A Very Busy Day

Checking in from Pueblo

I’m sitting to type this at 10:22pm Mountain time and the snow is falling here in Colorado. I just got back from seeing Godzilla Minus One, which needed to be done in order to record an emergency podcast on it Saturday night (night 3 of 4 consecutive recording sessions, then I’ll take Monday off and record pods Tuesday through Friday).

The day started great, with news from the Biden Administration that NAGPRA regulations were being overhauled to make it easier for Tribal nations to get their Ancestors and artifacts back from museums and other repositories. Part of my job with the Forest Service is to reach out to the communities I serve and keep them up to date with anything I learn that might be of use. But I also got to spread the news throughout our district, meaning it was another great day of talking about Indigenous history, something I absolutely love to do.

Building off of that, I had a great conversation with a press that is interested in my book on early Florida, and I’m finishing touches on the book proposal for them. These things take time, but since so many of you are following along now, I thought one of the things I can do is maybe pull the curtain back on my own experiences as I go from turning the dissertation into a book. Stay tuned for more.

Later this evening I had the chance to talk to the amazing Sara Dant, Professor of History at Weber State University as we talked about the Seth McFarlane and Charlize Theron film, A Million Ways to Die in the West. We also got to talk more about her book, Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West, something you’ll hear more about soon. The University of Nebraska Press is currently offering it for 50% off right now if you use the code 6HLW23. And nope, I don’t get anything for posting that; I’ve just read the book and think it’s terrific. So if you’re looking for a new history of the West—and I think really the first environmental history of the West—check it out. Link here: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496229540/

Sara is amazing and the conversation was really terrific. I immediately texted Intrepid Producer Fletcher Powell that I was excited about it, which I do when the conversations go really well. We’ll get a date picked out for that one soon. I’m still deciding how often to produce pods. We’ll see how this Godzilla emergency pod goes after the weekend and go from there.

I’m also lining up guests for both Oppenheimer and Barbie, so if there are scholars you’d recommend for those, please hit me in the comments below. It’s usually easier if they are on twitter, but not necessary.

So there’s a quick update for you. The snow is still falling and I’ve got to watch A Christmas Story in the morning. So I’ll see ya soon.

Oh, one other good thing—I got to see my boys’ French bulldog Violet tonight during facetime. And that is always a good thing. She’s a sweet girl.

Did I shamelessly include this picture because I knew you’d like it? I would never. :)

-JWH