Abusing nature is making us sick: What's the cure?

As modern human societies have tried to dominate and organise nature, we have been interacting with other species in some dangerous ways. From encroaching on the territory of wild creatures, to industrially farming other species in unnaturally cramped conditions, human actions are increasing the likelihood of animal nasties jumping the species barrier to infect us. Tori & Khalil ask whether our extractive relationship with nature could be making us sick and what we can do about it. Along the way, you'll find out: Why are bats so full of viruses? Could the next pandemic start on a factory farm? Which single behaviour has an outsized impact on helping keep nature healthy? Contributors: · Dr Emilia Skirmuntt, Evolutionary virologist with the Oxford Vaccine Group, Oxford University. · Dr Rajib Ausraful Islam, Veterinary researcher with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh · Pak Warman, fisherman and local bat protector with the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation, based in Sulawesi, Indonesia · Dr David Redding, Biodiversity and health research lead at the Natural History Museum · Ed Winters (AKA Earthling Ed), vegan educator and co-founder of Surge Activism Have your say: Join the conversation on social media using and tag us: Instagram: @natural_history_museum Twitter: @NHM_London TikTok: @its_NHM Learn more about how you can take action for nature and find additional resources at

You can listen to Abusing nature is making us sick: What's the cure? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Abusing nature is making us sick: What's the cure? is an episode from Wild Crimes by The Natural History Museum, London.

This episode is 39:15 long.

This episode was published on Aug 1, 2023.

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