logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
13m 57s

Critter of the Week The coral slime moul...

RNZ
About this episode
This week's critter is a species of slime mould that looks like ghostly forest coral. The coral slime mould (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa) is one of our most distinctive and abundant slime moulds.  
Up next
Aug 2024
Thrift
Katy Gosset meets a Christchurch woman who's teaching a new generation of New Zealanders how to pickle and preserve. 
13m 58s
Aug 2024
Feature interview: how to break up with your job
Breaking up is hard to do in relationships but also breaking up with your job. Dr Tessa West is a social psychology professor at New York University who says our relationships with our careers and jobs can be a lot like relationships with people and sometimes it's best to break u ... Show More
23m 50s
Aug 2024
All the pretty weeds
DOC has updated its list of environmental weeds. 
8m 37s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2025
Selects: Slime Mold: 0% Mold, 100% Amazing
If you’ve ever wandered past what looked like a pile of dog barf on a log during a hike in the woods, you’d just seen slime mold - one of the most perplexing organisms on Earth. Listen to this classic episode and get as amazed as Josh and Chuck were when they recorded it.See omny ... Show More
49m 4s
Apr 2024
The secret life of slime mould
<p>Scientist Tanya Latty on how a single-cell organism, slime mould, can solve complex problems in some remarkable ways (R)</p> 
49 m
Jan 2025
Slime Moulds
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss slime mould, a basic organism that grows on logs, cowpats and compost heaps. Scientists have found difficult to categorise slime mould: in 1868, the biologist Thomas Huxley asked: ‘Is this a plant, or is it an animal? Is it both or is it neither?’ ... Show More
51m 30s
Sep 2023
The Secret Lives of Coral
When we think of coral most of us probably think of giant, colorful reef structures. But there's so much more to coral! We take a deeper look at the tiny animals that make up those reefs--and that can be found beyond those reefs, as well. Video for Weekly Challenge: Lens of Time: ... Show More
41m 29s
Dec 2021
Algae: Slime life
They’re slimy and slippery. They’re part of the green film you see on garden ponds. They can clump together and wash up on the shores of beautiful beaches. A lot of them are invisible to the naked eye. These underappreciated organisms called algae are indispensable to the presenc ... Show More
39m 23s
Feb 2025
How does coral communicate?
Coral is one of the coolest creatures in the ocean. It comes in all shapes, sizes and colors, from bright yellow stars to big round brains. Sometimes, coral looks like rocks or even plants – but did you know it’s actually an animal? This week, your ears are in for a special treat ... Show More
37m 46s
Mar 2023
The fantastically weird world of photosynthetic sea slugs | Michael Middlebrooks
Meet the fantastically colorful and astonishingly adaptable sea slugs that found a way to photosynthesize (or create energy from sunlight) like plants. Diving deep into these often overlooked creatures, invertebrate zoologist Michael Middlebrooks introduces the solar-powered slug ... Show More
10m 28s
Jun 2024
A Stone Worth Addressing
<p>Merlin Sheldrake on fungi, creativity, and the queerness of nature.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p> 
53m 9s
May 2024
Fantastic and fascinating fungi
<p>Fungi have given us many gifts, from penicillin to food, but they can also be quite scary. Dr Alison Pouliot spends her time trying to explain these strange alien-like things, which do their most interesting work underground (R)</p> 
52m 42s