Best Dayton Martindale Podcasts (2024)

1
Looking Back on Storytelling Animals, with The Real Dancing Eagle 58:45

8M ago58:45

58:45

In this bonus episode of Storytelling Animals, I look back on what I've learned from almost two years of the podcast with my brother Kyle Martindale, who designed my logo. We also talk about his new children's book, The ABC's of the Real Dancing Eagle, and share some formative animal encounters from our pasts. Thanks so much for everyone who suppor…

1
Crossings: Ben Goldfarb on How Roads Devastate Wildlife 1:07:30

11M ago1:07:30

1:07:30

Today's guest is Ben Goldfarb, author of Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. It's the last episode in my series on the trouble with car dependency, and a nice companion to my earlier series on animal agency. It's also the official season finale of this podcast, although there will be one last bonus episode in September.…

1
Toward Better, Greener Public Transit and Trucking, with Kevin Shen 1:00:31

12M ago1:00:31

1:00:31

Part 3 of my series on car dependency, my guest today is Kevin Shen of the Union of Concerned Scientists, who researches transit policy and electrification of large vehicles. Read some of his work here: https://blog.ucsusa.org/author/kshen/ Subscribe to my free biweekly-ish newsletter: https://apple6.aweb.page/p/de4ee963-cd8d-4ced-9975-e13965236a7d…

1
How Science Fiction Depicts Cars and Bikes, with Jeremy Withers 1:04:59

1y ago1:04:59

1:04:59

Today's guest is Jeremy Withers, author of Futuristic Cars and Space Bicycles: Contesting the Road in American Science Fiction. We discuss authors from Ray Bradbury and Ursula Le Guin to Octavia Butler and Kim Stanley Robinson. Part two in my series on the trouble with car culture. Learn more about Jeremy's book here: https://global.oup.com/academi…

1
Carmageddon: Daniel Knowles on Real and False Solutions to Our Car Crisis 59:57

1y ago59:57

59:57

This week I talk with Daniel Knowles, author of Carmageddon: How Cars Make Life Worse and What To Do About It. Part 1 of a new series on transforming our car-dependent culture. Listen to part 2 by starting your 7-day Patreon free trial today: https://patreon.com/storytellingpod Learn more about Daniel's book here: https://www.abramsbooks.com/produc…

1
"Let Birds Be Birds": On VINE Sanctuary, with pattrice jones 57:38

1y ago57:38

57:38

Part 4 of my 4-part series on animal agency! An interview with pattrice jones of VINE Sanctuary. We talk about building a just multispecies community, the trouble with effective altruism, and the sexism of the dairy industry. For more on VINE Sanctuary: https://vinesanctuary.org/ For my prior interview with Lori Gruen and Alice Crary: https://shows…

1
De-extinction and Jurassic Park, with Matt Haugen 1:12:23

1y ago1:12:23

1:12:23

I talk about Jurassic Park--both the book and the movie--with Matt Haugen of Terrain. It's a joint episode of our two podcasts, and part 3 of my 4-part series on animal agency. Part 4 of that series is now available to Patreon subscribers: https://patreon.com/storytellingpod For Matt's substack and podcast: https://www.terrain.news/ For my article …

1
Toward an Interspecies Democracy, with Eva Meijer 1:06:57

1y ago1:06:57

1:06:57

Part 2 of a series on animal agency! An interview with Eva Meijer, author of When Animals Speak: Toward an Interspecies Democracy. For more on the book: https://nyupress.org/9781479863136/when-animals-speak/ For more on the author's work: https://www.evameijer.nl/en/indexen.html Support this podcast with a monthly donation on Patreon: https://patre…

1
The Creative Lives of Animals, with Carol Gigliotti 1:01:31

1+ y ago1:01:31

1:01:31

Part 1 of a series on animal agency! An interview with Carol Gigliotti, author of The Creative Lives of Animals. For more on the book: https://nyupress.org/9781479815463/the-creative-lives-of-animals For the author's recent op-ed in The Scientist: https://www.the-scientist.com/reading-frames/opinion-biodiversity-loss-worsened-by-extinguishing-anima…

