Creature Discomforts (rebroadcast)

Big Picture Science

Science, Technology

4.6 • 986 Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2021

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Okay you animals, line up: stoned sloths, playful pandas, baleful bovines, and vile vultures. We’ve got you guys pegged, thanks to central casting. Or do we? Our often simplistic view of animals ignores their remarkable adaptive abilities. Stumbly sloths are in fact remarkably agile and a vulture’s tricks for thermoregulation can’t be found in an outdoors store. Our ignorance about some animals can even lead to their suffering and to seemingly intractable problems. The South American nutria was brought to Louisiana to supply the fur market. But the species got loose and tens of millions of these rodents are destroying the environment. It literally has a bounty on its tail. Hear about research that corrects a menagerie of misunderstandings about our fellow furry, feathered, and scaly animals, and how getting over ourselves to know them better can have practical benefits. Will you still recoil from termites if you learn that they are relevant to the future of robots, global warming, and smart design? Guests: Lucy Cooke – Zoologist, broadcaster and author of “The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales from the Wild Side of Wildlife” Chris Metzler – Co-director and producer of the film Rodents of Unusual Size Lisa Margonelli – Journalist and author of "Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology" Originally aired October 8, 2018 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast.
0:05.0	This episode is brought to you by Shopify.
0:07.0	Looking to start a side hustle or become your own boss, do it with Shopify.
0:11.0	Whether you're selling succulents or stilettoes, Shopify has the industry leading tools to help you create, control and grow your own business.
0:18.0	So get serious about selling and get Shopify today.
0:21.0	Sign up for a one pound per month trial period
0:23.6	at Shopify. co-deek slash special offer,
0:26.4	or lower case.
0:27.5	That's Shopify. co-deekk slash special offer.
0:32.4	The world is constantly changing and transforming.
0:35.0	Cut through some of the noise with What's New With Wired,
0:39.0	a podcast that goes in depth on the latest news and technology and culture.
0:43.7	Their award-winning journalism will help you make sense of what's happening in the world.
0:48.3	Listen to What's New With Wired wherever you get your podcasts.
0:52.1	That's What's New With Wired, wherever you get your podcasts. That's what's new with Wired wherever you get your
0:55.1	podcasts. Now my backyard isn't very big but it's big enough for a lot of squirrels and I watch
1:11.0	these little guys you know they've got cute little hands, big black eyes and those fuzzy tails and so forth, but I also have a hummingbird feeder back there.
1:20.0	And these squirrels, they get up to that hummingbird feeder and they start chewing on the food that I bought for the birds.
1:26.7	So are they cute critters or are they pests? I mean, it's kind of complicated.
1:32.0	I'm Seth Shostak. I'm Molly Bentley. Welcome to
1:34.7	Big Picture Science produced at the SETI Institute where researchers
1:37.6	investigate the nature and origin of life. I'm Big Picture Science we give you
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Big Picture Science, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Big Picture Science and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.