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Living on Earth

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As the planet we call home faces a climate emergency, Living on Earth is your go-to source for the latest coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to you by PRX.

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October 23 · 51 min
Fracking and Data Centers, A Fossil Fuel Treaty Beyond the UNFCCC, Hurricane Helene's Impact Brought to Life and more.
One of the states where data centers to power AI are growing is Pennsylvania, which also has a large supply of natural gas. In Upper Burrell, a town just east of Pittsburgh, a data center expansion could be fed by fracking rigs already pumping gas out of the ground. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier reports the town is trying to keep pace with these two big industries in its backyard. Also, thirty years of UN climate sessions and the persistent wide gap between discussion and action to slow the climate crisis have left some countries and NGOs frustrated as they face a dire future. So even as COP31 begins in November in Turkey, an alternate path already began in April in Colombia when roughly 60 countries met for the first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, with a treaty in the works. And in 2024, Hurricane Helene ripped through the mountain communities of western North Carolina, leaving them stranded and unable to communicate with the outside world for days. A new graphic novel, Islands in the Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene, pairs up survivors with artists to help them tell their stories of resourcefulness and resilience in their own words. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 16 · 51 min
Powerful Pacific Storms Amid ‘Super’ El Niño, Pesticide Atrazine Contaminating 25% of Rivers, and ‘A Guardian and a Thief’
Boosted by climate change, this year’s El Niño has intensified into a “Super El Niño,” meaning sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific are over 2 degrees Celsius hotter than average. How this has brought one strong storm after another churning across the Pacific Ocean while shutting down most Atlantic storms, and what this super El Niño may bring in the months ahead. Also, Atrazine is the second most widely used weed killer in the U.S. after glyphosate, which you might know from RoundUp. Much like glyphosate, atrazine can disrupt hormones and has been linked to serious health impacts, including cancer. Atrazine is also wreaking havoc on aquatic ecosystems, and a recent report from the Center for Biological Diversity finds nearly a quarter of all river miles in the US contain harmful levels. And in her award-winning novel A Guardian and a Thief, Megha Majumdar places her characters in the near future in a climate-changed Kolkata, India, where she grew up. She discusses how the climate crisis may present the kinds of difficult moral choices her characters grapple with. --- We want to hear from you! What’s motivating you to vote in the November 3rd midterm elections? What questions do you have about how the midterms could shape climate action, species protection, clean air for public health, and more? Write us at comments@loe.org or send us a voice note (learn how at the end of this episode). And we might play your comment on the air! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 10 · 51 min
Maine Senate Race, Climate and Environment; Public Power and Industry Pushback; The Carbon Wave and more.
The closely watched race for US Senate in Maine is pitting two environmentally concerned candidates against each other. Not only do Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson both have fairly similar green and climate views, they’re from the same rural county and both have roots in the lumber industry that’s so important to the state. Also, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, public power advocates have battled since 2018 to take electricity non-profit, and hope to win a referendum vote in November. But strong opposition from dividend-paying DTE Energy is being stoked by an alleged misinformation campaign with claims of higher costs of going public from what seems to be at least one citizen group that is in fact funded in part by DTE. And in 2022, President Biden’s signature climate bill appeared doomed in the 50-50 divided Senate when West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat with close ties to the fossil fuel industry, declined to pledge his critical vote. But negotiations restarted in secret, and the largest climate package in US history became law. Leah Stokes’ 2026 book The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Protect Our Planet tells the gripping story of how the Inflation Reduction Act came together and cleared the final hurdles. --- We want to hear from you! What’s motivating you to vote in the November 3rd midterm elections? What questions do you have about how the midterms could shape climate action, species protection, clean air for public health, and more? Write us at comments@loe.org or send us a voice note (learn how at the end of this episode). And we might play your comment on the air! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 2 · 51 min
‘Blockbuster’ Climate Case at Supreme Court, The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light, State Elections and the Climate, and more.
