In the earth beneath our neighborhoods, the woods surrounding our favorite hiking trails and the waters that line our coast lurks a strange phenomenon: Creatures that have traveled great distances to call communities in the South home – and wreak havoc on the world around them. As unwelcome as these new neighbors may be, they’re also giving scientists, farmers, fisherfolk, homeowner associations and more a chance to get creative finding ways to eliminate these species, mitigate their harm or work toward a more peaceful coexistence. CREEP is a podcast that encourages us to lean in for a closer look at how insects, animals and plants are changing the environment, economy and health of our region in ways we never expected. Listen, subscribe and get to know some of nature’s most fascinating, grotesque and mysterious members. Presented in partnership with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Lionfish and hippos and tegus, oh my! CREEP is back with a new season of discovery about species that are creating a world of new problems in new parts of the world. New episodes coming July 26th.

Watch our animated video trailer and learn more about the show at <a href="https://www.wunc.org/podcast/creep" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wunc.org/creep</a>.

Thank you to our partner, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Lionfish and hippos and tegus, oh my! CREEP is back with a new season of discovery about species that are creating a world of new problems in new parts of the world. New episodes coming July 26th.
Watch our animated video trailer and learn more about the show at wunc.org/creep.
Thank you to our partner, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Lionfish and hippos and tegus, oh my! CREEP is back with a new season of discovery about species that are creating a world of new problems in new parts of the world.

Season 2 Trailer: Wild About

If you’ve ever listened to the podcast Song Exploder, this episode’s style might sound familiar. Check out the podcast <a href="https://songexploder.net/" title="Song Exploder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.

If you’ve ever listened to the podcast Song Exploder, this episode’s style might sound familiar. Check out the podcast here.

What does it sound like to synthesize our relationship to the natural world into a song? In this special episode, electronic music producer and songwriter Quilla peels back the curtain on her creative process and talks about composing the theme song for CREEP.

Digging into the sounds of CREEP with Quilla

Much of the conversation around invasive species frames our relationship with these plants and animals as an ongoing battle, a war to be won. But what can we learn when we move beyond the language of domination and explore the broader connections between ourselves, our planet, and the creatures we share this space with?

Read Diane’s essay, <a href="https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/making-relatives/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Making Relatives</a>, and Nick’s work about <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-018-0571-4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anishinabe perspectives on invasive species</a>.

This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and mastered by Matt Horton.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Much of the conversation around invasive species frames our relationship with these plants and animals as an ongoing battle, a war to be won. But what can we learn when we move beyond the language of domination and explore the broader connections between ourselves, our planet, and the creatures we share this space with?
Read Diane’s essay, Making Relatives, and Nick’s work about Anishinabe perspectives on invasive species.
This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and mastered by Matt Horton.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Much of the conversation around invasive species frames our relationship with these plants and animals as an ongoing battle, a war to be won — but what can we learn when we move beyond the language of domination?

All Relative

What do you do when you’re stuck at home during pandemic lockdown with thousands of mosquitoes to keep you company? You feed them. The hard way.

 
This episode was produced by Lindsay Foster-Thomas and mastered by Charlie Shelton-Ormond.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

What do you do when you’re stuck at home during pandemic lockdown with thousands of mosquitoes to keep you company? You feed them. The hard way.

This episode was produced by Lindsay Foster-Thomas and mastered by Charlie Shelton-Ormond.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

What do you do when you’re stuck at home during pandemic lockdown with thousands of mosquitoes to keep you company?

EEP! Gavin vs. The Mosquitoes

Iguanas didn’t always fall out of trees during cold snaps in the Sunshine State, but chances are, future generations will regard them as just a natural part of the landscape. With the world changing around us at a rapidly increasing rate, how do we set conservation goals when we can't keep track of what we’ve lost?

This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and mastered by Charlie Shelton-Ormond.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Iguanas didn’t always fall out of trees during cold snaps in the Sunshine State, but chances are, future generations will regard them as just a natural part of the landscape. With the world changing around us at a rapidly increasing rate, how do we set conservation goals when we can't keep track of what we’ve lost?
This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and mastered by Charlie Shelton-Ormond.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

With the world changing around us at a rapidly increasing rate, how do we set conservation goals when we can't keep track of what we’ve lost?

EEP! Shifting Baselines

The exotic pet industry is one of the main pathways for introducing invasive species into new environments. It can be hard for non-herpers to understand what’s so attractive about living with these creatures. In this first of a series of bite-sized episodes, reptile enthusiast Tim Jackowicz takes us into his world, where giant snakes and lizards offer an opportunity to rethink how we approach the world around us.

