Aug 18, 2026 · 55 min
Insects power ecosystems while humans remake their world
It’s Bugs’ World and We’re Just Living In It with Jessica Ware
The episode connects insect evolution and ecological importance to mounting pressures from climate change, pollution, habitat loss, and human bias.
- 1Insects’ body plans, flight, and evolutionary history help explain their extraordinary diversity across nearly every environment.
- 2Urban development can shelter some insects while driving others downward through habitat loss, roads, pollution, and artificial light.
- 3Targeted mosquito control and insect awareness offer alternatives to treating every disliked species as expendable.
Don't miss
Jessica Ware explains why saving unpopular insects matters, challenging the idea that ecological value belongs only to attractive or useful species.
The brief
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Maeve Higgins welcome entomologist Jessica Ware for a tour of insect anatomy, evolution, and ecological importance, beginning with what “bug” actually means.
Ware explains why insects became so successful: ancient origins, specialized body plans, flight, sophisticated vision, and adaptations that let them occupy remarkably varied environments.
Cities reveal the uneven effects of human development. New York’s pavement and buildings create niches for some insects, while habitat loss, pollution, roads, and light drive others away.
Climate change and shifting habitats are helping ticks spread, while water and light pollution threaten fireflies and pollinators; targeted mosquito controls may limit harm to other species.
The episode’s broader argument is that ecological value does not depend on human appeal: parasites, cockroaches, bedbugs, and beetles all belong to the insect world’s larger system.
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Central ParkListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.