{"podcast":{"title":"Nature in Crisis","slug":"nature-in-crisis-7731357","podcast_index_feed_id":7731357,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LRB7056230002","website_url":"https://www.lrb.co.uk","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/58b32d62-17c8-11f1-a39d-cffe2f0a32e2/image/19d3b7227a4cc33a26e07b9ed261d97b.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"London Review of Books","episode_count":7,"summary":"In a time of climate breakdown and mass extinction there is a new urgency to environmental writing, both as literature and as science. So In their series, Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith consider some of the most significant books published in the last few years, along with classic texts by Rachel Carson, James Lovelock and Robin Wall Kimmerer – tracing a loose arc from biology to society via questions of plant intelligence, biodiversity loss, the rights of nature, ecofascism and green capitalism. Meehan Crist is writer in residence in biological sciences at Columbia University. Peter Godfrey-Smith is a professor in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney Non-subscribers will only hear an extracts from the episodes. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ture In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsna⁠⁠⁠ture Books featured in the series: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring Zoë Schlanger, The Light Eaters Helen Czerski, The Blue Machine Sunil Amrith, The Burning Earth James Lovelock, Gaia Robert Macfarlane, Is a River Alive?…","last_synced_at":"2026-06-04T06:20:32.964020+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-in-crisis-7731357"},"episode":{"title":"‘Blue Machine’ by Helen Czerski","slug":"blue-machine-by-helen-czerski","published_at":"2026-03-09T06:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-in-crisis-7731357/blue-machine-by-helen-czerski","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-in-crisis-7731357","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/LRB9977879837.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/LRB9977879837.mp3","summary":"In Blue Machine (2024), Helen Czerski refigures the ocean as an enormous planetary engine, converting light and heat into motion. Her book invites us to see the ocean not as an ‘absence’ but an intricate series of operations that makes life as we know it possible. In this episode, Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith reflect on the ways Czerski’s book has altered their thinking about the ocean, and whether new perspectives can ever be enough to change public policy. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ture⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsna⁠⁠⁠ture⁠ Get the book: ⁠https://lrb.me/czerskicr⁠ More from the LRB: Richard Hamblyn on deep-sea exploration: ⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n21/richard-hamblyn/hurrah-for-the-dredge⁠ Katherine Rundell on the greenland shark: ⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n09/katherine-rundell/consider-the-greenland-shark⁠ Liam Shaw on coral: ⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n22/liam-shaw/in-the-photic-zone⁠ Amia Srinivasan reviews Peter’s book on octopus minds: ⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v39/n17/amia-srinivasan/the-sucker-the-sucker⁠ Film: Forecasting D-Day ⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/videos/lrb-films-interviews/forecasting-d-day⁠ Next episode: ‘The Burning Earth’ by Sunil Amrith ⁠https://lrb.me/amrithcr","meta_description":"In Blue Machine (2024), Helen Czerski refigures the ocean as an enormous planetary engine, converting light and heat into motion. Her book invites us to s…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":866,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/nature-in-crisis-7731357/episodes/blue-machine-by-helen-czerski/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/nature-in-crisis-7731357/blue-machine-by-helen-czerski.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}