I dunno, but it seems kind of extreme, not to mention risky, to bio-engineer a mass mosquito die-off. So Steve Paulson tracked down the world’s greatest living entomologist to see what he has to say. E. O Wilson is sometimes called “the ant man” – that’s the insect he studied most – but he’s best known as the evolutionary biologist and a champion of biodiversity. He’s 86 years old now, and has just finished what is probably his last book – called “Half Earth”. It’s a passionate plea to save humanity by dedicating half the planet to nature. You’d assume that Wilson would be happy to let mosquitos live in that half… but that’s not what he told Steve.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
After all the debates about the Muslim world, it’s refreshing to look back at one of the world’s great mystics - the Sufi poet Rumi.
Betsy Israel tells Jim Fleming our society has always been suspicious of unmarried women and talks about examples from Louisa Mat Alcott to Ally McBeal.
Francine Segan, author of "The Philosopher's Kitchen", tells us of the importance of bread to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
Alastair Bonnett's Dangerous Idea? Let's change our cities to promote urban biodiversity.
"Independent People" by Halldór Laxness reviewed by author David Mitchell ("Cloud Atlas")
Ellen Handler-Spitz talks with Jim Fleming about the how imagination develops in childhood.
Musician and philosopher David Rothenberg plays duets with birds all over the world. He’s searching for an answer to the question “Why Birds Sing.”
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