{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in Environmental Studies","slug":"new-books-in-environmental-studies-580644","podcast_index_feed_id":580644,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LIT4982261480","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/science-technology/environmental-studies/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/fd33bd66-ee6d-11e8-8e3e-93e6ce14a7dc/image/e5dc75adf8cdf02fb639d7831e4bb4a6.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":1246,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies","last_synced_at":"2026-06-26T10:18:44.101627+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-environmental-studies-580644"},"episode":{"title":"Andrew Demshuk, \"The Filthiest Village in Europe: Grassroots Ecology and the Collapse of East Germany\" (Cornell UP, 2026)","slug":"andrew-demshuk-the-filthiest-village-in-europe-grassroots-ecology-and-the-collapse-of-east-germany-cornell-up-2026","published_at":"2026-05-30T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-environmental-studies-580644/andrew-demshuk-the-filthiest-village-in-europe-grassroots-ecology-and-the-collapse-of-east-germany-cornell-up-2026","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-environmental-studies-580644","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK9723444098.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK9723444098.mp3","summary":"The Filthiest Village in Europe: Grassroots Ecology and the Collapse of East Germany (Cornell University Press, 2026) traces how a community shrouded by \"industrial fog,\" at the brink of gaping coal pits, became a symbol that galvanized grassroots ecology—campaigns by diverse local actors that exposed environmental and economic crises East Germany's political system could not resolve. Notoriously known by the late 1980s as \"the filthiest village in Europe,\" Mölbis suffocated downwind from the massively polluting carbochemical Espenhain plant. Applying a myriad of private collections, interviews, and untapped archival sources, Andrew Demshuk reveals how pastors, parents, officials, inspectors, workers, and spies negotiated ossified party structures whose inability to reform was showcased by ever-worsening environmental conditions. After peaceful protests a few kilometers north in Leipzig triggered a revolution, pre-1989 grassroots players launched innovative reconstruction programs with financial and organizational expertise from West Germans. Together, they transformed Europe's filthiest village into a healthy place to live and imbued it with new symbolism, turning it into a sign of hope. The political will and social engagement that saved Mölbis and rejuvenated the surrounding wasteland can inform how to revitalize other postindustrial \"filthy places\" in our world today. Andrew Demshuk (he/him) is a Professor of History at the American University in Washington D.C. His research focuses on post-1945 German and Polish history with an emphasis on how grassroots human stories can help to explain big political developments. Jenna Pittman (she/her), is a PhD student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, an…","meta_description":"The Filthiest Village in Europe: Grassroots Ecology and the Collapse of East Germany (Cornell University Press, 2026) traces how a community shrouded by \"…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5073,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-environmental-studies-580644/episodes/andrew-demshuk-the-filthiest-village-in-europe-grassroots-ecology-and-the-collapse-of-east-germany-cornell-up-2026/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-environmental-studies-580644/andrew-demshuk-the-filthiest-village-in-europe-grassroots-ecology-and-the-collapse-of-east-germany-cornell-up-2026.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}