Nature & Ecology

At the southernmost tip of South Africa, where fresh and salt water collide, a tiny seahorse appears to levitate. Seahorses are the ocean’s slowest swimmers, but they have one of the world’s fastest muscle contractions, using it to suction up their prey. In this episode, we meander through eelgrass with a male Knysna seahorse as he twines tails with his partner, changes color to match the sand, and even gives birth to a brood of tiny seahorses.

An expert on otters dives into their wild and wondrous world You’ve heard of a murder of crows and a pride of lions—but what about a romp of otters? In this informative and entertaining book, animal behaviorist Heide Island takes readers on an odyssey through otterdom, focusing on a family...

In The Book of Cannabis, Jeremy Narby―renowned author of The Cosmic Serpent―delivers a sweeping, clear-eyed exploration of cannabis as both plant and cultural phenomenon. From its ancient medicinal and ritualistic roles to its vilification, Narby traces how cannabis became one of the most controversial plants in modern history.

Brought to you by Penguin. Lucy Shepherd’s story of her journey to become an explorer, her world-first expedition across the Amazon’s Kanuku Mountains and her mission to share the wild places of our world. What does it really take to become an explorer? To travel beyond maps and certainty...

If you have even a shred of common sense left in you, then the truth should already be screaming at you from above. The streaks that linger for hours, the hazy white veil that dulls the sun, the grid-like patterns that crisscross an otherwise clear sky—these are not the skies our grandparents knew. These are not natural phenomena. These are the fingerprints of something deliberate, something engineered. Stratospheric aerosol injection, solar radiation management, climate intervention—whatever euphemism the establishment wants to slap on it, the reality remains the same. We are being sprayed.

Surviving the unsurvivable. Healing from the unhealable. This is an inspiring memoir of physical and mental recovery, from someone who lived through the Whakaari White Island volcanic eruption. ""I heard someone say, 'Wow!' And someone else exclaimed, 'Look at that!' I had my back to the crater...

'A fascinating detective story told with humor and joy that unravels the threads of history and legend to reveal the strange stories of Britain's hill figures.'—Fiona Roberston, author of Stone Lands A journey through Britain’s chalklands, uncovering the stories, symbolism, and shifting...

How did the world as we know it—from the soil beneath our feet to the air we breathe and the life that surrounds us—come to be? Geologists have proposed one set of answers while biologists have proposed another. Earth and Life is the first book to reveal why we need to listen to both voices—the physical and the biological—to understand how we and our planet became possible.

In Radically Reframing Climate Change: A Guide to Saving Ourselves, Will Hackman identifies three main obstacles to solving climate change: polarization, paralysis, and stale, ineffective messaging. He empowers people to turn their anxiety or apathy into passion, and anger into action at the personal, community, and government levels. The climate rallying cries to “Save the Planet” no longer work in our hyper-partisan world, nor do images of polar bears on melting glaciers. The problem isn’t scientific, fact-based, or even technological. It’s political, emotional, and ideological.

Between 1700 and 1900, an art movement unveiled nature's great secret: the global diversity of life-forms. Centuries before the word "biodiversity" existed, naturalists began to glimpse the reality that lay behind Charles Darwin's lyrical evocation of nature's "endless forms most beautiful." The...

Farley Mowat's youth was charmed and hilarious, and unbelievably free in its access to unspoiled nature through bird-banding expeditions and overnight outings in the dead of winter. The author writes of sleeping in haystacks for survival, and other adventures, with equal shares of Booth...

Concrete Botany is a gritty, kick-in-the-guts look at the ecological disturbance humans have caused and the resilience of the plants living amongst it. Delivered in his raw and unapologetic yet botanically accurate tone, Joey Santore—the unforgettable host of Crime Pays but Botany...

