If You Like the Podcast OLOGIES, Read These Books

Let’s start with one of the scientists who has been a guest on the podcast, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, a wildlife ecologist who has studied carnivores, including grizzly bears, African lions, and black bears. Wild Life is her memoir about her life, growing up in California and falling in love with the natural world. She decides to become a scientist in a field not known for its diversity. Tracking her adventures in her fieldwork and childhood, she makes the case that we are connected to everyone and everything and need to better care and share with the world.

Yes, Halloween was a few months ago. But I don’t care. It’s always Halloween in our home. Morton presents a fascinating look at the history of this most beloved holiday, striking down flim-flam about the day. What was so striking was how much of Halloween is a truly modern invention, even the trick or treating. So, if you are as bananas about Halloween as I am, this is the book for you.

This memoir of Egyptian American astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance is a love letter to the stars and a memoir about her struggle to become a scientist. She recounts falling in love with the sky as a child while watching the cosmos with her father but also her challenges in facing obstacles along the way, including misogyny, racism, and even health crises. Nance opens each chapter with lessons about the cosmos, aiming to instill her love of the night sky to the reader. 

I’m putting my cards out on the table: I actually love coyotes. One of my favorite experiences on the CTA was seeing the coyotes wandering around Graceland Cemetery from the Red Line. But I guess other people feel differently about this canine. (Note: I tried to find the right ology for this line of study but the study of canines, which coyotes are, was the best I could find.) Murphy tries to find out why coyotes are so maligned in the US, exploring the role of coyotes in history and environmental policy. Save America’s Song Dog!

I had to include this one: it’s got an ology right there in the title! This work explores the world of food and digestion. It’s part memoir of growing up on Indian street food and part exploration of research on how food affects us individually. Plus, she’s included 50 recipes that will make your mouth and gut happy.

As Americans, we really like to focus on the biggest, the fastest, the most expensive thing. So, while Hogan, the host of the television show Monster Fish on National Geographic, sets out on a quest to find the biggest freshwater fish, what he really finds is the ecological crisis for these magnificent monsters that have been understudied and threatened by human actions. It’ll give you an appreciation of the incredible diversity of nature, from pigeon-eating wels catfish in France to arapaima in the waters of the Amazon River. It also makes a case for the importance of the study of animals to provide a scientific basis for their conservation.

We know oceans are important for the planet, but how exactly do they do that thing they do? The oceans are in trouble, but we need to know how it works to even know how to protect it. Czerski explains in Blue Machine the “ocean engine” and how the machine works together. She combines ecology, history, culture, physics, and more to explain how the ocean has been able to sustain us and other animals.