What's the most successful species on Earth?

Editor's note: This episode was first published in July, 2022.

Humans have had an impressive run thus far; we’ve explored most of the planet (the parts that aren’t underwater anyway), landed on the moon, created art and music, and made some pretty entertaining Tik Toks. 

But we’ve survived on the planet for just a fraction of the time horseshoe crabs and alligators have. And we’re vastly outnumbered by many species of bacteria and insects. 

So what is the most successful species on Earth? And how do you measure that, anyway? 

From longevity and happiness, to sheer numbers, we put a handful of different organisms under the microscope in hopes of better understanding what exactly it means to succeed at life on a collective and individual scale.   

Featuring: Stephen Giovannoni, Rashidah Farid, and Steward Pickett

SUPPORT

Check out Stephen Giovannoni’s paper: “SAR11 Bacteria: The Most Abundant Plankton in the Oceans”

An interesting treatise on adaptability: “Why crocodiles still look the same as they did 200 million years ago”

From the NSF: “The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA”

More food for thought: “The non-human living inside you"

 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by: Taylor Quimby

Editing by: Nate Hegyi, Rebecca Lavoie

Additional editing help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt. 

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Special thanks to everybody who answered our question at the top of the show: Josemar Ochoa, m Carey Grant, Butter Wilson, Tim Blagden, Robert Baker, Sheila Rydel, and Bob Beaulac.

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, and Jules Gaia

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio