Seeded Stories: What We’re Reading and Listening to This Month

Read this Month:
Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging by Jessica J.  Lee 

In this vibrant book of linked essays that is part memoir, part scientific nerding out about plants, and chock-full of gorgeous prose, Jessica J. Lee explores the entanglements of the plant and human worlds as well as the echoes and counterpoints she detects in the migration of plants and people–and the language we use to describe them. Whether it be invasive species brought by colonization, plant samples collected by scientists, or those brought to a new place by seeds on a storm, Lee highlights migration as a natural and integral part of the global ecosystem. 

Exciting New Release
Strong Roots: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Ukraine by Olia Hercules

This memoir from Chef Olia Hercules, just released on August 12th, is the story of a century in Ukraine told through four generations of one extraordinary family. It takes us from years of Russification to Olia’s grandmother’s deportation to snowy wastelands under Stalin, to her aunt Zhenia’s school protest, and her own parents’ flight from Ukraine when their village was occupied in 2022. A deeply brave and intimate collection of stories, it will make you laugh, cry, and crave the food of home. 

Recent Listen: 
Ologies with Alie Ward: “Aquaculture Ecology (SUSTAINABLE OCEAN FOODS) with Dr. Ben Halpern”

Ologies is a fun, insightful, and fact-packed science podcast for those of us who aren’t scientists. Follow host Alie Ward down the rabbit hole of just about any and all things science. Our recommendation this month is her episode about Aquaculture Ecology (we know it’s not technically from August, but it’s too good not to mention). Learn almost everything about how food gets from the ocean into your mouth, and listen to the answers to questions you might never have thought to ask.