Ep. 144: Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction with David George Haskell

Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk

“Going out and listening is one of the most enjoyable things we do—and fruitful. By paying attention, we feed our imagination, we feed our creativity, we renew ourselves. We bust out of the algorithms and the fake news into the sensory reality of the living earth.”

Biologist and writer David George Haksell joins the podcast, with his new book Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction. For most of the history of the planet, the only sounds that were made came from the planet itself-- oceans, storms, rivers, rain. No animals made any sound-- until they did. What happened? What is the history of sound itself on planet earth? Fast forward to now...Haskell calls us humans "both great creators and great destroyers." What do we gain when we listen and take in the natural world? Are we losing this ability and habit? Haskell and Daniel discuss this and much more in an in-depth conversation.

Please consider supporting Talking Beats via a one-time or recurring donation. You will contribute to us presenting the highest quality interviews with the world's most compelling people.

David Haskell is a writer and biologist. His latest book, Sounds Wild and Broken (Viking), is an Editor’s Choice at the New York Times and explores the story of sound on Earth. Starting with the origins of animal song and traversing the whole arc of Earth history, he illuminates and celebrates the emergence, diversification, and loss of the sounds of our world, including human music and language.

Haskell holds degrees from the University of Oxford (BA) and from Cornell University (PhD). He is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of the South, where he served as Chair of Biology. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a 2014-2015 Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies, and an Elective Member of the American Ornithologists’ Union. His scientific research on animal ecology, evolution, and conservation has been sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the World Wildlife Fund, among others. He has served on the boards and advisory committees of local and national land conservation groups. Haskell’s classes have received national attention for the innovative ways they combine action in the community with contemplative practice. In 2009, the Carnegie and CASE Foundations named him Professor of the Year for Tennessee, an award given to college professors who have achieved national distinction and whose work shows “extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching.” The Oxford American featured him in 2011 as one of the southern U.S.’s most creative teachers. His teaching has been profiled in USA Today, The Tennesseean, and other newspapers.