It is 2084. Climate change has made life on the Caribbean island of Bajacu a gruelling trial. The sun is so hot that people must sleep in the day and live and work at night. In a world of desperate scarcity, people who reach forty are expendable. Those who still survive in the cities and towns are ruled over by the brutal, fascistic Domins, and the order has ... Show More
Nov 25
Micah S. Muscolino, "Remaking the Earth, Exhausting the People: The Burden of Conservation in Modern China" (U Washington Press, 2025)
From the 1940s to the 1960s, soil and water conservation measures transformed both the arid, erosion-prone environment of China’s Loess Plateau and the lives of rural people. Remaking the Earth, Exhausting the People: The Burden of Conservation in Modern China (U Washington Press ... Show More
1h 4m
Nov 24
Stephen D. Hopper, "Eucalyptus" (Reaktion, 2025)
Eucalypts, iconic to Australia, have shaped art, science and landscapes worldwide. With around nine hundred species, from towering giants to compact mallees, these trees inspire awe and curiosity. Their hardwood has driven industries, sparked protests and even toppled governments ... Show More
49 m
Nov 23
Heather Davis, "Plastic Matter" (Duke UP, 2022)
Plastic is ubiquitous. It is in the Arctic, in the depths of the Mariana Trench, and in the high mountaintops of the Pyrenees. It is in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Nanoplastics penetrate our cell walls. Plastic is not just any material—it is emblematic of life in t ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2020
If Miami Will Be Underwater, Why Is Construction Booming?
Miami Beach could be mostly underwater within eighty years, but construction of new beachfront properties is booming. What’s behind this disconnect? To find out, writer Sarah Miller went undercover posing as a high end buyer to meet with real estate agents across the city. Here’s ... Show More
26m 14s
Sep 2023
#191: Fight Back and Win (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
<p>In this 191st in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.</p><p> </p><p>In this episode we discuss climate science, models, and assumptions. How do urban heat, an ... Show More
2h 11m
Dec 2023
121. Exploring Physics, from Eggshells to Oceans
<p>Physicist Helen Czerski loves to explain how the world works. She talks with Steve about studying bubbles, setting off explosives, and how ocean waves have changed the course of history.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCE:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.helenczerski.net/a ... Show More
45m 12s
Mar 2023
Juliana Lamy, "You Were Watching from the Sand" (Red Hen Press, 2023)
Playful, kinetic, and devastating in turn, You Were Watching from the Sand (Red Hen Press, 2023) is a collection in which Haitian men, women, and children who find their lives cleaved by the interminably strange bite back at the bizarre with their own oddities. In "belly," a youn ... Show More
34m 41s