The punk rock life of cephalopods
Science Friday

The punk rock life of cephalopods

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 8, 202618 min
  • Interview
  • Science

Cephalopods have a reputation for being smart and majestic. And while that may be true, the life of a cephalopod can also be dark and gritty. Have you heard of octopus death spirals? How about cephalopod cannibalism? Host Flora Lichtman is joined by cephalopod experts Heather Judkins and Z. Yan Wang for a conversation about the weirdest parts of being a cephalopod, and to answer some listener questions. Find more Cephalopod Week fun on our site! Guests: Dr. Heather Judkins is a Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the Un...

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In case you missed the memo, it is cephalopod week, the most wonderful time of the year.

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0:00

Hey, it's Flora and you're listening to Science Friday. In case you missed the memo, it is cephalopod week, the most wonderful time of the year. And if you're a longtime listener or just an ocean nerd, you might be thinking, oh, that's cute, but how much more is there really to learn about squid, octopus, and cuttlefish?

0:23

Well, strap in, because I think this conversation is going to blow you right out of the water. These soft-bodied creatures, it turns out they have a hard edge. Have you heard of octopus death spirals? Cephalopod cannibalism?

0:42

Here to take us into the deep end are two Cepspurts, Heather Judkins, who's a marine ecologist and taxonomist at the University of South Florida, and neuroethologist Yan Wang, who studies the brains and behaviors of cephalopods at the University of Washington, Seattle.

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