Killer Empathy

87 snips

Apr 4, 2025

Jeff Lockwood, an entomologist and professor at the University of Wyoming, shares his thrilling experiences studying fierce Gryllacrididae insects, which he describes as "crickets on steroids." He reflects on their surprising self-awareness, challenging the idea that they are mere mindless brutes. Lockwood also discusses the complex nature of violence through a harrowing personal experience that reshaped his understanding of empathy and trauma. His journey raises profound questions about the balance between scientific observation and emotional connection.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Gorilla Crickets

Jeff Lockwood studied ferocious gorilla crickets.
Their aggressive behavior and sharp mandibles required careful handling, even refrigeration.

INSIGHT

Nesting and Self-Recognition

Despite their ferocity, gorilla crickets exhibit nesting behavior.
They can distinguish their own nests from others, suggesting a sense of self.

ANECDOTE

Self-Cannibalism

Lockwood accidentally ruptured a cricket's abdomen while moving it.
The cricket then began consuming its own innards, a horrifying sight for Lockwood.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In an episode first aired in 2012, Lulu Miller introduces us to Jeff Lockwood, a professor at the University of Wyoming, who spent a part of his career studying a particularly ferocious set of insects: Gryllacrididae. Or, as Jeff describes them, "crickets on steroids." They have crushingly strong, serrated jaws, and they launch all-out attacks on anyone who gets in their way--whether it's another cricket, or the guy trying to take them out of their cages.

In order to work with the gryllacridids, Jeff had to figure out how to out-maneuver them. And as he devised ways to keep from getting slashed and bitten, he felt like he was getting to know them. Maybe they weren't just mindless brutes ... but their own creatures, each with their own sense of self. And that got him wondering: what could their fierceness tell him about the nature of violence? How well could he understand the minds of these insects, and what drove them to be so bloody?

That's when the alarm bells went off. Jeff would picture his mentor, Dr. LaFage, lecturing him back in college--warning him not to slip into a muddled, empathic mood ... not to let his emotions sideswipe his objectivity. And that would usually do the trick--Jeff would think of LaFage, and rein himself back in.

But then one night, something happened that gave Dr. LaFage's advice a terrible new kind of significance. Tamra Carboni tells us this part of the story, and challenges Jeff's belief that there's a way to understand it.

Hey, one other thing, if you live, or are planning to be, in NYC on April 22nd, come check out our NEW LIVE SHOW!!

Radiolab Presents: Viscera - The Elixir of Life
Where: Caveat Theater on the Lower East Side, NY NY
When: April 22nd Doors @ 7 pm
GET YOUR TICKETS, HERE!!
(https://www.caveat.nyc/events/radiolab-presents-viscera-%E2%80%93-the-elixir-of-life-4-22-2025)

Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.