Should we mess with nature? | Introducing How We Survive

Should we mess with nature? | Introducing How We Survive

From Drilled: The Propagandist by Pushkin Industries

July 14, 2026 · 24 min · Season 15

About this episode

This episode explores the concept of de-extinction and the ethical implications of engineering nature as a response to the climate crisis.

The climate crisis is escalating. We have to decarbonize our economy, but we’re moving too slowly. So, what’s the backup plan? This season of “How We Survive” is about engineering nature: large-scale interventions that could be our last hope. We’ll explore technology that could alter our weather patterns, transform our planet, and possibly save us all from the worst outcomes of the climate crisis. Or lead to catastrophic, unintended consequences. In this episode, Amy explores one of the wildest climate interventions to date: de-extinction. She takes a tour of Colossal Labs, the $10 billion Dallas startup betting it can reverse-engineer extinction itself, to see how they plan to turn pigeons into dodos and Asian elephants into woolly mammoths. But whether it’s bringing back the woolly mammoth from extinction or shooting sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, just because we can mess with nature, does that mean we should?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Amy

Topics covered

  • climate crisis
  • de-extinction
  • engineering nature
  • large-scale interventions
  • technology
  • weather patterns
  • catastrophic consequences

Keywords

  • climate crisis
  • decarbonize
  • Colossal Labs
  • woolly mammoth
  • dodo
  • technology
  • nature intervention
  • Asian elephants
  • pigeons
  • weather patterns

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Colossal Labs, Pushkin Industries

Products: woolly mammoth, dodo, Asian elephants, pigeons

Places: Dallas

More episodes of Drilled: The Propagandist

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Drilled: The Propagandist podcast page.