Curious stories of coexistence
3/13/202650 min
Can otters be city dwellers? Are aliens real? Do we have to experience misery to understand happiness? On this episode, we investigate how strange bedfellows can lead to radical realizations. Guests include evolutionary biologist Philip Johns, astrophysicist Avi Loeb and author Laurel Braitman.
Original air date: March 21, 2025
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsManoush Zomorodi· Host0:00
This is the TED Radio Hour. Each week, groundbreaking TED Talks- Our job now is to dream big ... delivered at TED Conferences- To bring about the future we want to see ... around the world.
Speaker 2· Soundbite0:12
To understand who we are.
Manoush Zomorodi· Host0:14
From those talks, we bring you speakers and ideas that will surprise you- You just don't know what you're gonna find ... challenge you- We truly have to ask ourselves, like, why is it noteworthy? ... and even change you. I literally feel like I'm a different person. [laughs] Yes. Do you feel that way? Ideas worth spreading from TED and NPR. I'm Manoush Zomorodi. These are the sounds of a family of otters. They're in a river, some adults with their pups chattering and playing, and then they start to form sort of a line, a chain of otters corralling the small fish swimming amongst them.
Philip Johns· Guest1:02
They herd fish with their pups. They technically corral them 'cause they're often corralling them against a, a fixed surface like the side of a canal.
Manoush Zomorodi· Host1:09
This is Philip Johns. He's a biologist and geneticist who studies animal behavior, like those in these otters.
Philip Johns· Guest1:18
And I think what's going on is the pups are following really simple rules that might go, "Swim next to mom. If there's a fish in front of me, eat it."
Manoush Zomorodi· Host1:28
Mm.
Philip Johns· Guest1:28
And the adults are coordinating