Science Ecology

In Material, Kary takes listeners along with him to visit some of the places where modern artisans are preserving, and in some cases passing on, the old craft skills. His vivid descriptions and eye for detail make this book a rich and delightful listen, and the natural and cultural history he imparts along the way provides an important context for understanding our own past and the roots of our industrial society. Personal, engaging, and filled with memorable people, landscapes, and scenes, Material is a rich celebration of what it means to imagine and create.

Ever since he was young, Levison Wood has been fascinated by elephants and their fight for survival. Whilst trekking the Nile he saw these beasts up close, and in The Last Giants, he finally satisfies his desire to learn more about the majestic African elephant. In The Last Giants, he teams up with local trackers to gain insight into how this iconic species survives, camps out in the wild, meets the people and tribes living on the migration's path, and joins the park rangers whose job it is to protect these land goliaths.

Moral Ground brings together the testimony of over eighty visionaries, theologians and religious leaders, scientists, elected officials, business leaders, naturalists, activists, and writers to present a diverse and compelling call to honor our individual and collective moral responsibility to our planet. In the face of environmental degradation and global climate change, scientific knowledge alone does not tell us what we ought to do.

If you learn about the scientific method, you learn that first we hypothesize about something we’ve experienced, and then we look for more of it. This works well enough—but what if you are interested in studying a heretofore unknown comet or supernova? That is the essential problem of the astronomer: the most important discoveries happen without notice! Indeed, as Chris Lintott argues in Accidental Astronomy, luck defines astronomy. Lintott explores the ways in which happenstance shapes how we investigate the sky.

Spend a day and night in the forest! Learn about this wooded habitat through the fascinating animals that call it home. Leap from tree to tree with a squirrel searching for breakfast. Pounce with a fox on the forest floor. Soar with a red-tailed hawk as the sun sets.

It is rare for life to change Earth, yet three organisms have profoundly transformed our planet over the long course of its history. Elemental reveals how microbes, plants, and people used the fundamental building blocks of life to alter the climate, and with it, the trajectory of life on Earth in the past, present, and future. Taking listeners from the deep geologic past to our current era of human dominance, Stephen Porder focuses on five of life’s essential elements—hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

A seed falls from a plant. A mouse eats the seed. An owl eats the mouse. Each animal gets energy from its food. How does energy flow from one living thing to another? Let’s investigate food chains and food webs!

Movement Matters is a collection of essays in which biomechanist Katy Bowman continues her groundbreaking investigation of the mechanics of our sedentary culture and the profound potential of human movement. Here she widens her message and invites us to consider our personal relationship with sedentarism, privilege, and nature.

In Tune with Nature reveals the hidden ways plants sustain, heal, and inspire us. Blending cutting-edge science with timeless wisdom, this book shows how the human–plant connection can reduce stress, sharpen focus, boost creativity, and even expand consciousness.

A young man is murdered for his prized pet fish. An Asian tycoon buys a single specimen for $150,000. Meanwhile, a pet detective chases smugglers through the streets of New York. Delving into an outlandish realm of obsession, paranoia, and criminality, The Dragon Behind the Glass tells the story of a fish like none other: a powerful predator dating to the age of the dinosaurs.

The story of how our ancestors made the first tentative steps towards becoming human, how we lost our fur but gained language, fire and tools, and how we strode out of Africa, invented farming and cities and ultimately created modern civilisation. Where did we come from? Where are we going? Homo sapiens is the most successful, the most widespread and the most influential species ever to walk the Earth.

In this compelling narrative, O'Connor seeks out neuroscientists, anthropologists and master navigators to understand how navigation ultimately gave us our humanity. Biologists have been trying to solve the mystery of how organisms have the ability to migrate and orient with such precision - especially since our own adventurous ancestors spread across the world without maps or instruments. O'Connor goes to the Arctic, the Australian bush and the South Pacific to talk to masters of their environment who seek to preserve their traditions at a time when anyone can use a GPS to navigate.

Discover the amazing ways animals adapt to the most extreme regions on Earth. Fiery temps and little rain make the desert a difficult place to survive. But several animals from fennec foxes to kangaroo rats have adapted to these harsh conditions. Find out how their unique behaviors and body parts allow them to call this biome home.

The climate in a region affects all aspects of life. This book looks at polar climates. It explores the characteristics of the land and weather in regions with polar climates, and how plants, animals, and people have adapted to life in polar regions. The effects of climate change and other developments are also covered.

The climate in a region affects all aspects of life. This book looks at tropical climates. It explores the characteristics of the land and weather in regions with tropical climates, and how plants, animals, and people have adapted to life in tropical regions. The effects of climate change and other developments are also covered.

The climate in a region affects all aspects of life. This book looks at desert climates. It explores the characteristics of the land and weather in regions with desert climates, and how plants, animals, and people have adapted to life in deserts. The effects of climate change and other developments are also covered.

A small reptile scurries across a rock under the hot sun. It's a lizard! Learn more about these desert animals.

What plants and animals can survive with very little water? Find out what lives in desert habitats.

Next to a continent or in the middle of the ocean, all islands are surrounded by water. These landforms can be rock, sand, or even coral. Listen to Islands to learn about life on these isolated places.

Who's that digging in the desert sand? It's an armadillo! Listen to find out why armadillos dig.