Back to Show
It's Okay to Be Smart
How Poop Shapes the World
Season 5
Episode 30
Waste not, want not… right? Poop, in all of its various forms throughout nature, shapes the world in ways you might not imagine. One creature’s waste is another’s fuel, and all over nature these leftovers help new life spring up. Here’s how whales, birds, worms, bats, and more help the world breathe clean, thanks to their poop.
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By

37:33
Crashing a car is usually a terrible accident. But sometimes, it’s a way to save lives.

18:10
A huge part of our identities, emotions, and our lives get tied up...Why is that?

10:57
X is everywhere and it’s probably thanks to math. But why is x the symbol for the unknown?

17:34
What’s the most average thing in the universe? We’re on a mission to find it.

17:48
New ideas come from chance events and unexpected connections involved in working together.

11:18
Our universe locked incredible secrets in a code written in rainbows.

13:54
Butterfly metamorphosis is one of nature’s most magical transformations.

14:03
Scorpions are an evolutionary marvel with venom that could save lives.

14:29
Join me on my visit to the most advanced cultivated meat production facility in the world.

14:03
Life on Earth may have stayed boring and small if it weren’t thanks to one deadly element.

17:58
How the CIA used Cold War technology to study and combat climate change

13:58
The secret physics at the core of every syllable, starting with the first words we speak.