NC Museum of Natural Sciences launches ‘Love Nature: The Biophilia Podcast’ Sept. 15

For immediate release ‐ September 15, 2020

Contact: Jon Pishney, 919.707.8083. Images available upon request

Love Nature: The Biophilia Podcast

[RALEIGH, NC] – The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences announces the launch of “Love Nature: The Biophilia Podcast,” debuting with iconic biologist Dr. Edward O. Wilson as its first guest, Sept. 15. The podcast, co-hosted by Museum Director and CEO Dr. Eric Dorfman, along with the Museum’s Chief Veterinarian Dr. Dan Dombrowski, centers around the Biophilia Hypothesis, which suggests that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. E.O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his 1984 book, “Biophilia.” For more information or to listen, visit https://thebiophiliapodcast.org/ or https://anchor.fm/thebiophiliapodcast.

Now more than ever, it is important to remember the relationship we have with nature and how it shapes us. It is also critical to embrace science as a way to understand and navigate a changing world, and to allow us to live better, and more responsibly, on the planet. The podcast was created as a way to explore and share these ideas further. “We couldn’t have a better guest to help us launch the podcast than E.O. Wilson,” says Dorfman. “Not only did he introduce the term biophilia, he has made such huge contributions to our understanding and appreciation of nature for decades.”

Seven podcasts are scheduled for the fall, with confirmed interviewees including:

  • Edward O. Wilson, Honorary Curator in Entomology and University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, founder of the Biophilia Hypothesis and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of many books on humans and nature, including “Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life.”
  • Rob Dunn, biologist, writer, and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University. He is a leading voice on citizen science, ecology, and evolution, and how people fit into the bigger picture of the natural world.
  • Deja Perkins is an urban ecologist studying how human culture shapes green spaces and urban bird populations. Perkins is an alumna of NC State University’s Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation Biology program, and helped co-found the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek.
  • Adrian Smith, Head of the Evolutionary Biology Lab at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, researches the chemical and behavioral ecology of social insects. He is an expert on biomimicry, the practice of studying strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges.
  • Pat Simmons is Director & CEO of the NC Zoological Park and past-President and CEO of the Akron Zoological Park, Ohio. She was Chairwoman of the Board of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2012 and is a board member of the World Zoo and Aquarium Association.

Co-host Biographies

Dr. Eric Dorfman is Director and CEO of NC Museum of Natural Sciences, a position he started in January 2020. He is also an Adjunct Professor at North Carolina State University in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. Prior to his current role, he was Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Dorfman also writes a blog (www.ericdorfman.com) that explores the intersection of science, history and the arts, helping to define our place in the natural world.

Dr. Dan Dombrowski serves as Chief Veterinarian at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and is responsible for the health and welfare of the Museum’s live animals. He oversees a veterinary team including staff, interns and students that are active in animal health management, research, conservation and education. Through the Museum’s public-facing vet clinic the veterinary team can interact with visitors via 2-way audio and in full view as they perform veterinary procedures. Dombrowski is an adjunct professor at NC State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, with clinical privileges and veterinary student laboratory and lecture teaching assignments.


About the NC Museum of Natural Sciences

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh (11 and 121 W. Jones St.) is an active research institution that engages visitors of every age and stage of learning in the wonders of science and the natural world. Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. General admission is free. For more information, visit www.naturalsciences.org.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. NCDNCR’s mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.

NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette’s Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please visit www.ncdcr.gov.

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