About this episode
“People fear most what they understand least." Words of wisdom from explorer, American treasure, and bat expert Dr. Merlin Tuttle. Alie headed to the bat capital of Austin and sat down with the legendary chiropterologist to discuss what a bat actually is and why we don’t need to be so frightened of them, how big they get, what's up with their smushy noses, bat chatter, echolocation, sleeping upside down, bat besties, how to spot them after the sun sets, and how it feels to get slapped by a bat. Follow Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation on Instagram and Facebook Check out Dr. Merlin Tuttle's bat books A donation was made to MerlinTuttle.org , where you can learn more about bats & Dr. Merlin Tuttle's photography & work in conservation Full-length (*not* G-rated) Chiropterology episodes + tons of science links More kid-friendly Smologies episodes! Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions , Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media , and Steven Ray Morris Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Jacob Chaffee, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.