It takes rare talent and enormous heart (not to mention supernatural devotion to research) to look at our planet and find beauty in brokenness as well as promise for a brighter future. Authors Lyndsie Bourgon, Cal Flyn, and David George Haskell are the best kind of environmental writers: there’s no preaching, only passion, discovery, and stories of wild things that make us love this place a little bit more than we did before we met them here. Here are bonus extended interviews with the authors. You can also watch the full episode with their stories and edited interviews on-demand at the link below.

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The
Storytellers

In her book Tree Thieves, Lyndsie Bourgon digs into the unrelenting destruction of one of Earth’s greatest treasures. Borg loves trees — but she loves people, too. She shares with us the depth of her investigation into the ongoing tragedy of redwood timber poaching, but with brilliant nuance and compassion for some of the people who’ve relied on this tradition for their livelihood and their identity.

Cal Flyn’s perspective on the natural world is as hopeful as it is meticulously researched. In conversation, the author paints a lush, eerie picture of what the planet might look like if humans were to leave it alone. Flyn’s exploration of the way the wild things grow when abandoned by people is personal, poetic, and, ultimately, promising.

David George Haskell takes us on a sonic adventure into the wild sounds of our planet. For him rootedness is about “paying attention to the human senses”. Haskell finds meaning and connection in sensory connection to everything from the table he works at to the smell of the tea he drinks in the morning. His exuberant plea that we pay attention to the “beauty and brokenness” of the living world around us opens our ears and our eyes — and roots us right where we are.

Buy the Books!

We are grateful to Greystone Books and Penguin Random House Canada for helping us connect you with these deeply original voices.

The book is the t-shirt you desperately want after every show. Support our partners at the links below.

This Week!

Imagine on Air presents Jody Rosen and his new book, Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle. This live online conversation will be hosted by writer and fellow bike enthusiast Tom Babin. (Thursday, June 16 @ 7pm - 8pm MT. ONLINE).