Crying Dugongs and Ocean Encounters in Southeast Asia
Stories of the dugong, a cousin of the manatee, offer important insight into human-nature encounters in the waters of Southeast Asia.
Environmental Resentment on the Political Right
When is political resentment legitimate, and who gets to decide? Two recent books examine the emotional world of politics in rural Wisconsin and Louisiana.
A Syllabus for Teaching Water Politics
A new syllabus outlines a series of readings for teaching the politics of water.
Nature’s Metropolis Turns 25: A Conversation with William Cronon
An urban history nearly devoid of people nonetheless holds lessons for communal human life today.
Loaves and Fishes at Standing Rock
A senior scholar of North American indigenous history visits the Oceti Sakowin camp and finds cause for hope. Up to a point.
Politics for a Maimed World: A Conversation with Jedediah Purdy
The acclaimed cultural critic and author of “After Nature” set off to explore the uncharted depths of the Anthropocene. But he found Thoreau there waiting for him.
Humility and Hubris: A Review of Luc Jacquet’s “Ice and the Sky”
Even with the impacts of the Anthropocene, it would be hubristic not to realize that ice and sky will far outlast anything so puny as humanity.
Suburban Commuters, Urban Polluters
The migration of African Americans to cities and the rise of a commuter culture in the suburbs were shaped by one transformative technology: the automobile.
Learning from Einstein and Tupac: A Conversation with Tyrone Hayes
The biologist who became famous standing up to agribusiness reflects on the politics of science, getting mistaken for a conspiracy theorist, and the unexpected ways race and gender matter in the academy today.
Creationism, Mastodons, and Natural History in Kentucky
In northern Kentucky, conflicting stories about natural history mirror the religious and scientific debates of the late eighteenth century.