Madeleine Fritz Hooper, PhD

Madeleine Fritz Hooper, PhD

Author: Christy Hyman, PhD October 14, 2022 Duration: 34:19
Madeleine gives us a glimpse of her interactions with Nature through recalling her time as a child loving horses, taking adventures as a college student, and reflecting on the gifts of her father from that she treasures. At the end of the episode, Madeleine's Great Pyrenees does a trick that causes her to speak to him. If you want to learn more about The Artwork of the Congo and the complicated implications of the European Gaze try these links: Art Nouveau, Art of Darkness: Afr...

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
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:57
Step into the treetops and discover the extraordinary life of Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874–1927), the brilliant American ornithologist and illustrator who revolutionized wildlife art and some amazing birders of Latinx her…
Miracles never cease in the garden! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:39
In this episode, we hear how a litter box lid, some leftover charcoal, and a total refusal to do any research somehow produced a thriving romano bean plant from seeds obtained for free at a America250 thing in Brooktonda…
Tech Needs Limits: The Great Dismal Swamp Needs You! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:03
Bonus episode that discusses a massive, power hungry data center that will destroy critical wildlife habitat and public health combined in the Great Dismal Swamp. Please note my cat is loud toward the end, sorry. He hate…
The New Year- August 2026- Season 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:25
In this Bonus Episode Christy shares about yet another New Year that begins Season 5 on the podcast. She discusses the part August plays in her grief journey as well as her time in fellowship and community with the Great…
Kathryn Benjamin Golden, Phd on The Great Dismal Swamp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:29
On this episode of Random Nature, Dr. Kathryn Benjamin Golden talks to us about growing up in the Bay Area of California, her new book, This Insurgent Ground: Black Women, Marronage, and Rebellion in the Great Dismal Swa…
BONUS: Next guest plus Canada Wildfires! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:38
Discusses: Air quality advisories in western New York and the Finger Lakes.Wildfire smoke originating in Canada.The particular risks for children, older adults, and people with asthma.The idea that environmental events i…
Sunflower Showdown: HOA vs. Hummingbirds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:18
Today’s bonus episode dives into a surprising HOA vs. sunflowers showdown. We hear how one homeowner’s pollinator‐friendly blooms were slashed by the HOA president—despite no laws banning them— and how kids’ bikes in dri…
Maia Butler, PhD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:11
In this episode of Random Nature, host Christy Hyman welcomes writer and scholar Maia Butler to trace the landscapes that shaped her life and her work. Maia opens by locating her roots on Coast Salish land in Olympia, Wa…
A Pedestrian Birder's Close Call- THE CAR TOOK FLIGHT [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:17
In this bonus episode, Christy is on her usual 45-minute walk to her favorite village coffee house when a car goes airborne right in front of her and disappears into a ravine— the motorist, his dog and all. She reflects…