Wade Davis is Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Between 2000 and 2013 he served as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and was named by NGS as one of the Explorers for the Millennium. He has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” His work has taken him to unique biomes across the world including East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia, Colombia, Vanuatu, Mongolia and the high Arctic of Nunuvut and Greenland. An ethnographer, writer, photographer and filmmaker, Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among 15 indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6000 botanical collections. Davis is the author of 320 scientific and popular articles and 23 books and as a professional speaker for 30 years, has lectured at over 200 universities and 250 corporations and professional associations. One of only 20 Honorary Members of the Explorers Club, his incredible list of awards, medals and accolades would warrant its own podcast. We’ve connected here today to introduce our audience to this incredible explorer, give some of his background and dive into his newest work about one of the most biodiverse and culturally relevant countries in the world – Colombia and it’s great river the Magdalena.
⚠️ There were some issues with audio capture at certain points in the interview. After 12 minutes you get through the roughest patches, but I encourage you to listen in even to the rough bits! There is gold here 💛
Topics Covered:
Episode Resources:
Ep. 58: Unwinding Mushroom Mysteries, Decoding Fungal Genetics (feat. Todd Osmundson PhD)
Ep. 57: Secondary Metabolites, Mycotoxins & Fungi in Food Systems (feat. Professor Tom Volk)
Ep. 56: Wood-Decomposer Fungi & Mycelium Network Architecture (feat. Professor Lynne Boddy)
Ep. 55: EcoAgric Uganda - Mushroom Farming, Empowering Women, Protecting the Vulnerable (feat. Josephine Nakakande)
Ep. 54: Woodland Cravings - Permaculture, Agroforestry & the Sacred Act of Foraging (feat. Scott Stimpson)
Ep. 53: Mycorrhizal Planet - How Symbiotic Fungi Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility (feat. Michael Phillips)
Ep. 52: Shared Cultures - Foraging, Fermenting & the Magic of Koji (feat. Eleana Hsu)
Ep. 51: Planet Fungi - Capturing Mushrooms with World-Famous Photographer Steve Axford
Ep. 50: Return to Nature - Herbalism, Rewilding & Overgrowing the System (feat. Dan De Lion)
Ep. 49: Changing the Narrative - Reclaiming Ecological, Economic, Social and Political Power (feat. Antonio Cosme)
Ep. 48 - Embracing the Land, Facing Colonialism and Honoring Indigenous Culture (feat. Amber of Moon Mountain)
Ep. 47 - Bioluminescent Mushrooms, Psilocybe of Mexico and the Power of Citizen Mycology (feat. Alan Rockefeller)
Ep. 46: Modern Foragers - Foraging, Cooking and Preserving Wild Mushrooms (feat. Kristen and Trent Blizzard)
Ep. 45: Meati - The Fungal Future of Food (feat. Tyler Huggins & Justin Whiteley)
Ep. 44: Medicinal Mushrooms - The Human Clinical Trials (feat. Robert Rogers)
Ep. 43: Lorelle Morel - Forest Biology, Fire Ecology and an Obsession with Wild Foods (feat. Lorelle Sherman)
Ep. 42: Red Glasses - England's Godfather of Mushrooms and Worldwide Forager (feat. Roger Phillips)
Ep. 41: Edulis Wild Foods - Foraging Mushrooms and Restoring Vital Connection in the UK Isles (feat. Lisa Cutcliffe)
Ep. 40: Entheogenic Evolution - Psychedelic Consciousness and Non-Duality (feat. Martin W. Ball PhD)
Ep. 39: Mt. Tam Psilocybin Summit - Psychedelic Gnosis and Enlightenment-Based Society (feat. Daniel Shankin)
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