Ep. 204 - Nate Schweber and This America of Ours (now in paperback)

“I’ve known Nate Schweber going on 20 years now, we’ve been colleagues, friends, and even co-authors. I can say without a doubt that he is one of the hardest working reporters I’ve ever met, he has a keen eye for detail, enjoys a good drink, and knows how to rock with the best of them.

He’s a raconteur, with endless curiosity and compassion, and great passion. My life is better because I know him.

His chords are familiar to listeners of this show as it has opened up every episode since we started, and was even part of the old After Two Beers show I did for All About Beer. We’ve been to breweries and crime scenes together, we’ve had adventures and even wrote a book together – Indiana Breweries – which was released in 2011 and has since gone on to sell tens of copies.

He lives in Brooklyn these days, but he grew up in Missoula, Montana and has always had a passion for outdoor reporting. A previous book, Fly Fishing Yellowstone is a must for any angler looking for the story of trout in the historic park, not just the fish but tales of the streams and its history.

His latest book tells a remarkable story about conservation, activism, and journalism, with belts of sold drinking thrown in here and again. It’s called This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild.

It was published on July 5, 2022 and the paperback is out now. It has also the book won the High Plains Book Award, and received the first place book award from the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

The book tells the story of a husband and wife team that took on special interests and politicians like Joe McCarthy and worked to protect land that should have been protected, and along the way, they strike up a friendship with a woman who would alter the course of cooking in America.

It’s suspenseful, meticulously researched, frightening with bits of levity, and historically important with mirrors to today. It is one of the most engaging books I’ve read in a long time, and I’m not just saying all of this because he showed up at my house with a bottle of gin.

But, of course, that’s where we start.”

-John Holl

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For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

• Host: John Holl
• Guest: Nate Schweber
• Sponsors: Shopify, All About Beer
• Tags: Beer, Nature, Travel, Parks, History, Gin