This episode was produced and mastered by Charlie Shelton-Ormond.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

The exotic pet industry is one of the main pathways for introducing invasive species into new environments. It can be hard for non-herpers to understand what’s so attractive about living with these creatures. In this first of a series of bite-sized episodes, reptile enthusiast Tim Jackowicz takes us into his world, where giant snakes and lizards offer an opportunity to rethink how we approach the world around us.
This episode was produced and mastered by Charlie Shelton-Ormond.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

In this first of a series of bite-sized episodes, reptile enthusiast Tim Jackowicz takes us into his world, where giant snakes and lizards offer an opportunity to rethink how we approach the world around us.

EEP! Big Love

As if our native mosquitoes weren’t pesky enough, we humans have imported some of the most invasive mosquito species to the U.S., bringing with them painful and debilitating diseases. Is there a human solution to this human-caused problem? Or are we destined to see history repeat itself, as we try (again and again) to outwit the deadliest animal on the planet?

This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

As if our native mosquitoes weren’t pesky enough, we humans have imported some of the most invasive mosquito species to the U.S., bringing with them painful and debilitating diseases. Is there a human solution to this human-caused problem? Or are we destined to see history repeat itself, as we try (again and again) to outwit the deadliest animal on the planet?
This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

As if our native mosquitoes weren’t pesky enough, we humans have imported some of the most invasive mosquito species to the U.S., bringing with them painful and debilitating diseases. Is there a human solution to this human-caused problem?

Swat, Spray, Repeat

Worst. Marine. Invasion. Ever. Prized as pets for their mesmerizing beauty, an aquarium keeper’s dream has become an environmental nightmare as legions of venomous, voracious lionfish are now guzzling up fish and further endangering coral reefs throughout the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Researchers, inventors, divers and fishers are urgently trying to find new ways to stem the tide of these undersea marauders.

This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Worst. Marine. Invasion. Ever. Prized as pets for their mesmerizing beauty, an aquarium keeper’s dream has become an environmental nightmare as legions of venomous, voracious lionfish are now guzzling up fish and further endangering coral reefs throughout the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Researchers, inventors, divers and fishers are urgently trying to find new ways to stem the tide of these undersea marauders.
This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Prized as pets for their mesmerizing beauty, an aquarium keeper’s dream has become an environmental nightmare as legions of venomous, voracious lionfish are now guzzling up fish and further endangering coral reefs throughout the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

In the Den of the Lionfish

Beyond the hype about Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos, the real story of what’s happening in Colombia’s Rio Magdalena is surprising and complex. Some look on these hungry herbivores with affection and admiration, others fear their aggressive attitude and huge ecological footprint. Follow these unlikely invaders from Africa to Colombia with a possible layover in…Louisiana?

This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Beyond the hype about Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos, the real story of what’s happening in Colombia’s Rio Magdalena is surprising and complex. Some look on these hungry herbivores with affection and admiration, others fear their aggressive attitude and huge ecological footprint. Follow these unlikely invaders from Africa to Colombia with a possible layover in…Louisiana?
This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Beyond the hype about Pablo Esobar’s cocaine hippos, the real story of what’s happening in Colombia’s Rio Magdalena is surprising and complex.

Hippocalypse Now

If you had to guess the top five largest invasive species in the world, where would you start? And why, exactly, are we moving these behemoths around the globe?

If you had to guess the top five largest invasive species in the world, where would you start? And why, exactly, are we moving these behemoths around the globe?

If you had to guess the top five largest invasive species in the world, where would you start?

Best Guess

Tegus are armed with a metabolic superpower and a powerful appetite for eggs, but they’re also easily domesticated, making them both beloved family pets and unwelcome hungry pests. Throughout the South, these giant lizards are raising eyebrows, breaking hearts and launching lawsuits.

See photos from the Repticon event in Raleigh and find more about the podcast <a href="https://www.wunc.org/season-two-trailer/2022-07-26/black-and-white-and-banned-tegu-reptile-lizard-pet-invasive" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.

Have you had a tegu encounter? We'd love to hear about it. Email <a href="mailto:podcasts@wunc.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcasts@wunc.org</a>.

