Living Planet

Syria’s bee population was once considered the largest in the Middle East, but then came the civil war in 2011, plunging the country into years of violent conflict. Only a fraction of its bee colonies survived. A traveling beekeeper recounts his own personal fight to bring back the bees, and with them, the farming sector.

What if the places we think of as empty and unmarred are anything but? What if wilderness is as much an idea as a place? A conversation with Cal Flyn, who, in her new book, travels to some of the world's most remote, awe-inspiring places to trace the changing meaning of wilderness, and to explore how one of conservation's most cherished ideals has come at a human cost.

If you want to escape to the profound stillness of the Himalayan foothills, a good place to start is by reading Indian writer Anuradha Roy’s latest book, Called by the Hills. A conversation about living with wild animals on her doorstep and her roof, cultivating a deep connection to nature and how the Himalayas are changing.

If you've ever wondered whether humanity can adapt to a changing climate, the fossil record offers surprising reasons for hope. Paleontologist Evan Jevnikar, author of Surviving Climate and Chaos explores how dinosaurs endured millions of years of environmental upheaval, and what their story can teach us about shaping our own future.

Standing atop a 1.7-billion-year-old rock in Wisconsin, geologist Marcia Bjornerud points out the many challenges our planet has weathered, and that its long memory might hold the key to facing climate change today. A conversation about the power of awe, resilience, and "timefulness," this summer read will help put things in perspective.