Time to highlight a great initiative, the Canadian Environmental History podcasts, "Nature's Past."
Hosted by Mount Royal University historian Sean Kheraj (who has his own blog) these monthly forays into environmental history research and teaching are really gathering steam, so to speak.
The latest, Episode 17: Virtual Field Trips, Automobiles and Global Commodity Chains, sounds quite fascinating.
The podcasts can be found and downloaded at NiCHE (Network in Canadian History and Environment), which is itself well worth a visit. The info says that they have stable SSHRCC funding until 2014. It's probably not only stable, but abundant: the site is stunning, in fact, and a model, in my opinion, of what a subdisciplinary website should be, with resources for academics, secondary teachers, students and the general public. You can also subscribe via iTunes.
I confess that the only one of these podcasts I have listened to to date is Episode 8 on Aboriginal Peoples and Resource Conflicts in Canada. I was initially interested because the Temagami Region, my favourite place in the world, was the focus of some of the discussion. But I was impressed by the quality--both as to content and production. Because I prefer music to exercise to and silence to travel by, I tend to avoid talky stuff. But the last few episodes sound like things I would stick with if I ran across them on the TV, radio or internet, so I intend to make a point of downloading some more.
