What our Everywhere Radio podcast guests were reading in 2021
When you get a chance to talk to interesting, smart people, you want to know what they are reading. Whitney Kimball Coe asks her guests on the Everywhere Radio podcast just that — and we’ve pulled those answers into one place to share as we wrap up 2021. (Want to listen to the podcasts? We’ve linked to their episodes too.)
Braiding Sweetgrass
Braiding Sweetgrass
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
“(Wall Kimmerer) has inspired me deeply these days. If anyone hasn’t picked up her book yet, I would strongly recommend it,” — Sarah Pytalski , guest on episode “A Rural Love Story”
My Vanishing Country
My Vanishing Country
By Bakari Sellers
“(Sellers) is from a different part of the South, the rural south, but very similar in some ways. Even though this was a predominantly black, rural agriculture community, the stories are exact same (as mine), it’s a very similar living experience growing up in Wilkes,” — Michael Cooper, attorney and rural advocate, guest on episode “The Rural Homecomers’ Journey “
Active Hope
Active Hope
By Joanna Macy and Dr. Chris Johnstone
“I just got done reading Joanna Macy’s book Active Hope, that hope isn’t just hoping things will get better. Hope is thinking how you want things to be and then working to get there —Eliza Blue, author, folk singer, farmer featured on episode “Accidental Rancher”
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
By Priya Parker
Described as “a bold new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend our time together – at work, at home, in our communities, and beyond.”
“I’m just digging into it, and I really enjoy it. I found out about it from another podcast, maybe Brené Brown. —Rev. Claire Brown, guest on the episode Answering the Call to the Front Lines of Social Healing.
Sparrow Envy
Sparrow Envy
By J. Drew Lanham
“His poetry is just exquisite, and the book that I was reading when I was interviewing him is called Sparrow Envy, and it’s meditative and beautiful. —author and On Being podcast host Krista Tippett, guest on the episode Creating the Conversations You Want to Hear.
The Jungle
The Jungle
By Upton Sinclair
“I find myself going back and reading older literary works. Sinclair’s The Jungle — some things never change. I didn’t know that we actually rented furniture to people back in the early 1900s. So I found myself going back and saying, history repeats itself,” – Jeff Eastman, Chief Executive Officer of the nonprofit organization Remote Area Medical (RAM) on episode “Covid Vaccines and Getting Care to People in Need”
Amity and Prosperity
Amity and Prosperity
By Eliza Griswold
“It’s a beautiful book. She spent seven years researching these communities and really getting to know a lot of the families and it shows the beauty of what it’s like to really be connected to a place, as a lot of these families are, and to celebrate that, and then the challenges that come up when something comes in, like a fracking company, and then changes the relationships and dynamics within that community. I would definitely recommend it to a lot of people. – political scientist and author Hahrie Han, on episode “Democracy in a Changing Nation”
Bird Uncaged
Bird Uncaged
By Marlon Peterson
“I’m super proud of one of my fellows, Marlon Peterson, and his book Bird Uncaged. I have read it through and then now, listening to the audiobook, which he recorded himself. And it is awesome, just really phenomenal, powerful piece about his time in the prison industrial complex, and both the cages we live in, literally and figuratively. I cannot recommend that highly enough. – rural advocate LB Prevette, guest on episode “The Rural Homecomers’ Journey “
Find all of our Everywhere Radio episodes here or wherever you stream podcasts. The podcast returns with new episodes in early February.
