S8 Ep299: SNAKE CATCHER SURVIVES EASTERN BROWN BITE Colleague Jeremy Zakis. The risks of the Australian summer are highlighted by the ironic near-death experience of Michaela, a professional snake catcher who was bitten by a deadly Eastern Brown snake while off-dut

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John Batchelor

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4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 January 2026

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SNAKE CATCHER SURVIVES EASTERN BROWN BITE Colleague Jeremy Zakis. The risks of the Australiansummer are highlighted by the ironic near-death experience of Michaela, a professional snake catcher who was bitten by a deadly Eastern Brown snake while off-duty and barefoot in her own garden. Although her organs began to shut down from the venom, she received antivenom within the crucial "golden hour" and is expected to survive and return to work. This incident underscores the "macho" culture among snake catchers, who often wear flip-flops and shorts as a "badge of honor," believing their understanding of the environment is sufficient protection. However, there are physical limits to this career; medical wisdom suggests a human body usually cannot withstand more than three bites from a brown snake, often forcing professionals to move into administrative roles to avoid a fatal fourth strike. Financially, a standard house call for snake removal costs approximately $120, though insurance policies generally do not cover snake-related issues. NUMBER 2

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0:34.4	with Indeed.
0:39.4	This is Friends of mystery debating society.
0:41.9	I'm John Batchel in southern New England where we had a break in the weather.
0:46.1	We cleared 40 degrees for a few days with some rain and the snow is breaking up finally.
0:51.7	We've had snow on the ground since early December.
0:54.2	It is winter.
0:55.6	I'm going where the summer lives right now, very hot.
0:59.2	New South Wales, and in fact, the whole continent of Australia is very hot.
1:03.6	And what that means to me, it never did before, but I've followed Jeremy for years on this.
1:08.4	It means the snakes are looking for a place to be cool. That's what it
1:11.9	means. Jeremy, this is a snake story that answers the question I've long had. Why is it when the
1:19.0	snake catchers catch up, show up to a house that just called them saying, help, we've got
1:24.5	snakes inside the house. The snake catchers are wearing floppies, flip-flops, Bermuda shorts, short-sleeved shirts,
1:33.2	and they don't wear gloves.
1:34.7	I've wondered about this.
1:35.9	What is the motto thing here?
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