159. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Manifesto for a Gift Economy

She’s a botanist, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and the author of the bestselling Braiding Sweetgrass. In her new book she criticizes the market economy — but she and Steve find a surprising amount of common ground.

SOURCES:Robin Wall Kimmerer • , botanist and founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.

RESOURCES:The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World • , by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2024). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants • , by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2015). Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, • by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2003). • " The Deadweight Loss of Christmas • ," by Joel Waldfogel (The American Economic Review, • 1993). • " Reproductive Ecology of Tetraphis pellucida. I. Population Density and Reproductive Mode • ," by Robin Wall Kimmerer (The Bryologist, • 1991).

EXTRAS: • " The Deadliest Disease in Human History • ," by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2025). • " How Smart Is a Forest? • " by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2023). • " Jane Goodall Changed the Way We See Animals. She’s Not Done. • " by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2022).