On the NPR TED Radio Hour, Sunday 4th January, Newstalk FM:

Every species plays a crucial role in our natural world. But when humans tinker with the equation, a chain reaction can cause entire ecosystems to break down. This week, TED speakers explain how everything is connected in nature, with some bold ideas about how we can restore the delicate balance and bring disappearing ecosystems back.  

Wolves were once native to the Yellowstone National Park until hunting wiped them out. But when, in 1995, the wolves began to come back, something interesting happened: the rest of the park began to find a new, more healthful balance. Journalist George Monbiot wants us to "rewild", in other words, restore creatures back into lost ecosystems.

Jane Poynter tells her story of living two years in Biosphere 2, an experience that provoked her to explore how we might sustain life in the harshest of environments.

Bernie Krause has been recording wild soundscapes: the wind in the trees, the chirping of birds for 45 years. He has seen many environments radically altered by humans, sometimes even by practices thought to be environmentally safe.

Honeybees have thrived for 50 million years. Why then did certain colonies start dying, in droves, in recent decades? Researcher Marla Spivak reveals four reasons that have tragic consequences.

The NPR TED Radio Hour on Newstalk 106-108 FM, this Sunday at 6pm

Listen back to TED Radio Hour 'Everything is Connected' here.