Thursday, August 24, 2006

Lost in the Amazon and Leatherback Turtles

Thursday, August 24, 2006
One of the things I love best about live radio is its unpredictability. I knew Carl Safina was a wonderfully evocative writer, but I didn't think that a whole hour talking about turtles was likely to evoke a lot of callers. You guys were great! It was especially delightful today to hear first from Laura with her story about travelling to Trinidad with Earth Watch to observe leatherbacks laying their eggs, and then in the very next minute to get a call from Bob, her husband, on the road! It was also very inspiring to hear from so many of you who are natural conservationists and obviously care deeply about the natural world. We'll look for more programs like this one. Any of you got any suggestions? I was glad for the tip on Gary Nabham's book, "Singing the Turtles Home."

I'm curious about how you liked Yossi Ghinsburg, the amazing Israeli adventurer who had a narrow escape backpacking in the Amazon as a young man and now lives in the Australian rainforest. I thought he was great, but a friend of mine who listened to the program hated him! He couldn't stand the way he kept denying the malevolence of nature. I myself was skeptical about his assertion that indigenous people don't die from snakebite. I don't think that's really true. Anyway, I'd love to hear from you about any of the above. I tend to write about the programs that I think are successful but it might be more instructive to write about the one that aren't.

By the way - spread the word - we are now podcasting all five of our programs, which is exciting. Some people in New York have been asking about the food programs in particular.

And one more thing - we have a fascinating program coming from Radio Netherlands on Monday about an amazing woman in a little village in India who operates a funky impromptu court to resolve disputes on her veranda - sort of the Judge Judy of India. Try not to miss it. It would be great to have you on board.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jean, today's show was excellent! I find turtles fascinating and am so pleased that several species are increasing their numbers. I wanted to ask the author if it's true that 500 years ago the Caribbean Sea was thick with turtles, at least on the surface, and whether the leatherbacks were amongst those swimming.

WPR seems to be paying more attention to national and worldwide environmental issues of late and it is much appreciated.

I'd also like to thank you for inviting Rabbi Lerner on the show last week. While I appreciate hearing his views on the never-ending mideast crisis, his idea for a new bottom line for large corporations as articulated at the Network of Spiritual Progressives' web site is especially wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I believe we are nature or I am nature, just as much as a tree or a ripple on the water. I was so looking forward to this show and I wasn't dissapointed. I recently painted a series of four paintings, dealing with endangered species. Some of my source material was from Richard Ellis, especially his Rhino Horn and Tiger Bone book. He'd be a good guest. I'll leave a link to my series of paintings.