Solve For Nature

Meera Subramanian is an award-winning environmental journalist with over two decades of experience writing about the natural world and climate crisis. Her work has appeared in The New York Times , The New Yorker , Nature , and Orion , where she's a contributing editor. Her first book, A River Runs Again , about India's environmental collapse, was shortlisted for the 2016 Orion Book Award. She's al...

Scott Weidensaul is a writer and researcher specializing in birds and bird migration, and the author of nearly thirty books, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Living on the Wind and the New York Times bestseller A World on the Wing . He joins us today to talk about his latest, The Return of the Oystercatcher — exploring where conservation has actually worked, from Indigenous-led efforts on the...

Hillary Rosner is an award-winning science journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic , The New York Times , and The Atlantic . Her new book, ROAM: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World , explores how roads, fences, and cities have fragmented the planet—and how reconnecting habitats could help heal both wildlife and humanity. Find Hillary Rosner and ROAM: Wild Anim...

Jack Ratliff — retired Navy SEAL, lawyer, and law professor — and the author of Riding the White Bull: The Making of a Navy SEAL . Rather than focusing on the battlefield, Jack's memoir traces the formative years that shaped his character long before elite service began — from a West Texas upbringing to fighting forest fires, to the grueling world of the UDT, the direct precursor to today's SEALs....

Holly Latteman is an environmental scientist and conservation leader serving as Director of Science and Research at The Dawes Arboretum, where she oversees native seed collection, living collections, and the Advanced Training Program for emerging conservationists. With a background spanning zoology, anthropology, and environmental studies — and research ranging from black vulture behavior to avian...

What if the story we’ve been told about plastic is incomplete—or even backward? In this episode, I sit down with Chris DeArmitt, an independent polymer and environmental scientist, keynote speaker, and founder of the Plastics Research Council. After reading thousands of peer-reviewed studies without funding, Chris has made it his mission to translate complex science into clear, practical guidance....

Pat Maher is the CEO of Atkins Ranch, the New Zealand-based collective of over 100 family farms producing 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised lamb for premium markets in the U.S. and Canada. Under his leadership, the company champions regenerative agriculture with third-party verification that promotes soil and ecosystem health while strengthening animal welfare and farm viability. Maher focuses on bui...

Ken Callison is an entrepreneur, researcher, and author of the new book The Way to World Peace: An Idea Whose Time Has Come .  Written in a moment of rising geopolitical tension, nuclear risk, and environmental instability, the book reframes world peace not as a lofty ideal but as a practical and necessary step for human survival . Ken has spent decades studying humanity’s future, including c...

Julie Brams is an Earth-centered psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and author of The Nature Embedded Mind: How the Way We Think Can Heal Our Planet and Ourselves . Her work sits at the intersection of psychology, ecology, and social justice, exploring how our deep sense of separation from nature affects both personal well-being and collective health. Drawing from clinical practice, scientific r...

In this solo episode, Eugene steps out from behind the interview mic to reflect on where Solve for Nature has been—and where it’s going next. He shares why sustainability often feels like “suffering,” why that framing misses the point, and how real, lasting change starts with values, not checklists. This episode marks the beginning of a more personal chapter for the podcast—one focused on mindset,...

Today I’m thrilled to welcome Matthieu Mehuys , Belgian-born landscape architect, regenerative garden designer, award-winning author, and an inspiring voice in practical ecological living. Raised on a farm and trained in landscape design, Matthieu has spent years helping everyday people transform their yards into thriving, biodiverse ecosystems that save time, nurture health, and heal the planet,...

Hillary Rosner is an award-winning science journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic , The New York Times , and The Atlantic . Her new book, ROAM: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World , explores how roads, fences, and cities have fragmented the planet—and how reconnecting habitats could help heal both wildlife and humanity. Find Hillary Rosner and Roam: Wild Anim...

Author and essayist Tamara Dean rejoins us for a special follow-up to her first Solve for Nature episode. Last time, her reflections on resilience, the Driftless landscape, and her book Shelter and Storm led to a challenge centered on citizen science. Today, she shares how that challenge unfolded—from the frustrations, to the unexpected joy, to the renewed sense of purpose she found knee-deep in W...

