How To Academy Podcast Nature Writer and Cambridge Professor Robert Macfarlane - Is a River Alive?
13 snips
May 13, 2025 
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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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.
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.
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.
