Frog and Toad Are Friends, at least according to a venerable children’s book. And so are Jason (Crazy Town’s resident biology nerd) and conservationist brothers, Kyle and Trevor Ritland, authors of The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species. The three eco-explorers connect over wondrous habitats and critters in Costa Rica's cloud forest and swap stories that cover Lazarus species, global pandemics, self-taught naturalists, birding, and even pregnancy tests. Spliced into the nostalgia and stories are reflections on how to cope in a world where biodiversity is declining and how to regain the connections that modernity has severed between humanity and wild nature. Originally recorded on 10/9/25.Sources/Links/Notes:<ul><li>Kyle and Trevor Ritland, <a href="https://kyleandtrevor.com/the-golden-toad" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species</a>, Diversion Books, 2025.</li><li><a href="https://kyleandtrevor.com/adventure-term" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adventure Term</a>, Kyle and Trevor's nonprofit experiential learning initiative</li></ul> Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:<ul><li><a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-05-06/nature-detachment-and-ecocide-or-the-story-of-the-marauding-mountain-lion-episode-40-of-crazy-town/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Episode 40</a>, "Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or… the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion"</li><li><a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-03-17/a-day-at-the-zoo-is-no-walk-in-the-park-humanitys-overexploitation-of-animals-and-nature-episode-49-of-crazy-town/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Episode 49</a>, "A Day at the Zoo Is No Walk in the Park: Humanity’s Overexploitation of Animals and Nature"</li></ul>

Frog and Toad Are Friends, at least according to a venerable children’s book. And so are Jason (Crazy Town’s resident biology nerd) and conservationist brothers, Kyle and Trevor Ritland, authors of The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species. The three eco-explorers connect over wondrous habitats and critters in Costa Rica's cloud forest and swap stories that cover Lazarus species, global pandemics, self-taught naturalists, birding, and even pregnancy tests. Spliced into the nostalgia and stories are reflections on how to cope in a world where biodiversity is declining and how to regain the connections that modernity has severed between humanity and wild nature. Originally recorded on 10/9/25. Sources/Links/Notes:Kyle and Trevor Ritland, The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species, Diversion Books, 2025.Adventure Term, Kyle and Trevor's nonprofit experiential learning initiative Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:Episode 40, "Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or… the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion"Episode 49, "A Day at the Zoo Is No Walk in the Park: Humanity’s Overexploitation of Animals and Nature"

Frog and Toad Are Friends, at least according to a venerable children’s book. And so are Jason (Crazy Town’s resident biology nerd) and conservationist brothers, Kyle and Trevor Ritland, authors of The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species. The three eco-explorers connect over wondrous habitats and critters in Costa Rica's cloud forest and swap stories that cover Lazarus species, global pandemics, self-taught naturalists, birding, and even pregnancy tests. Spliced into the nostalgia and stories are reflections on how to cope in a world where biodiversity is declining and how to regain the connections that modernity has severed between humanity and wild nature. Originally recorded on 10/9/25.Sources/Links/Notes:<ul><li>Kyle and Trevor Ritland, <a href="https://kyleandtrevor.com/the-golden-toad" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species</a>, Diversion Books, 2025.</li><li><a href="https://kyleandtrevor.com/adventure-term" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adventure Term</a>, Kyle and Trevor's nonprofit experiential learning initiative</li></ul> Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:<ul><li><a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-05-06/nature-detachment-and-ecocide-or-the-story-of-the-marauding-mountain-lion-episode-40-of-crazy-town/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Episode 40</a>, "Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or… the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion"</li><li><a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-03-17/a-day-at-the-zoo-is-no-walk-in-the-park-humanitys-overexploitation-of-animals-and-nature-episode-49-of-crazy-town/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Episode 49</a>, "A Day at the Zoo Is No Walk in the Park: Humanity’s Overexploitation of Animals and Nature"</li></ul>

Searching for the Golden Toad with Kyle and Trevor Ritland

With equal parts humor and in-depth analysis, Asher, Rob, and Jason safeguard their sanity while probing crazy-making topics like climate change, overshoot, runaway capitalism, and why we’re all deluding ourselves. Each fortnightly episode helps you understand the “Great Unraveling” of our environmental and social systems and describes how we can make the transition to a sustainable and equitable world. If you’re someone who questions the trajectory of society and struggles to understand why most people would rather eat nachos on the deck of the “SS Denial” than face reality, you’ll find community and plenty of laughs in Crazy Town.


