Orion Magazine Podcast

As the climate warms, oil disappears, and the economy shakes and shifts, how will our urban places adapt? Will density and communal living be important tools for human resilience, or will city life become costly and unworkable—or even unlivable? Listen to Kunstler share his forecast for the American city, elaborate on his feature in the July/August 2011 issue of the magazine, and answer listener questions.

Sharona Muir reads her short story "Monumental City" (Orion July/August 2011, story not available online) about giant spiders taking over an important city (hint: it might be Washington, D.C....)

Orion managing editor Andrew Blechman interviews author James Howard Kunstler about the future of cities in an age of peak oil and obligatory contraction. According to Kunstler, Phoenix and Las Vegas will be "toast," skyscrapers will become massive liabilities, suburbs will turn into salvage yards, and commerce will look very different. Kunstler is quite certain that civilization will remain intact, albeit retrofitted with slow trains, sailing ships, and other blasts from the past.

Orion editors Chip Blake, Jennifer Sahn, and Andrew Blechman discuss the July/August 2011 issue: James Howard Kunstler's unique take on the future of the American city in an age of contraction; a photo essay about a peasant revolution in Haiti that addresses issues of food sovereignty as well as food security; and Scott Russell Sanders' piece about how material wealth has seemingly become more important than life itself.

Many of us are more familiar with what's on TV than with what's crawling, growing, and flying just beyond our windows. In this conversation, we discuss "nature deficit disorder"—a phrase coined by author and panelist Richard Louv—and the ways we might reconnect ourselves and our kids with wonder and adventure in the natural world. This is a recording of a live web event (on June 16, 2011), in which Richard Louv, Camilla Rockwell, and David Sobel discuss Reimagining Nature Literacy. Orion hosts regular dialogues with writers, artists, activists, and thinkers on transforming ideas into action for people and planet. They are made possible by your donations, so please go to http://www.orionmagazine.org/donate to support Orion in bringing readers, writers, and activists together in this way.

Derrick Jensen joined Orion staff and readers for a live web event on May 17, 2011. Jensen read from his essay in the May/June 2011 issue of Orion, "To Live or Not to Live," and answered questions submitted by listeners on this and other essays he's written for his column "Upping The Stakes." Orion hosts regular dialogues with writers, artists, activists, and thinkers on transforming ideas into action for people and planet. They are made possible by your donations, so please go to http://www.orionmagazine.org/donate to support Orion in bringing readers, writers, and activists together in this way.

Orion managing editor Andrew Blechman interviews Hugh Raffles, author of Insectopedia and winner of the fifth annual Orion Book Award. Raffles discusses the importance of insects, why we fear them, and why he wrote a book dedicated to them.

Bestselling author Charles C. Mann (1491) discusses the voyage of Christopher Columbus and the birth of globalization in terms of world trade and ecological collision. (Interviewer: Orion editor Andrew Blechman)

Miroslav Penkov discusses his Bulgarian background and its impact on his writing. He also reads excerpts from his short story in this issue of Orion, "East of the West," about a fictional river and its impact on a budding romance. (Interviewer: Orion editor Andrew Blechman)

We humans spend a lot of time mulling the vagaries of growing older, but we generally don’t give much thought to old age in the animal kingdom.

Author J.B. MacKinnon is interviewed by Orion editor Andrew Blechman about old age in the animal kingdom. Not only do a lucky few animals grow old in the wild, but their wisdom can play a pivotal role in their species' survival—something to consider the next time a hundred-year-old fish ends up on your dinner plate.

Orion editors Jennifer Sahn, Andrew Blechman, and Jason Houston discuss this issue: an excerpt from bestselling author Charles C. Mann’s upcoming book 1493, about Christopher Columbus and the birth of globalization; a photo essay by Diane Meyer about people who survive (and often even thrive) in Los Angeles without cars; an essay by J.B. MacKinnon; and the fiction of Bulgarian author Miroslav Penkov.

Wendell Berry, Tim DeChristopher, and Teri Blanton discussed principled activism during this live web event hosted by the Orion staff on April 12, 2011. Each of them were recently involved in effective and creative actions that challenged questionable mining practices in Kentucky and Utah. After sharing their perspectives on principled activism, they answered questions sent in by listeners. Orion magazine hosts regular dialogues like this with writers, artists, activists, and thinkers about transforming ideas into action for people and planet. They are made possible by your donations, so please go to http://www.orionmagazine.org/donate to support Orion in bringing readers, writers, and activists together in this way.

Alberto Álvaro Ríos reads his short story, "The Asterisk Company," published in the March/April issue of Orion. The story is not otherwise available online.