To Erin Hassett, the light of the firefly is not just a chemical reaction but the magic of childhood itself. As insects rapidly disappear, she reflects on her intimate relationship with the lightning bug, the tensions between science and magic that it sparks, and how we might create a brighter future.
Trang Đặng develops an ethics of care for pangolins, despite living a world away. Her “respectful distance” is a form of companionship rooted in humility, one that acknowledges interdependence without claiming possession and embraces intimacy without proximity.
God, pet, and research subject, axolotls transgress Western dualisms. Alex Ventimilla explores what these creatures tell us about science, companionship, and life in the Anthropocene.
Mara Dicenta Vilker, Micah Dill, and Elena McCullough explore herring as interspecies companions, bringing together herring restoration discourse with fishers’ oral histories.
By looking at a recent case study in Botswana, Anna Carlson & Kimberly Thomas explore convivial conservation as a clever, balanced way to address the needs of both wildlife and people.
Performance artist Deke Weaver gives a behind-the-scenes look at Unreliable Bestiary, an expansive multimedia project that tells the stories of endangered animal species.
Curious about ecohorror? An ecocritic recommends classic, campy, and little-known films that play with our culture’s deepest fears about nature. A few of these creature features just might get under your skin—literally.
In this meditation on the pesticide Starlicide, a poet explores how human hubris leads us to control nature’s “nuisances” and how we fail to see their beauty.
Insects are going extinct at alarming rates. Curators at one of the country’s premier insect collections are working to slow that change.
Extinction stories have a flavor, and it tastes like melancholy. A new book asks what different narratives we could bring to the table.
