Zoohoplology (ANIMAL DEFENSES) with Ted Stankowich

Alie Ward· Host0:00

Oh, hey, it's your mom's friend who's always vaping into his sweatshirt, Alie Ward. In this episode, it's about putting your dukes up or curling into a ball so that you don't die, either or, sometimes both. Let's talk to an ologist I've known for years, an LA area animal icon, who invited me to the lab down at California State, Long Beach, where they're a professor, for a visit, a tour, and a chat about armadillos, skunks, pangolins, spikes, spurs, stripes, spots, and the will to keep living. So we'll chat in a sec, but first, thank you to all the patrons who support the show for as little as a dollar a month at patreon.com/ologies. We also have brand-new merch about revolutions and protests. It's up at ologiesmerch.com, designed by Andy Diaz, with proceeds benefiting the National Immigration Law Center. That's brand new. Again, ologiesmerch.com. And for zero dollars, thank you for helping boost the show by leaving reviews, such as this very recent one from Jordan D. Friend, who wrote, "Five stars. It's great, but," and it's a big but, they write, "It's too damn interesting." They say, "I listen to the podcast as I fall asleep, and suddenly it's two hours later, I'm still awake, and I'm like, 'Damn, girl, beavers are interesting.'" Jordan D. Friend, thank you for that. I hope it's your real name, because friend indeed. Also, thank you to sponsors of the show who let us donate to a cause of each ologist's choosing every week. Maybe you're a content creator, you're a restaurant owner, maybe you run a dry cleaner, maybe you have a podcast. Business owners need fast, reliable internet in order to adapt to new daily challenges,