animals - Think

Dying insects and migrating trees: our planet in peril

July 6, 2022 Environment, Science and Technology

Of all the species on Earth, humans have easily had the biggest impact. We’ll look at how our actions have affected everything from the bug population to the plants and trees many animals call home.

How animals perceive reality

July 5, 2022 Environment, Global Issues

Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer on staff at The Atlantic, discusses what seems like animal magic powers – from magnetic fields and sonar to complex vision and heightened smell.

Why are humans so fascinated with animals?

October 15, 2021 Environment, Think

New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean joins us to discuss her book of essays about the human-animal connection – stories that span the world from New Jersey to Morocco – and the lessons we can learn from the way we interact with these creatures.

Meet The Creatures Living Above And Below Us

September 17, 2021 Culture, Education, Environment, Science and Technology

Two pioneering female scientists speak with us: one who describes life in the tops of trees as an eighth continent, and an oceanographer who studies bioluminescent marine animals that light up the ocean floor.

Are Our Pandemic Pets Here To Stay?

July 22, 2021 Culture, Current Events

New Yorker staff writer Nick Paumgarten joins us to talk about the animals we acquired to comfort us and why leaving them at home alone is now going to be a big problem.

When Your New Family Member Is A Robot

May 14, 2021 Culture, History, Science and Technology

Kate Darling joins us to talk about how our relationship with animals might serve as a guide to our dealings with robots.

Darwin’s Guide To Alien Life

April 13, 2021 Education, Environment, History, Science and Technology

Arik Kershenbaum, a zoologist and fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge, joins us to talk about understanding evolution on Earth and how that might parallel alien life forms elsewhere.

Artificial Solutions To Preserve The Natural World

February 19, 2021 Environment, Global Issues, History, Science and Technology

New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert joins us to talk about how scientists are looking to address climate change by studying the ways plants and animals have already adapted to live alongside humans.

Yes, Animals Are Conscious

February 25, 2019 Science and Technology

Ross Andersen joins us to talk about how researchers are now operating from an assumption that all animals are conscious until proven otherwise, which he writes about for The Atlantic.