Shenanigans from Weirdly Helpful

Nov 5, 2026

Rebecca Garza-Bortman, a Berkeley artist exploring humor and play, joins Zak Rosen, creator of Weirdly Helpful, to celebrate family shenanigans. They investigate whether animals play mischievous games, from chimp tickles to octopus bubbles, then rate listener traditions including squirrel bedtime rituals, invented languages, surprise dances, and outrageous breakfast accents. A joyful tour of harmless chaos and everyday silliness.

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INSIGHT

Shenanigans Turn Mischief Into Connection

Shenanigans combine harmless mischief, joy, and social connection.
Lulu Miller translates the dictionary definition into “goofing for good” and making jokes to enliven ordinary life.

INSIGHT

Animals Play Without Obvious Survival Benefits

Playful behavior appears throughout the animal kingdom, not only among humans.
Examples include chimps tickling, octopuses shooting bubbles, otters spinning rocks, and dolphins balancing seaweed.

ANECDOTE

A Squirrel Family Makes Bedtime Magical

Julia’s family pretends to be squirrels during bedtime and nighttime comfort.
Her daughters invent names such as Nutsy and Acorn, while their mother mysteriously becomes Jimmy.

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This week, we’re bringing you an episode from our friends at Weirdly Helpful, a podcast we love. And we’re talking about… shenanigans! High-spirited, mischievous activities, as defined by Miriam-Webster. As many of us are gearing up for a season of family gatherings, which are sometimes filled with long car trips, long travel delays, and long multicourse dinners, we thought we’d inject this time with some… FUN! Some pranks! Some shenanigans!

First, Lulu wonders if animals engage in shenanigans: why do chimps tickle each other? Why do octopuses shoot bubbles across the water? Why do dolphins balance seaweed on their snouts for no reason? Are these shenanigans?

Then, host Zak Rosen and artist Rebecca Garza-Bortman share the family shenanigans their listeners called in with, rating each one on a scale from “shenanigan” to “shenananananagan.” You’ll hear about a family that pretends to be squirrels at bedtime, a couple who dance every time the egg timer goes off, and a family that mispronounces words on purpose, forever. Who knows, you might just get some silly ideas to try out at home!

Lulu was also on Weirdly Helpful! Listen to her episode here.

Listen to Megan Stielstra’s episode about screaming at trains here!

If you want to read more about animal shenanigans, read Animals at Play by Marc Bekoff.

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