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This week we examine one of nature's most humble creations: crabs. Turns out when you look closely at these little scuttlers, things get surprisingly existential \u2014 about how to come into being, how to survive chaos, and how to live. We even examine the possibility of evolutionary destiny.\nThis episode is a two-parter, a double-decker crab cake of sorts. Served up on a bed of lettuce and beautiful weirdness. The first layer comes from producer Rachael Cusick, and is a story she told live on stage at Pop-Up Magazine\xa0(http://www.popupmagazine.com) as a part of their Fall of 2022 tour. It chronicles a cross-species love story between artist Mary Akers\xa0(http://maryakers.com/) and an overlooked pet store companion, a\xa0 creature that even Chris Tudge\xa0(https://zpr.io/MyUNwPAaqewg) \u2014 the scientist dedicated to this creature, you could say \u2014 could not get a ring on. The second layer is cooked up by Lulu, who tries to understand why crabs keep evolving (according to recent work by Jo Wolfe\xa0(https://zpr.io/2GftY9RjbLkF), Heather Bracken-Grissom\xa0(https://zpr.io/HhvMVfnThp5P) and Javier Luque\xa0(https://zpr.io/xBiQHEtNSKZr)).\nCrack a leg and see what we mean.\nSpecial thanks to the entire team at Pop Up Magazine, Randi Rotjan, Jan Pechenik, Renae Brodie, Samantha Edmonds, whose story\xa0(https://zpr.io/ELQS4VkJGaSa) from The Outline introduced us to Mary,\xa0\nEPISODE CREDITS:\nReported by - Rachael Cusick and Lulu Millerwith help from - Annie McEwenProduced by - Becca Bressler with help from Ekedi Fausther-KeeysOriginal music and sound design contributed by - Ghost Girl, Jeremy Bloom with mixing help from - Arianne WackFact-checking by - Diane Kellyand Edited by\xa0 - Haley Howle and Pat WaltersCITATIONS:\nArticles:If you want more details about hermit crab breeding, head over to Mary\u2019s blog to read more: http://maryakers.com/inthecrabitat/Or check out the Land Hermit Crab Owners Society: https://lhcos.org/\xa0\nOur newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!\nRadiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.\nFollow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.\n\nLeadership support for Radiolab\u2019s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.