How are cephalopods like us, but also completely alien? How can they become so intelligent when they have such short lives? How do they coordinate a distributed set of brains?

In this episode, we talk with Danna Staaf, a science communicator and marine biologist with a lifelong love of cephalopods. Danna earned a PhD from Stanford University studying baby squid, and she has written several cephalopod-themed books. Our conversation focuses on Danna’s most recent, The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives: A Natural History of Cephalopods, a beautiful exploration of the diversity of these wacky, wonderful creatures. We discuss cephalopod evolution, morphology, and reproduction, focusing on several fun facts that you can pull out at your next dinner party.

Cover art: Keating Shahmehri. Find a transcript of this episode on our website.