Forum on Religion and Ecology: Spotlights

This episode of Spotlights features Dr. Patricia Wright, a renowned American primatologist, anthropologist, and conservationist. She is famous for her extensive fieldwork in Madagascar, where she discovered the golden bamboo lemur and spearheaded the creation of Ranomafana National Park. She discusses her work, especially the challenges of conservation, the connections between humans and nature, and the incredible world of Lemurs. You can learn more about her work by exploring the Pat Wright Lab at Stony Brook University. https://patwrightlab.weebly.com/pat-wright.html

This episode features Cory Eft, founder and CEO of Astoria, an online marketplace and network connecting buyers and sellers of regenerative livestock. He talks about his background in physics and software engineering, as well as his turn to the regenerative movement in agriculture. Some of the topics discussed include the importance of technology, community, and spirituality, as well as the harmful effects of industrial agriculture. For more information about Astoria, be sure to visit the website: https://astorialivestock.com

This episode features Ryan Shea, a researcher and educator working with the Nature Institute, which develops ways of thinking and perceiving that integrate self-reflective and critical thought, imagination, and careful, detailed observation of nature's phenomena. He brings to his work at The Nature Institute a broad knowledge of ancient philosophical biology (especially Aristotle), the scientific revolution, phenomenology, German idealism, and Goethean qualitative science.

In this episode, our host reflects on the new encyclical from Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas. While this letter focuses on artificial intelligence and integral human development, there are also several points that connect with the intersection of religion and ecology, including the idea of integral ecology as 6well as an ecology of communication.

Recorded on Earth Day 2026, this episode features Devin O'Dea, who has been a long-time collaborator with people and projects affiliated with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, including the Journey of the Universe project and the Human Energy project. We discuss his background, his passion for material and meaningful participation in our evolutionary unfolding, and his latest venture: Days & Seasons. 
Days & Seasons is a social enterprise rooted in awareness, movement, embodied cosmology, philosophy, ecopsychology, neurophysiology, ecological education, environmental restoration, social impact, and conscious capitalism. Days & Seasons was founded to create opportunities for people to reconnect with nature, build stronger communities, and live more intentional lives. Inspired by the interconnectedness of all living things, they combine science, philosophy, and experiential learning to help individuals thrive in alignment with the cycles of the Earth.