Humanity and Fire: A History of Relationships with Jordan Thomas

Episode 115: In this episode, Kate sits down with Jordan Thomas to talk about his new book When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World. It might not be the conversation you expect, opening by exploring fire’s centrality to what it is to be human and how relational and contextual fire is. Jordan guides us through the last ten thousand years of fire use by Indigenous communities. Jordan then does a dive into understanding the intertwining of fire and capitalism through the last 300 years, culminating in the last decade or so of megafires, fueled by climate change. Jordan is an anthropologist and former wildland firefighter and while he’s sharing how fire has transformed our world, he also shares how the process of writing this book transformed him, and the joy, grief, trauma, and love he goes through in his search to better understand fire. The conversation winds down talking about prescribed burns and using fire with intention. In the end, Kate and Jordan come back around to relationships and how much they matter in exploring how humanity might once again shift their relationship with fire. Jordan's Book: When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed WorldRelated Episodes:Episode 112: Mariah Blake on PFAS, Chemicals in Firefighting Episode 61:Robbie Krapfel on Fighting FireEpisode 95: Brock Dolman on Fire, Water, and BeaversEpisode 72: Ben Goldfarb on Beavers, Built and Natural Worlds Episode 85: John Vaillant on FireEpisode 93: John Perlin on our Relationship to Wood and ForestsEpisode 113: Marguerite Holloway on Our Relationship to ForestsSupport Kate: PatreonSubstackPayPal-Leave a One Time TipSponsored By:REDMOND REAL SALT: Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off at Redmond.lifeAffiliates:FIELD COMPANY CAST IRON: fieldcompany.com/kate_kavanaughBAHÉ FOOTWEAR: Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off. HOME OF WOOL: 10% off Home of...