Underwater explorer Craig Foster dives nearly every day in the near-shore waters of South Africa and it’s here that he befriended an octopus, a relationship captured in the documentary “My Octopus Teacher.” He’s coauthor of the 2021 book “Underwater Wild” and joined us for a recent Living on Earth Book Club event to talk about his encounters with cuttlefish, sharks, and Cape clawless otters, and the power of connecting with wild nature.

Also, as the autism rate continues to rise among children, scientists and clinicians are connecting the dots between autism, genetics, folic acid deficiency, and chemicals like the endocrine disrupting plastic additives called phthalates.

And in their last trip beyond the headlines of the year, Peter Dykstra and Steve Curwood remember environmentally influential people who passed away during 2021. They also talk about an opportunity for Maysfield, Kentucky when the town rebuilds following horrific tornado damage. And the two wonder why the Biden Administration does not make more of the fact that their plans for electric vehicle investments are designed in part to protect consumers from volatile gas prices.

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