Nathaniel Rich, Ben Novak, & Ryan Phelan
Second Nature: Green Rabbits, Passenger Pigeons, Cloned Ferrets, and the Birth of a New Ecology
Recorded on Apr 7, 02021
Reporter and writer Nathaniel Rich delves deep into conversation with Revive & Restore's Ryan Phelan and Ben Novak to discuss his newest book Second Nature: Scenes from a World Remade, which attempts to come to terms with the massive changes that are underway on our planet, and how humans can better understand our role to caretake, conserve and thoughtfully manage our relationship with nature for the long term.
From Losing Earth to the film Dark Waters (adapted from his writing), Nathaniel Rich’s stories have come to define the way we think of contemporary ecological narrative. In Second Nature, he asks what it means to live in an era of terrible responsibility. The question is no longer, How do we return to the world that we’ve lost? It is, What world do we want to create in its place?
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bio
Nathaniel Rich is the author of Second Nature: Scenes from a World Remade, Losing Earth: A Recent History and Odds Against Tomorrow, amongst others. He is a writer at large for The New York Times Magazine and a regular contributor to The Atlantic, Harper's, and The New York Review of Books, and other publications.
Ben Novak collaboratively pioneers new tools for genetic rescue and de-extinction. He helps shape the genetic rescue efforts of Revive & Restore and leads its flagship project, The Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback. Novak works with collaborators and partners to restore the ecology of the Passenger Pigeon to the eastern North American forests, on the sequencing of its genome and to set the standard for de-extinction protocols and considerations in the lab and field. His Master’s in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is with the University of California Santa Cruz, and he studied at the McMaster University Ancient DNA Centre and has worked with the Australian Animal Health Laboratory–CSIRO.
Ryan Phelan is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Revive & Restore, founded in 02012 with the mission to enhance biodiversity through the genetic rescue of endangered and extinct species. Phelan works with some of the world’s leading molecular biologists, conservation biologists, and conservation organizations to envision and develop pioneering genetic rescue projects. By using cutting-edge genomic technologies, Revive & Restore works to solve seemingly intractable wildlife conservation challenges, such as those posed by inbreeding, exotic diseases, climate change, and invasive species.
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