1
Re-Release: Emma Marris on Wild Souls 59:32

1+ y ago59:32

59:32

I am republishing my very first episode, an interview with Emma Marris about her book Wild Souls, out newly in paperback. This is because we'll be talking about her book over Zoom at Storytelling Animals Book Club May 2, 8:30 Eastern! Learn more about our upcoming book club schedule, and how to join: https://daytonmartindale.com/book-club/ New epis…

1
Why I Am a Vegan 1:01:05

1+ y ago1:01:05

1:01:05

Season 1 finale! A personal history of how and why I became a vegan. For more resources on animal liberation, see my website: https://daytonmartindale.com/2023/02/09/further-reading-on-veganism-episode-40/ Support the HarperCollins strike: https://linktr.ee/hcpunion (UPDATE - since I recorded this episode the union has reached a tentative agreement…

1
Happy Birthday, Virginia Woolf: Animals, Nature, and Modernist Fiction with Bonnie Kime Scott 47:20

1+ y ago47:20

47:20

January 25, 2023, is acclaimed writer Virginia Woolf's 141st birthday! To celebrate, I invited scholar of modernist literature Bonnie Kime Scott to talk about how animals and nature show up in Woolf's work, and how novels can represent other consciousnesses. To read Woolf's "The Death of a Moth": https://www.sanjuan.edu/cms/lib8/CA01902727/Centrici…

1
Justice for Animals: Martha C. Nussbaum on Law, Ethics, and Our Collective Responsibility 54:18

1+ y ago54:18

54:18

Martha C. Nussbaum is a professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago, and the author most recently of Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility. On this episode we discuss animal capabilities, the ethics of killing, and how the law can better protect other species. For more on the book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Ju…

1
The 2022 Storytelling Animals Book Awards 49:07

1+ y ago49:07

49:07

I read 78 books this year, the most in my adult life, and I want to share some of my favorites, especially some that I didn't get a chance to cover on the podcast! I pick my favorites in the following categories: best overall; 2022 release (fiction); 2022 release (nonfiction); older release (nonfiction); older release (novel); older release (short …

1
As Gods: Matthew Cobb on the Perils and Promise of CRISPR 1:38:55

1+ y ago1:38:55

1:38:55

With CRISPR technology, it is easier than ever for geneticists to alter human DNA, make deadlier pathogens, render mosquitoes infertile, and make other dramatic interventions into organisms and ecosystems. But the science and the ethics of all this is far from straightforward. Biologist Matthew Cobb, author of As Gods: A Moral History of the Geneti…

1
From Duck Vaginas to the Human Egg, an Anatomical Voyage with Rachel E. Gross 51:07

1+ y ago51:07

51:07

Rachel E. Gross is the author of Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage, depicting how a new generation of (mostly) women scientists are changing how we understand female (and other) bodies. For more on the book: https://wwnorton.com/books/vagina-obscura Support this podcast with a monthly donation on Patreon--help reach 30 supporters by episode 40! …

1
The Wonderful, Tragic Worlds of Hawai’i's Endangered Snails, with Thom van Dooren 1:00:22

2y ago1:00:22

1:00:22

Support this podcast with a monthly donation on Patreon--help reach 30 supporters by episode 40! https://patreon.com/storytellingpod This week's guest is Thom van Dooren, author of A World in a Shell: Snail Stories for a Time of Extinction. We talk about the beauty, wonder, and mystery of snails, and how their worlds are threatened. For more on the…

1
Dan Chodorkoff on Utopia, Democracy, and Working with Murray Bookchin 1:02:21

2y ago1:02:21

1:02:21

Support this podcast with a monthly donation on Patreon--help reach 30 supporters by episode 40! https://patreon.com/storytellingpod This week's guest is Dan Chodorkoff, cofounder of the Institute for Social Ecology and author of the new novel, Sugaring Down. We talk about the Vermont commune lives of his novel's protagonists, as well as his own ex…

1
Talia Lakshmi Kolluri on Writing the Animal Voice 44:53

2y ago44:53

44:53

Support this podcast with a monthly donation on Patreon--help reach 30 supporters by episode 40: https://patreon.com/storytellingpod Today's guest is fiction writer Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, author of the new collection What We Fed to the Manticore. In our interview we discuss animal senses, meaning and purpose, as well as the research she did to lear…

