In Dialogue with Nature

From a talk recorded at the institute in November, Jon McAlice takes us through the biography and works of award-winning writer Barry Lopez, whose life was defined by a profound connection to the more-than-human world. Lopez died in 2020, bequeathing us a trove of essays, fiction, and non-fiction that invites all to understand and enjoy nature as he did — as alive and responsive.

Featuring the reading of remarks from a 2003 interview on Goethean science with Arthur Zajonc, professor emeritus of physics at Amherst College, this episode also includes a conversation about Zajonc’s central points between podcast host and institute educator, John Gouldthorpe, and Elaine Khosrova, editor of the institute’s publication, In Context.

Here we bring our focus to a plant that Craig Holdrege describes as both “effusive, yet also specialized. Milkweed invites life, but also holds it back. There is a fascinating tension in this plant.”  Reading from an abridged version of his whole-organism study of milkweed published on our website (The Story of an Organism: Common Milkweed), Craig brings together his observations with those of other researchers to paint a vibrant picture of the plant and its relationships.

When we give careful attention to what is actually happening when a new phase of life develops out of a previous stage, there are large implications for our overall understanding of developmental processes and evolution. That is the theme of Craig’s lecture, “Do Frogs Come from Tadpoles?” featured in this episode of our podcast. Click here for the accompanying illustrations that Craig refers to during the talk.

Craig Holdrege, director at The Nature Institute, gave this keynote address on the qualitative experience of nature as a conscious practice at the 2022 Annual International Conference of Biodynamic Agriculture in Dornach, Switzerland. Sharing this approach to nature has been at the core of The Nature Institute's work since 1998. Hear the full recorded talk in this episode.

Craig Holdrege in conversation with John Gouldthorpe

Can we imagine the world from a mole’s perspective? In our latest episode, host John Gouldthorpe invites us to understand what this might entail by listening to a reading of Craig Holdrege’s book excerpt, “How Does a Mole View the World.” The reading is followed by a conversation with Craig about its central point: How to avoid mechanistic and anthropomorphic interpretations of animal life and instead apprehend each creature’s unique way of being.

For more than 20 years, our senior researcher — Steve Talbott — has been building a body of work that illuminates natural phenomena and calls for a qualitative approach to examining organisms. In this talk, given at the Institute in November, 2021, Steve describes his theme (with tongue-firmly-in-cheek) as an offering of "notes from desperately unsatisfactory encounters with the living interior of self and world, along with intimations of their meaning for science."

Inspired by the ancient Greek concepts of the four elements — Earth, Water, Air, and Fire — the German physicist Georg Maier wrote an essay in 1970 describing how we can work with these concepts to find expanded ways of scientific research and engagement with nature. Henrike Holdrege, co-founder of The Nature Institute, who translated Maier’s essay into English, speaks in this episode about his central ideas.

An excerpt from The Physical Mystery of Life by E.L Watson (1943), and the article “Genes and Life: The Need for Qualitative Understanding” by Craig Holdrege (1999)

This episode highlights two still highly relevant pieces in the premier issue of the institute’s publication, In Context #1 (Spring 1999). Host John Gouldthorpe reads a selection on the  remarkable capacities of the female potter wasp, by E.L. Grant Watson, and an article by Craig Holdrege that reflects on the need to contextual our understanding of genes in relation to the whole organism.

In this 2021 talk by Craig Holdrege, given at the online launch of his new book, Craig shares experiences and observations that demonstrate an integrative practice of viewing animals and their development. Ultimately it is about a different way of relating to nature. A sensitive way. And that matters.