Episodes
Much like the sun setting on a seaside town, season 8 draws to a close with the raucous cries of seagulls as we take on a newspaper article that set out to find Britain's hardest gulls. It wouldn't be How many geese? though if we didn't meander to Melbourne or detour to Darwin, and true to form our friends down under have their own tales to tell of tackling seaside seagull shenanigans in trying to keep snacks on the shoreline safe*.  That's not all, as Roddy fights a bird so obscure that not...
Published 10/08/24
I can guarantee to you listeners that the start of this week's episode is going to leave you completely baffled as to where it's going, as Roddy embarks on an exploration of what on earth dry cleaners are and the sorcery that goes along with their dark arts. But, stick with us, and we promise it eventually finds its way back to the nature vibe as we explore the world of cleaning behaviour in the animal kingdom. (see what he did there?)   If that wasn't enough then there's also photography...
Published 10/01/24
Published 10/01/24
How many geese? has seen its fair share of drugged up animals - from the Hollywood sensation that is cocaine bear, through to Pablo Escobar's cocaine hippos - but in this episode we're here to see the effects of things slightly more "over the counter" as Jack takes us through the impact of excess anti-depressants on the environment. If you've ever wondered about the internet claiming "they're turning the frigging frogs gay", this ones for you! Also in this episode, Roddy fights a the red...
Published 09/24/24
Cast your minds back Goose fans and you may well remember an episode entitled "Hot bear summer", where our own Roddy Shaw went on a mission to prove that Antelope were animals worth our attention and shouldn't just be consigned to being eaten by a big cat on a David Attenborough show. The conclusion of his mission was that they were indeed incredibly dull, and so proclaimed them one of the most boring animals on the planet.     Well, fast forward to today's episode and Jack has brought him to...
Published 09/16/24
We've accidentally curated an episode laden with slime as we talk all things deep sea and mucus! Following last week's chat that went to the roof of the world in search of how yak's can live so high, we've done a full 180 and are going deep, deep DEEP down in the sea to understand why life there is just so difficult and hear about some of the crazily named fish that call the ocean depths home.  Sticking with the (genuinely accidental) theme, Roddy fights a lungfish, Jack recaps what it takes...
Published 09/10/24
HMG gets high as this episode sees us heading into the mountains to meet one of the maddest animals you've all heard of but never given a thought to - Yaks.  Today's episode also sees us invite our first listener on the show! Patreon member Beth joins Roddy in battle against the world's wildlife as she steps into the ring in a tag team bout against the Greater Hedgehog Tenrec. And if all that wasn't enough, then we've got drunken Mountain Gorillas, a misbehaving Orangutan and a debate to...
Published 09/03/24
For the past seven seasons, How many geese? has flourished atop the twin foundations of whimsy and shenanigans. Well, Jack has decided that season eight is when that comes crashing to a halt - as he blasts through our whimsical bedrock and holds a mirror up to us all to have us question what makes a society... and can utopias exist? He does this, in true Goose fashion, through the medium of some research on rodents in the 20th century. You will never look at an influencer the same again once...
Published 08/27/24
We're back! A new season is dawning in Gooseland as we kick off series 8 with a banger. We stumble across lots of awesome people in making this show, and when we heard the stories that one of them had to tell, we knew we needed to get him on the show. Enter Ben Callison - CEO of Borneo Orangutan Survival UK, builder of hurricane proof tiger enclosures and carer of one-armed Kangaroo boxers. We sit down with him to learn about how his career unfolded and sending Orangutans to school is helping...
Published 08/19/24
It's the second part of our live Global Birdfair specials and we're coming out swinging as we try to answer the ultimate question - what is the worst bird in the world?   But we couldn't hope to answer such a question alone, so we've called in the expert when it comes to cretinous creatures and are joined by our pal Alice Vassallo off "A*****e Animals with Alice". There's 16 species up for discussion, but only one will be left spitting feathers when we present it with the trophy for being...
Published 07/30/24
How Many Geese has been on the road again listener, this time pitching up at the UK’s biggest nature festival – Global Birdfair! For this episode, we’re bringing you two chats we had with some very cool people. Up first is naturalist, TV presenter and time traveller – the legendary Nigel Marven. He’s been sprayed in the eyes by spitting cobras, he’s free-dived with Great White Sharks and, most impressively of all, he’s tracked down some of the most fearsome creatures from prehistory. We sit...
Published 07/23/24
Roddy and I often reflect on where this silly little show has taken us as we've found ourselves in increasingly absurd places over the years. Standing in a top secret warehouse in Liverpool, holding 2500 year old Ancient Egyptian animal mummies was one of those times.    Join us as we're welcomed to the vaults of the National Museums Liverpool by Ashley Cooke, their Lead Curator of Antiquities. Hear all about why the Ancient Egyptians were so hooked on making mummies from the animals around...
Published 07/09/24
Gather the hive and listen in - we're buzzing into your ears with a whole episode on bees! We've travelled to the World Museum in Liverpool to meet bee expert Leanna Dixon for an awesome apine* hour, and just in the nick of time too - as it was world bee day on the 20th May. With everything from the bumbling to the buzzing, we cover carpenter, mason, honey, pantaloon and even VULTURE bees!  Our new Patreon is up and running which you can sign up to here - new bonus episodes coming every...
