Sex, Death and Spiders

Warning: This episode contains the unusual mating habits of spiders. Autumn is the time for spiders, and the colder months mean our eight-legged friends are searching for something vital: sex. Join arachnologist Anna Maka and author and broadcaster Lucy Cooke to uncover the fascinating and freaky sex lives of spiders and what it teaches us about evolution itself. [Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure. Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more. Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor. Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel: Production Presenter: Rosie Holdsworth Producer and sound designer: Marnie Woodmeade Contributors: Lucy Cooke Anna Maka Discover more You can find Lucy’s book Bitch: On the female of the species here. You can find out more about Anna’s work with rare diamond back spiders here.

You can listen to Sex, Death and Spiders online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Sex, Death and Spiders is an episode from National Trust Podcast by Audioboom.

This episode is 25:25 long.

This episode was published on Oct 1, 2025.

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