When the US Supreme Court set Monday, October 5th for oral arguments on an appeal from the Colorado State Supreme Court by Suncor and Exxon, it highlighted what could become a landmark case about damage from climate change and the role of fossil fuels. Why the case could make or break the ability of states and local governments to ‘make polluters pay.’ Also, our brightly lit modern world is increasingly drowning out the stars. To rediscover what we miss when we can’t look up and see the heavens in their full glory, award-winning author Craig Childs embarked on a journey by bike from blindingly bright Las Vegas into the dark skies of the remote Nevada desert. His 2025 book is The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light. And much is at stake for the climate and environmental protection when it comes to this fall’s Congressional and Senate races, in the middle of the second Trump presidency. But the often-overlooked elections for state legislatures and governors can also go a long way towards shaping the future of these issues, and we discuss a few key states to watch. --- We want to hear from you! What’s motivating you to vote in the November 3rd midterm elections? What questions do you have about how the midterms could shape climate action, species protection, clean air for public health, and more? Write us at comments@loe.org or send us a voice note (learn how at the end of this episode). And we might play your comment on the air! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 25 · 51 min
Climate Justice and Healing for Nepal, Leaders Meet Amid Climate Warnings, 12 Trillion Tons of Melted Ice and more.
After the deadly floods in Nepal this August, researchers rapidly assessed the event and concluded that climate change played a “very strong” role in the catastrophic glacial collapse. We discuss the human toll of the floods and the moral duty of the world to slow the climate crisis and help Nepal adapt. Also, the 2026 United Nations Climate Summit and Climate Week, which just wrapped up in New York City, took place in the wake of a summer marked by deadly extreme heat, the Nepal flood disaster and a UN report on the inevitable “overshoot” of the 1.5 degree C warming goal. We talk about the disjoint between urgent warnings and pleas for help from vulnerable nations, while countries like the US continue boosting fossil fuels -- amid the rapid growth and cost savings of renewable energy. And a recent study in the journal Scientific Data shows that since 1979, around 12.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica -- enough to cover the entire US in 5 feet of ice. And the melting has been speeding up in the last two decades. We discuss the implications for future melting and global sea level rise. Plus: In addition to storing carbon through photosynthesis, trees have another carbon cycle trick up their sleeve, or rather, bark, and it's been hiding in plain sight. Scientists have discovered that tree bark hosts millions of microbes involved in consuming and producing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 18 · 53 min
Alarming Global Temperature Rise, Batteries Kicking Out Natural Gas, In Trees, BirdNote®: Roosting Tree Swallows, and more.
2026 was recorded as one of the hottest summers globally, with deadly heatwaves in Europe and catastrophic floods in Nepal. We discuss how the United Nations put out a report warning that current climate policies will lead to at least 1.8°C of global temperature increase, well beyond the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement raising the alarm on global temperature rise. Also, California is reducing its natural gas consumption by increasing its solar energy battery energy storage and utility scale solar systems. Compared to the rest of the nation, in 2014 the state was producing 10 percent of the country’s total gas-fired electricity, but by 2025 it was down to just 4 percent. And Trees provide us with shade, food, beauty and of course, oxygen to breathe. They often outlive humans, and can teach us about life, aging, and how to be better stewards of the earth. We talk about Robert Moor’s newest book “In Trees: An Exploration”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 11 · 53 min
Glaciers Crumble as Earth Warms, Climate-Resilient “Super Reefs”, Fat Marmot Week and “OnlyMarms”, and more.
The devastating August 2026 flash floods in Nepal and Tibet were triggered in part by a glacial collapse, a phenomenon likely to become more frequent as the Earth continues to rapidly warm due to human caused climate change. We discuss why climate change is making mountains and glaciers more unstable, and how early warning systems and less development in floodplains could prevent future loss of life. Also, as global sea temperatures rise due to climate change, coral reefs around the world are struggling through mass bleaching events. But new research has identified nearly one-third of the world’s coral reefs as climate-resilient “super reefs”, three times more than was previously estimated. And inspired by the popular Fat Bear Week, researchers with the Marmot Project launched Fat Marmot Week this year to raise awareness of these large ground squirrels, and drum up support for sustaining their decades-long research project. We talk about the winner of Fat Marmot Week, and other creative ways the team is fundraising and spreading a love of yellow-bellied marmots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 4 · 50 min
Blocking New UK Oil and Gas, An Indigenous Bison Harvest, Terry Tempest Williams on ‘The Glorians’ and more.
Great Britain is Europe’s third largest oil and gas producer, even with a commitment to a net-zero economy by 2050. A small group of climate activists is helping the UK meet that target by winning a Supreme Court decision that’s blocking any new UK oil and gas projects that don’t assess climate impacts. Sarah Finch of Surrey, near London led the fight against proposed oil and gas drilling in the region known as the Weald, and she’s been recognized with the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for Europe. Also, efforts to bring back bison that once roamed the Great Plains are helping to revive Indigenous culture on lands across the US West, including in the city of Denver. And the Utah desert with its raw beauty has long been a muse for writer Terry Tempest Williams. In her 2026 book, The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, she explores miraculous moments of grace that call for our attention, even in spaces that may at first seem unremarkable. Terry joined us for an online Living on Earth Book Club event. -- Find photos, transcripts, links to more information about these stories, and much more at the Living on Earth website, loe dot org! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 28 · 51 min
Highway Reborn as Public Park, Gardening for Special Needs, The Light Between Apple Trees, and more.
The four-lane Great Highway used to run along the Pacific Ocean on the west side of San Francisco, where it was at risk of erosion from sea level rise. Now it’s been transformed into a park where visitors can bike, walk, skate, and play next to the water. Also, for people with developmental or physical disabilities, growing plants in a garden may offer personal growth opportunities that unlock new possibilities outside of the garden too. An avid gardener and occupational therapist speaks about her book Nurturing Nature: A Guide to Gardening for Special Needs. And as the first hints of fall come to the northern U.S., many of us are heading out for the autumn tradition of apple picking. The fascinating and. complex science and history behind the iconic apple. --- You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 21 · 51 min
Baby Right Whales Bring Hope, Tylenol Upcycled from Plastic, Community-Led Wildfire Prevention in Africa and more.
North Atlantic Right whales were once so thoroughly hunted they nearly went extinct. When hunting these mammals was outlawed, they slowly started to bounce back, but today Right whales are dealing with newer deadly threats, such as fishing gear entanglement and warming in the Gulf of Maine. So, it’s a relief to advocates to have a successful calving season like this year with 23 new calves, the most since 2009. Also, scientists in the UK were able to use genetically modified bacteria to turn plastic bottles into the common pain reliever acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol and Tylenol. The lead researcher speaks with us about the potential applications of this biotech breakthrough. And Nigerian conservation ecologist Iroro Tanshi rediscovered the short-tailed roundleaf bat in 2016, after decades when it was believed extinct in the region. The species is still critically endangered, with habitat loss from wildfires as one of its top threats. So Iroro joined with local groups to start a community-led program to develop safer field burning practices and wildfire fighting strategies, and she is the recipient of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa. --- You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 14 · 53 min
PFAS and Our Genes, Artemis II Science and Awe, and Clearing the Air and Climate Solutions Hope
A 2025 study found that exposure to certain PFAS chemicals, which are pervasive and persistent in the environment and human bodies, can lead to changes in gene expression that are linked to cancers, autoimmune and other immune disorders, and neurological disorders. Also, the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission in April 2026 made new scientific observations that are helping to expand our knowledge of the Moon, as well as the Earth itself. Artemis II Lunar Science Lead Kelsey Young joins us to talk about the scientific goals and accomplishments of the mission and the unforgettable moments the crew shared with people back on Earth. And climate solutions like renewable energy tech that requires intensive mining can run into skepticism from people across the political spectrum. But according to data scientist Hannah Ritchie, many of the concerns are based on partial- and misinformation, and the outlook for addressing the climate emergency isn’t as grim as some people may think. Ritchie is the author of Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers. --- You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 7 · 51 min
A Cemetery Buzzing with Bees, Bluetooth Butterfly Tracking, How Flowers Made Our World, and more.
While honeybees get most of the buzz, most bees don’t produce honey, and most don’t even live in colonies. Instead, they’re solitary bees who build individual nests. A study details an astonishing finding of several million solitary bees in a cemetery in Ithaca, New York. And monarch butterflies can travel thousands of miles each year between Mexico and North America in an epic relay race of multiple generations. Thanks to new technology, our phones and other Bluetooth devices can now tell us what paths these brave little insects take on this journey. Also, lush peonies, delicate hydrangeas, and vibrant roses burst into bloom in early summer, filling gardens and parks with color and fragrance. But flowers are more than their beauty. They’re some of the oldest beings on Earth, and they played a large role in shaping the natural world as we know it. Author and biologist David George Haskell joins us to discuss his 2026 book, How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries. — Find photos, transcripts, links to more information about these stories, and much more at the Living on Earth website, loe dot org! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 31 · 51 min
Saving the Klamath, Salmon, and Yurok Culture; Trump Attempts to Shrink Bears Ears -- Again; Hints of Life on Mars; and more.
The culture of the Yurok tribe in Northern California is deeply intertwined with the Klamath river’s salmon. So, when toxic conditions caused by the dams on the river resulted in a massive fish kill, the Yurok people sprang into action and secured the historic removal of four dams, a story captured in The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. Also, on July 13, 2026, President Trump issued a proclamation reducing the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in southern Utah by about 90 percent, to remove almost 3 million acres from monument status. We discuss the significance of these places to several local tribes who co-manage them, and why in their view the President lacks the authority to slash monuments. And on Mars, our planet’s rocky twin, NASA’s Perseverance Rover is seeking signs of past life, and now scientists say they may have uncovered some of the most compelling evidence yet, in the form of complex carbon molecules in Martian mudstones. That and more, next time on Living on Earth from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 24 · 51 min
Climate Change Speeding Up, Smog and Sunshine – CA’s Cleaner Air, and more.
Current climate change has been well underway for decades, but the rate of that change is now going up so fast that people are noticing things like tornados and extreme heat waves are occurring in places where they have rarely been seen before. How greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, the loss of reflective ice and snow, and other changes are causing the Earth to retain extra heat energy from the Sun. Also, decades ago, the Los Angeles basin was often cloaked in a thick blanket of choking smog, but today the skies are comparatively clear. This striking improvement was no accident and is a testament to how scientists, government, and engaged citizens can work together to solve difficult environmental problems. UCLA Environmental Law Professor Ann Carlson reflects on that success as described in her 2026 book, Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air. And one of the national parks you might visit this summer, or any time of year is Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado, with the tallest dunes in North America. That’s where Living on Earth Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender watched the landscape and a local herd of elk as weather came in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 17 · 51 min
Extreme Heat and Tooth Decay, The Problem with Plastic, National Parks Magic and more.
The extreme heat that’s becoming far more common in a warming world is now being linked to dental problems. As the body prioritizes sweat for cooling over saliva production, the resulting dry mouth can have devastating impacts on your teeth, and a dentist in Pakistan is documenting a tooth decay trend among his patients who work outdoors in the heat for prolonged periods. Also, cheap and convenient plastic products are everywhere you turn, and the microplastics they break down to are now in our water, soil, air, and deep inside our bodies. Joining us to discuss her 2025 book The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late is Judith Enck, a former EPA Regional Administrator and the founder and President of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics. Plus -- it’s peak summer travel season, and for many people traveling in the US that means a visit to a national park or monument. After all, "America's crown jewels” are ideal places to disconnect and reconnect with nature and our shared history. Will Shafroth, recently retired CEO of the National Park Foundation, takes a virtual road trip of sorts with us to share the magic of the national parks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 10 · 51 min
Antarctic Ice Missing, Arctic Peatlands Expanding, Nuts to Feed the World and more
Midsummer in the Northern hemisphere marks the dead of winter in Antarctica, usually a time when temperatures plunge and the surrounding ocean ices over, nearly doubling the continent’s size. But this June, scientists found Antarctica’s west coast was missing a chunk of sea ice the size of France. How unusually warm ocean water is affecting sea ice as well as massive Antarctic glaciers. Also, recent findings that peatlands are expanding northward as the Arctic warms might sound like good news, since peat has powerful carbon storage capabilities. But it takes millennia for peat to sequester large amounts of carbon, while we are burning fossil fuels far more quickly than the Earth can absorb. And much of the world’s staple crops of corn, wheat, rice and soy are grown in huge monocultures that disrupt ecosystems and require massive amounts of fertilizer, pesticides, fossil fuels and water. The author of ‘Feed Us with Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food’ offers a more sustainable vision of food production. She shares how nut trees can offer alternative sources of starch, protein and healthy fats that integrate well into local ecosystems and can help feed a growing population. -- Don’t miss the next virtual Living on Earth Book Club event on Tuesday, July 14 at 5 pm PDT / 8 pm EDT! We’ll talk with Yurok activist and attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about how multiple generations of her family have advocated for the protection of Northern California’s Klamath River, a crucial habitat for salmon and the lifeblood of the Yurok tribe. Her book is The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. You can sign up for this free event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 3 · 51 min
America’s Enduring Ecology: Forests, Public Lands, and more
As we mark America’s 250th birthday, we celebrate parts of America’s enduring ecology, including our forests, national parks and other public lands. At the heart of one of Washington State’s most expansive wild ecosystems is North Cascades National Park, just a three-hour drive from Seattle yet one of the lesser-known parks. Also, around 30% of the United States is federal public lands, and the biggest chunk or 245 million acres falls under the purview of the Bureau of Land Management. BLM lands are sometimes called “leftover” or “forgotten” lands, but they offer free or very cheap camping and feature a stark beauty that captivated writer and photographer Josh Jackson, author of the 2025 book, ‘The Enduring Wild: A Journey into California’s Public Lands.’ And when European colonists landed in North America, some of the most dramatic changes they made were to our forests. Clearcutting ran rampant, but now, on the 250th birthday of the United States, much of our forests have recovered, particularly in the Northeast. And today, maintaining our forests is vital for mitigating the effects of climate change. -- Sign up for the next virtual Living on Earth Book Club event on July 14 at 5 pm PDT / 8 pm EDT! We’ll talk with Yurok activist and attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about how multiple generations of her family have advocated for the protection of Northern California’s Klamath River, a crucial habitat for salmon and the lifeblood of the Yurok tribe. Her book is The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. You can sign up for this free event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 26 · 52 min
When the Forest Breathes with Suzanne Simard, Ocean Monitoring Restored, Fighting Fracking in Colombia and more.
