A Foundational Conservation Story Revived.
Ancient writers observed that forests always recede as civilizations develop and grow. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that before civilization began, “even the pine tree stood on its own very hills” but when civilization took over, “the mountain oak, the pine were felled.”
This happened for a simple reason: trees h ... Show More
Today
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
Today
Ilan Kelman, "Antarcticness: Inspirations and Imaginaries" (UCL Press, 2022)
Antarcticness: Inspirations and Imaginaries (UCL Press, 2022)
edited by Ilan Kelman
Antarcticness joins disciplines, communication approaches, and ideas to explore meanings and depictions of Antarctica. Personal and professional words in poetry and prose, plus images, present and ... Show More
42m 16s
Yesterday
Arpitha Kodiveri, "Governing Forests: State, Law and Citizenship in India’s Forests" (Melbourne UP, 2024)
In Governing Forests: State, Law and Citizenship in India’s Forests (Melbourne UP, 2024), Arpitha Kodiveri unpacks the fraught and shifting relationship between the Indian State, forest-dwelling communities, and forest conservation regimes.
The book builds on years of fieldwork ... Show More
1h 48m
May 2025
Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and The Birth of History | Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid
<p>We sit down with Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid, author of "Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and The Birth of History" an honorary fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. She takes us on an incredible journey through ancient Mesopotamia, exploring the region's rich histor ... Show More
1h 3m
Sep 16
Becoming Ourselves Part 1 — From Survival to Civilization.
History isn’t just a story of kings and battles — it’s the story of how humans learned to create value, survive collapse, and reinvent themselves again and again.In this episode of Decoded by Mo, we take a long journey through time — from the hunters painting bison on cave walls, ... Show More
37m 31s
Nov 2024
The Ancient Amazon
<p>Today, we often see the Amazon basin as an endless expanse of trees and rainforest. But 2,000 years ago, at the same time that great cities like Rome, Athens and Alexandria were at their height, this massive area of South America was home to a huge range of landscapes, biodive ... Show More
50 m
Dec 2024
Charles Foster, "Being a Human: Adventures in Forty Thousand Years of Consciousness" (Metropolitan Books, 2021)
How did humans come to be who we are? In his marvelous, eccentric, and widely lauded book Being a Beast, legal scholar, veterinary surgeon, and naturalist extraordinaire Charles Foster set out to understand the consciousness of animal species by living as a badger, otter, fox, de ... Show More
59m 18s
Dec 2024
Charles Foster, "Being a Human: Adventures in Forty Thousand Years of Consciousness" (Metropolitan Books, 2021)
How did humans come to be who we are? In his marvelous, eccentric, and widely lauded book Being a Beast, legal scholar, veterinary surgeon, and naturalist extraordinaire Charles Foster set out to understand the consciousness of animal species by living as a badger, otter, fox, de ... Show More
59m 18s
Jul 2024
Plants of the Gods: S6E1. Food of the Gods: The Ethnobotany of Chocolate
Today, we kick off Season 6 of Plants of the Gods, as host Dr. Mark Plotkin of the Amazon Conservation Team explores the fascinating history of cacao, highlighting its ancient origins in the Amazon rainforest and its transformation into the beloved chocolate consumed worldwide to ... Show More
33m 33s
Sep 2023
Daniel R. Reichman, "Progress in the Balance: Mythologies of Development in Santos, Brazil" (Cornell UP, 2023)
Progress and development have long been important issues in anthropology and social sciences. Based on extensive archives and ethnographic fieldwork, Progress in the Balance: Mythologies of Development in Santos, Brazil (Cornell UP, 2023) addresses and assesses an anthropological ... Show More
45m 1s