In this episode, Aarti Kumar Rao and Prem Panicker focus on the ongoing extreme heat waves and their implications. They critique the media's coverage of the issue, highlighting a lack of urgency and depth in reporting. The conversation explores the impact of heat on urban planning, the rural workforce, and public health, emphasizing the need for a more interconnected understanding of environmental challenges. The episode features Pranay Lal, biochemist, nature writer, caricaturist, and environmental chronicler. Together, the trio explores the complex interplay between climate change, urban heat islands, and the emergence of new viral diseases. They discuss historical climate patterns, the impact of human activity on heat dynamics, and the need for better urban planning and disease surveillance.

In this episode, Arati Kumar-Rao and Prem Panicker navigate the complexities of grief following Arati's recent loss of her mother. They reflect on the profound influence of Arati's mother on her life, particularly in storytelling and communication. The conversation transitions into a discussion on environmental issues, focusing on the detrimental impact of development on Mumbai's mangroves and the broader implications for climate change. They emphasize the importance of understanding local ecosystems and the challenges posed by current environmental policies. The episode concludes with a reflection on the state of India's environment, highlighting the urgent need for awareness and action.

From The Marginlands hosts Prem & Arati scour the mainstream India newspapers to find news about the environment and then sit down with acclaimed author Nilanjana Roy to discuss writing landscapes.

About us:

Arati Kumar-Rao, photojournalist and author of Marginlands: Instagram

Prem Panicker, journalist and editor: X and Substack

From The Marginlands on Substack

On why we are doing this podcast

Our email: marginlands@gmail.com

Headlines:

05:06: WWF helps facilitate trade in polar bear fur, investigation reveals

06:37: Ammonia level rises in Yamuna yet again, may hit water supply and related: Why Yamuna in Delhi has high ammonia levels

08:28: Is the Ganga self-cleaning? Here's what science says

09:28: Food-borne bugs and their links with climate change in focus

10:34: The Invisible Empire by Pranay Lal, a wonderfully evocative deep dive into the world of viruses

11:45: Fishing cat study exposes heavy metal presence in Sunderbans

Paul Salopek segment:

20:00: Out of Eden Walk home page

20:54: Paul Salopek's India walking partners share their memories

24:02: Archive of Paul Salopek's articles for The Chicago Tribune from when he was a foreign correspondent and, related, Paul Salopek's Pulitzer-winning work for Chicago Tribune, on the Human Genome Diversity Project, also for the Chicago Tribune

26:42: The war is bitter and nasty -- a 2009 Paul Salopek story, for The Atlantic, on the chaos in Somalia

28:42: A Paul Salopek story on an isolated archeological site in South Korea

28:50: Paul Salopek on the frog ecology in South Korea and his encounter with a frog whisperer

29:50: Related, Paul Salopek

30:12: Don Belt recaps the three workshops, in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, led by Paul Salopek, and rounds up links to ...

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Please head to From The Marginlands on Substack for the full show notes

In From The Marginlands, we -- Prem and Arati -- explore storytelling and elemental connections between us and the world around us. We will converse with carefully curated guests on the art of telling stories about the environment and on climate change as it manifests around the world.