96: Fossoriality & Movie Censorship

Nov 6, 2025

Discover how animals like moles have uniquely adapted for digging, exploring the fascinating Devil's Corkscrew and its implications. The discussion dives into the specialized anatomy and behaviors of these fossorial creatures. On the flip side, the podcast examines the complex world of movie censorship, from the UK’s video nasties moral panic to the U.S. Hays Code. The conversation reveals how cultural, political, and commercial interests shape our cinematic experience, illustrating the delicate balance between freedom and regulation.

01:42:16

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INSIGHT

The Devil's Corkscrew Is A Rodent Burrow

Daemonelix structures are helical fossil burrows created by an extinct fossorial rodent, Paleocaster.
The spiraled form preserved for ~20 million years reveals extreme digging specialization and complex behavior.

insights

INSIGHT

Moles Are Highly Specialized Diggers

Moles show extreme morphological specialization: huge splayed forelimbs, reduced eyes, and a reshaped shoulder for digging.
Their visual cortex shrinks and touch/smell systems expand to suit life underground.

insights

INSIGHT

Burrows Force Respiratory Adaptations

Subterranean burrows expose animals to hypercapnia and hypoxia, reaching 1–8% CO2.
Moles evolved larger lungs, greater respiratory surface area and blunted ventilatory responses to cope with poor air.

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What is fossoriality and the Devil's Corkscrew?

01:28 • 4min

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Evidence that the Devil's Corkscrew is a burrow

05:50 • 5min

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Why dig? Motives for fossorial lifestyles

11:04 • 3min

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Mole anatomy: extreme digging specialization

13:35 • 6min

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How subterranean physiology copes with low oxygen and high CO2

19:20 • 2min

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Fur, movement and the biomechanics of digging

21:48 • 3min

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How researchers study secretive burrowers

24:28 • 5min

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Digging techniques observed with x‑ray videography

29:47 • 4min

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Why do some animals build helical burrows?

33:57 • 4min

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Are spiral burrows still made today? A monitor lizard discovery

38:05 • 2min

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What spiral burrows teach us about ancient fossils

40:31 • 7min

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Limitations and future directions in fossorial research

Transition: Movie censorship as the miscellaneous topic

53:00 • 1min

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What were the UK video nasties and why did they alarm people?

54:17 • 2min

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How the UK classification system responded and changed

56:03 • 5min

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What drove moral panics: politics, morality, and cultural signaling

01:01:00 • 2min

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How the U.S. handles film content: Hays Code and self‑censorship

01:03:20 • 9min

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Commercial impact of ratings and NC‑17 stigma

01:11:53 • 1min

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BBFC cuts and the paradox of UK violence standards

01:13:02 • 3min

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Protest film paint drying exposes classification absurdities

01:16:26 • 1min

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How religion and politics shape global film bans

01:17:33 • 2min

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How governments ban politically sensitive films

01:19:36 • 2min

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Why Denmark has almost no banned films

01:21:09 • 2min

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How self‑censorship and distribution shape China releases

01:23:30 • 4min

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Examples of content altered for Chinese market

01:27:21 • 6min

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When studios change content to gain market access

01:33:01 • 43sec

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Who censors films today: governments, studios, or platforms?

01:33:44 • 1min

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Modern trends: platform censorship and advertiser pressures

01:35:11 • 4min

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Episode wrap: takeaways on censorship and fossorial study gaps

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World War Z is an apocalyptic horror novel that presents a series of interviews conducted by a fictionalized version of the author, Max Brooks, a decade after the end of the Zombie War. The book chronicles the outbreak of the zombie pandemic, which begins in China and quickly spreads globally, causing widespread chaos and the collapse of global order. The narrative includes accounts from various individuals around the world, highlighting the desperate struggle for survival, the failures and successes of different countries' responses, and the eventual reclaiming of the planet through a combination of military strategies and societal changes. The novel comments on themes such as government ineptitude, survivalism, and the human condition in the face of catastrophic events.

How have animals adapted to the digging lifestyle, and can that help us explain the Devil's Corkscrew? And what are the various ways movies can be censored across the world, and what does that tell us about the world itself?

Images we Talk About:
The Devil's Corkscrew
Mole Skeleton Comparison
Mole Digging Video
Monitor Lizard Burrow
Monitor Lizard Burrows

Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:02:30) Fossoriality
(00:52:58) Movie Censorship
(01:36:53) Outro

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We also learn about:

Daemonelix or the Devil’s Corkscrew, well Tom I hope one of your facts beats Ella’s giant sloth fact, only nerds know the word fossorial, why dig is easy - how dig is harder, mole skeletons are hyper specialized, moles are herd to catch and keep, I dig holes for me, is that couscous? the silica gel of pasta, x-ray videos of moles digging in couscous, devil’s corkscrew deja vu, first and deepest lizard burough, one of the most stable egg environments for an 8 month incubation, it turns out helixes are more common than we thought, Put! Lizards! In! Couscous! Peter Jackson’s braindead, video nastys, wow blaming media for crime we’ve never heard that before, video nastys were an easy ban because politicans didnt care about them, a microcosm of the moral panics of the time, the military entertainment complex, the US doesn’t have any outright movie bans… but they do have the hayes code, self censorship, no picture show lower the moral standard of those who see it, the commercial influence on self censorship, charlie shackleton’s paint drying film, poilitical movie bans reflect real alliances and tensions, denmark’s only ever banned the disney skeleton dance, Denmark’s freedom of speech is what the US thinks it is, don’t be mean to the military uwu, only 34 foreign films can be shown in china every year, the censorship is coming from inside the house, a Bohemian Rhapsody without mention of sexuality, Tilda Swinton played an asian character to get around mentioning Tibet, World War Z was changed even though it never aired in China, why are you making me defend these bad movies, censorship is as strong as the weakest link in the chain that’s profitable, “it’s all just crazy and some food for thought, thank youuu”

Sources:
NPCA on the Devil's Corkscrew
Smithsonian Mag Devil's Corkscrew
Mole Forlimb Morphology
Mole Senses Paper
Fossorial Ventilatory Response
Mole Rat Lung Comparison Paper
NWF Mole Facts
NYTimes Mole Motion
Yi Fen Lin Mole Walking Paper
Yi Fen Lin Mole Burrowing Paper
Deep Nesting in a Lizard: Deja Vu Devil's Corkscrew: First Helical Reptile Burrow and Deepest Vertebrate Nest.
Helical Burrows Across the Animal Kingdom Paper
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BBFC: Video Nasties
Wiki: Video Nasty
BFI: Unspooling the Video Nasties
Wiki: Film Censorship in the United States
Guardian: Top Gun for Hire
Wiki: List of films banned in the United States
Screen Online: Hayes Code
Vice: Why I’m Making British Film Censors Watch Paint Dry
Wiki: Paint Drying
Wiki: List of Banned Films
BBC: Cambodia Bans Thai Movies
BBC: Russia Bans Death of Stalin
Reuters: Lightyear Banned
Wiki: The Skeleton Dance
EBSCO: History of Censorship in Denmark
English Translation of the Danish Constitution
Wiki: Denmark Motion Picture Content Rating System
Variety: Foreign Titles Squeezed in China Film Market
Harvard: Disney censorship in China
Pen: Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing

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