Entwined Lives: Bridget Lyons on the Intersection of Species, with Carl Safina on Alfie and Me

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Today we explore what it really means to share the planet with other forms of life. We’ll talk with writer Bridget Lyons about her acclaimed book, Entwined: Dispatches from the Intersection of Species, a collection of essays that invites us to see animals, plants, and even ourselves in a radically more connected way. “Part of the reason I wrote this book was to encourage people, inspire people to just go outside and look around and see who else is living around you.” — Bridget Lyons And then we’ll hear an excerpt from our conversation with ecologist and author Carl Safina about his book Alfie and Me, the extraordinary story of a baby owl that helped him rethink what animals know — and what humans believe.  “People have often said humans are the only logical animals, but I think that’s almost completely backward. We’re really the only illogical animals.” — Carl Safina Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast. Key Words: Bridget Lyons, Entwined, Carl Safina, Alfie and Me, Writers Voice podcast, animal intelligence, anthropomorphism, biodiversity, environmental ethics, sea stars, interspecies relationships You Might Also Like: Adam Nicholson on BIRD SCHOOL, Richard Louv, OUR WILD CALLING & Carl Safina, BEYOND WORDS Read the Transcript on Substack Segment One — Bridget Lyons on Entwined Bridget Lyons describes how her essays begin with encounters with other species — kelp, whales, sea stars, fireweed, octopuses — and expand into questions about value, empathy, humility, and how humans might live differently on the planet. She explains that real connection begins with paying attention: “Part of the reason I wrote this book was to encourage people, inspire people to just go outside and look around and see who else is living around you.” Lyons argues that wonder leads to empathy and responsibility: “As you become more connected to them, you feel more empathy for their life situation and what’s going on with them.” One of the book’s core themes is rethinking value — not just in economic terms, but in terms of being: “Can I, as a person, learn to value this creature for just being who it is, rather than for how it serves me, how it bothers me, etc.” Lyons also speaks about humility in the face of ecological complexity: “We all need a hefty, hefty dose of humility.” And about how curiosity builds respect across species: “The more you learn, or the more you learn that you don’t know, or the more that you marvel at something that another creature is doing, the more I think you’re creating a bridge.” Segment Two — Carl Safina on Alfie and Me (archival excerpt) Carl Safina tells the story of raising a baby screech owl named Alfie and what that relationship revealed about how animals experience the world — and how humans misunderstand it. Safina challenges the idea that humans are uniquely rational: “People have often said humans are the only logical animals, but I think that’s almost completely backward. We’re really the only illogical animals.” He explains how human beliefs often override evidence: “We’re the only ones who carry on through the world based on our beliefs rather than on evidence about how the world is and what the world around us is.” Safina describes why freedom matters even when safety is available: “That is not life. It’s pure safety, but there’s no shot at being part of the world or part of the future.” And he reflects on what it means to witness another being’s full life unfold: “I got to know something about these birds, and then I started to ask myself, well, why are we so blind to all of this?” Key Topics The “intersection of species” Anthropomorphism and connection Wonder, humility, and ecological awareness How humans assign value Extinction and regeneration Animal intelligence and culture What owls — and other animals — reveal about how the world works