1
On Pakistan, Permitting Reform, and Plastic Bags 45:53

2y ago45:53

45:53

On today's episode I explore three topics from recent climate and environmental headlines: the devastating flooding in Pakistan, debates over permitting reform, and how single-use plastic bags compare to reusable ones. Below are some relevant links. On Pakistan: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-09-03/pakistan-floods-sindh-balochistan-clim…

1
"The Trees Belong Each to Themselves": On Tolkien's Ecology with the Rev. Tom Emanuel 1:10:23

2y ago1:10:23

1:10:23

With a new Lord of the Rings television series out, I thought it was high time to explore the powerful environmental themes of Middle-Earth. Alongisde Tolkien expert Tom Emanuel, I dig deep into Treebeard, Tom Bombadil, power's corrupting force, and finding courage to resist in the face of overwhelming odds. We also briefly give our takes on the fi…

1
Animal Revolution: Ron Broglio on Sharing the Earth 46:43

2y ago46:43

46:43

This week's guest is Ron Broglio, English professor at Arizona State University and author of the book Animal Revolution. We talk about the myriad ways in which nonhuman creatures through sand in the gears of the capitalist machine, and how we might respond to better share the earth. Learn more about the book here: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-d…

1
What Does the Inflation Reduction Act Mean for Climate? with Johanna Bozuwa 1:08:00

2y ago1:08:00

1:08:00

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the biggest climate legislation in US history, just passed Congress. What is the good, the bad, and the ugly of the bill? How did we get here, and what is next for the climate movement? I spoke with Johanna Bozuwa, executive director of the Climate and Community Project (CCP). Read the CCP's analysis of the IRA he…

1
Animal Crisis: A New Ethical Paradigm, with Alice Crary and Lori Gruen 58:20

2y ago58:20

58:20

Today's guests are philosophers Alice Crary and Lori Gruen, authors of the new book Animal Crisis: A New Critical Theory. In it, they argue that the dominant approaches to animal ethics--whether utilitarian or rights-based-- treat animals too much as abstractions and often fail to engage with the political, economic, and social systems that sustain…

1
The Book of Minds: Philip Ball on Animals, Plants, AI, and Consciousness 1:16:48

2y ago1:16:48

1:16:48

Am I conscious? Yes. How about you, or a chimpanzee or a parrot? Almost definitely. What about an oak tree, a bacterium, an electron, or God? In The Book of Minds: How To Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, From Animals to AI to Aliens, science writer Philip Ball explores the minds or mind-like qualities that seem to exist in the world, and how …

1
Novel of the Apes: On T.C. Boyle's Talk To Me, Amitav Ghosh, and Animals in Fiction 1:01:00

2y ago1:01:00

1:01:00

In T.C.Boyle's 2021 novel Talk To Me, one of the main characters is a chimpanzee. It's a fascinating study in how humans respond to other apes, and an ambitious experiment in imagining what it might be like to be one. Using the novel as a starting point, in this solo episode I explore whether learning to love chimpanzees can help break down the hum…

1
Happy Birthday, Henry David Thoreau: On Walden and Social Justice, with Alda Balthrop-Lewis 1:09:13

2y ago1:09:13

1:09:13

Today marks the 205th birthday of Henry David Thoreau, and to celebrate, I brought on Alda Balthrop-Lewis, author of Thoreau's Religion: Walden Woods, Social Justice, and the Politics of Asceticism. Why (if at all) does Thoreau still matter? How did he engage with the political issues of his time, in particular slavery and the advances of industria…

1
The Future Is Degrowth, with Aaron Vansintjan 1:07:41

2y ago1:07:41

1:07:41

Today's topic is "degrowth": What does it mean? Is it actually desirable? How could we achieve it? And do we really need to confront economic growth if we want to fight climate change and build a just, sustainable society? My guest is Aaron Vansintjan, co-author of The Future Is Degrowth: A Guide to a World Beyond Capitalism. The interview starts a…

1
Steve Brusatte on Our Mammal Past and the Science of Jurassic World 46:43

2y ago46:43

46:43

Today's guest is paleontologist Steve Brusatte, author of the new book The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, From the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us, previously the author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, and also a paleontology consultant on the new movie Jurassic World: Dominion. We talk about what he calls "the story of us": the…

1
The Science and Ethics of Animal Dreams, with David M. Peña-Guzmán 55:17

2y ago55:17

55:17

Today I talk with David M. Peña-Guzmán about his new book When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness. David is associate professor of humanities and liberal studies at San Francisco State University and the cohost of Overthink podcast. Learn more about the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691220093/when-a…

1
Obituaries for Extinct Animals, with Hannah Seo 38:07

2y ago38:07

38:07

My guest for the 20th(!) episode is science journalist Hannah Seo--we talked about her reporting on the tragic demise of the Christmas Island forest skink and the Bramble Cay melomys, two extinct species she recently eulogized for the guardian. How did they die? Could we have stopped it? What was it like for the scientists who watched them fade awa…

1
Kate Soper on the Pleasures of Post-Growth Living 1:10:02

2y ago1:10:02

1:10:02

Philosopher Kate Soper explains why going beyond consumerism won't just help the environment--it will make us happier. Together we discuss a slower-paced world with fewer cars, less work, less stuff, and more pleasure. Learn more about her book, Post Growth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism, here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3693-post-growth…

1
Why I Chose the Train Over the Plane 36:37

2y ago36:37

36:37

Last week I took a 48+ hour Amtrak train from Los Angeles to Dearborn, Michigan, just outside of Detroit. It ended up taking even longer, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In this episode I talk about my experience and explain the climate impacts of aviation, rail, and buses, and explain why I think trains may be the future of long-distance trans…

1
Kim Stanley Robinson on Wildlife, the Martian Constitution, and Loving the High Sierra 1:34:54

2y ago1:34:54

1:34:54

Kim Stanley Robinson is the author of the new autobiographical nonfiction book The High Sierra: A Love Story. He's also written 20 novels, including Red Mars and The Ministry for the Future, and now he's appeared on this podcast! We talk about his love of rocky landscapes, how he started backpacking, and the need to make space for wildlife. We also…

1
Not Afraid of the Ruins: Dylan Harris on Hope for a Different World 48:58

2y ago48:58

48:58

Dylan Harris is an assistant professor and geographer at University of Colorado Colorado Springs, as well as an editor of Not Afraid of the Ruins, a collection of speculative eco-fiction. We talk about how stories can help us make sense of climate change, the use of the supernatural in climate fiction, and the power of deep geological time. Not Afr…

1
Riley Black on Extinction, Evolution, and the Last Days of the Dinosaurs 1:01:57

2+ y ago1:01:57

1:01:57

You may know that an asteroid drove the dinosaurs extinct, but do you know what happened after the asteroid hit, and how we got from T. rex's world to ours? Digging into these questions can reveal a lot about how ecology and evolution work, and perhaps help us make sense of humanity's place in the web of life. To explore all this and more, I speak …

1
We Are the Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices on Climate Change, with Dahr Jamail and Stan Rushworth 1:12:12

2+ y ago1:12:12

1:12:12

Today's guests are journalist Dahr Jamail and teacher of Native American literature Stan Rushworth, who edited the new volume We Are the Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth. We talk about how the way we see the world impacts how we act, and why it's so important to look at each other and all our nonhuman re…

1
Too Hot To Handle? Rebecca Willis on Why We Need Deliberative Democracy To Fight Climate Change 55:21

2+ y ago55:21

55:21

As countries around the world fail to tackle climate change, many have begun to wonder whether democracy itself is up to the task. In her book Too Hot To Handle? The Democratic Challenge of Climate Change, Rebecca Willis argues that we need more democracy, not less--that we need to get everyday citizens more involved in the political process throug…

1
Half-Earth Socialism: Planning Utopia with Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass 1:14:11

2+ y ago1:14:11

1:14:11

Environmental historian Troy Vettese and environmental engineer Drew Pendergrass worked together on the new book Half-Earth Socialism: A Plan to Save the Future From Extinction, Climate Change and Pandemics. I spoke with both of them about the problems with Marx's nature philosophy, why we need widespread veganism and energy quotas, and how central…

