DIGITAL SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
The Nature of Things 101
Season 3:
1. In defense of the Mola mola
12 min
The Mola mola, aka Ocean sunfish, breaks every fishy rule – it has no tail fin, can grow to two tons, and survives on a diet of jellyfish. Sarika unpacks how this massive, odd fish pulls it all off.
3. Sea slugs are nature’s greatest thieves
12 min
Madison McKay (aka Nudibranch Nerd) joins Sarika and Anthony to nerd out over what might be the greatest thieves in the animal kingdom: sea slugs.
5. Sea stars are terrifying predators
12 min
They might not look it, but sea stars are some of the ocean’s most efficient and voracious predators. Sarika tries to convince Anthony to watch out for these slow-moving killers of the sea.
7. Sea creatures keep being named after food
11 min
From the Egg yolk jellyfish, to the Chocolate Chip sea star, the ocean is full of animals named after food. Sarika reveals the wild biology behind these culinary creatures.
2. Can a pro climber beat a mountain goat?
16 min
The ultimate climbing showdown: human versus mountain goat. Anthony and Sarika team up with pro climber Yves Gravelle and a mountain goat expert to find a champion.
4. How spice tricks your brain and body
13 min
Anthony and Sarika dig into the chemistry (and pain) of spice, discovering how garlic, wasabi and the world’s hottest pepper all play tricks with your senses.
6. Would you use your partner’s toothbrush?
16 min
Anthony asks Sarika his favourite hypothetical questions about relationships and shared bacteria (the messier and more unhinged the better) to see if real science can change their minds.
8. Who hits hardest: Peregrine falcon, kangaroo, or mantis shrimp?
15 min
Anthony and Sarika pit some of the animal kingdom's hardest hitters against an arcade punching machine to see what kind of score they'd rack up.
Season 2:
1. Deep-sea anglerfish: survival of the weirdest
14 min
Sarika unpacks the nightmarish, fantastical life of the deep-sea anglerfish. Take a deep dive to the ocean’s twilight zone, the mysterious and unexplored region that this incredible fish calls home.
3. How to catch a liar: deception expert explains
20 min
A deception expert teaches Anthony and Sarika how to become the ultimate lie detector, while they both try to deceive each other.
5. How to read clouds, with a professional storm chaser
16 min
Even you can predict the weather! Storm chaser George Kourounis helps Anthony and Sarika decipher the clouds, read a storm … and how to look out for invisible tornadoes.
7. You don’t know sh*t about eggs
11 min
We use eggs in everything, but we don't really know much about them. Food scientist Abbey Theil offers some egg-cellent science for Anthony and Sarika and make Anthony’s favourite food, mayonnaise.
2. Can a human arm-wrestle a chimp and win?
16 min
World champion arm wrestler Devon Larratt offers Sarika and Anthony some tips, and with anthropologist Matthew O’Neil, investigate whether a human could beat a chimp one-on-one.
4. Not all crabs are crabs
15 min
King crabs, hermit crabs, purple crabs, they’re all crabs ... right? Sarika tests Anthony’s crabby knowledge and answers the question, “What exactly is a crab?”
6. Your brain is lying to you
14 min
Anthony shows Sarika the incredible ways our brains can deceive us with some of his favourite psychological experiments that expose the brain’s blind spots.
8. How to cry on command
18 min
Crying on command: can it be taught? Sarika and Anthony get a crash course with two professional actors on how to evoke the emotional waterworks.
9. Can you guess an athlete’s sport by looking at them?
17 min
Play along with Sarika and Anthony as they try to match 6 diverse athletes with their respective sport. Spoiler: It's harder than you think.
10. Science is magic!
10 min
Anthony describes how science can be magic and shares his favourite experiments with Sarika that are sure to blow some minds (while trying not to blow her up).
Season 1:
1. Why we wipe - can we do better than toilet paper?
March 29th, 2024. | 13 min
Why do we wipe out butts? Sarika and Anthony unravel the surprising facts about toilet paper. Is it really the best we can do?
3. Who has the strongest hair?
March 29th, 2024. | 11 min
What exactly is hair and how can we make it stronger? Anthony and Sarika put their own hair to the test to see who has the strongest hair.
5. Can anyone learn to impersonate an accent?
March 29th, 2024. | 10 min
Perfecting a different accent is challenging. Anthony and Sarika discover the science behind impersonating accents — by trying it out themselves.
7. Why do we hate the sound of our own voice?
March 29th, 2024. | 10 min
We all cringe when we hear the sound of our own voice played back to us. Sarika and Anthony listen in on the science of this universal phenomenon.
2. Do we actually know what dinosaurs looked like?
March 29th, 2024. | 14 min
Dinosaurs: how do we know they looked like that? Anthony and Sarika bone up on the science behind paleoart and learn how to draw their own dino based on a fossil.
4. Sawing stuff with shark teeth.
March 29th, 2024. | 10 min
Anthony and Sarika explore the diversity of shark teeth — by attaching them to a saw and cutting stuff … FOR SCIENCE!
6. The coolest fish you've probably never heard of.
March 29th, 2024. | 13 min
Sarika tries to convince Anthony why the plainfin midshipman (a fish you’ve probably never heard of) is perhaps the coolest fish in the world.
8. Do animals use names for each other?
August 29th, 2024. | 4 min 10 s
Your dog knows its own name right? Well, not necessarily. Anthony and Sarika unpack the science of names when it comes to animals.
Short Documentaries
March 27, 2024 | 18 min
Cats are the most popular pet in Canada, but despite their cute and cuddly reputations, our feline friends have a dark side.
Sandpipers’ Last Supper
March 28, 2025 | 15 min
The story of a tiny shorebird’s epic journey, powered by an invisible fuel in the mud.