Podcast Episode: From Basra to Brooklyn via Tunis

pittadmin

Posted by the University of Pittsburgh:

We’re going to make a bold claim today. We think our latest podcast episode covers a wider range of geographies and ecologies than anything you’re likely to listen to any time soon. From the marshes of southern Iraq, to a limestone quarry in Tunisia, to a small Sicilian village to Ditmars Park in Brooklyn and the building of the New York City Subway and the Statue of Liberty…. Our guest somehow connects it all (with a little help from Brian and his encyclopedic knowledge of limestone).

Bridget Guarasci is an anthropologist who has studied closely the connections between war, migration and conservation in Iraq — making the compelling argument that biodiversity and nature conversation can be used as a weapon of warfare. For her newest project, she’s looking at limestone — specifically the intricate story of her Sicilian great-grandfather, his work in the limestone quarries of Tunisia, how he ended up in Brooklyn but never forgot his Arabic… and the critical role of climate change in tying it all together. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

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