What’s on your mind? ZOMBIES. The planet is full of mind-controlling foes, and “Plight of the Living Dead” author Matt Simon researched deep and traveled the world to document tales of fungus-controlled zombie ants, bellies and brains full of worms, wasp bunkers, decapitated ants, brutal stings, hapless cockroaches, the attraction of light, moonlit skinny dipping, and the philosophy of where I stop and you begin. The two of us also discuss the Last of Us, of course.

Visit Matt Simon’s website and follow him on Twitter

Shop Matt Simon’s books including Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal about Our World – And Ourselves

A donation went to the World Wildlife Fund

More episode sources and links

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: SPOOKTOBER episodes, Acarology (TICKS & LYME DISEASE) Quantum Ontology (WHAT IS REAL?), Invisible Photology (INVISIBILITY CLOAKS), Gustology (TASTE), Chiropterology (BATS), Scotohylology (DARK MATTER), Dendrology (TREES), Mycology (MUSHROOMS), Myrmecology (ANTS), Felinology (CATS), Cicadology (CICADAS)

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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions

Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Neuroparasitology (NATURE ZOMBIES) with Matt Simon