#1324 Marlene Zuk - Outsider Animals: Learning from the Creatures at the Margins of Our Lives
RECORDED ON JULY 28th 2026.
Dr. Marlene Zuk is Regents Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior in the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota. She focuses on emerging questions in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. She uses invertebrate systems to study the evolution of mating behavior and secondary sexual characters in natural populations. She seeks to understand how natural and sexual selection pressures shape the behavior, life history, and morphology of animals. She is the author of Outsider Animals: How the Creatures at the Margins of Our Lives Have the Most to Teach Us.
In this episode, we focus on Outsider Animals. We discuss the term “outsider animals”, the animals we tend to choose as models, and the phenomena of anthropomorphism and anthropodenial. We talk about “clever opportunists”, and how animals adapt to new circumstances. We explore cowbirds and mynas, and how they change the way we think about invasive species. We discuss problems with conservation efforts. We talk about how we can learn more about monogamy and pregnancy from cockroaches. We discuss our fear of snakes, and our coevolution with predators. Finally, Dr. Zuk leaves a message about how we should deal with other species.
Time Links:
Intro
What are “outsider animals”?
The animals we choose as models
Anthropomorphism and anthropodenial
The “clever opportunists”: how animals adapt to new circumstances
Cowbirds and mynas, and how we think about invasive species
Conservation
What we can learn from cockroaches: monogamy and pregnancy
Snakes, and our coevolution with predators
A final message about how we deal with other species
Follow Dr. Zuk’s work!
Follow Dr. Zuk’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/2pdjymbh
Website: https://marlenezuk.com/
Outsider Animals: https://tinyurl.com/2f7kss58