{"podcast":{"title":"Unpacked by Afar","slug":"unpacked-by-afar-5453284","podcast_index_feed_id":5453284,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/AFAR5346594674","website_url":"https://www.afar.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/0b1e55c8-d310-11ec-b05b-232990bef640/image/f875b1003db6ddf73d1d23985feab0de.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Afar","episode_count":169,"summary":"Unpacked by Afar tackles one tricky topic in travel each week. Whether you want to hack your points and miles, figure out where to travel next, or need advice on an ethical dilemma, we're your expert travel guides. Because the travel world is complicated. We're here to help you unpack it.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284"},"episode":{"title":"The Naturalist Who's Been Decoding—and Painting—California's Wild Spaces for 30 Years","slug":"the-naturalist-who-s-been-decoding-and-painting-california-s-wild-spaces-for-30-years","published_at":"2026-03-27T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/the-naturalist-who-s-been-decoding-and-painting-california-s-wild-spaces-for-30-years","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284","url":"https://www.afar.com/podcasts/unpacked","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/p.podderapp.com/9063871245/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML7288589268.mp3?updated=1776188533","summary":"This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest is one of its most original voices. Obi Kaufmann is a naturalist, writer, and illustrator whose California Field Atlas series has redefined what a nature book can be. His books — filled with hand-painted watercolor maps, poetry, and decades of ecological research — don't tell you where to go or what you're looking at. They ask why the landscape works the way it does, and what it means to truly belong to a place. In this episode, Obi talks about growing up exploring Mount Diablo in Northern California, what makes a field atlas, and why he believes the future of California conservation depends on better poetry. On this episode, you'll learn: What a \"field atlas\" is — and why Obi had to invent the genre himself How Indigenous stewardship and traditional ecological knowledge are reshaping conservation in California Why Obi, one of California's great wilderness writers, is a proud city dweller in Oakland What to expect from his next three books Where to go right now to experience California's wildflower season at its peak Travel Recommendations from Obi: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park — Keep your eye on the California Native Plant Society or CalFlora for super bloom alerts; the window can be as short as a week Death Valley National Park — Another prime super bloom destination; timing is everything Big Sur — Highway 1 is open again; Obi recommends climbing a mountain and watching for California condors, which have rebounded from just 17 individuals in 1987 to over 500 today Pinnacles National Park — The smallest and l…","meta_description":"This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit Califor…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3114,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/episodes/the-naturalist-who-s-been-decoding-and-painting-california-s-wild-spaces-for-30-years/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/the-naturalist-who-s-been-decoding-and-painting-california-s-wild-spaces-for-30-years.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}