Alpha Lo and I meet here for the first time, after a number of people suggested we have a conversation.
I found him to be delightful to talk to, a physicist who has been looking into the “lost second leg of climate” related to how soil, vegetation, and land use affect temperature, weather, clouds, etc. (rather than solely looking at greenhouse gasses). This forms the foundation of my current work as well, and we ended up trading metaphors about soil and water on and off through the conversation—ultimately building complexity into one of his favorite metaphors together toward the end.
I know that as two science poet/writers, we have a lot more metaphors (and stories from lived experience) to explore. We are looking forward to recording the next episode soon.
For more context, you can read my recent post on The Biotic Climate and the Soil Sponge; read Rob Lewis’ wonderful article Millan Millan and the Mystery of the Missing Mediterranean Storms, catch up on Alpha Lo’s writing and interviews (including his own version of this one!) here on Substack.
Or you can watch me do my thing in Kansas, and watch Walter Jehne and I do our thing at Harvard a few years back.
If you want to continue to dive into this, I teach on this subject regularly, including one class starting very soon! Visit https://lali.teachable.com/ and www.landandleadership.org.
Didi Pershouse and Alpha Lo: a conversation