Nature.
Such a bloody know-it-all.
A biomimicry podcast stealing nature's strategies for human chaos.
Under 20-minute episodes. Real science. Very human. Surprisingly useful. Available everywhere.
2026 Signal Awards Finalist
Rated 5★ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Audible.
“This isn't a podcast you have on in the background. More like a chapter in a book you sit with."
- Clare, UK
FEATURED EPISODE
After Injury:
Making the Invisible Visible
A 14-year-old boy suffers a serious brain injury. The crisis is obvious. The recovery isn't. This episode explores what serious injury makes invisible, and what Matabele ants and banded mongooses reveal about recovery, contribution and the hidden work of healing.
“I didn’t expect to enjoy this one. It felt too close, too fragile. But you proved me wrong, Pia. Your storytelling technique took me on a different journey and gave me hope in a challenging space.”
- Helen, VIC Australia
Feral shorts
Small bites from bigger Feral ideas. Not full episodes.
EPISODE TYPE : In-market Case
What Ozempic & Mosquitoes Have in Common
Two very different bits of biology, one connected story about drugs, needles and biomimicry.
EPISODE TYPE : In-market Case
She Went to Africa. I Sent Her to Eastgate
A listener holiday detour to Harare’s famous termite-inspired Eastgate Centre.
EPISODE TYPE : Feral Lens
Host or Habitat?
What wombat mange can teach us about fixing the conditions that keep a problem coming back.
EPISODE TYPE : Feral Original Concept
Pain or Panic?
A firefly-inspired concept for helping carers read distress signals in people with dementia.
Biomimicry with a feral streak. Less force, more flow. Adapt. Evolve. Repeat.
Biomimicry with a feral streak. Less force, more flow. Adapt. Evolve. Repeat.
How Feral works
Feral by Design is a practitioner-led biomimicry podcast.
Each episode starts with a real-world challenge, from product design and process innovation to systems, human behaviour, leadership and organisational dynamics. From there, I bring human insight and biomimicry together to explore how nature handles the relevant function, extract the biological strategy and translate it into something you can actually use.
I call it Grand Theft Bio, a bit of playful shorthand for stealing nature’s best ideas.
Human challenge → biological strategy → extracted principle → real-world application
This isn't metaphor, it's a repeatable biomimicry process. The science is load-bearing. Every episode is grounded in documented biology and translates nature's strategies into practical ideas across products, processes and systems, and just as often for people, teams and organisations.
Some episodes introduce new frameworks and concepts I've developed for that episode's challenge. Others share methods I already use in my consulting work, showcase remarkable real-world case studies, or simply offer a different way of seeing a problem through biomimicry.
Applied across products, behaviours, and systems, the goal is always the same: practical biomimicry you can use.
Not serialised. Drop in anywhere. Come steal some genius with me.
"I wasn't expecting it to also be about biomimicry in terms of designing our behaviours and how we work, as opposed to just physical designs. I love that! Lots of food for thought."
- Dana, NSW Australia
"How you go from smelly crusty mussels to an elegant, effective coffee cup idea. Not just design but also our behaviour? That still has me thinking. Great stuff."
Chris, NSW Australia
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry explained
Biomimicry isn't copying how nature looks. It's understanding how nature works, then applying those design principles to human challenges. A quick intro to biomimicry and how Feral by Design applies it.
A familiar example
Velcro is one of the world's best-known biomimicry examples. Velcro came from burrs. This show goes further.
Listen & watch
Spotify · Apple Podcasts · YouTube · Amazon Music · Pocket Casts · Audible
Behind Feral
Feral by Design is created solo by Pia Williams, an innovation strategist trained in biomimicry.
Real science, self-deprecating stories, and a name she’ll explain if you ask.