I’ve listened to some great shows in the past couple of weeks, and here are two I wanted to share with you:
My daughter loves conservation and advocating for endangered animals. Yesterday’s homeschool nature class had a guest botanist named Henry, who took the kids on a 1.5-hour-long walk identifying trees and other plants, and discussing a program in Massachusetts called BioMap2. BioMap2 classifies land in the state to identify areas critical to wildlife species. The hope is that data collected from the BioMap efforts can help inform development decisions so that we can maintain biodiversity and rare species in Massachusetts.
The Radiolab show about the Galapagos asks a related question:
“Is it inevitable that even our most sacred natural landscapes will eventually get swallowed up by humans? And just how far are we willing to go to stop that from happening?”
The class inspired my nine-year-old to begin thinking seriously about what she can do to protect non-human species (which protects humans, too, by the way), and she listened with rapt attention to this Radiolab episode. I’m pleased to find that, so far, she seems energized rather than disheartened by learning about the troubles in our ecosystem.
Moth Radio Hour – Fog of Disbelief by Carl Pillitteri:
Pillitteri recounts his experience inside a nuclear power plant during the 2011 earthquake(s) and tsunami in Japan. I found this story amazing and incredibly moving. It’s interesting that I listened to this story the same day I picked up A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, in which the main character finds a diary washed up on the shore in British Columbia and wonders if it might be flotsam from the tsunami. I really enjoy those moments of serendipity.
If you listen(ed) to these, drop a note and let me know what you think! And if you listened to something awesome recently, leave a comment and let me know. I love listening to awesome stuff!
Imperfect Happiness 