illustration of a dog surrounded by human hands

Beastly Consent and Relationships Beyond Boundaries

Vita Sleigh investigates the connections between animal consent, interspecies erotics, and the (at times violent) power differentials that characterize commonly experienced relationships with animals. How can we attend to the otherness of creatures and hold our attractions to them with care?

small bridge made of branches stretch over a rushing river

Who Gets to Be Alive? On Rivers and People

In reviewing Robert Macfarlane’s forthcoming book IS A RIVER ALIVE?, Anna Christensen Spydell connects the colonial mistreatment and dehumanization of Indigenous and immigrant “Others” to the pollution and objectification of rivers around the world.

A verdant landscape is intersected by ropes sectioning off the landscape from visitors.

Swampy Relations & Imperfect Restoration

There’s a sinking swamp in the middle of Manhattan that has kept a host of species safe for millennia. Nat Xu uses the space and their work in it to reflect on Indigenous stewardship, more-than-human precarity, and restorative conservation as an imperfect practice.

dog looking out over mountain landscape

Love, Violence, & Respect in Animal-Human Companionship

Companionship across species is not always simple, nor always rewarding, but perhaps says something about respect for more-than-human beings. In this poem and short essay, Kelsey Dayle John reflects on how the complex fear of witnessing her two dogs fight shaped her approach to multispecies relations.

orange, green, yellow, and brown samples in petri dishes that have the appearance of dried dirt or moss

How to Be More Like Biocrusts in Precarious Times

Lizzie Smith describes the oft-overlooked living skin of the desert: biological soil crusts or “biocrusts.” Biocrust bundles show that deserts are full of life, wonder, and instructions for a more interconnected future.

a red fox standing on a car hood, staring through the windshield at a person

Thinking With Animal Companions: A Keynote

In this series keynote, professor emerita and historian Harriet Ritvo sets the stage for further investigation of “companion species.” She introduces the varied threads of animal companionship—from influence and impact to proximal, favored reciprocity.

A tree overlooking a rocky seashore in Japan

Finding Harmony with Japan’s Waves

Erica Cherepko illustrates ways in which Japan’s longstanding, community-based marine conservation utilizes “satoumi” to blend tradition and innovation, protecting coastal ecosystems.