Halloween celebrates the gory and the grotesque. But according to Matt Simon, author of “Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our World–and Ourselves,” the world is full of gruesome creatures year round. There’s the jewel wasp who manipulates a cockroach’s dopamine, turning its living body into shelter and food; the horsehair worm who grows inside a cricket’s stomach, persuading it to hurl itself into a body of water. And there are humans, about a third of whom may carry a parasite that’s linked to risky behavior and schizophrenia. We talk to Simon about nature’s body snatchers and and their grisly habits.
Science Journalist Matt Simon on Body Snatchers, the Undead and 'Real-Life Zombies'
Halloween tends to bring out the undead among us. But according to Matt Simon, author of "Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our World--and Ourselves," zombies abound year round. There's the beetle who gets hijacked by a jewel wasp and manipulated into hosting it while it incubates. There's the cricket who hurls itself into water persuaded by the horsehair worm inside its stomach. And not least of all are humans, about a third of whom may carry a parasite that's linked to risky behavior and schizophrenia. Simon joins us to discuss some of nature's more terrifying creatures.
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A jewel wasp. (Photo: Axel Rouvin/Flickr)
Guests:
Matt Simon, science journalist, WIRED; author, "Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our World—and Ourselves' and "The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems"