Ep. 164 : Cultural histories of Raccoons with Daniel Heath Justice

Who would have thought that a small woodland creature would have made such an impact on the land, hearts, minds, and cultures of those who have encountered them.
Author, professor and animal nerd Daniel Heath Justice helps us navigate the wild cultural impacts and impressions of Raccoons. Raccoons are imprinted on the imaginary as “category-defying, rule-breaking and boundary-breaching beings”. They are models for both lean, resilient, images of the noble wild as well as pestilent dumpster dwelling “trash pandas”. Queer creatures indeed.

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Ep. 156 : WITCHBODY with Sabrina Scott

Can we imagine a living piece of trash? Can we remember that magic exists and flows through all things, including that trash, the sidewalk, the tires sunk in the bottom of the river? Maybe respect and honour are not just for the pretty things, the magical things like a candle, or a plant, or the multitude of stars.

Sabrina Scott asks us to take all beings into account, allowing for their identities to remind us that the world is a breathing, heaving, mass of being - from our own bodies we hold so high, down to the vaccines and microbes which populate all things.

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Ep. 153 : The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy

Doug Tallamy’s new book “The Nature of Oaks : The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees” is a month-by-month study of the ecology of Oaks. A perennial dive into the cycling inhabitants and visitors to Oaks throughout the year. While not quite a field guide, the book does offer detailed explanations, accompanied by large colour photographs, on a multitude of various insect and bird species who are interacting with the Oak.
This book, and interview, are full of natural history of the Oaks, as well as a call to action for those who have the means to plant an Oak.

byron murray 2020-11-09 byron murray 2020-11-09

Ep. 142 : Raptor Prey Remains with Ed Drewitt

For Episode 142 I get to talk to Ed Drewitt, naturalist, Peregrine Falcon researcher, and author of Raptor Prey Remains : A guide to identifying what’s been eaten by a bird of prey. We talk about raptor ecology on the broad sense and also get focus on Peregrines.
It was a nice and relaxed interview, with Ed sharing so much of what he has learned through his years of observation and study, and how his book can help those who are getting started in the world of tracking birds of prey by learning to correctly identify that which they prey upon.