Nature & Ecology

Capybaras possess such a calm and gentle nature that many other animal species treat them as friends—including the birds who ride on their backs. In this episode, we follow a capybara as she lounges in the lagoon and covers herself in mud to repel bugs. And we’ll listen as she collectively parents her pups with the others in her herd, communicating through a complex language of whistles, clicks, and purrs.

Against the white expanse of the Arctic tundra, a snowy owl is hardly visible as he pauses to listen for the rustling of small prey. While most Arctic birds migrate south for the winter, this owl can survive through the endless polar nights. In this episode, we follow a snowy owl as he searches for food in the dark, soaring past the footprints of polar bears, howling huskies, and snow foxes that call this wintry world home.

With senses that often seem alien to us, bees navigate complex decisions about where to find food, when to fight or flee, and how to work together. The Language of Bees invites listeners into the hidden world of bee communication, a realm where creatures less than an inch long use scent, vibration, movement, and sound to cooperate, share information, and survive.

Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, where thousands of ships met their doom, the brave surfmen of the U.S. Life-Saving Service braved raging seas, defied death itself, and saved countless lives from certain disaster. This gripping book chronicles the extraordinary men of the U.S. Life-Saving...

Feel the change in your bones? From worsening arthritis pain to seasonal depression, discover why millions of people really are "under the weather" and learn science-backed solutions to take control of your health no matter what the forecast. Your body is a living weather station, responding to...

The remarkable Sorraia horse – a resilient breed that shaped American history from Spanish conquest to the modern West – now fights for survival in a contentious battle between preservation and progress. In 1519, when indigenous peoples first encountered Hernán Cortés's mounted army, they...

Loving the North Woods is a chronicle of the difficult challenges that led to tremendous conservation achievements in the great North Woods of Maine. Focusing on the remarkable period of activity from 1990 to 2015, during which historic achievements in American conservation unfolded, it explores...

Being a game warden in Maine is not just a job, it’s a way of life. This honest and entertaining book by a twenty-two-year veteran of the service tells the story of America’s oldest game warden service. The stories told cover the risks wardens face dealing with poachers, rogue wildlife, and...

Dominating victories, great duels, and astounding rallies make up some of horse racing’s greatest moments. Award-winning racing writer Edward L. Bowen captures these and more in At the Wire, a compilation of nearly thirty races plus Breeders’ Cup highlights that have earned a solid place in...

What causes bear attacks? When should you play dead and when should you fight an attacking bear? What do we know about black and grizzly bears and how can this knowledge be used to avoid bear attacks? And, more generally, what is the bear’s future? Bear Attacks is a thorough and unflinching...

A new book edited by Lamar Underwood about the most incredible bear attacks ever, including attacks by Grizzlies, black bears, brown bears, Kodiac bears, and others. Bears are not to be trifled with: don’t ever feed them, shout at them, or try to play with them. This book includes the scariest...

In late March of 2014, death descended upon the community of Oso, Washington in the form of a massive landslide. Ten million cubic yards of dirt and mud crashed through homes, sweeping a 20-foot-high wall of debris before it and scouring the valley floor. In the cold rain of that morning, an...

There are few stories more remarkable than the evolution of life on earth. Where did humans come from? Where did life come from? New fields of study, such as molecular biology and astrobiology, are shedding remarkable new light on the origin of life and the origin of sex. In this Very Short...

‘On the horizon of the frozen sea there is no trace of light.’ In the darkness of the polar night, writer and photographer Ilona Wiśniewska travels to two of the most remote settlements in northern Greenland, where distant geopolitics and the very present climate crisis threaten the...

From one of the foremost scholars on the subject, comes our most in-depth look at John Steinbeck as a writer deeply connected to the natural world. Among the many reasons that John Steinbeck has reached the highest tier of the American literary canon is what we have come to understand as his...

""In Sumana Roy's elegant translation, Bose's arguments remain fresh, vivid, and compelling to those reading his book in English today."" -Ramachandra Guha ""A fine introduction to the literary oeuvre of the scientist who pioneered the study of plant sentience."" -Amitav Ghosh In The Man Who...

The true, inspiring story of the new parents who spearheaded the largest climate law in American history. From the rising climate advocate named to the Time100 Next list, for political junkies and anyone who cares about the environment. They were perhaps an unlikely trio: the professor Leah...

“Within these pages, you’ll find delight, wisdom, and wonder.”—Sy Montgomery, author of The Hummingbirds’ Gift A delight for devoted birders, curious nature lovers, and casual backyard watchers alike, from two beloved local talents Fresh, experiential personal essays featuring more...

Get ready for a wild ride through the most shocking, inspiring and downright unbelievable stories about plant life, from the experts at Botanic Gardens of Sydney. This is your backstage pass to the drama, mystery and importance of Earth’s most overlooked species. Blending science, true crime...

"A bold and glorious book . . . brilliantly crafted at the level of the sentence and image, adventurous in its forms and tones, and its themes—memory, love, loss, care, value—are as embracing and urgent as they come. It’s magnificent."—Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive? My...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Climate coverage often turns heat, flooding, drought, housing pressure, water shortages, and food-system disruption into one overwhelming story of crisis. Climate Stories Without Panic offers a clearer and more practical way to listen. Using a simple...

“Luminous.”—Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun Acclaimed nature writer Marina Richie guides us into a vertical world of old-growth forests through the eyes of the birds that inhabit them—exploring her journey as an environmentalist in her signature verdant prose. With exquisite...

Connecting philosophical meditations with agricultural expertise, Seeding Hope urges us to reassess our relationships with ourselves, each other, and the vast living systems to which we belong—reminding us tht when we nurture the world around us, we nuture ourselves. In Seeding Hope, Jack...

In the Catskills gathers eight of John Burroughs's finest nature essays, first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1910 with photographic illustrations by Clifton Johnson. Burroughs — nicknamed "John o' Birds" for his devotion to birdlife and often credited with creating the modern nature essay...

An atmospheric memoir of the season of change from the no. 1 bestselling novelist Kate Mosse 'A beautifully written exploration of nature, memory and life itself. Wonderfully mellow, a golden read' MATT HAIG 'Profoundly captivating, a beautiful book that lingers in the mind.' ELIF SHAFAK 'When...