Published 05/21/24
Listeners, there's no other way to put this than simply saying that you are in for one of the finest episodes of How Many Geese? that there has ever been. We're down to Joseph's Amazing Camels to meet Daisy Fossett on her very unusual farm. to learn all about the truly wild world of being a camel farmer/trainer/chocolatier/(add your own mad profession here).    Our new Patreon is up and running which you can sign up to here-  with Monday marking our first members exclusive episode...
Published 05/07/24
We've travelled up to Scotland to visit Europe's biggest penguin pool - why? Because it's none other than World Penguin Day! Join us as we head to Edinburgh Zoo to meet the people behind the penguins and learn about the home of over 130 Antarctic avians, including none other than Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Islands - officially the world's highest ranked military penguin. We also go behind the scenes at the zoo to learn more about their scientific work with genetics...
Published 04/25/24
Order in the courts!  Today we're hopping back into the Goose Time Machine as Roddy tells us all about the many and varied times throughout history that animals were put on trial. PLUS - we have an update on our team up with Birdfy as we commence Operation Parakeet - we work out what the best radioactive animal would be to be bitten by - Roddy gets a sense of Déjà vu as he does battle with a very specific (and very famous) groundhog.    This episode was sponsored by Birdfy, check them out at...
Published 04/02/24
It's calcium o'clock at Goose HQ as we talk all things milk in How many geese's very first PREQUEL episode, diving deep into dairy and marvelling at just what makes mammals so....mammal-y. We're not skimming on this episode either, as we go from milk's origin right up to a recent evolutionary step in (none other than our very own) human kind that makes us completely unique among our mammalian family in how we deal with milk.  We then welcome new sponsors Birdfy to the show, fix all of...
Published 03/26/24
Today we're diving into one of the most badass ways of fighting back against the overexploitation of the seas as technology teams up with nature with some pretty awesome outcomes. Meet the Ocean Sentinels tracking down illegal fishing vessels down in the Southern Oceans in one of the coolest bits of research we've ever covered. There's a slight change to the genre in today's fight as Roddy has to do battle with a BILLION insects before we head back to the ocean to recast the Pirates of the...
Published 03/19/24
With the Academy Awards behind us, the world may be moving on from awards season... but Team Goose is here to deliver one more trophy as we take a look and present the award for one of the most insane movies you've probably never heard of - 1981's "Roar"! It's lions, lions and more lions as we look at one couple's passion project that got A LITTLE out of hand.... just ask the seventy members of cast and crew who got injured on set by their clawed co-stars! It's not just the chaos of...
Published 03/12/24
It's time to man the harpoons as we hop in the Goose Time Machine and set the dial back to the early 1900s to meet a very special Orca with a fascinating relationship with the local whalers.  Our Birda chums shine the spotlight on one of the biggest birds in the world as we soar with the Andean Condor, before a child forces Roddy to do battle with Leopards. We round out the show with the question on everyone's minds as we work out what our chosen animal would be to use as the vehicle on Mario...
Published 03/05/24
Grab your nearest Gregorian and summon up a sharpie - we've got some key dates for your calendar this week as we ask the question: why do some days have names? Not just Christmas, Halloween or Valentine's, we're talking World Marmot Day, World Pangolin Day and ... International Talk Like a Pirate Day? We dive deep into the calendar of the bizarre to go on a journey of all the strange days that are out there, looking at the many environmental days you've never heard of and end up trying to...
Published 02/27/24
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to falter, your pals at "How Many Geese?" are here to offer you an alternative. Suit up to meet our radioactive team of superheroes as we introduce Wales' nuclear sheep, Bavarian boar and Mutant Turtles as we turn off the lights to see which animals are glowing in the dark.   Continuing our superhero theme, our pals Birda introduce us to their very own Hawkeye as we get acquainted with the Arrow-marked Babbler before Roddy tackles the sea's...
Published 02/20/24
Love is in the air and so too is Season SEVEN as we return to the mics refreshed and renewed for a Valentine's Day special - only.... not quite the most romantic one it turns out! Looking to show love is all around us, Roddy tried to find the cute and loving side of creatures the world deems weird (see: not you sea otters), except it didn't quite go to plan as we hear how love in the animal kingdom takes many strange (and sometimes terrifying) forms. It's not just scary animal sex though, as...
Published 02/13/24
We're back in your ears to kick off 2024 with the episode that was meant to close out 2023 - it's the end (beginning) of year special! So sit down, ignore your resolutions and get ready to listen to what happens when we lose a handle on the conversation... A seemingly straightforward audience question takes us over half an hour to sift through, as we try and work out which animal would claim the title of Highlander - there can be only one! Let it never be said we are anything other than...
Published 01/16/24
Our time in Mexico comes to an end with the final episode of the expedition! We park our usual animal heavy chat to speak to Dr Kathy Slater (Mission Mexico: Welcome to the Jungle guest) about the communities who live around the biosphere and the threats it is under. Dare we say it - but we get serious for possibly the first time ever on the show! Firstly, we talk to Kathy about the honey production which many local communities are engaged in, and her work alongside local NGOs to help them...
Published 12/12/23