If you grew up in Canada or watched enough public broadcasting anywhere else, that deep, resonant voice is basically part of your DNA. You know the one. It’s the sound of David Suzuki explaining the complex, terrifying, and beautiful mechanics of our planet. For over four decades, David Suzuki The Nature of Things was more than just a TV show; it was a weekly ritual that made science feel like a conversation at the kitchen table rather than a lecture in a dusty hall.
Suzuki didn't just host; he lived the show. He was the guy who could talk about fruit fly genetics one minute and then show up naked on a TV guide cover—strategically placed fig leaf included—to talk about the biology of the human body. He was irreverent. He was smart. And honestly? He was often pretty ticked off about how we were treating the Earth.
The 44-Year Run That Changed Everything
When David Suzuki took over as host in 1979, the show was already nearly 20 years old. People forget that. It started back in 1960 with a University of Toronto physics professor named Donald Ivey. Back then, it was a 30-minute studio show where guys in suits popped balloons to explain physics.
Suzuki changed the vibe.
He merged the show with his other program, Science Magazine, and turned it into a one-hour documentary powerhouse. He took the cameras out of the studio and into the Amazon rainforest, the Arctic, and deep under the ocean. It wasn't just "here is a cool bird" anymore. It became "here is how this bird is dying because of what you’re doing."
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Why It Wasn't Just Another Nature Doc
Most nature shows in the 70s and 80s were... safe. They were pretty pictures of lions. But David Suzuki The Nature of Things was one of the first mainstream programs to tackle the "scary" stuff head-on:
- HIV/AIDS: They were reporting on the science of the virus while the rest of the world was still shrouded in stigma.
- Climate Change: Suzuki was talking about the "greenhouse effect" when most people thought it was just something that happened in actual greenhouses.
- Indigenous Wisdom: Long before it was "trending," Suzuki was traveling to places like Haida Gwaii to show that Western science was often playing catch-up to what Indigenous people had known for millennia.
It’s easy to look back now and say, "Yeah, obviously." But at the time? This was radical. Suzuki once mentioned that he viewed his programs as "jewels" in a media landscape he increasingly felt was a bit of a "cesspool" of superficiality. He wanted to give people the tools to be better citizens, not just better-informed viewers.
The Moment He Almost Quit (and Why He Finally Did)
Suzuki is a complicated guy. He’s a world-famous geneticist who, by his own admission, feels like a bit of a failure. That sounds wild, right? But if you listen to his recent interviews, he’s pretty blunt. He spent 44 years warning us about the "cliff" we were heading toward, and yet, here we are, still accelerating.
He stayed on the show as long as he did—until his retirement in April 2023 at the age of 87—partly because he was terrified the CBC would cancel it if he left. He didn't want to leave the brand in the lurch. He finally "signed off" with a final episode titled Suzuki Signs Off, where he basically looked at the camera and said, I’ve done what I can. Now it’s your turn.
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The "Active Elder" Phase
He doesn't like the word "retirement." Honestly, it doesn't fit him. He calls himself an "active elder" now. Why? Because as an elder, he says he doesn't have to "kiss anybody's ass" for a promotion or a paycheck. He can speak a kind of raw, unfiltered truth that a younger host might have to soften. He’s doubling down on activism, focusing on the David Suzuki Foundation, and being a loud voice for the one group he says is the most marginalized: our children.
Who Is Running the Show Now?
Replacing a legend is a nightmare task. How do you find someone who has the same gravitas? The CBC decided not to try and find a "new Suzuki." Instead, they went with a duo: Sarika Cullis-Suzuki (David's daughter) and Anthony Morgan.
It’s an interesting move. Sarika is a marine biologist with a PhD, and Anthony is a molecular biologist and longtime science communicator. They bring a younger, maybe slightly more hopeful energy to the screen. The show is still called The Nature of Things, but the "With David Suzuki" part of the title has been retired along with the man himself.
Is the Show Still Relevant?
Some people think the era of the big-budget TV documentary is over. We have YouTube. We have TikTok. You can learn about black holes from a 60-second clip while you're waiting for the bus.
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But there’s something about the long-form storytelling of David Suzuki The Nature of Things that the internet can’t quite replicate. It’s the depth. It’s the fact that they’ll spend a year filming a single hour of television to make sure the science is airtight. In an era of "alternative facts," having a brand that has been fact-checking the world since 1960 is kind of a big deal.
What You Can Do Right Now
If you’ve been away from the show for a while, it’s worth diving back in. The archives are a goldmine of scientific history. Here is how to actually engage with the legacy:
- Watch the "Sacred Balance" series: If you want to understand Suzuki's core philosophy—that we aren't "in" nature, we are nature—this is the definitive text.
- Check out the new episodes: See how Sarika and Anthony are handling the mantle. The episode on Invasion of the Brain Snatchers (about parasites) is particularly classic Nature of Things—gross, fascinating, and deeply scientific.
- Support the Foundation: If the environmental message of the show resonated with you, look into the work the David Suzuki Foundation is doing on biodiversity and climate policy.
- Practice "Eco-centrism": Suzuki’s biggest takeaway after 44 years is that we need to stop seeing the world as a pyramid with us at the top. Try to look at your own backyard as a web of relationships instead of a piece of property.
David Suzuki left the screen, but the conversation he started is far from over. Whether the show survives another 60 years depends on whether we’re actually listening to the science he spent his life translating for us.
For those looking to catch up on the legacy, the CBC Gem app has a massive collection of past seasons. Digging into the 80s episodes is like looking into a crystal ball that actually worked—he was calling out the problems we're facing today decades before they became headlines. It's sobering, but it's also a reminder that the information has always been there; we just have to act on it.