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I first met David Quammen in Bozeman, Montana where we were both living, after reading his book Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic for my graduate studies.
In 2013 I was considering pursuing a career in science communication and I sat down with David over coffee to ask about the craft. Three years on and I’m excited to be able to bring him on the Art of Adventure to share his wisdom and stories about many things.
In the past thirty years he has published a few hundred pieces of short nonfiction—feature articles, essays, columns—in magazines such as Harper’s, National Geographic, Outside, Esquire, The Atlantic, Powder, and Rolling Stone.  He writes occasional Op Eds for The New York Times and reviews for The New York Times Book Review. Â
Quammen has been honored with an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and is a three-time recipient of the National Magazine Award. He is a Contributing Writer for National Geographic, in whose service he travels often, usually to wild and remote places.
Today’s episode is an exciting romp through a variety of topics – We cover viruses including Zika virus that might effect the Olympic Games in Rio, the craft of writing, expeditionary science, and Yellowstone and the American National Parks – why they are such an amazing idea.
So if you like adventure, science, writing, are curious about public health or love the wilderness and National Parks, this is the episode for you!
What you will learn in this episode:
-The latest dangerous emerging viruses including Zika
-The History of Yellowstone National Park
-Expedition Science Writing
-Using the tools of fiction in non fiction writing
-The story of trekking across the jungles of Africa
Quotes:
“Anybody who writes long books has to be patient and methodical” – David Quammen
“I care a lot about the architecture of books”- David Quammen
“One of my key principles is GO THERE”- David Quammen
“It hugely important for writing to be entertaining and beautiful”- David Quammen
“Non lethal disasters are the friend of the adventurer”- David Quammen
“By going on an expedition you get a full texture of what the scientist and work is like”- David Quammen
“Adventure is something that doesn’t kill you when you are ambitious in wild and remote places”- David Quammen
Continue the Adventure (Resources from this episode):
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
Why Zika Is This Year’s Scary Virus (Nat Geo)
Thanks David Quammen!
If you enjoyed this session of The Art of Adventure Podcast, let David know by clicking on the link below and sending him a quick shout out on Twitter:
Click here to thank David on Twitter!
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