The Daily Ant

Antrepid reader Megan Mitchell recently sent us the following note:

Ant facts featured on this week’s (episode 169) “No Such Thing as a Fish” podcast! Relevant bit starts at 27:36. [Link]

At first, as we began to listen, we were excited. The story begins with a nice quote about giant ants in India, from the 3rd century B.C.E. Thus, the vertebrate podcast members draw listeners in unawares, deceiving them into thinking they are enjoying a pleasingly pro-ant audio bit. But then… the Vertebrate Agenda is unmasked – these “ants” are really marmots! The hosts then rub boric acid into the wound by cheerfully agreeing that “myrmecology” must share an etymological root with “marmot”.

And the horror doesn’t stop there. Later on, one vertebrate podcast member confidently states that the bullet ant, Paraponera clavata, is the largest ant in the world and can “exceed 4 cm”. You don’t need to be Kellyant Conway to recognize this “alternative fact”. Readers of The Daily Ant already know, via our Style Saturdays series, about Dinoponera, which is actually the largest ant in the world. Then later, a different vertebrate podcast member even admits to being “a bit ant racist”.

In light of these recent developments, we believe it is time for this anti-invert podcast to change it’s name to “No Such Thing As A Fact”.