How did nuclear testing accidentally reshape our understanding of food webs and marine ecology? Why did sea otters bounce back from near-extinction on some parts of the Pacific coast, but are still absent in others? We speak with Dr. Jim Estes (a godfather of the field) about a series of serendipitous events that led to the re-writing of textbook ecology. This is part one of our three-part series on kelp worlds. For a full list of music credits, citations, and more, head over to https://www.futu...
Feb 13, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 7
A more efficient world is simply cleaner, greener, and more sustainable. Or is it? This month, we’re exploring some of the ways we can reset our long-standing paradigms of labour, productivity, and efficiency. Take a break with us. For a full list of music credits, citations, and more, head over to https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-2-6-podcasters-of-the-world-relax For more by Outside / In, get to http://outsideinradio.org To read Conrad’s work, find “Alternatives to Growth: Efficiency S...
Jan 08, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 6
This is an excerpt from episode 5 of our Patreon-exclusive series: “Meet Your Fungal Associates” Pay what you can – as little as a $1 per month – to unlock this entire episode, and our whole back catalogue of bonus monthly mini-episodes. https://www.patreon.com/futureecologies
Dec 26, 2019•1 min
The world is full of sound. With the help of Hildegard Westerkamp, Bernie Krause, and Nick Friedman, we untangle some of the amazing ways that we can learn about our planet by listening to it. Join us as we explore the nature of sound through the sounds of nature. Featuring sublime electroacoustic composition, stunning field recordings, and cutting-edge scientific research, it all begins by listening. For a full list of music & soundscape credits, citations, and more, head over to https://ww...
Dec 13, 2019•59 min•Season 2Ep. 5
No matter where we call home, the land beneath us has been in a long and constant relationship with people. Some of these people may be our ancestors, some may not. This episode is about how we move forward from a fragmented past; how we build community in our shared spaces; and how a women-led movement can bring collective healing to a deeply storied land. Come with us to Ohlone territory – from Tuyshtak (Mt. Diablo) to the East Bay, and meet the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. This episode features Co...
Nov 13, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Today is the 10th anniversary of the rediscovery of the Franciscan manzanita! To celebrate, we're re-releasing this episode from Season 1. What do you do when you find the last individual of a species previously thought to be extinct? The two rarest plants on earth both live in the Presidio of San Francisco, they’re both in the same genus, and there’s only one left of each. Is there a future for these species, and if so, what does it look like? And what can species on the brink tell us about our...
Oct 17, 2019•47 min
Who, or what, is a Naturalist? With the help of author Briony Penn, we trace the intertwined stories of two pivotal characters in the modern environmental movement: Cecil Paul (Wa'xaid) & the late Ian McTaggart-Cowan. These larger-than-life figures inspired a generation to reconnect, intellectually and spiritually, with the natural world. Associate producer Fern Yip investigates what it all means to the youth of today. Adam and Fern are your hosts on this episode. Mendel is busy making a ser...
Oct 09, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Another year, another fire season. We’ve already had a lot to say about wildfire, forest science, traditional ecological knowledge, and prescribed burning, but we’re not done yet! In this episode, we tour the Province of BC (and dip down into Washington State) to meet vigilante fire fighters, researchers, and First Nations Chiefs: all working in their communities towards a future of true wildfire resilience. For extended show notes, musical credits, and photos from our travels, head to https://w...
Sep 11, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Lichens: ecosystems unto themselves. They’re diverse, apparently ubiquitous, and foundational to life on terrestrial earth. But this episode isn’t really about lichen. It’s about an endangered species that relies on a lichen diet – a diet that is disappearing as fast as the old growth forest in British Columbia. Southern Mountain Caribou are at the nexus of a heated debate about conservation. What can we save? What should we let go? And most importantly, what are we willing to admit about the po...
Aug 07, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 1
We've unlocked our 11-episode Patreon series – Dr. Lisa-ann Gershwin, and occasionally the two of us, dive deep into jellyfish species and phyla. Find stories and science on: - Aurelia labiata (the moon jelly) - Turritopsis dohrnii (the immortal jelly) - Chrysaora achlyos (the black sea nettle) - Bazinga rieki (the little trickster who eats sunlight) - Chironex fleckeri (the deadly box jelly) - Aequoria victoria (the nobel-prize worthy crystal jelly) - Ctenophores (the comb jellies) - The Irukan...
Mar 06, 2019•1 hr 16 min
We’ve dropped an album. Those in the know might recognize the prolific Sunfish Moon Light as the musical alter-ego of Future Ecologies co-host, Adam Huggins. Now you can listen to the original, full-length instrumentals that set the mood for Season 1. Click here to preview the album for free, or buy it for $8. – – – 💖 Support Future Ecologies: join our community on Patreon at futureecologies.net/patrons...
