David Gessner is no stranger to Mountain & Prairie listeners– he’s joined me for many episodes and is the author of many of my favorite books, including All the Wild That Remains, Leave It As It Is, My Green Manifesto, and more. His newest book is A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World: Tales of Fire, Wind, and Water, which once again showcases David’s unique ability to combine humor, travel, and memoir in service of connecting the reader with the natural world.
A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World chronicles David’s journeys around the country, where he finds himself in the middle of an unsettling number of climate disasters– from historic forest fires in the American West to hurricanes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Eschewing the ubiquitous facts, figures, and policy debates that often dominate climate-focused books, David does what he does best: he tells stories. Specifically, he tells impactful, insightful stories from the front lines of the climate crisis– stories that will stick with the reader for years to come.
As has been our tradition for several years now, David and I met up in Boulder, Colorado, where he and his family visit each summer. We obviously talk a lot about the book, but as is the case whenever we get together, the conversation flows into many fun and unexpected topics. You can check out the episode notes for a full list of everything we discussed, but some of the topics include: David’s recent writing workshop at the Zapata Ranch with his friend, author Craig Childs, the importance of momentum and dailiness in writing, how David’s daughter was the influence for the new book, optimism vs pessimism when reporting current events, thoughts on death and loss, David’s good friend, the late Mark Spitzer, the next generation of conservation-minded writers, some book recommendations, the idea of being a “polygamist of place,” and much more.
I’m always happy to have the opportunity to sit down with David for a conversation, so I greatly appreciate his carving out the time. I hope you can check out A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World, and I hope you enjoy this episode.
Photos courtesy of David Gessner
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RESOURCES:
Topics Discussed:
- 3:15 – David’s Zapata Ranch retreat
- 6:45 – Discussing the power of “dailiness”
- 7:45 – Whether or not teaching helped in David’s practice of writing
- 9:00 – How many books David has written in the past 18 months
- 10:30 – How David knows when an idea becomes a book in his mind
- 16:45 – David’s goal for A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World, including how he balanced stories with statistics and humor with the weight of the subject
- 20:45 – Evaluating how the news of the West is reported
- 27:45 – What David means when he identifies as a “polygamist of place”
- 33:15 – David’s relationship with Mark Spitzer
- 39:30 – How David feels about entering a stage in life where his friends are beginning to pass away
- 43:45 – Discussing David’s daughter, climate change, and how they figure into A Traveler’s Guide
- 50:30 – David discussing the various tools he would like to use to face climate change
- 52:45 – Who David thinks will continue the work of the Doug Peacocks of the world
- 56:45 – Discussing the political alignment affiliated with climate change work
- 1:01:30 – David’s book recommendations
Information Referenced:
- A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World by David Gessner
- Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness by David Gessner
- All the Wild That Remains by David Gessner
- Return of the Osprey by David Gessner
- The Tarball Chronicles by David Gessner
- Sick of Nature by David Gessner
- Chautauqua Park
- Zapata Ranch
- Craig Childs
- Andre Hamm
- Samuel Johnson
- Henry David Thoreau
- Jaimie Raskin
- Boulder, CO
- Ken Sleight
- Seldom Seen Smith
- The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
- Pack Creek Fire
- Pack Creek
- Quonset Hut
- Paradise, CA
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Bill McKibben
- The End of Nature by Bill McKibben
- The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
- Winston Churchill
- Maya Angelou
- Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
- Leadville, CO
- Wallace Stegner
- Ryan Lambert
- Ducks Unlimited
- Tarboro, NC
- Morehead City, NC
- Atlantic Beach, NC
- Wendell Berry
- Cape Cod
- Worcester, MA
- University of North Carolina Wilmington
- Wilmington, NC
- Bears Ears National Monument
- Mark Spitzer
- Monster Fishing by Mark Spitzer
- Lea Graham
- Tom Wolfe
- Beatnik
- The New Yorker
- Shakespeare and Company
- Gar
- Brad Watson
- Phillip Gerard
- John Denver
- Rocky Mountain High by John Denver
- Annie’s Song by John Denver
- Mt. Pinatubo
- Orrin Pilkey
- Hurricane Florence
- Hurricane Dorian
- Mancos, CO
- Durango, CO
- Doug Peacock
- Gary Snyder
- Orion Magazine
- Camille Dungy
- Drew Lanham
- Ed’s interview with Dr. Drew Lanham
- Joe Wilkins
- Orion Magazine’s 2023 Environmental Writers’ Workshop
- Ginger Strand
- Kathryn Miles
- Zack Podmore
- Salt Lake Tribune
- San Juan County, UT
- ZZ Top
- Katherine Hayhoe
- Lancet Study of youth climate anxiety across the world
- Vernal, UT
- The Overstory by Richard Powers
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- True West by Betsy Gaines Quammen
- Bernard DeVoto
- Nate Schweber
Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:
- Betsy Gaines Quammen – A Fascinating History of Public Lands in the West
- Nate Schweber – A Forgotten Chapter of American Conservation
- Douglas Brinkley – Exploring the Past to Find Inspiration for the Future
- Taylor Hawes – Innovative Conservation in the Colorado River Basin
- Doug Peacock – 50 Years of Fighting for the Grizzlies
- Ryan Busse – Standing His Ground
Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes
