Teaching the science of ecology and environment is an essential part of educating the next generation of environmental caregivers. But how we communicate those core ideas and help future scientists to understand the world around us requires finding ways of connecting and learning across science and nature. Artist Boat, a local nonprofit dedicated to science education through the arts, works to bridge that divide through artistic engagement and conservation work. On today's show we talk to their Karla Klay, their executive director, to learn all about how they marry art and science to help protect our environment.

Our co-host Dr. Chaney Hill (Rice University) is joined by Christopher Nicholson (Rice University) to sit down with author Kent Wascom (author of such books as The Blood of Heaven, The New Inheritors, and his newest book, The Great State of Florida). Together, they discuss the role of contemporary fiction in telling the story of the Gulf South and better understanding our natural world through fiction. 

Today we sit down with Austin gardener and designer Pam Penick, who tells us all about her newest book Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State. Over a career writing and thinking about garden spaces, Penick shares her insights into how gardens can survive and thrive even in the harshest of Texas environments. 

We sit down with Christopher Brown, whose new book A Natural History of Empty Lots to discuss finding meaning in abandoned places. Then we chat with Dr. Rebecca Potts (Rice University) who discusses how we came to afford value to places out of larger theological viewpoints. 

Artist jackie sumell joins us to discuss her newest artwork, right here in Houston, Endangered Feces. A piece that helps to create ecosystems as it naturally decomposes, summell explains her process, mission, and goals with this new phase in her work. 

Nathaniel Rich (Tulane University) is a journalist, novelist, and creative writer whose work spans deep, investigative research to historical fiction. His documenting legal challenges to PFAS was turned into the 2019 film Dark Waters. Today our researcher Antara and host Weston Twardowski sit down to chat with him about his book Second Nature, which explores how humans are inherently entangled with our "natural" worlds, and what that means for how we choose to live with nature going forward. 

On today's show we sit down with Dr. Rakan Zahawi (Charles Darwin Foundation) and Dr. Bren Ram (Island Conservation) who walk us through the work global conservation organizations take on, and how the lessons from conservation groups globally can help us rethink our local environments. 

Today's episode takes a deep dive into three spooky stories: Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Giant Wisteria. Dr. Chaney Hill (Rice University) walks our researchers Antara and Sarah through how these 19th century Gothic authors turned to the environment to set mood and create haunting backdrops in three of the best known American short stories of the era.

Today we speak with two policy experts, Jennifer Walker (National Wildlife Federation) and Luke Metzger (Environment Texas) about upcoming policy decisions with immediate impact on Houston. First, Jennifer walks up through Proposition 4, which is on ballots in November and would guarantee funds for future water projects throughout the state. Second, Luke explains what the Roadless Rule is and how its repeal might impact forests in Texas and across the US. At the end of the episode is an update from our researcher Nomin on garden prep. 

How are local farmers working to make agriculture more sustainable? On today's show we sit down with August Stubler, the head farmer at SkyFarm at POST Houston to talk about the innovative work being done to create newer, more ecologically friendly, agricultural systems. 

Today we sit down with Mary Anne Piacentini, Executive Director and CEO of Coastal Prairie Conservancy, to discuss the role of conservation organizations in building better environments all around us. Beyond the work of habitat creation and maintenance, conservation is a complex mix of science, law, education, and outreach that creates spaces that plants, humans, and animals can enjoy. Piacentini discusses the work of Coastal Prairie Conservancy throughout Southeast Texas, and how they are helping to protect our natural areas for generations to come.

Today we're sitting down with Yilun Cheng (Houston Chronicle) to talk about her recent series of stories focused on where and how we're building new homes in the Houston metro area. Through her reporting, the Chronicle has learned that nearly 1 in 5 new homes built in the area are in FEMA designated floodplains. We talk through what this means for flood risk throughout Houston, and what can be done about it. Later in the hour our researcher Nomin discusses how new parks are built in unlikely places, and our researcher Sophia has another piece in her Critter Corner series on animals around town.

With Hurricane Katrina's 20th anniversary landing in August, we sit down with Dr. Andy Horowitz (University of Connecticut) to discuss his book Katrina: A History, 1915-2015. Together we discuss the longterm impacts of the disaster, how the conditions in New Orleans were primed for disaster, and what recovery means -- and what we can learn -- in an age of more frequent extreme weather. 

Today we sit down with Brandon Ballengée, a biologist and artist, who researches and makes art that explores the unique ecosystems of the Gulf Coast. Reflecting on the fifteenth anniversary of the capping of the capping of the oil leak  caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Dr. Ballengée helps us understand the ongoing harm caused by the spill and the ways we can remember the devastation and continue to understand its relevance.

A thriving economy exists around our natural resources: tourists flock to take in beautiful destinations. But maintaining and leveraging these sites takes work. So today we're talking about EcoTourism, both how nature can attract tourists (and their dollars), and the ways that tourists are increasingly thinking about how they can "travel green." Our guests are Sasha Francis (Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council) and Dr. Bryan Schmidt (William and Mary). 

On today's show our researcher Jadyn turns the tables to sit down with Weston Twardowski (Rice University) to talk all about the environmental consequences of the agricultural system how what we choose to eat impacts the world around us. 

In today's episode, we talk with Dr. Chris Funk (Director of the Climate Hazards Center at UCSB) and Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (Texas State Climatologist) about the growing impact of drought across Texas and how global climate patterns are shaping local conditions. They break down the science behind water scarcity, what to expect in the coming years, and what communities can do to prepare. Then, we learn a bit more about local animals and fauna from our student researcher, Sophia. This episode is guest hosted by our researcher Nomin Rentsendorj.

As our environments change, whether from natural disaster or man-made forces, part of adapting to our new reality is processing the loss of what was as we accept what is. On today's show, Dr. Chaney Hill (Rice University) sits down with our usual host Dr. Weston Twardowski (Rice University), Dr. Jennifer Ladino (University of Idaho), and Dr. Nick Koenig (University of Idaho) to talk about the ways that we process environmental change. Later in the hour our research Sophia has another Critter Corner special all about local animals and plants.

We sit down with Ian Rosenberg (Senior Vice President of Projects & Planning) and Karen Farber (Vice President of External Affairs) at Buffalo Bayou Partnership to talk about the expansion of Buffalo Bayou East and the coming projects that will remake one of the most iconic parks in Houston over the next few years. Later in the hour our researcher Nomin has a piece on the surprising environmental differences between common products, and our researcher Sophia chats animals and local fauna. 

Today we sit down with Matthew Tejada (Natural Resources Defense Council), the Deputy Director of Environmental Justice at the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama, President Trump, and President Biden. Tejada, a longtime Houston environmentalist, is now working diligently with the NRDC to advocate for cleaner, safer environments. We have a direct conversation about the changes the new presidential administration has meant for the EPA and environmental research, and what the future may hold for improving our environmental health and resilience. Later in the hour our researcher Jadyn talks with Dr. Chaney Hill (Rice University) about The Overstory – one of the most popular books of the last decade.