Feb 01, 2019•3 min
Forever is a really long time. This episode is about death, and its transformative power on the landscape. It’s also the last episode of Season 1. It may be trivial to remind you that death is an unavoidable part of life. However, death is an act that leaves ripples in life. Some may last for thousands of years. You might expect us to talk about new sustainable burial technologies (See: Jae Rhim Lee & Katrina Spade), and honestly so did we. As we started working on it, we realized that we ...
Dec 06, 2018•51 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this conclusion to our series on dam removal, we travel from the Klamath up to the Olympic Peninsula, and the site of the former Elwha and Glines Canyon dams. What did it actually take to bring the dams down, and what lessons can we take forward to other ambitious ecosystem renewal projects? For extended show notes, musical credits and more, head to www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-1-10-rushing-downriver Corrections to this episode: While salmon fry may have to contend with hungry bass in ot...
Nov 22, 2018•40 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Dams remain one of the ultimate demonstrations of human power over nature. Wild rivers can be tamed to deliver energy for industry, lakes for recreation, and water for agriculture. But severing the link between land and sea has come with grave ecological costs. The impact of dams on salmon populations has been especially obvious and painful. This is part one of a two-part series on dam removals. In this episode, we return to the Klamath river to examine the fierce conflict (and unlikely partners...
Nov 08, 2018•48 min•Season 1Ep. 9
How are human activities changing our oceans, and why do these changes all seem to support a new age of jellyfish? What are these ancient, diverse beings: harbingers of doom, or simply the most well-adapted form of life in the sea? In this episode we go jellyfishing for answers with preeminent jellyfish researchers Dr. Lisa-ann Gershwin and Dr. Lucas Brotz. Find show notes for this episode at https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe1-8-jellyfishing-for-answers If you’d like to dive into more de...
Oct 25, 2018•49 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In the fall of 2017, a series of devastating earthquakes rocked southern Mexico. But what if it’s not the earthquakes themselves that pose the greatest threat to these communities? The conflict between institutional and grassroots disaster response in the aftermath of these earthquakes provides a powerful illustration of the tensions that have underlain the concept of development ever since President Truman’s second inaugural address in 1949. In this episode, Oaxacan deprofessionalized intellect...
Sep 28, 2018•50 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In this second part of our two-episode series, On Fire , we look at ways to move our civilization forward – without continuing to deny the role of fire in our landscapes. We discuss how prescribed burns are currently conducted, radical new (and old) perspectives on land management policy, and practical techniques for everyone in fire country to protect their homes, their communities, and their forests. Find shownotes, sources, and musical credits at https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe1-6-o...
Sep 13, 2018•54 min•Season 1Ep. 6
The past two years have been the worst fire years on record across the west coast of North America, with whole communities being engulfed in flames and smoke enveloping major cities for weeks. But as the airways fill once again with stories of valiant fire-fighters and people who’ve lost their homes, we answer some burning questions that seem to always fly under the radar. For example: How long have fires been burning on this planet Have our ecologies always been adapted to fire? What role did i...
Aug 31, 2018•50 min•Season 1Ep. 5
During the devastating September 9, 2017 earthquake off the coast of southern Mexico, residents of Mexico City and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala witnessed mysterious bursts of light in the sky. These lights, however, were not UFOs, exploding transformers, or evidence of a mysterious government conspiracy - instead, they were examples of a long-documented phenomenon known as “earthquake lights.” Can these mysterious lights in the sky help us learn to anticipate earthquakes? Can physics explain the st...
Aug 16, 2018•54 min•Season 1Ep. 4
What do you do when you find the last individual of a species previously thought to be extinct? The two rarest plants on earth both live in the Presidio of San Francisco, they’re both in the same genus, and there’s only one left of each. Is there a future for these species, and if so, what does it look like? And what can species on the brink tell us about ourselves and the future of our ecosystems? Find show notes for this episode at www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe1-3-the-loneliest-plants – – ...
Aug 01, 2018•48 min•Season 1Ep. 3
The story of modern-day North America begins with the systematic genocide and displacement of indigenous peoples. The social and ecological consequences of this founding trauma have become clearer over time, but so far relatively little has been done to address this at the federal, state, and provincial levels. In this episode, we zero in on two violently displaced tribes in California - the Wiyot and the Amah Mutsun - and tell the stories of their respective journeys to return to the spiritual ...
Jul 20, 2018•57 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Future Ecologies is recorded on the unceded territories of the Musqueam (xwməθkwəy̓əm) Squamish (Skwxwú7mesh), and Tsleil- Waututh (Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh) Nations - otherwise known as Vancouver, British Columbia. But what does that mean? In this proto-episode of Future Ecologies, we talk to indigenous plant diva T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss, about how, as non-indigenous people, we can podcast respectfully on unceded indigenous territory. It’s our way of acknowledging the the land we live on and the...
Jul 17, 2018•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1
