GenX, Church, and Academia (and two pollinators) with Professor Ed J. Blum

GenX, Church, and Academia (and two pollinators) with Professor Ed J. Blum

Author: Christy Hyman, PhD May 21, 2026 Duration: 39:00
What does it mean to grow up saved—and then spend your career studying how race, religion, and power have always been tangled together in the west? Christy sits down with Ed J. Blum, historian of Ideas, to find out. From his evangelical upbringing in suburban New Jersey to his landmark scholarship on W.E.B. Du Bois, Ed traces the through-line between personal faith and intellectual obsession. He and Christy swap stories of religious intensity— her family's fervor (at least on Easter), his Mis...

Christy Hyman is a geographer with a deep affection for birds and the wild spaces just outside our doors. In Random Nature, she sits down with fellow academics, not for stiff lectures, but for genuine conversations that explore the surprising and personal relationships we have with the natural world. You’ll hear how a sociologist might find order in a tangled forest, or how a historian sees the landscape as a living archive. These discussions get at the heart of how people who think for a living actually *experience* nature-whether they seek it out daily on long walks or observe it more quietly from a kitchen window garden. This podcast lives in the intersection of science, culture, and everyday life, revealing that our connection to the environment is rarely straightforward. It’s often messy, overlooked, and wonderfully random. Each episode is an invitation to reconsider your own surroundings, to notice the details in your own home, garden, or local park through a slightly different lens. Tune in for thoughtful, meandering talks that bridge the gap between scholarly insight and simple, personal appreciation.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Random Nature
Podcast Episodes
BONUS: SUMMER TIME; ANNOUNCEMENTS! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:35
Bonus! Christy tells us where she is headed next in her academic career. And of course BIRDS! Birds mentioned: Pileated Woodpecker People mentioned: Ed Baptist PhD, Bill Block, PhD, soon to be PhD Megan Jeffreys .
Anna Bartel, PhD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:07
Part activist, part administrator, and part academic,” Anna Sims Bartel earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at Cornell University. She runs her own consulting firm and enjoys doing public humanities work as well h…
BONUS: A CONFUSING FALL BIRD MIGRATION [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:13
Here I give a glimpse into what is coming up next. I talk about my confusing fall birding migration in a new region and FUNGI. My next guest will be Dr. Anna Bartel.
Season 2: The New Year [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:04
A meditation on grief and nature on a day of sorrow.
Bonus: Farewell Rose-Breasted Grosbeak [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:31
In this episode I share a precious moment with the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak and my emotional farewell.
Dr. Hanieh Molana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:45
Meet one of my sweetest Feminist Geographer friends, Dr. Molana!