Brought to you by https://www.resilience.org/ and the unconventional minds at Post Carbon Institute, a nonprofit think tank that builds awareness of the polycrisis and prescribes community resilience-building as the most appropriate response.


Your hosts:
Asher Miller - Nonprofit executive director by day, apocalypse comedian by night. Feels most at home exploring insanity-inducing topics while trying not to spill coffee on his keyboard as he convulses over the latest ecomodernist fantasy. In danger of losing his mind every time he encounters someone using a gas-powered blower to move leaves from one spot to another.


Rob Dietz - Jack-of-all-trades environmental scientist, conservation biologist, and ecological economist with a penchant for relating planetary overshoot to the catalog of movie scenes that play on a continuous loop in his colonized brain. Known for inserting random ecological facts into casual conversation, often in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice. His friends call him “pessimistically hilarious.”


Jason Bradford - Activist farmer and former encyclopedia salesman with a PhD in plant ecology who gets genuinely excited discussing soil microbes and societal collapse in the same breath. Morally opposed to doomsday prepping, but predisposed toward sharing everything he keeps in his bunker, er root cellar, including potatoes, wine, and a 47-month supply of scientific esoterica and embarrassing anecdotes.


These guys are the Three Stooges of sustainability podcasting, although they tend toward scientific analysis, righteous outrage, and self-deprecation rather than beating each other up with hand tools. How can they have this much fun while contemplating collapse and navigating the Great Unraveling?


Heartfelt thanks to the team at Post Carbon Institute, our volunteers, and all our fellow Crazy Townies out there who help bring this podcast to life.

Science

Natural Sciences

Nature

Earth Sciences

With equal parts humor and in-depth analysis, Asher, Rob, and Jason safeguard their sanity while probing crazy-making topics like climate change, overshoot, runaway capitalism, and why we’re all deluding ourselves. Each fortnightly episode helps you understand the “Great Unraveling” of our environmental and social systems and describes how we can make the transition to a sustainable and equitable world. If you’re someone who questions the trajectory of society and struggles to understand why most people would rather eat nachos on the deck of the “SS Denial” than face reality, you’ll find community and plenty of laughs in Crazy Town. Brought to you by https://www.resilience.org/ and the unconventional minds at Post Carbon Institute, a nonprofit think tank that builds awareness of the polycrisis and prescribes community resilience-building as the most appropriate response. Your hosts: Asher Miller - Nonprofit executive director by day, apocalypse comedian by night. Feels most at home exploring insanity-inducing topics while trying not to spill coffee on his keyboard as he convulses over the latest ecomodernist fantasy. In danger of losing his mind every time he encounters someone using a gas-powered blower to move leaves from one spot to another. Rob Dietz - Jack-of-all-trades environmental scientist, conservation biologist, and ecological economist with a penchant for relating planetary overshoot to the catalog of movie scenes that play on a continuous loop in his colonized brain. Known for inserting random ecological facts into casual conversation, often in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice. His friends call him “pessimistically hilarious.” Jason Bradford - Activist farmer and former encyclopedia salesman with a PhD in plant ecology who gets genuinely excited discussing soil microbes and societal collapse in the same breath. Morally opposed to doomsday prepping, but predisposed toward sharing everything he keeps in his bunker, er root cellar, including potatoes, wine, and a 47-month supply of scientific esoterica and embarrassing anecdotes. These guys are the Three Stooges of sustainability podcasting, although they tend toward scientific analysis, righteous outrage, and self-deprecation rather than beating each other up with hand tools. How can they have this much fun while contemplating collapse and navigating the Great Unraveling? Heartfelt thanks to the team at Post Carbon Institute, our volunteers, and all our fellow Crazy Townies out there who help bring this podcast to life.

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Searching for the Golden Toad with Kyle and Trevor Ritland

Searching for the Golden Toad with Kyle and Trevor Ritland

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