Zach St. George: Snake Men
August 3, 2026
Australia hosts some of the world’s most venomous snakes. There is also a long history of Australian “Snake Men”: daring, maybe mad, sometimes charlatans, these showmen presented snakes to the public and sometimes offered bogus cures for snakebites. Eventually they helped change the taxonomy of herps in Australia or at least tried to. Some were even labeled “taxonomic vandals” and were shunned by the professional community. This is a wild story of amateurs versus scientists and the lure of naming a creature before anyone else. Tonight we talk with science journalist ZACH ST. GEORGE about his new book: SNAKE MEN: REBELS, REPTILES, AND THE RACE TO NAME EARTH’S CREATURES.