Forest ecologist Suzanne Simard has shown through her research that the biggest and oldest ‘Mother Trees’ in the forest anchor networks of social connection among the trees, and indeed the whole forest ecosystem. Her latest book is When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World, and she shares how more sustainable logging practices incorporating Indigenous knowledge can help heal decades of clearcutting harm. Also, after announcing at the end of May it was dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative, the National Science Foundation faced widespread public criticism and the Senate passed a bipartisan measure to preserve the vital ocean monitoring network. NSF then reversed its decision and says an array that was already being removed will be redeployed. We discuss this reprieve for climate and ocean science. And our sixth and final installment of interviews with the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize winners features Latin American winner Yuvelis Morales Blanco, honored for fighting against fracking in Colombia and forced to flee after receiving death threats. The recent presidential elections in Colombia put fracking back on the table, after four years of an administration that signaled a desire to transition away from fossil fuels. -- Sign up for the next virtual Living on Earth Book Club event on July 14 at 5 pm PDT / 8 pm EDT! We’ll talk with Yurok activist and attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about how multiple generations of her family have advocated for the protection of Northern California’s Klamath River, a crucial habitat for salmon and the lifeblood of the Yurok tribe. Her book is The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. You can sign up for this free event at loe.org/events. Music from public domain and licensed from Blue Dot Sessions: sessions.blue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 19 · 51 min
How Flowers Made Our World, A Cemetery Buzzing with Bees, El Niño Is Here, and more.
Lush peonies, delicate hydrangeas, and vibrant roses burst into bloom in early summer, filling gardens and parks with color and fragrance. But flowers are more than their beauty. They’re some of the oldest beings on Earth, and they played a large role in shaping the natural world as we know it. Author and biologist David George Haskell joins us to discuss his 2026 book, How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries. Also, while honeybees get most of the buzz, most bees don’t produce honey, and most don’t even live in colonies. Instead, they’re solitary bees who build individual nests. A recent study details an astonishing finding of several million solitary bees in a cemetery in Ithaca, New York. And the 2026 El Niño is now officially underway, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA. Combined with the ongoing rising temperatures from the climate crisis, this possible “super” El Niño could spell major disruption of weather patterns and ocean circulation worldwide. -- Sign up for the next virtual Living on Earth Book Club event on July 14 at 5 pm PDT / 8 pm EDT! We’ll talk with Yurok activist and attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about how multiple generations of her family have advocated for the protection of Northern California’s Klamath River, a crucial habitat for salmon and the lifeblood of the Yurok tribe. Her book is The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. You can sign up for this free event at loe.org/events. Music from public domain and licensed from Blue Dot Sessions: sessions.blue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 12 · 51 min
Juneteenth! Celebrating Black and Brown Stewards of the Green Earth
To celebrate Juneteenth we tell the story of plant biologist Beronda Montgomery. When she sat down to write what became a personal memoir mixed with a botanical history of African Americans, she found her research as a PhD lab scientist had brought her squarely into the world of social science as well. From her studies of how plants respond to light during photosynthesis, she started shining a light on the history of extensive plant cultivation by African Americans, including those who endured forced labor. She joins us to discuss her book When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, Historyand America’s Black Botanical Legacy. Also, George Washington Carver was born into slavery but went on to become a famous agronomist and helped poor people in the South improve their lives and soils by planting peanuts and other legumes. This week, he comes back from the past in the form of actor and playwright Paxton Williams, who joins us as “George Washington Carver” to talk about the future of modern-day agriculture and intersections between racial dynamics and agricultural development. -- Music licensed from Blue Dot Sessions: sessions.blue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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