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Canopy Biologist Studies Movement from Treetops to Prisons

Nalini Nadkarni has been called “the queen of canopy research,” in part because of her personal philosophy to bring together two groups - the trees and the general public. She does this by...

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Finding Joy and Discomfort in the History of the National Parks

If you had to pick one writer, one poet, who has persistently reminded us of the connection between inner and outer landscapes it would be Terry Tempest Williams. She's advocated again and again for...

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Hearing a Disappearing World

While we humans are out there making a lot of noise, we're not the only creatures on the planet that vocalize. Birds, whales, frogs and toads—all of these things make noise. But do they have a voice?...

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How Animals Sound in Winter

Ok, some knowledge about animals surviving winter is good. But this is radio. How do animals SOUND in winter? For that we turn to Douglas Quin. He’s an award-winning sound designer and composer., and...

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The Reindeer People

Piers Vitebsky is an anthropologist who studies the Eveny or Reindeer People of Siberia.  They depend on the reindeer for their survival.  They keep herds of them for meat -  but their connection goes...

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Women Hunting

Writer Kim Hiss discovered her own symbiotic relationship with animals in winter.  She was working as an editor for Field and Stream Magazine and it was her first hunt. 

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Rediscovering Alexander Von Humboldt, The Largely Forgotten Father Of...

Before John Muir - even before Charles Darwin - there was Alexander von Humboldt, the German scientist who shaped our modern understanding of nature. Today, he’s largely forgotten, but Humboldt was...

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Ingenuity of Animals in Winter

Depending on where you live, winter can be tough to get through.  It’s cold, it gets dark early, the weather’s messy.  Naturalist Bernd Heinrich shares some amazing stories about the ingeniuous ways...

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Kurt and Bernard Vonnegut in the House of Magic

Kurt Vonnegut joined his brother, Bernard, at General Electric in the late 1940s. Bernard was a scientist working on cutting-edge weather-control technologies while Kurt worked in G.E.'s PR department....

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David Morris Recommends “Solo Faces” by James Salter

Writer David Morris explains why "Solo Faces" by James Salter is one of his favorite books.

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Climbing Free with Alex Honnold

Rock climber Alex Honnold burst onto the scene a few years ago with some breathtaking solo climbs in Zion and Yosemite, and he’s gone on to push the limits of what was considered possible for a rock...

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Talking to Plants

Botanist Robin Kimmerer describes her field experiments as like interviewing a plant. She believes nature is full of living beings - rocks and water as well as plants and animals. As both a Ph.D...

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The Eternal Moment

Wade Davis has been called the Indiana Jones of anthropology. He's traveled deep into the Amazon rain forest to meet shamans; he's investigated Haitian zombies; he's climbed high into the Tibetan...

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How to Chop, Stack and Burn Wood

You'd never think a book about chopping and burning wood would turn into a runaway bestseller, but Lars Mytting's "Norwegian Wood" is a publishing sensation in Scandinavia. Lars gathers the collected...

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A Solo Walk Halfway Across the Globe

In 2010, explorer Sarah Marquis set out on a solo walk from Siberia to Australia. Over the course of three years and 10,000 miles, she braved subzero temperatures and sandstorms, and was harassed by...

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Terry Tempest Williams on National Parks

Losing yourself in wilderness can also be a way of finding yourself, and one place you can do that is in our national parks. Renowned nature writer Terry Tempest Williams reflects on her love for these...

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Desert Mind

Where do you go if you want to see dinosaur footprints, ancient rock art and remote desert wilderness? There's no better place than the Grand Staircase-Escalanate National Monument in southern Utah....

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Land, Race, Memory

Nature is more than pristine meadows and eroded canyons. There's also a history of how people have shaped and sometimes fought over the land. Lauret Savoy uncovers this shadow history and the racism...

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The Wisdom of Trails

Any hiker has to wonder about the trails they walk on. Who made them? And why does the trail follow this particular route? Robert Moor has traveled around the world exploring animal and fossil trails,...

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A Father and Daughter Venture Into the Alaskan Wild

Aidan Campbell was 15 when she butchered a caribou at -35 degrees. Now she's 17 and she's already made three trips deep into the Alaskan wilderness with her dad, James. They describe some of their...

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