What if Stephen Hawking was right—that humanity has less than 100 years left? Physicist and tech entrepreneur Peter Solomon, Ph. D ., believes the clock is ticking. With five existential threats accelerating—AI, climate change, genetic engineering, nuclear risk, and social media manipulation—he’s using science and storytelling to wake us up. His new novel 100 Years to Extinction paints a future we...

Elspeth Hay is a writer and food systems thinker who’s inviting us to radically rethink how we grow our food. In her book Feed Us with Trees , she uncovers a forgotten story—one in which humans once thrived by cultivating staple foods like acorns, chestnuts, and hazelnuts in forest gardens rather than plowed fields. Through conversations with Indigenous knowledge-keepers, scientists, nut growers,...

Kelly Wendorf is a leadership teacher, coach, and author of Flying Lead Change: 56 Million Years of Wisdom for Leading and Living . Drawing on indigenous teachings, neuroscience, and the wisdom of horses, she offers a nature-based approach to leadership that fosters connection, care, and resilience. Wendorf guides leaders—whether in workplaces, families, or communities—to “lead from behind,” creat...

Bridget A. Lyons is a writer, artist, and explorer whose new book Entwined: Dispatches from the Intersection of Species takes readers on a journey into the wisdom of the more-than-human world. Blending memoir, science, and travelogue, Lyons explores what octopuses, owls, kelp, stingrays, and countless other beings can teach us about resilience, relationships, and living in harmony with our planet....

Kelly Ramsey is a former wildland firefighter and debut author of Wildfire Days , a gripping memoir about her time as the only woman on an elite hotshot crew battling megafires in California. With raw honesty, she shares the physical, emotional, and cultural toll of life on the fireline—and what it reveals about a West increasingly shaped by climate-fueled disaster. Find Kelly Ramsey and Wild...

Kelsey Timmerman is a New York Times bestselling author and globe-trotting journalist who brings big global issues down to a human scale. In his latest book, Regenerating Earth , he dives into the world of regenerative agriculture—traveling from Indiana cornfields to the Amazon rainforest—to explore how farmers and Indigenous communities are healing the planet by working with nature, not against i...

Danae Wolfe  is an award-winning conservation photographer, writer, educator, and the founder behind the @chasingbugs social media handle, focused on fostering appreciation and stewardship of backyard bugs and wildlife. Ever the pragmatic, she believes that everyone has the power to make a difference in combatting climate change and biodiversity loss. Danae was the 2022 recipie...

What if education wasn’t just about knowledge, but about resilience and real-world impact? Dr. Pavel Cenkl, Academic Dean at Prescott College and Founder of the Regenerative Learning Network, is rethinking how we learn, integrating regenerative design, global collaboration, and sustainability. Pavel is a leader in transformative education. He’s also an endurance athlete, using Arctic expeditions t...

Paula Whyman is the author of the new memoir Bad Naturalist and the award-winning short story collection You May See a Stranger. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The American Scholar, and numerous literary journals. In Bad Naturalist, Paula shares her often humorous and deeply honest journey of ecological restoration on 200 wild acres in the Virginia mountains — a place that challenge...

Tamara Dean is an award-winning essayist whose work explores the intersection of nature, community, and resilience. In Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless (University of Minnesota Press, April 22, 2025), she reflects on her move to a Wisconsin farm and the lessons learned through living close to the land. Through twelve vivid essays, Dean blends science, history, and personal narrative to...

Leah Rampy is a teacher, leadership consultant, and author of Earth & Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos , who combines spirituality, ecology, and storytelling to guide individuals toward a deeper connection with the natural world and a sustainable way of living. Find Leah Rampy and  Earth & Soul online: Leah Rampy's LinkedIn Profile Leah Rampy's Facebook Profile Leah Rampy's Insta...

Barrett Klein  investigates mysteries of sleep in societies of insects, creates entomo-art, and is ever on the search for curious connections that bind our lives with our six-legged allies. Barrett studied entomology at Cornell University and the University of Arizona, fabricated natural history exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History, worked with honeybees for his P...