logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
22m 30s

Should you kill insects?

ABC listen
About this episode
There are about 10 quintillion insects in the world. Yes, that's a real number. And it's a lot! They're very small and very different from us humans. We might not stop to think about it before we poison a cockroach, squish an ant with our shoe, or kill a mosquito, but is it ethical to kill an insect? Brain Trust — Casuarina Street Primary School, Katherine: ... Show More
Up next
Apr 1
Can you lie even when you don’t say anything?
The line between truth and deception can be blurry. Is leaving out important information a lie? What about misleading gestures, or half-truths? Babysitting Matt's kids force Molly and Carl to confront these complexities firsthand as they lie to get out of tricky situations.Summer ... Show More
24 m
Apr 1
Shape shifters — When is something no longer itself?
Join Molly and Carl as they valiantly attempt a world record sailing around the globe on their boat, the Theseus. Faced with a constant need for boat repairs, they are forced to confront a perplexing question: how many changes can you make to something before it's no longer the s ... Show More
22m 12s
Apr 1
Do we need a rule book to be a good person?
Molly and Carl visit Greece in search of the mythical "Scroll of Rights and Wrongs", an ancient guide written by the smartest person to have ever lived: Adamantia the Wise. The elusive ancient text contains the ultimate guide to morality, but what does it say?South Wagga Public S ... Show More
21m 30s
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
What's cool about cockroaches?
That’s a question a lot of people have, honestly. But a kid named Rosie was bold enough to ask us to investigate why. So, in the latest episode, we dig in on why cockroaches get such a bad rap and why you might want to reconsider if you’re not a fan.Only two percent of the world’ ... Show More
29m 36s
May 2016
Chiggers: The Phantom Menace
Chiggers are tiny little mites capable of making your life miserable. Worse than mosquitoes? Maybe. But they aren't insects - mites are actually part of the arachnid family and behave a little like ticks. Learn all about these nearly invisible pests in today's episode. Learn more ... Show More
33 m
Jun 2024
Should We Eradicate Mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes are common flying insect that inhabit all continents except Antarctica. There are over 3500 species of mosquitoes worldwide, but only somewhere between 6 and 9.3% bite humans and are disease vectors. That said, mosquitos are the deadliest animal on the planet, thanks t ... Show More
1h 11m
Aug 2021
How should we treat insects?
Insect farming, we’re told by its proponents, is the next big thing in edible protein production, and it may just save the environment. But an insect “farm” is more like a manufacturing plant, where tiny organisms are frozen, boiled, baked, crushed or shredded alive in their bill ... Show More
28m 27s
Jun 2018
Killing Insects for Conservation
Prof Adam Hart stirred a hornet’s nest of controversy by asking the public to kill wasps for science. He explores why scientists kill insects to save them from extinction.The work of the entomologist often involves the killing of insects in large numbers. This happens in the sear ... Show More
26m 54s
Jul 2022
Why do crickets chirp?
How are crickets so loud? Why do they chirp at night? How are they different from grasshoppers? We’re talking crickets today with Karim Vahed, a cricket and katydid expert and entomologist (bug scientist) at the University of Derby in the United Kingdom. Professor Vahed also take ... Show More
26m 43s
Mar 2022
Insect Invasion
More people are scared of bugs than they are afraid of becoming the victim of crimes, or even dying. These people suffer from entomophobia, the fear of insects. And when you think about crawlers that are small enough to burrow into the crevices of your skin, winged bugs that can ... Show More
38m 24s
Dec 2024
I comme Insectes
10 minutes pour devenir incollable sur les insectes ! Quel insecte bourdonne ? Que fabriquent les abeilles ? Quel insecte ressemble à une petite branche d’arbre ? Des questions ludiques | des chiffres surprenants | des vrais-faux rigolos. Embarquez avec nous sur les réseaux soci ... Show More
11m 6s