Extinction Ecology / Mushroom Sex / Road Botany / Mutants / Refugia / Photosynthetic History / Native vs. Non-Native Species / Trashland Ecosystems / Weird Chemistry / Feral Education / Nature Sounds / Etc.

A podcast about stuff peripheral to the plant world.

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Ep. 15: Helping Herbs
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 15: Helping Herbs

By the Seed of Our Plants is back! Ben, Ben, and Victoria talk with herbalist Kat Maier of Sacred Plant Traditions Center for Herbal Studies about the history, politics, and ecology of herbalism.

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Ep. 14: The Green Wall
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 14: The Green Wall

Ben and Ben talk with landscape architect Grant Poznick about perceiving complexity in the botanical landscape. Desert sounds, invisible plants, caring about water, and most other subjects.

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Ep. 13: Monster Mash
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 13: Monster Mash

Ben and Ben and returning guest Victoria Moyer stick our heads up the downspout of the internet, in which we find the life and times of sociologist Bruno Latour, the Great Chain of Being, the Four Sacred Animals, a ferocious Belgian, and disputed tree monsters from Connecticut.

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Ep. 12: Panorama
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 12: Panorama

Ben and Ben are joined by Denise Low, PhD., former poet laureate of Kansas and author of Wing, Melange Block, The Turtle’s Beating Heart, and many others, to talk about wildfires, the Flint Hills, surviving genocide, writing poetry about landscapes, and being useful in trying circumstances.

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Ep. 11: This Island Earth
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 11: This Island Earth

Ben interviews Dustin Wolkis of the Juliet Rice Wichman Botanical Research Center and the National Tropical Botanical Garden about Hawai'ian native plants, preserving a seed bank, and the tragedies and triumphs of working against extinction.

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Ep. 10: Body Metta Spore
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 10: Body Metta Spore

Ben and Ben talk to ecosomatic therapist Victoria Maria Moyer about meaningful connection with plants and other nonhuman beings, the language of interspecies communication, and living well in place.

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Ep. 9: Garden Friends
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 9: Garden Friends

Ben is joined by gardener and ecological activist Grace Tuttle to talk companion planting, rural land ethics, habitat connectivity, and collective organizing for the wellbeing of the earth.

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Ep. 8: A Knight to Remember
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 8: A Knight to Remember

Ben and Ben discuss vegetative symbolism, the evolution of the English language, Celtic history, and classic King Arthur cinema in the various versions of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

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Ep. 7: The Taquito Method
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 7: The Taquito Method

Charlie, Ben, and Ben hang out with educator Kate Kogge to talk about teaching science in and out of the classroom. Also dream learning, the life-changing magic of tidying up, and turning garbage into mushrooms and national parks.

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Ep. 6: Singing at Seeds
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 6: Singing at Seeds

Ben and Ben are joined by horticulturalist Kiyah Fisher for a very focused conversation about the care and feeding of little plants, eating dirt, rural gentrification, and making hair products out of mushrooms.

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Ep. 5: The Scroobius Pip
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 5: The Scroobius Pip

How is a species and why can I find one? Ben and Ben talk taxonomy, slip ‘n slide down the “extinction vortex”, and wax on beautiful science rube Alfred Russel Wallace, who touched some moths and then picked a fight with a flat-earther and totally won.

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Ep. 4: Cold Opens
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 4: Cold Opens

Charlie and Ben and Ben reflect on the recent blizzard and listen to some crazy sounds of trees being destroyed by heavy snow. When a tree falls in the forest and nobody’s around with a contact mic, is it bioturbation or cryoturbation?

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Ep. 3: Weird Tales
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 3: Weird Tales

Leah and Ben and Ben tell stories about numinous encounters in nature. Ghost birds, mystery fish, and postmodern spiritualism.

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Ep. 2: Success Comes in Cans
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 2: Success Comes in Cans

Welcome back to By the Seed of Our Plants! Ben and Ben and Charlie talk about ecological succession, where soil comes from, beaver situations, and our mutual love for mullein.

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Ep. 1: Fungal Friends Pt. I
Little Bluestem Little Bluestem

Ep. 1: Fungal Friends Pt. I

Ben and Charlie and Ben talk to Willoughby Arevalo, author of DIY Mushroom Cultivation, about mushroom sounds, getting to know your mycelial neighbors, homegrown oysters, and deathcaps for cuties. Stay tuned for Part II!

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