Why is Kansas City, Missouri one of the best places to see the fall migration of hawks and eagles? Where can I see a Red Bellied Woodpecker in Kansas City, Missouri? What is the state bird of Missouri? If you find yourself asking any of these questions, then this book is for you... 50 Things to Know about the Birds in Kansas City, Missouri by Author Dawn M. Stevens offers an elegant approach to finding the most beautiful and varied species of birds on the continent.

With high hopes, three hopeful young ladies enjoy the hot summer day with a tour at Harvard University, their sights set on changing the world and plans for the future. Little did they know, the sun had other plans. When a solar superstorm impacts Earth, producing a Coronal Mass Ejection, with an EMP that fries the power grid. These friends must find their way back to Maine. Dangers test them to their limits, and all hell breaks loose when one has reached the breaking point.

An awe-inspiring investigation into the hidden world of the deep sea—the most mysterious, unforgiving environment on Earth—whose secrets can radically revise our understanding of life itself and chart our planetary future. “A brilliant scientist and storyteller, Jeffrey Marlow takes us on...

From the renowned author of A Year in the Maine Woods, the intimate, thoughtful reflections of a lifetime spent observing the natural world. For forty years, Bernd Heinrich has been ensconced in the woods of the northern, or boreal, forest, a vast sea of spruce, fir, and larch in the mountains...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The author of Finding the Mother Tree offers a powerful vision for saving our forests based on nature’s deep-rooted cycles of renewal. "A masterclass on the inner workings of forests. . . . This is science as an act of love for the world.” —Zoë Schlanger...

"[G]orgeous and immersive." —Wall Street Journal “A deeply absorbing exploration of the ways we mark time. Fascinating and full of beauty.” —Katherine May, New York Times bestselling author of Wintering and Enchantment A joyful exploration of the forgotten art of marking time from...

In a world where technology evolves faster than ever, our devices have become both indispensable tools and growing environmental liabilities. This book reveals how the shift from a linear “take-make-dispose” model to a regenerative circular ecosystem can dramatically reduce waste, extend device lifespans, strengthen security, and unlock new economic value. Through clear explanations, real world case studies, mathematical models, and actionable frameworks, it could equip listeners with the knowledge to build computing systems that are not only sustainable but smarter, safer, & more resilient.

If you’re ready to roll, bounce, and dive into an adrenaline-fueled adventure, HowExpert Guide to Zorbing is your go-to resource! Whether you’re a first-timer eager to try zorbing, a seasoned enthusiast refining your skills, or a family looking for an unforgettable activity, this guide has everything you need to make the most of every ride.

Every drop of oil is ancient sunlight. Three hundred million years of photosynthesis, burial, and geological patience, compressed into a black liquid that we extract in hours and burn in minutes. The ratio of nature’s patience to our haste is roughly one million to one.

Indigenous solutions we can all apply today to make our lives more sustainable and engage with earth and community from award-winning Dene activist and writer Katlia. The Dene in Canada’s North West territories have lived alongside nature for many generations. From battling environmental...

Ancient and carbon-rich, old-growth forests play an irreplaceable role in the environment. Their complex ecosystems clean the air, purify the water, cool the planet, and teem with life. In a time of climate catastrophe, old-growth and other natural forests face existential threats caused by...

Perhaps the closest a human being comes to visiting another planet is to descend into the sea. In Soundings, Kennedy Warne connects his lifelong exploration of the underwater world with a global story of humanity’s relationship with the sea. Drawing on over 20 years of work for National Geographic, he shares experiences that range from diving with harp seals under the sea ice of the Gulf of St Lawrence to following the legendary ‘sardine run’ along South Africa’s Wild Coast; from watching turret-building ghost crabs in Arabia to witnessing the impact of dynamite fishing in the Philippines…

Knoxville native Charlie Tombras may be best known for his fifty-seven-year leadership of the nationally recognized advertising firm the Tombras Group, but in his moving memoir, From Out of the Smokies: Stories of Fly Fishing and Life, he chronicles his personal journey, letting business take a backseat.