Lucy Cooke

Happy Earth Day. A day when, collectively, we remember that this planet is completely bonkers… and rather wonderful for it.

Frankly, I wish we made a habit of this sort of appreciation more often. We’re all noticeably less unhinged when we step outside and smell the trees.

My work has given me the outrageous privilege of hiking through rainforests, chilling by oceans, and gawping at creatures that look like evolution briefly lost the plot. It’s a privilege I’d very much like to see continue.

So yes, on this particular Earth Day, I find myself indoors, hunched over the final pages of a new book, dreaming longingly of mud, humidity, and things with too many legs. Counting down the days until I can escape and let the natural world recalibrate my brain.

Because it does that, doesn’t it? Sorts us out.

So go on, celebrate properly. Get outside. Breathe something that isn’t recycled office air. Flip a log. Admire the weird life of the woodlouse. Be a feral child again. There’s almost certainly something delightfully odd waiting.

And if you're breathing in the trees with me, I’ll be back in Costa Rica this January at . Come along. It’ll be fun. DM me if you're interested.

My Costa Rica Retreat | An Invitation to Slow Down (Preferably with Sloths) - https://mailchi.mp/bd314874a67d/come-to-costa-rica-with-me

Celebrating by honouring the badass women scientists who inspired my writing of B*TCH:

Slide 2. Andrea Baden revealing the maple-syrup scent of ruffed lemurs and the power of communal motherhood.

Slide 3. The Broads Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Jeanne Altmann & Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, the rabble-rousing matriarchs who challenged Darwin’s boys’ club.

Slide 4: Lindsay Young uncovering long-term female–female pairing in Laysan albatrosses.

Slide 5: Joan Roughgarden trailblazing research into the dazzling diversity of s*x beyond the binary.

Slide 6: Amy Parish showing how bonobo sisterhood (sealed with ecstatic frottage) keeps patriarchy in check.

Slide 7: Gail Patricelli: strapping cameras to a robot bird and dismantling the myth of the “coy” female.

Slide 8: Rebecca Lewis revealing how sifaka females rule with pheromones… and fists.

Slide 9. Dr. Deborah Giles turning endangered orca p**p into life-saving data for a population on the brink.

👊 Saluting all of the extraordinary women expanding science, challenging bias, and reshaping the story of females, in nature and beyond.

Late last year, I spoke at KPMG’s Rising Stars Networking Dinner, an event designed to connect and celebrate women across their alliance. As approaches, I’ve been thinking about the power of rooms built intentionally for women.

The energy is different.

I spoke about what evolution really says about female power and how outdated biological myths still shape leadership stereotypes today. (Yes, the naked mole-rat featured.)

The conversations afterwards were the best part: senior leaders and rising stars alike reflecting on how science can reframe confidence, ambition, and authority.

One line from their feedback stayed with me: “Engaging, insightful, and refreshingly original… Who knew you could learn so much from a naked mole-rat?”

I love bringing evolutionary biology into corporate spaces, especially those committed to advancing women in leadership.