The Springing Time – Melanie Challenger

The Springing Time – Melanie Challenger

From Emergence Magazine Podcast by Emergence Magazine

March 3, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

Melanie Challenger discusses how humans can reconnect with seasonal changes through insights from more-than-human beings.

Can we learn from more-than-human beings how to bring our bodies into a more direct conversation with the seasons? In this week’s story, bioethics and history researcher Melanie Challenger explores how our culture insulates us from experiencing seasonal signals in the natural world, ultimately impeding our ability to respond to ecological change. Examining how animals and plants translate important shifts in the land into meaningful activity, Melanie reflects on what it would take for humans to reawaken the same attunement to the changes, great and small, unfolding around us. Read the essay. Discover our latest print edition, Volume 6: Seasons . Photo credit: Credit: Alex Strohl / Verb Photo

People in this episode

Guest: Melanie Challenger

Topics covered

  • ecology
  • seasons
  • bioethics
  • human-nature relationship
  • cultural insulation
  • attunement

Keywords

  • ecological change
  • seasonal signals
  • more-than-human beings
  • cultural insulation
  • attunement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Emergence Magazine, Verb Photo

Books & works: Volume 6: Seasons

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