At a superficial level, Soil is a gardening memoir, full of gorgeous descriptions of plants and getting your hands in the soil. But the garden in question is a political gesture, an act of resistance and an assertion of belonging. Camille T. Dungy uproots the staid monoculture of the suburban garden, and takes a fierce, critical look at its assumptions.

In this conversation, we talk about the way that gardens can become a means of social control and conformity, but also an expression of freedom and solidarity that crosses generations. We also touch on the idea of outsidership, and the difference between choosing to stay at the edges, and being forced out of the centre.

Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK

Links from the episode:

• Camille’s website
• Camille’s book, Soil
• Camille's Instagram

• Join Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdes
• Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
• Follow Katherine on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past few years, resistance has been a live issue for many of us, whether we’re wondering for the first time how to bring about social change, or realising that we need to find new ways to be activists. 

For Kaitlin Curtice, this resistance is an ongoing practice, informed by her perspective as an Indigenous American, and imbued with gentleness, integrity and personal sustainability. In this episode, we talk about her book, Living Resistance, how her own perspective developed over time, and - appropriately for this podcast - how we can live in this unsettling moment.

Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK

Links from the episode:

• Kaitlin’s website
• Kaitlin’s book, Living Resistance
• Kaitlin's Instagram

• Join Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdes
• Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
• Follow Katherine on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wolf carries an almost unbearable amount of symbolism in western culture, encapsulating the predatory, the carnal, the supernatural and the ravenous. But in her book Wolfish, Erica Berry suggests that it’s time to understand wolves differently: as tender, as hunted, as guardians of the landscape. 

What’s more, those evil qualities may be better attributed to ourselves than to wolves. Berry weaves memoir with natural history, cultural critique, folklore and conservation to show that wolves have too often been a cypher for all our fears, and that this has left them under threat of extinction. 

In this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, recorded as part of Katherine’s True Stories Book Club, Erica discusses her experiences with wolves real and imagined.

Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK

Links from the episode:

• Erica’s website
• Erica’s book, Wolfish

• Join Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdes
• Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
• Follow Katherine on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.