Writer Megan Mayhew Bergman on the lessons and moral clarity of 'Silent Spring'

Writer Megan Mayhew Bergman on the lessons and moral clarity of 'Silent Spring'

It's been more than half a century since the publication of Silent Spring by the scientist and creative writer Rachel Carson. The seminal volume caught the attention of U.S. presidents, artists and musicians, spurring the environmental movement and leading to the eventual ban of the toxic pesticide DDT.

Joining the Mongabay Newscast is environmental writer and director of the creative writing program at Middlebury College, Megan Mayhew Bergman. She unpacks the impact of Carson's work, which came under public attack from chemical companies seeking to discredit her, and how, eventually, the truth broke through.

"We don't change our minds usually based on data. We change our minds based on emotion, but historically, it's been pretty taboo for scientists to include emotion in the way that they write. And I feel like Carson risked that here in a way that was really powerful."

Please take a minute to let us know what you think of our podcast, here.

Image: Megan Mayhew Bergman. Image by Cameron Russell.

Environmental writing and authors mentioned in this conversation:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Florida by Lauren Groff

The Home Place by J. Drew Lanham

Hope Is the Thing With Feathers by Christopher Cokinos

How Strange a Season by Megan Mayhew Bergman

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald

The Wild Flag by E.B. White

Zora Neale Hurston

Other works and authors mentioned:

Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray

Men We Reaped by Jasmyn Ward

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

Speak Memory by Vladimir Nabokov

—-

Timestamps

(00:00) Changing hearts and minds

(02:46) Rachel Carson's journey to Silent Spring

(08:22) Controversy and impact

(14:40) Room for a new voice

(20:55) Bioaccumulation and what it means

(24:07) "We don't change our minds based on data"

(26:43) Recommended reads

(35:21) The American South and environmental writing

(39:57) Lessons for writers

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(369)

Historic fire seasons are the 'new normal' without 'serious action' on climate change

Historic fire seasons are the 'new normal' without 'serious action' on climate change

Elizabeth Goldman is a co-director of Global Nature Watch, previously known as Global Forest Watch, a database measuring forest loss that's frequently cited in Mongabay reporting. She joins this week'...

11 Aug 28min

The 'quiet revolution' inspired by Delhi's urban wildlife

The 'quiet revolution' inspired by Delhi's urban wildlife

In her upcoming book, My Wild City: Finding Nature, Meaning, and Hope in India's Capital, conservation biologist Neha Sinha takes readers to the hidden and not-so-hidden ecosystems of India's largest...

4 Aug 54min

Why are forests in Liberia disappearing?

Why are forests in Liberia disappearing?

On this week's episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with features writer Ashoka Mukpo, who traveled to southeastern Liberia to investigate what satellite images indicated was a spike in deforest...

28 Juli 38min

Oil has brought destruction to the Niger Delta; women and human rights may save it

Oil has brought destruction to the Niger Delta; women and human rights may save it

On this week's episode of the Mongabay Newscast, I speak with travel writer Noo Saro-Wiwa. She has documented the violence and natural destruction that the presence of oil companies have brought to th...

21 Juli 42min

The Mediterranean Sea's beauty hides an ecosystem under pressure

The Mediterranean Sea's beauty hides an ecosystem under pressure

The Mediterranean Sea accounts for less than 1% of the world's ocean surface water, but it contains roughly 18% of global marine biodiversity. It is home to 150 million people along its coastline (rou...

14 Juli 33min

Wildlife crossings are having a moment

Wildlife crossings are having a moment

Nearly three years ago, Newscast guest, author and journalist Ben Goldfarb discussed his book Crossings, which is about wildlife crossings and road ecology. Wildlife crossings help reconnect habitats...

7 Juli 37min

The radical plan to rethink work, wealth and planetary well-being

The radical plan to rethink work, wealth and planetary well-being

A group of more than 40 researchers spent 20 months devising a plan for the world to achieve ecological sustainability within planetary boundaries, all while seeing incomes rise for 98% of the global ...

30 Juni 52min

Addressing the 'toxic legacy' of mining in Bougainville

Addressing the 'toxic legacy' of mining in Bougainville

Theonila Roka Matbob grew up next to what was — at the time — the world's largest open-pit mine in Bougainville, an autonomous island in Papua New Guinea, operated by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. This m...

16 Juni 33min

Populärt inom Vetenskap

p3-dystopia
dumma-manniskor
allt-du-velat-veta
hacka-livet
bildningspodden
rss-vetenskapsradion
medicinvetarna
rss-ufobortom-rimligt-tvivel
sexet
ufo-sverige
rss-vetenskapsradion-2
halsorevolutionen
paranormalt-med-caroline-giertz
svd-nyhetsartiklar
det-morka-psyket
vetenskapsradion
ufo-sverige-2
rss-spraket
dumforklarat
rss-kriminologerna