Home | Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald | CBC Radio

A medieval hate crime and a city's summer smells.

In their quest for food, animals venture into human environments to access one of the richest urban food sources: garbage. Two new studies published this month detail how cockatoos and raccoons, two notorious trash bandits, are using their smarts to overcome human obstacles and fill their stomachs.

On thin ice with Canadian glaciologists and red skies at night?

In recent years, walking 10,000 steps a day has become a popular fitness goal, but until now, there hasn’t been much scientific research to back that number. A new study looking at people wearing fitness trackers has finally determined that it is indeed a sweet spot for a range of health outcomes, but how fast you walk is also important.

For many of us, summer is the time for things like beaches, bike rides, and BBQs. For some scientists, however, summertime is also when they are at their busiest, travelling to remote locations to get up close and personal with nature.

In this show we'll answer listener questions like: Why don't humans have a tail even though we have a tailbone? Why is bird poop white and mammal poop brown? Why can't we remember our early years? What happens when you die in space? And much, much more

We’re digging up our most captivating interviews that provide a glimmer of insight into our ancient ancestors, such as how humans made clothes 120,000 years ago, where modern horses came from, and the discovery that prehistoric people made animated art in caves.

Some experts say our food systems are already at a breaking point and the need to feed an estimated 10 billion people by 2050 will create tremendous pressure on a structure that's been pushed to its environmental limits. We take a look at some of the ways agriculture is trying to adapt.

Many experts say that our food systems are at a breaking point, and that the way we eat - and what we eat - has to change. But there are solutions, from resilient agriculture, to waste-free food systems, and even meat grown in a vat.

We’re bringing you stories from our past season about the water on our planet, like an innovative experiment in Australia to protect the wondrous Great Barrier Reef, the sweet secret of seagrass meadows, historic Indigenous oyster fisheries, and more.

We share some of our favourite stories about creepy-crawlies from the past season, including how ants communicate by swapping vomit, how social spiders hunt in packs, and why you might want to wear a green shirt in mosquito country.

If you’re interested in a few fascinating science books that may inspire conversation around the campfire this summer, we have some suggestions for you.

It’s time for another edition of our popular listener question show, where we find the experts to answer your questions like: why do we retain scars? What’s the evolutionary purpose of menopause? And why are mammals’ body temperatures 36 C?

From astronauts exploring Labrador to prepare for a visit to the moon, to the bubble that surrounds the Milky Way, here are some of our favourite space stories from this past season.

From potty training cows to monkeys getting drunk, here are a few of our favourite animal stories from the past year.

Whether it was canoeing on acid lakes, being bumped by belugas, or rescuing equipment from grizzlies, scientists across Canada were busy during the summer of 2021.

In this show we'll answer listener questions like: Why don't humans have a tail even though we have a tailbone? Why is bird poop white and mammal poop brown? Why can't we remember our early years? What happens when you die in space? And much, much more

Elephant seal whiskers and ‘The Secret Perfume of Birds’