Plight of the Living Dead

Zombies are real? Narrator Holter Graham talks about movie monsters at first, for comic effect, but science writer Matt Simon has found some real-life zombies in nature. Parasites--wasps, worms, fungi--often have properties that take control of their hosts in ways similar to what listeners have seen in movies and on TV. There's a creepy cheerfulness in Graham's voice as he tells listeners how a jewel wasp takes over a roach to host its offspring, for example. It's both humorous and horrifying. Some listeners may even feel sympathy for the roach. The stories of nature's cruelty--another example is how a beautiful butterfly spreads its wings at the expense of ants--are as fascinating as they are frightening. J.A.S. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine