Podcast ep. 2 TEASER: "Eugenics & Conservation: Too Close for Comfort"
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Episode 2 of my podcast is upcoming!
Aug. 12: full unedited version for paid subscribers of this Substack or my Patreon (3 hours and 14 minutes long) in both video and audio
Aug. 19: edited version for the public (2 hours and 34 minutes long) in both video and audio
Here’s the teaser on YouTube:
Or listen right here:
Ep. 2: “Eugenics & Conservation: Too Close for Comfort”
In episode 2 of the "Speaking for the Trees No Matter Where They're From" podcast, I am joined by co-host Nikki Hill for a conversation with Calyx Liddick, founder of the Northern Appalachia School. Calyx has taken a deep dive into the common origins of the eugenics and conservation movements in the US in the early 20th Century, and what she has found is alarming. The boosters of race science, white supremacy, forced sterilization of "lesser" people and other now discredited concepts were the same men who founded conservationism, and their odious residue remains. Conservationism must now be re-thought so that what is good can be kept and what is bad dismissed.
In our far-ranging discussion, we talked about all this history plus "invasive species" (a central pillar of eugenics as expressed through anti-immigration sentiment and law); the futility of "fortress conservation"; how the wilderness ideal erases Indigenous people and their relationship to ecology; the importance of reciprocity, integration and coexistence in our interactions with nature; our disagreement with the characterization of "invasive plants" as agents of settler-colonialism; climate change, and more.
Calyx Liddick is a bioregional herbalist, ethnobotanist, holistic nutritionist, wildcrafter, writer, wildlife tracker and a mother of two. She is strongly interested in exploring the relationships between plants and people. Find out more about her and the school she runs at:
Also, check out
’s 2023 interview with Calyx on the Ground Shots podcast, which inspired this interview.
Please share this widely on social media and elsewhere!
I have a third episode in the can, ready for release September. After that, I'll decide if the podcast will continue based on how many listens/views the episodes get. So you can help play a part in making that happen!
Well Duh, of course the Eugenics followers would be 'conserving' the best parts for themselves. So now there they are in the midst of our Supreme Court shuffling the deck for themselves again as fast as they can. Heads up!
Mean while we must take the time to lift and feed our spirits with posts like these:
Please take 5 minutes to listen to the audio with a magnificent sunflower inspired poem at the end from todays Writer's Almanac:
https://open.substack.com/pub/thewritersalmanac/p/the-writers-almanac-from-saturday-9d7?r=2l04ge&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
And if you have a another moment this post from Chris Well is sure to lift your spirit:
https://open.substack.com/pub/cwells/p/art-and-inspiration?r=2l04ge&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email