From the depths of our oceans to the tops of our mountains, a diverse cast of interdependent species is what makes life on Earth possible. Our ecosystems and the species that inhabit them require a diversity of organisms in order to survive. With each species lost on this planet, vital genetic diversity disappears, ecosystem services are disrupted, and the vast uniqueness of life that defines our Earth is diminished. With reduced biodiversity, the chance of extinction for all of us dramatically increases.

Over the past fifty years, humanity’s ever-expanding footprint has displaced natural biodiversity — more than 25,000 species, almost a third of those known to humans, are in danger of disappearing from the planet. Climate change is expected to drive over one-third of the Earth’s animal and plant species to extinction by 2050 if the trajectory of the current greenhouse gas emissions levels continue — the consumption of fossil fuels, the acidification of our oceans and lakes, pollution, deforestation, overfishing and forced migrations threaten life forms of all kinds.

We are facing a crisis that will have consequences — for all of us.

Storytelling has long been a way of deepening our understanding and empathizing with others different than us. This series of short stories provides a rare glimpse into worlds little known beyond their own geographical area and reveal a common theme of the fight for survival amidst change. The stories follow a diverse group of castaways with the intention of shining a spotlight on a few creatures which most of us have never heard of, species that rarely are the focus of art or music, or featured in the vast canon of existing literature.

Our hope with this podcast is that by seeing ourselves in these nearly forgotten creatures we might fall a little bit more in love with all of the forgotten creatures on Earth -- and hopefully inspire some necessary changes to make our planet more habitable — for everyone.

These stories intend to celebrate — all of us — who call Earth home.