Co-Thriving with Wildlife, with Bears in Hot Tubs Filmmaker Claire Musser and Brian Gordon

Bears in Hot Tubs is a short documentary created by filmmaker Claire Musser directed by Maddie the Bear. Set in suburban Los Angeles, the film gives viewers a perspective of how bears can co-thrive with humans. Not as intruders or problems to manage, but as neighbors navigating their home reshaped by urban sprawl. The film was an official selection of the Lake Tahoe Documentary Film Festival, where its quiet and unconventional approach to wildlife storytelling stood apart. The bears are not chased, staged, or treated as spectacle. The camera waits for them. Their movements and decisions shape the film. One part of our conversation that stayed with me was Claire’s discussion of wildlife having personhood. And rights that require defending. She's asking us to recognize that they are sentient individuals with their own experiences, needs, preferences, and stories. That distinction changes the relationship. Wildlife is no longer scenery, a symbol, or a problem moving through a human world. The bears are participants in a shared landscape. They have agency. They communicate through their choices and behavior. Our responsibility is to pay closer attention - coming to their defense when their lives are threatened. In this episode of Land & Line, Claire Musser with Brian Gordon talk about Bears in Hot Tubs, life alongside black bears in Los Angeles, and what it means to move beyond coexistence toward co-thriving in a rapidly declining planet. Get full access to Land & Line Podcast at landandline.substack.com/subscribe