This episode was produced by Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Tegus are armed with a metabolic superpower and a powerful appetite for eggs, but they’re also easily domesticated, making them both beloved family pets and unwelcome hungry pests. Throughout the South, these giant lizards are raising eyebrows, breaking hearts and launching lawsuits.
See photos from the Repticon event in Raleigh and find more about the podcast here.
Have you had a tegu encounter? We'd love to hear about it. Email podcasts@wunc.org.
This episode was produced by Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.
Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

Tegus are armed with a metabolic superpower and a powerful appetite for eggs, but they’re also easily domesticated, making them both beloved family pets and unwelcome hungry pests. 

Black And White And Banned All Over* *Almost

Rats have been hitching a ride with humans around the globe for so long, it’s easy to forget that in most places they are an invasive species. These clever, voracious vermin have staked their claim on cities across six continents, but in some parts of the world, there’s a push to reclaim key places from rats and rebuild fractured native ecosystems. | Support CREEP with a donation at wunc.org/give.

Rats have been hitching a ride with humans around the globe for so long, it’s easy to forget that in most places they are an invasive species. These clever, voracious vermin have staked their claim on cities across six continents, but in some parts of the world, there’s a push to reclaim key places from rats and rebuild fractured native ecosystems. | Support CREEP with a donation at wunc.org/give.

Rats have been hitching a ride with humans around the globe for so long, it’s…

Rat Race

CREEP co-host Elizabeth Friend shares a special message of gratitude to listeners and extends an invitation to be in touch ahead of the next new episode. | Support this show with a donation to wunc.org/give.

CREEP co-host Elizabeth Friend shares a special message of gratitude to listeners and extends an invitation to be in touch ahead of the next new episode. | Support this show with a donation to wunc.org/give.

CREEP co-host Elizabeth Friend shares a special message of gratitude to…

Dear CREEP

What does Babe the Pig have in common with Hogzilla? And how do we keep a porcine plague from spreading throughout the South? Farmers, trappers and wildlife experts from Western North Carolina to West Texas search for solutions to the region’s big pig problem. | Find more about animal invaders at wunc.org/creep.

What does Babe the Pig have in common with Hogzilla? And how do we keep a porcine plague from spreading throughout the South? Farmers, trappers and wildlife experts from Western North Carolina to West Texas search for solutions to the region’s big pig problem. | Find more about animal invaders at wunc.org/creep.

What does Babe the Pig have in common with Hogzilla? And how do we keep a…

Hogs Gone Wild

Aggressive, venomous and seemingly unstoppable, fire ants are literally the stuff of horror movies. Delve into the origin and adaptations of this resilient insect as it expands its range throughout the South. | Find more CREEP content at wunc.org/creep.

Aggressive, venomous and seemingly unstoppable, fire ants are literally the stuff of horror movies. Delve into the origin and adaptations of this resilient insect as it expands its range throughout the South. | Find more CREEP content at wunc.org/creep.

Aggressive, venomous and seemingly unstoppable, fire ants are literally the…

Swarming The South

Dig into the origins and impacts of invasive flatworms in the American South. Follow this slimy predator from the suburbs of North Carolina to Southeast Asia and over to France. | Love science stories like this one? Support this show with a donation to wunc.org/give.

Dig into the origins and impacts of invasive flatworms in the American South. Follow this slimy predator from the suburbs of North Carolina to Southeast Asia and over to France. | Love science stories like this one? Support this show with a donation to wunc.org/give.

Dig into the origins and impacts of invasive flatworms in the American South.…

Have You Seen This Worm?

A grotesque backyard discovery in North Carolina leads to an enthusiastic exploration of the invaders that are now our neighbors. | Learn more at wunc.org/creep.

A grotesque backyard discovery in North Carolina leads to an enthusiastic exploration of the invaders that are now our neighbors. | Learn more at wunc.org/creep.

A grotesque backyard discovery in North Carolina leads to an enthusiastic…

Trailer: Among Us

Creeping, crawling, thriving, surviving … no matter where we look, animal species are living in our midst. Some survive despite the challenges and hazards human life imposes, while others thrive because of it.

Creeping, crawling, thriving, surviving … no matter where we look, animal species are living in our midst. Some survive despite the challenges and hazards human life imposes, while others thrive because of it.

Creeping, crawling, thriving, surviving … no matter where we look, animal…

Are Coyotes An Invasive Species? WUNC’s ‘Creep’ Debunks Myths And Misperceptions

The pandemic has infiltrated and affected every aspect of human life, across the globe. The devastating health and economic impacts have been undeniable, and ever-present.

The pandemic has infiltrated and affected every aspect of human life, across the globe. The devastating health and economic impacts have been undeniable, and ever-present.