TED Radio Hour Curious stories of coexistence
40 snips
Mar 13, 2026 
Laurel Braitman, author who explores grief and emotional coexistence. Avi Loeb, Harvard astrophysicist hunting answers about interstellar visitors. Philip Johns, biologist who studies urban otters and people-wildlife ties. They discuss city otters and human-wildlife design. They debate the nature of Oumuamua and searching for extraterrestrial artifacts. They explore holding joy and sorrow at once.
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Otters Return To Urban Singapore
- Philip Johns observed Asian small-clawed and smooth-coated otters returning to cleaned Singapore waterways and forming large social families of up to ~20 individuals.
- He describes dramatic territorial fights downtown at rush hour and occasional otter bites and koi pond raids that created human–wildlife conflict.
Encourage Familiarity To Build Empathy
- Encourage familiarity with wildlife to build empathy and conservation support by creating everyday opportunities to observe animals.
- Johns suggests modest concessions and realistic policies to reduce conflicts while allowing coexistence in cities.
Urban Design Can Foster Wildlife Refuge
- Johns argues cities can function as wildlife refuges when planners design green space and cleaned waterways, increasing everyday human–nature interactions.
- Singapore's plan of 300+ parks and a 10-minute rule for park access created frequent encounters that build public empathy for wildlife.