Listening to Drew Lanham is like standing in a field and hearing the sounds of nature wash over you. Lanham grew up in the country in South Carolina and fell in love with watching birds. Eventually, he turned that love into his career.
He’s now the Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, where he specializes in the study of birds that have gone extinct. His essay on the Carolina parakeet, which died out 101 years ago, is part of this year’s Best American Essays collection. He is also African American, which makes him an uncommon figure in the bird-watching world. He has thought deeply about the connections between those parts of his life.
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Show notes:
- Drew's website
- His essay on the Carolina parakeet, "Forever Gone"
- An episode featuring him on the new show "Birds of North America"
- It turns out there are TWO new shows featuring black birders (Drew is not fond of the other one)
- His memoir
- A profile from Garden & Gun
- His piece "9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher"
- A video based on that piece
Other music in this episode courtesy of bensound.com
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SouthBound is a production of WFAE. Our host is Tommy Tomlinson. Our producer is Nick de la Canal. Our audience engagement manager is Joni Deutsch, and our main theme comes from Josh Turner.