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Australian Prof. Ajay Narendra discusses his team's discovery of the 'ballista spider'

NPR | By Ryan Benk,

Scott Simon

Published June 27, 2026 at 6:40 AM CDT

Prof. Ajay Narendra from Macquarie University in Australia tells NPR about his team's discovery of a particularly rare, and high-powered, hunting method of the informally named "ballista spider."

Ryan Benk

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Scott Simon

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

See stories by Scott Simon