Skip to content
Robert Macfarlane: Is A River Alive? episode artwork

Jul 4, 2025 1 hr 13 min

Robert Macfarlane: Is A River Alive?

from Books & Ideas Audio Hosted by Vancouver Writers Fest

At the heart of Robert Macfarlane's Is a River Alive? is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings, who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. Around the world, rivers are dying from pollution, drought and damming. But a powerful “rights of nature” movement is underway to re-animate our relationships with these vast, mysterious presences whose landscapes we share. Macfarlane joined us and local environmental non-profit Pacific Salmon Foundation to discuss a radical re-imagination of not only rivers but life itself, in conversation with award-winning journalist Laura Lynch.

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Robert Macfarlane: Is A River Alive?

0:00 1:13:41

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of Books & Ideas Audio?

This episode is 1 hour and 13 minutes long.

When was this Books & Ideas Audio episode published?

This episode was published on July 4, 2025.

Can I download this Books & Ideas Audio episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.