class of helmets called Kiwari Kabuto - amazing variety

Some cool electronica I used to listen to back in "the day" from an album named after dragonflies: Odonata by Amethystium
Good lord - has it been 25 years?? Tempus fugit.

Additional note from Dr. Beatty:
"I’m the past-president of the Dragonfly Society of the Americas, a group that promotes public awareness, as well as research and conservation of dragonflies. We are open to anyone with interest in odonates, and membership is quite inexpensive ($15/year).

We have an annual meeting, which for 2026 will be taking place in Hot Springs, North Carolina, in the last week of June. Info on the meeting can be found here:https://www.dragonflysocietyamericas.org/hotsprings2026 ."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Monster House Presents.
0:09.5	This is the ad-supported version of Monster Talk.
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0:24.4	and while we have done what we can to avoid ads that are divisive,
0:28.0	the system that ejects them sometimes ignores our preferences
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0:41.9	plus you generally get extended coverage of the subject.
0:45.0	We're working on other ways to consume our content as well, so please stay tuned.
0:58.0	It's actually quite unlike anything we've ever seen before.
1:03.4	A giant hairy creature, part ape, part mad.
1:08.9	In Larkness, a 24-mile long bottomless lake in the highlands of Scotland.
1:35.3	It's a creature known as the Loch Ness Monster. Monster Talk.
1:39.3	Welcome to Monster Talk, the science show about monsters.
1:40.9	I'm Blake Smith.
1:42.4	And I'm Karen Stolznor.
1:48.8	This week I'm excited to do one of my favorite kinds of monster talk episodes, the kind where we look at real creatures that have become enshrined in myth and legend, only to
1:53.6	discover that the reality of their capabilities may be even more wondrous than our
1:58.3	collected imaginations even hinted at.
	...

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