E. O. Wilson

E.O. Wilson, from Ant Colonies to Human Nature

E.O. Wilson, the biologist, theorist, and sometimes-novelist, has pioneered entire fields of study in his six-decade career. At the age of 82, Wilson has just published his 27th book, and the octogenarian doesn’t shy away from controversy.   Back in 1975, Wilson popularized the theory of sociobiology: the idea that evolution and genetics shape human behavior. […]

The Gospel of Climate Change

Living on Earth Profile Series #21: E. O. Wilson: Of the Grasshopper and the Ant

Nature as Healer

Need for Nature

Biophilia Response

Listeners discuss the recent broadcast about Edward O. Wilson and other scientists’ theories that people and nature are genetically linked.

Need for Nature

Host Steve Curwood explores the “biophilia hypothesis”  ? a new scientific theory which says people depend on the variety of life . . . other animal and plant species . . . for their well-being. Edward O. Wilson of Harvard, a chief proponent of the theory, says that, if he’s right, preserving biological diversity could […]

Edward O. Wilson and the Diversity of Life

Steve talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist Edward O. Wilson about his new book The Diversity of Life. The book documents the human impact on other life forms, which he calls the “sixth great extinction,” and lays out an ambitious plan to study, catalogue and preserve every species on Earth.

Making a Novel out of an Anthill

E.O. Wilson is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction and a world famous biologist. Now in his eighth decade, he took on a new challenge: writing a novel. Wilson talks with host Jeff Young about “Anthill,” a work of fiction that was inspired by his childhood.

The World

A Little Known Planet, Part 3

We’ve heard how both researchers and the lay public can help count up the earth’s creatures. Now, in the final segment of Living on Earth’s special, we’ll see how technology is helping to speed up the identification of species. But first, we’ll see how things were done the old fashioned way. And for that, Living […]