When Silent Spring came out in 1962, it was an instant best-seller and led to the establishment of the EPA, as well as the ban of harmful pesticides such as DDT. But Rachel Carson’s seminal work also shifted our way of thinking about nature. For the first time, the environment was not just something out there that could be tracked and measured, but something that lived inside all of us.

You can read a transcript of this episode on our website, and visit learn more about the topics brought up in this episode.

Check out our booklist with books recommended for this episode.
This episode was a collaboration with the podcast Thresholds. You can listen to Jordan Kisener’s full interview with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson here. And check out Johnson’s new book, What If We Get It Right?
Read Bob Musil’s book, Rachel Carson and Her Sisters, and learn more about the Rachel Carson Council.
Read Rachel Frazin’s book, Poisoning the Well, which she co-wrote with Sharon Udasin.
Watch Rachel Carson’s full speech to the National Women’s Democratic Club in 1962.

We are the Environment: Silent Spring’s Enduring Wisdom

Borrowed & Returned