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The Shape of the World: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Jill Riddell
Hosted by Jill Riddell, The Shape of the World is a podcast about cities, nature and people. The Shape of the World shines a light on how we and other living things thrive and co-exist. We speak with scientists, artists, planners and philosophers about the shape of the world now and how it might be made better.
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The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 2 days ago43 min
Canines in the City (Ep. 45)
Each of the largest cities on earth plays host to hundreds of thousands of dogs. Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, founder of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College and the author of the bestselling book, Inside of a Dog, discusses how dogs managed....
- 3 weeks ago35 min
Back in the Swim of Things (Ep. 44)
Over the past 30 years, the quality of water in rivers has improved tremendously in many major cities around the world. So much so that what once seemed impossible has now become reality: people really are swimming in the Thames in London. Chris Rommer-Lee is one of the visionaries behind what is called the “Swimmable Cities” movement....
- Jun 18, 202639 min
Nighthawk: The Voice of Twilight (Ep. 43)
We often notice more of the visual world than we do the auditory world, yet many of our experiences are defined by sound. Edward Warden, the president of the Chicago Ornithological Society....
- May 28, 202644 min
How to Make a Myth, and Then Debunk It (Ep. 42)
Samara Greenwood, a PhD candidate in the field of History and Philosophy of Science, explores the women who revolutioned the field of primatology and...
- May 7, 202630 min
Where Did All the Rivers Go? (Ep. 41)
The Executive Director of Seven Canyons Trust, Ronnie Pessetto, is attempting to peel back the layers of concrete that cover many of the creeks in Salt Lake City, Utah. The process is known as “daylighting rivers.” And because Ronnie’s projects are happening right inside a city with a million people, it means the work is as much about civic healing as it is ecological restoration....
- Apr 22, 202637 min
Friendship, Bushtits, and the Vastness of Everything (Ep. 40)
Jill Riddell speaks with her colleague, the cartoonist and author Sophie Lucido Johnson, about comedy, community, and the social science of friendship. In her new book...
- Dec 18, 202530 min
The Warm Glow of Helping (Update)
As a child, Peggy Mason was a biology prodigy. Today, as a neurobiologist, Peggy is still working with mammals, but instead of preserving their skins, she’s studying whether they experience empathy and act to help one another...
- Nov 20, 202534 min
How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Change the World (Update)
Structural geologist Marcia Bjornerud was raised by free-thinking parents who instilled in her a love of books and nature. She’s published many professional papers (read mainly by experts in the field) and two popular books that, in the opinion of this podcast, ought to be read by every inhabitant of our planet...
About The Shape of the World
Hosted by Jill Riddell, The Shape of the World is a podcast about cities, nature and people. The Shape of the World shines a light on how we and other living things thrive and co-exist. We speak with scientists, artists, planners and philosophers about the shape of the world now and how it might be made better.
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