Where Do Camels Belong? #347

December 11, 2015

This week, we're discussing ecosystems, biodiversity, and whether or not "invasive" outside species are really as bad as they're made out to be. We'll spend the hour speaking to Dr. Ken Thompson, lecturer in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield, about his book "Where Do Camels Belong? Why Invasive Species Aren't All Bad."

Read the companion post on Skepchick.

Guests:

  • Ken Thompson
Listen Now

Featured Book

Where Do Camels Belong?: Why Invasive Species Aren't All Bad

Written by Ken Thompson

Book Blurb Find On Amazon

Guest Bios

Ken Thompson

Ken Thompson is a plant ecologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. He writes and lectures extensively and has written six books on gardening and popular science, including "Compost, No Nettles Required" and "Do We Need Pandas? The Uncomfortable Truth About Biodiversity", and "Where do Camels Belong? Why Invasive Species Aren't All Bad".

Other Episodes About Animals

What's wrong Colonel Sanders? Feeling chicken?

Give a cluck about chickens. The most popular meat actually has a 3,500 year history of cockfighting, backyard keeping, incubation invention, and a lot of scrambled eggs. And now, people are keeping... Read More

March 27, 2023

How birds go the distance

Birds carry out some of the most amazing feats of athleticism in the world. Hummingbirds cross the entire Gulf of Mexico, their tiny wings beating continuously for three days straight. A single... Read More

July 05, 2023

The Jewel Box

A lot of us learned basic ecology in primary school. Maybe we took a biology class in high school or secondary school and dug in a little more. We use terms like... Read More

July 31, 2023

Other Episodes About Environment

The Devil’s Element

With fertilizers that supply phosphorus–what Asimov called “life’s bottleneck”– people broke the circle of life. Dan Egan’s new book The Devil’s Element traces the history of this essential element from curiosity to... Read More

April 24, 2023

Brave the Wild River

In 1938, two botanists, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, made an ambitious voyage down the Colorado River driven by the desire to chronicle the plant life of the American Southwest. In her... Read More

June 19, 2023

Tenacious Beasts

In his book Tenacious Beasts, philosopher and writer Christopher Preston explores creature comebacks. Some of these stories highlight the evolutionary advantages that animals have racked up over millennia, while others are marked... Read More

August 14, 2023

Other Episodes About Controversies

Medical Marijuana

This week, we're taking a closer look at the medical marijuana controversy. How effective is medical marijuana and for what conditions is it a suitable treatment? In our attempt to separate evidence... Read More

March 11, 2016

Too Hot To Handle

This week we're talking about sex education: why we started teaching it in schools in the first place, how it's changed over the years, and what it might – or should –... Read More

March 18, 2016

The Planet Remade

This week we're taking a look at the controversial strategies and science of geoengineering. We'll speak to Oliver Morton, author of the new book "The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the... Read More

June 03, 2016