The Light Between Apple Trees: Rediscovering the Wild Through a Beloved American Fruit

Oct 16, 2025

Priyanka Kumar, a lifelong naturalist and author, shares her journey from the lush orchards of the Himalayas to a wild apple discovery in New Mexico. She explores the concept of 'micro-wilds' as crucial habitats for biodiversity and discusses how modern life has distanced us from nature. Kumar traces the fascinating history of apples from Kazakhstan to America, blending childhood memories with insights on environmental preservation. She emphasizes the importance of local apple varieties and encourages listeners to reconnect with the wild through nature.

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ANECDOTE

Rainy Orchard Revelation

Priyanka Kumar describes finding an ancient, rain-soaked orchard in New Mexico and eating an apple that made her feel unexpectedly at home.
That single sensory moment launched her multi-year journey to understand why old orchards reconnect us to nature.

INSIGHT

Value Of Micro-Wilds

Kumar defines "micro-wilds" as fragmented nature pockets large enough to harbor biodiversity and reconnect people to nature.
She argues these nearby shards can be vital access points for people who can't reach true wilderness.

ANECDOTE

Pandemic Discovery Near Preschool

During the pandemic Kumar followed her young daughter to a nearby bridge and discovered a private apple orchard she had never noticed before.
That discovery became a recurring refuge she visited weekly and sparked deeper research into apples and micro-wilds.

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As a child in the foothills of the Himalayas, Priyanka Kumar was entranced by forest-like orchards of diverse and luscious fruit—especially apples. These biodiverse orchards seemed worlds away from the cardboard apples that lined supermarket shelves in the United States. Yet on a small patch of woods near her home in Santa Fe, Kumar discovered a wild apple tree—and the seeds of an odyssey were planted. Could the taste of a feral apple offer a doorway to the wild? In The Light Between Apple Trees: Rediscovering the Wild Through a Beloved American Fruit, Kumar takes us on a dazzling and transformative journey to rediscover apples, unearthing a rich and complex history while illuminating how we can reimagine our relationship with nature.
Apples are popular, but in our everyday lives we rarely encounter more than a handful of varieties: of the sixteen thousand apple varieties once celebrated in America, scarcely a fifth remain accessible. Kumar reveals the richness of a hidden world, bringing readers to the vibrant forests and orchards where historic trees still survive. These mature and wild orchards offer more than just fruit: they are havens for creatures from hummingbirds to bears and a living connection to generations past. She brilliantly weaves together science and childhood memories with the apple’s storied history, from its roots in Kazakhstan to Spanish orchards in the Southwest and Thomas Jefferson’s beloved Monticello fruitery. Kumar shows how—if we follow untamed paths—the tang and texture of an apple can lead us back to the wild.

Our guest is: Priyanka Kumar, who is the author of Conversations with Birds, and The Light Between Apple Trees. Her essays appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, Orion, and Sierra magazine. She holds an MFA, and has taught at the University of California Santa Cruz and the University of Southern California. Her feature documentary, The Song of the Little Road, is in the permanent collection of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and her awards include an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Award, a New Mexico/New Visions Governor’s Award, an International Center for Jefferson Studies Fellowship, and an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Fellowship.

Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a writing coach and freelance editor. She is the producer of the Academic Life podcast, and writes the show's newsletter.

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