Nature Revisited

Amy Tan is an American author best known for her novel The Joy Luck Club (1989) as well as other novels, short story collections, children's books, and a memoir. Tan is the recipient of the National Humanities Medal, among other awards, and her writing has been praised for its bravery in exploring both the personal struggles and triumphs of immigrant families. On this episode of Nature Revisited,...

Miriam Horn is an author, environmental advocate, journalist and filmmaker. Her background includes work for the Environmental Defense Fund and the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado, working on habitat conservation, landowner and community partnerships, and public education. Her latest book Homesick for a World Unknown is the first full biography of wildlife biologist, conservationist and author Geo...

Patrick Dougherty is an award-winning American environmental artist best known for his sculptures and installations constructed with sticks and saplings. Over his decades-long career he has constructed over 300 works across the United States and abroad. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Patrick describes his works and the personal history of his artistic career, his sources of inspiration, as w...

Josie Iselin is a photographer, author, and book designer, including The Mysterious World of the Bull Kelp Forest (2026). She is also a co-director of Above/Below, a campaign to bring the recognition afforded forests on land to the kelp forests below the ocean’s surface. Synthesizing the scientific stories of our coasts is her overriding passion, bringing thoughtfulness and stewardship to this ext...

Mark J. Easter is an ecologist, researcher, and author of more than fifty scientific papers and reports related to carbon cycling and the carbon footprint of agriculture, forestry, and other land uses. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Mark offers us a picture of the impact the foods we eat every day have on the earth. From the soil that grows our crops, to the farmers who steward the land, to...

Ben Cosgrove is a traveling composer-performer whose music explores themes of landscape, place, and environment. Described as “a sonic plein-air painter who uses his piano as a paintbrush,” Ben's music "incorporates elements of classical, folk, country, blues, pop, et cetera, and can be by turns meditative and chaotic, somber and exuberant.." On this episode of Nature Revisted, Ben returns to disc...

Leigh Ann Henion is the bestselling author of Phenomenal + Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and other Marvels of the Dark. Her writing has appeared in Smithsonian, The Washington Post, and Oxford American, among other publications. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Leigh Ann invites us to reset our relationship with the night and open our eyes and minds to a parallel world...

Rowan Jacobsen writes about science and nature and the less-explored corners of the world for Harper’s, Outside, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, and many other publications. He is the author of nine books, including In Defense of Sunlight. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Jacobsen upends everything you thought you knew about sun exposure, shedding light on a quiet revolution th...

John Navazio was a breeder of genetically-resilient, open-pollinated leafy greens and root crops for regenerative farming practices. He also authored The Organic Seed Grower, a comprehensive manual for the serious vegetable grower. His work focused on developing varieties with robust growth, broad resistance to disease and environmental stress, and superior culinary quality. On this episode of Nat...

Megan Eaves-Egenes is a Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel writer whose work explores the intersections of landscape, culture, and the natural world. A passionate advocate for dark skies, she is the editor of DarkSky International's Nightscape magazine and founded Dark Sky London, a community group focused on light pollution awareness. In this episode of Nature Revisited, Megan alerts us to our ev...

Yolonda Youngs is an Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at CSU San Bernardino and a dedicated scholar, teacher, researcher, and leader. Her expertise lies within national parks and protected areas, environmental policy, conservation of natural resources, and cultural landscapes. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Yolonda traces the idea of the Grand Canyon as an icon and...

Gabrielle Cerberville aka the "Chaotic Forager" is a foraging educator, community mycologist, and climate advocate. Known for her informative, funny, high-energy social media content, Gabrielle has given keynotes, classes, and forays around the country. She researches the intersection between art, science, and our responsibility to understand, protect, and communicate with the natural world. On th...

Cynthia Jurs is a dharma teacher (Dharmacharya) in the Order of Interbeing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and in recognition of her dedication in carrying out the Earth Treasure Vase practice, she was made an honorary lama in the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Cynthia recounts a fateful meeting with a venerated Lama in Nepal whose formidable assignmen...

Beronda L. Montgomery is a writer, researcher, science communicator, and professor at Michigan State University and Grinnell College. With a PhD in Plant Biology, her research has centered on how photosynthetic organisms adapt to changes in their environment. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Montgomery explores the intersection of trees in America and Black History & Culture. Pecan trees were...

Obi Kaufmann is an American naturalist, writer, and illustrator. Among the books he has authored are The California Field Atlas, a guide to the state's ecology and geography, and most recently The State Of Fire - Why California Burns. [Originally published Oct 1st, 2024. Ep 131] On this episode of Nature Revisited, Kaufmann describes the ancient relationship between humans and fire as part of Cali...

Alexandra Mitjans is a Co-Director of Ashoka, working to promote a global movement of change agents through the identification and support of social entrepreneurs and individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social, cultural, and environmental challenges. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Alexandra recounts how she was drawn to the calling of social and environmental act...

Peter Matthiessen (1927 – 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, environmental activist, and zen teacher whose works dealt with the destructive effects of encroaching technology on preindustrial cultures and the natural environment. He is the only American writer to win The National Book Award in both nonfiction (The Snow Leopard) and fiction (Shadow Country). On this episo...

Terry Tempest Williams is an American writer, educator, conservationist, and activist. Writing in the genre of creative nonfiction and lyrical essay, her work focuses on social and environmental justice ranging from issues of ecology and the protection of public lands and wildness, to women's health, to exploring humanity's relationship to culture and nature. On this episode of Nature Revisited, W...

Gary Paul Nabhan is an agricultural ecologist, ethnobotanist, and award-winning author whose work focuses primarily on the plants and cultures of the desert American Southwest, including the book The Nature of Desert Nature. In this episode of Nature Revisited, Gary re-introduces us to the possibilities of what a desert is and can be, challenging our traditional notions. Filled with sights, sounds...

Mark Granlund is an artist, writer, and public art administrator who explores the personal experience of natural landscapes, human activity and contemporary culture. His work utilizes traditional genres of landscape and still life. In his landscapes, Granlund shares the rhythms, layers and patterns that he senses particular to the site, capturing the bodily experience of place. On this episode of...

Paul Bierman is professor of environmental science at the University of Vermont, where he develops methods to understand ice and date rocks. His findings have been published in Science and Nature and in his recent book When The Ice Is Gone. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Bierman reveals a startling discovery about Greenland's rapidly melting ice sheet - it has melted naturally before, hundre...

Eyal Frank is an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Working at the intersection of ecology and economics, his research addresses three broad questions – how animals contribute to specific production functions, how market dynamics reduce natural habitats and biodiversity, and what the indirect costs of conservation policies are. On this episode of Natur...

Basil Camu is the author of From Wasteland to Wonder and the co-founder of Leaf & Limb, a North Carolina tree care service founded by Basil's father in 1997. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Basil recounts how what began as a traditional blue collar tree removal business transformed- through hard work, research, and dedication- into a tree care and consulting enterprise with a mission to prese...

Stephanie McDonough is the founder of Farm To Table Kids, an educational movement that helps children connect with nature through regenerative gardening, farm to table cooking, and nature crafting. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Stephanie aka 'Farmer Steph' recounts how her backyard project of introducing local kids to gardening transformed over time into a nationwide movement. With her part...

Priyanka Kumar is a prolific and widely published writer who has authored over a hundred essays and reviews on subjects including the high desert and bird migration. Her latest book The Light Between The Apple Trees brilliantly weaves together science and childhood memories with the apple’s storied history. On this episode of Nature Revisited, Kumar invites us on a transformative journey to redisc...