The final episode of Season Two travels to Wyoming, New York to find perhaps the world's tiniest Natural History Museum. There we visit a time capsule of the United States at the turn-of-the-twentieth century, and find the origins of modern taxidermy, contemporary anxieties about extinction, and wonder what comes next.

In this episode, we explore the impact of natural history museums and the taxidermied specimens within them. Through one particular animal, Clarence the Gorilla, we learn what the art and science of taxidermy tells us about humanity and about our response to climate change and the rapidly growing environmental anxiety that accompanies it. We delve into the the figures behind the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the infamous dioramas in Akeley’s Hall of African Mammals, specimens sitting in their own unique worlds, still and silent, behind glass.

In this episode of Nature Reconstructed, we are introduced to Osa Johnson and her husband Martin. The two were famous for their nature documentaries. Their first feature length film, Simba: King of the Beasts, was created through the assistance of both Carl Akeley and George Eastman. The film’s portrayal of animal life was one of the first instances where depictions of nature were made accessible to a large audience, as movie tickets were vastly more affordable than taxidermied animals. The premiere of Simba seems to mark the beginning of the end of the golden age of taxidermy, which causes us to beg the question: were the Johnsons and their films the catalyst for the dwindling popularity of taxidermy in American culture? Were they solely responsible for the end of an era where taxidermy was the only way Americans could engage with an increasingly disappearing natural world?

George Eastman, known for revolutionizing mainstream photography, lived a multifaceted life. Despite his success in founding the Eastman-Kodak company, his passion for hunting took him far outside of Rochester, NY. In this episode of Hear UR, join us as we take you on a journey inside the George Eastman Museum, through a safari with Eastman himself, and delve into the implications of the Kodak founder’s penchant for hunting, travelling, and collecting animals across the African landscape.

Delia Akeley, commonly know by her nickname Mickie, was an American explorer who often traveled with her husband, Carl Akeley. Her adventures in the African Savannah, interaction with indigenous tribes and treatment of the local wildlife reflect many imperialistic and western ideologies. By looking at theses values and Mickie’s journey though Africa we can see how they shaped her response to environmental change and crisis related to the conservation movement.

Jumbo the elephant lived many lives. From being taken from his home in Africa, to his time in the London Zoo, to being the star of P.T. Barnum’s “Greatest Show on Earth”, Jumbo was a spectacle both in life and death. In this episode we explore his life, and how his untimely death provided Carl Akeley with his first big break in the art of taxidermy.

In the late 1800s the United States would experience an extinction of unparalleled levels. No not the dinosaurs but the Bison. This majestic creature, once numbering in the tens of thousands, would dwindle to mere hundreds at the end of the 19th century. How did this happen, and what was done to counteract this? In this episode, your hosts Louis Herman, David Backer and Max Stern will explore these questions and more covering the the American Plains, Native Americans, and of course the Bison, in this episode of Hear UR: Nature Reconstructed.

Behind the glass eyes of each taxidermy specimen there is a story of conquest, empire, race, gender, environmental anxiety, conservation, and preservation. Join us this season as we listen to the narratives of the people, places, and animals that defined the man known as the father of modern taxidermy, Carl Akeley. Welcome to Hear UR season two, Nature Reconstructed.

Episode 106: Invasion of the Sea Lamprey? by The Department of History at the University of Rochester

Episode 105: Barging Through Conflict by The Department of History at the University of Rochester