#278 - Conservation Presidents in the 20th Century: A Dialogue with Douglas Brinkley

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Douglas Brinkley about various conservation presidents in the 20th century. They discuss his process for how he wrote his conservation trilogy, understanding the psychology of Theodore Roosevelt (TR’s) and how conservation was important to him, and TR’s complex relationship with animals that included preservation and hunting. They talk about how TR used the Federal Government to protect natural land, his relationship with Native Americans, and his overall legacy. They discuss Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) using the Federal Government for enacting policies to protect forests, building dams, and creating recreation areas, and how he tied conservation with economic growth. They discuss the impact of Rachel Carson and John F. Kennedy (JFK) for the environmental wave in the 60s, the environmental justice movement, Richard Nixon seizing the moment of environmental activism, climate change in the present moment, and many more topics.

Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He is the author of numerous books including the conservation trilogy which include, The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, Righteous Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America, and Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening.

Six of his books have been named New York Times “Notable Books of the Year” and seven became New York Times bestsellers. He received a Grammy Award in 2017 as co-producer of Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom (Best Jazz Ensemble). The New-York Historical Society selected Brinkley in 2017 as their official U.S. Presidential Historian. He is on the Board of Trustees at Brevard College and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. He is a member of the Century Association, Council of Foreign Relations and James Madison Council of the Library of Congress.

Website: https://douglasbrinkley.com/