Nature in Crisis

In a time of climate breakdown and mass extinction there is a new urgency to environmental writing, both as literature and as science. So In their series, Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith consider some of the most significant books published in the last few years, along with classic texts by Rachel Carson, James Lovelock and Robin Wall Kimmerer – tracing a loose arc from biology to society via questions of plant intelligence, biodiversity loss, the rights of nature, ecofascism and green capitalism. Meehan Crist is writer in residence in biological sciences at Columbia University. Peter Godfrey-Smith is a professor in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney Non-subscribers will only hear an extracts from the episodes. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://cms.megaphone.fm/organizations/68e1eab6-ccec-11ef-abb0-8b66b7d284ed/podcasts/8048b732

Nature in Crisis is a science podcast hosted by London Review of Books, with 9 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

London Review of Books hosts Nature in Crisis, a science show with 9 episodes published.

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  Episode #6

  ‘Is a River Alive?’ by Robert Macfarlane

  Jun 3, 202614 minS0

  <p>The idea that a river is a living being has important legal consequences. But it also has imaginative consequences, which can, in George Eliot’s words, ‘enlarge the imagined range for self to move in’. In ‘Is a River Alive?’ (2025), Robert Macfarlane travels with the lawyers, Indigenous people, scientists and others who are working to protect rivers in Ecuador, India and Quebec, and challenges himself to see rivers in a way that widens the category of life.</p> <p>In this episode, Meehan and Peter assess Macfarlane's quest and look at the different kinds of writing he deploys along the way, i...

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  Episode #5

  'Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth' by James Lovelock

  May 4, 202628 minS0

  <p>In ‘Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth’ (1979), James Lovelock proposed that the Earth is something like a single living organism, capable of manipulating its circumstances and the environment to suit its needs. While many scientists reject the fullest formulation of this idea, it has nonetheless had a profound influence on our understanding of the ways in which animal and plant life interact with the non-living parts of the environment, to the extent that observations in biological and earth systems science are often assessed for which version of Gaia they might support.</p> <p>In this episode, Meehan Cris...

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  Episode #4

  ‘The Burning Earth’ by Sunil Amrith

  Apr 6, 202612 minS0

  <p>The ‘great acceleration’ is a term used to describe the dramatic surge in the 1950s of both human and earth systems indicators that marked a shift from a relatively stable planetary state to one that's characterised by increasing environmental instability. Alongside measures of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane levels, this shift can be tracked in numerous other areas of human activity, such as GDP, financialisation, foreign direct investment and the spread of telecommunications.</p> <p>In ‘The Burning Earth’ (2024), Sunil Amrith uses history as a way of understanding why we got to this moment, drawing on multiple strands of human...

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  Episode #3

  ‘Blue Machine’ by Helen Czerski

  Mar 9, 202614 minS0

  <p>In Blue Machine (2024), Helen Czerski refigures the ocean as an enormous planetary engine, converting light and heat into motion. Her book invites us to see the ocean not as an ‘absence’ but an intricate series of operations that makes life as we know it possible. </p> <p>In this episode, Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith reflect on the ways Czerski’s book has altered their thinking about the ocean, and whether new perspectives can ever be enough to change public policy.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to al...

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  Episode #2

  ‘The Light Eaters’ by Zoë Schlanger

  Feb 8, 202615 minS0

  <p>In The Light Eaters (2024), Zoë Schlanger reports from the frontiers of botany, where researchers are discovering forms of sensing, signalling and responding that challenge our ideas of plants as passive life forms. Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith explore Schlanger’s account of new research into plant behaviour. They examine the case for plant agency – and the far more speculative claims for plant consciousness – and attempt to make sense of some astonishing discoveries.</p> <p>Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up:</p> <p>Directl...

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