PLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our Worldand Ourselves

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 [Published: OCTOBER 2018]