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Lucy Cooke: How Did Slowness Become The Sloth’s Secret To Survival?

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode It Takes Time

It’s easy to see why sloths have become icons of laziness. But zoologist Lucy Cooke says behind their leisurely pace is a marvelous evolutionary advantage that is the secret to their survival.

About Lucy Cooke

Lucy Cooke is a zoologist, National Geographic Explorer, and founder of the Sloth Appreciation Society — an organization that promotes a deeper understanding of the sloths’ slow lifestyle. She is also the author of A Little Book Of Sloth, Life In The Sloth Lane, and The Truth About Animals, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society prize and the AAAS young adult science prize.

As a documentary producer, Cooke worked on the docuseries Meet The Sloths for Animal Planet. Her hosting credits include National Geographic’s Freaks And Creeps, as well as the natural history programs Nature’s Boldest Thieves and Animals Unexpected on the BBC.

Cooke received her master’s degree in zoology from New College at Oxford University.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Maria Paz Gutiérrez and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. utm

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Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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