1
lauren Ornelas on Food Justice, Farm Workers' Rights, and Veganism 56:02

2+ y ago56:02

56:02

lauren Ornelas, founder of the Food Empowerment Project, talks about her decades in the animal rights movement, why our food choices matter, and why vegans should fight for farmworkers rights and racial justice. We discuss issues from duck farming's abuses to child labor in the chocolate industry to her organization's work increasing food access in…

1
The Insect Crisis: Oliver Milman on Protecting Our Six-Legged Allies 51:35

2+ y ago51:35

51:35

Guardian environment reporter Oliver Milman, author of The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World, joins us to explain why we should be worried about insect declines and how we can help out both as individuals and through larger scale political action. Plus, we explore why insects are worth appreciating for their own sake. L…

1
Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Jeff Sebo on Pandemics, Climate Change, and Animal Rights 1:07:24

2+ y ago1:07:24

1:07:24

I talk with philosopher Jeff Sebo about his new book Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Why Animals Matter for Pandemics, Climate Change, and Other Catastrophes. We discuss both moral and pragmatic reasons to care about other animals, then get into how we could include their interests in public health and environmental decision-making. Later, we exp…

1
Animal, Vegetable, Junk: Mark Bittman on How Our Food System Got So Broken 51:51

2+ y ago51:51

51:51

Mark Bittman is the author of more than 30 books and nearly 200 New York Times op-eds, known both for his cooking tips and his searing critiques of industrial agriculture. This episode we talk about his book Animal, Vegetable, Junk, which traces centuries of cruelty and exploitation to show how our food system got to where it is today. We only cove…

1
Appleseed: Matt Bell on Doubting Techno-Optimists and Going Big with Wonder 1:10:30

2+ y ago1:10:30

1:10:30

Matt Bell's novel Appleseed has no shortage of urgent themes, and on this episode we talk about whether democracy is suited to the task of rapidly confronting climate change, the perilously seductive allure of techno-optimism, and how fiction can help us imagine a future less estranged from the nonhuman world. Should we take geoengineering seriousl…

1
Resource Radicals: Thea Riofrancos on Democracy, Our Extractive Economy, and Indigenous Resistance 1:20:19

2+ y ago1:20:19

1:20:19

Thea Riofrancos, the author of Resource Radicals: From Petro-Nationalism to Post-Extractivism in Ecuador, talks about the challenges posed by resource extraction to indigenous sovereignty, the rights of nature, and our conceptions of democracy. We also think about what a less extractive economy might look like, and whether a green transition relian…

1
Civilization and Its Discontents: On Station Eleven, Planet of the Apes, and Kim Stanley Robinson 28:33

2+ y ago28:33

28:33

How do stories set in a post-apocalyptic future look back at our present world: are characters nostalgic for the affluence and convenience? Or do they look back in disgust, understanding that many of these luxuries were built on exploitation and environmental destruction? Or a little of both? I look at Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven (the 20…

1
Laura Jean McKay on Decentering Humans in Art and in Life 53:20

2+ y ago53:20

53:20

I talk with author Laura Jean McKay about her Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel The Animals in That Country, using fiction to give voice to other animals, and how literature can help us recognize that humans are not the center of the universe--that instead we are part of a larger, in some ways scary and humbling but also more wondrous world. Buy…

1
Sarah Lazare Makes a Novel Case for Publicly Owned Utilities 50:29

2+ y ago50:29

50:29

On this episode we talk with Sarah Lazare, who finished writing the novel Testimony after the passing of her father Peter Lazare, who had written the first draft. We discuss how the novel continues political conversations she had held with her father in life, and how to turn wonky topics like utility regulation into a thrilling narrative. We also d…

1
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò on Reparations, Climate Justice, and Thinking Like an Ancestor 53:24

2+ y ago53:24

53:24

In this episode, Georgetown philosophy professor Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò talks to us about his new book, Reconsidering Reparations, which makes the case that reparations must be a forward-looking project aiming to remake the political, economic, and cultural structures built by colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. He also argues that such a pr…

1
Emma Marris on How To Fix Our Relationships with Other Species 57:38

2+ y ago57:38

57:38

For the very first episode I talk with environmental writer Emma Marris about her new book, Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Nonhuman World. We discuss why animals matter, whether species and ecosystems do, how to think about non-native creatures, and how to make our way forward in a messy but wondrous world. If you enjoy this episode fee…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Dayton Martindale Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide