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Join host Tripp Collins for a sweeping conversation with environmental historian and author Dan Flores about his award-winning book Wild New World: The Epic Story of Animals and People in America.
In this episode, Dan takes us on a 65-million-year journey through North America's natural history—from the Chicxulub asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs to the present day. We explore the continent's lost megafauna, including woolly mammoths and dire wolves, and discuss the heartbreaking extinctions of iconic species like the Carolina parakeet and passenger pigeon.
Dan shares insights into his writing process, the challenges of weaving together paleontology, genomics, and environmental history into a compelling narrative, and why he believes books have a unique power to "rearrange the furniture in your head." We also dive into America's evolving relationship with nature—from the hubris of market capitalism and wildlife slaughter to the birth of the conservation movement and the passage of the Endangered Species Act.
Plus: Dan reveals exciting news about his involvement with Colossal Biosciences and their groundbreaking work on de-extinction, including genetically edited dire wolves, and previews his upcoming book project Homestead: Building a Green Lifestyle in the Modern American Countryside.
Topics covered:
- Deep time history and the Chicxulub impact
- Ancient human migration to North America (23,000-year-old footprints at White Sands)
- The extinction crisis and changing attitudes toward conservation
- De-extinction science and CRISPR gene editing
- The role of nature writing in American culture
- Why books matter in an age of podcasts and film
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