Join Robert Macfarlane, a celebrated nature writer and Cambridge professor, alongside author Horatio Clare, as they explore the captivating idea of whether rivers are alive. They discuss the revolutionary 'Rights of Nature' movement and share stories from the cloud-forests of Ecuador to the river rights campaigns in Quebec. Their conversation touches on the emotional and philosophical connections we have with rivers, advocating for a deeper ecological awareness. This delightful dialogue challenges listeners to reimagine their relationship with nature.
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insights INSIGHT
Exploration and Rivers' Deep Roots
Exploration combines travel and analysis, deriving from a hunter's cry of pain meaning 'to outweep'.
Rivers and mountains form an ancient dialectic, shaping physical and mental landscapes over time.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Rivers That Chose Macfarlane
Macfarlane lives a mile from a spring flowing for 10,000 years, which deeply influenced his connection to rivers.
He chose rivers that flow through his life, seeing rivers as a gathering seeking the sea.
insights INSIGHT
Rivers' Legal Rights in Ecuador
The common legal view treats rivers as service providers, often ignoring their health and rights.
Ecuador's constitutional rights of nature recognize rivers' right to exist, flourish, and persist, changing legal treatment radically.
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Robert Macfarlane's "Landmarks" is a profound exploration of the British landscape, delving into its physical features, cultural significance, and the human stories interwoven with its history. Macfarlane's writing style is both lyrical and informative, blending personal anecdotes with meticulous research. The book delves into the rich vocabulary used to describe the landscape, highlighting the deep connection between language and place. Through his exploration of mountains, rivers, and other natural formations, Macfarlane reveals the profound impact of the landscape on human experience and imagination. The book is a testament to the power of nature to shape our lives and inspire our creativity.
The Book of Trespass
Crossing the Lines that Divide Us
Nick Hayes
In 'The Book of Trespass', Nick Hayes embarks on a series of trespasses across England's private estates, uncovering the history of land ownership and its role in social inequality. The book delves into the enclosure acts, colonialism, and the effects of private land ownership on communities. Through his experiences, Hayes argues for a reevaluation of property rights and their influence on societal divisions.
1984
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George Orwell
Published in 1949, '1984' is a cautionary tale by George Orwell that explores the dangers of totalitarianism. The novel is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three super-states, with the protagonist Winston Smith living in Oceania, ruled by the mysterious and omnipotent leader Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the Party's ever-changing narrative. He begins an illicit love affair with Julia and starts to rebel against the Party, but they are eventually caught and subjected to brutal torture and indoctrination. The novel highlights themes of government surveillance, manipulation of language and history, and the suppression of individual freedom and independent thought.
Is a River Alive?
Robert Macfarlane
Underland
A Deep Time Journey
Robert Macfarlane
Our greatest living nature writer, Robert Macfarlane shares with Horatio Clare a single, transformative idea: are rivers alive?
Robert Macfarlane is both the author of prize-winning bestsellers including Underland, Landmarks, and The Old Ways, and an artistic polymath whose collaborators include many of the most distinguished artists, musicians, and poets of our time, including Olafur Eliasson, Johnny Flynn, and Jackie Morris.
Inspired by the activists, artists and lawmakers of the young ‘Rights of Nature’ movement, Macfarlane takes us on an exhilarating exploration of the past, present and futures of this ancient, urgent concept.
Transporting us from the miraculous cloud-forests of Northern Ecuador to the wounded rivers and lagoons of Southern India; and from north-eastern Quebec, where a spectacular wild river – the Mutehekau or Magpie – is being defended from death by damming in a riverrights campaign, to the fragile chalk stream that rises a mile from his house and flows through his years and days, this is a magical and radical listen that will make you rethink what you think you know about rivers and about the nature of life.
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