{"podcast":{"title":"The Wild Idea","slug":"the-wild-idea-7248762","podcast_index_feed_id":7248762,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/the-wild-idea","website_url":"https://thewildidea.com/","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/DFKvh8f4g1rG1meRLVQ3Ebab_4_6mZBTfr8ixCHBKdE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kZTJi/OWI5MjQ3NjZkN2Jk/MDRhMDlmYmNlYWFk/MzM0ZC5wbmc.jpg","author":"Wild Idea Media","episode_count":142,"summary":"The Wild Idea is an exploration of the intersection of wild nature and our own human nature. The hosts, Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds, through conversations with experts and thought leaders will dive into the ways that humans have both embraced and impact the function and vitality of our remaining wild places.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-31T20:19:44.007200+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-wild-idea-7248762"},"episode":{"title":"Heather Hansman: Fierce Women Who Ignited America's Love for the Wild","slug":"heather-hansman-fierce-women-who-ignited-america-s-love-for-the-wild","published_at":"2026-07-14T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-wild-idea-7248762/heather-hansman-fierce-women-who-ignited-america-s-love-for-the-wild","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-wild-idea-7248762","url":"https://thewildidea.com/episode-69","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/f7a86451/d9860b55.mp3","summary":"For decades, the story of American conservation has been told almost entirely through male protagonists: Thoreau, Muir, Abbey. Journalist and author Heather Hansman joins The Wild Idea to make the case for three women who belong in that story too. Her new book, Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America's Love for the Wild , profiles Georgie White, one of the first commercial Grand Canyon river guides; Anne LaBastille, an off-grid Adirondack biologist whose research helped support the Clean Air Act; and Dolores La Chapelle, a backcountry ski pioneer who became a founding voice of the deep ecology movement. Hansman talks with Bill and Anders about why she refused to smooth over each woman's flaws and rivalries, what it means to write \"a girl book\" without being boxed in by it, and how the same nostalgia that keeps people attached to old maps and decommissioned lighthouses shapes public land policy today. The conversation also touches on the shrinking landscape of environmental journalism and Hansman's own reporting on inequities in the federal Recreation.gov permitting system. Full show notes and links at our website, thewildidea.com .","meta_description":"For decades, the story of American conservation has been told almost entirely through male protagonists: Thoreau, Muir, Abbey. Journalist and author Heath…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2515,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-wild-idea-7248762/episodes/heather-hansman-fierce-women-who-ignited-america-s-love-for-the-wild/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-wild-idea-7248762/heather-hansman-fierce-women-who-ignited-america-s-love-for-the-wild.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}