Kaatscast: the Catskills Podcast

Going With the Flow: Dany Davis, Catskill Streams, and the Long Way Home


Listen Later

After nearly 30 years wading Catskill streams, Dany Davis has learned that rivers don't just carry water — they carry time, memory, and if you're paying close enough attention, a few life lessons too. Now retiring as Stream Studies Coordinator for the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Dany is heading home to Alaska, and he sat down with us to reflect on what the streams gave back.

On the banks of Warner Creek in Chichester, the conversation turns to geology, glaciers, and the surprisingly personal lessons a river can teach you. We trace the story of the Catskills from ancient Devonian forests to the last ice age to today's turbidity monitoring network. Dany also reflects on a life shaped by curiosity, transition, and the concept of connectivity that runs through both rivers and human community.

In this episode:

  • How streams literally carved the Catskill Mountains
  • The 380-million-year-old river sand beneath your feet
  • Why Stony Clove Creek became the focus of New York City's water quality research
  • What turbidity has to do with glacial legacy sediment
  • Dany's personal journey through gender transition — and finding equilibrium
  • What yellow birch trees mean to a retiring geologist
  • The "Rondout to Resurrection" road trip through seven river basins on the way home to Alaska

Want to dial in to your own neighborhood stream? Head over to the USGS Water Dashboard for real time data!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Kaatscast: the Catskills PodcastBy Silver Hollow Audio

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

53 ratings


More shows like Kaatscast: the Catskills Podcast

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

91,297 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,954 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,837 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,246 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,430 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,609 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,950 Listeners

Outside/In by NHPR

Outside/In

1,478 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,467 Listeners

Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

Stay Tuned with Preet

32,354 Listeners

The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

9,556 Listeners

SmartLess by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett

SmartLess

58,365 Listeners

Question Everything by Brian Reed

Question Everything

648 Listeners

This Old House Radio Hour by American Public Media

This Old House Radio Hour

105 Listeners

The Best People with Nicolle Wallace by MS NOW, Nicolle Wallace

The Best People with Nicolle Wallace

4,433 Listeners