2025
Episode 125: The Magic of Darkness
Leigh Ann Henion is the author of Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark, a beautiful celebration of all the things that come alive in the dark. In a time where artificial light is ever-present, Leigh Ann invites you to think of darkness as a habitat and explore the biodiversity that exists at night in your own backyard. You never know what you might discover.
Episode 125: The Magic of Darkness
Dear Listeners,
When I was a kid, my grandparents bought a house outside of Twentynine Palms, a few miles outside of Joshua Tree National Park. Their nearest neighbor was over a mile away and the silence was like nothing I had ever experienced before. But the thing I remember most was the nights. My grandfather had a telescope and we would spend hours outside looking at the stars. He taught me about the constellations and planets and in 1997 we watched in awe as the Hale Bopp comet streamed across the sky.
It was also the first time I learned about light pollution. Whenever I went back home to Orange County, I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t see the same constellations that I did in the desert. The sky just seemed…different. Turns out, it wasn’t the sky that was different, it was the artificial light. And that’s what this week’s episode is all about.
Leigh Ann Henion is the author of Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark. It is a beautiful celebration of all the things that come alive in the dark; mushrooms, moths, bobcats, salamanders, owls, glowworms and more. In a time where artificial light is ever-present, Leigh Ann invites you to think of darkness as a habitat and explore the biodiversity that exists at night in your own backyard. You never know what you might discover.
This is our final episode of the season, but never fear, HumaNature will be back in the spring with a brand new set of stories for you. As always, make sure you’re following us on social media (links below) and if you have a story to share, let us know! We love hearing from our listeners. You can contact us at humanaturepodcast@gmail.com, humanaturepodcast.org, or just send us a DM.
Until next time, happy trails.
Megan Feighery
Episode 124: The Woman of Star Island
Alexandra de Steiguer is an artist, author, poet, musician, and photographer who has spent the last twenty-eight years working as the winter caretaker of Star Island off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. She spends about six months completely alone, taking care of the vacant hotel and cottages that will fill with tourists in the summer months.
Original music by Alexandra de Steiguer used in this episode:
0:38 - One Day_Instrumental Version
9:21 - Oceanic_Instrumental Version
16:44 - Whistling Wind_Instrumental Version
22:50 - The Novelist_Instrumental Version
Episode 123: A Most Unlikely Friendship
Catherine Raven lives in a remote cabin in Montana near the Yellowstone River. About 20 years ago she befriended a wild fox who she came to deeply care for. She wrote a book called Fox and I about their relationship and what humans can learn from animals.
Episode 124: The Woman of Star Island
Dear Listeners,
I’ve never really been a tropical island person. If you asked me to choose a vacation destination, there would be a lot of places I would pick over the Cayman Islands or Aruba. Sitting on a beach in paradise just really isn’t my thing. But if you offered me a chance to stay on a rugged, weather beaten island off the coast of Scotland or Newfoundland, sign me up. There’s something about a coastline full of jagged rock formations, their surfaces worn by centuries of saltwater and wind. The spray of seafoam from the waves relentlessly crashing against the cliffs, and the patches of hardy grass and trees that survive despite the unforgiving weather. It’s dramatic, beautiful, and humbling all at the same time. And that is probably what attracted me so much to this week’s story.
Alexandra de Steiguer is an artist, author, poet, musician, and photographer who has spent the last twenty-eight years working as the winter caretaker of Star Island off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. She spends about six months completely alone, taking care of the vacant hotel and cottages that will fill with tourists in the summer months. Alex says she’s never lonely and finds companionship with the animals that share her island; flocks of Canada Geese, snowy owls, gulls, seals, and muskrats. During our conversation I was struck by the fact that Alex embraces solitude and boredom and allows them to fuel and inform her art. It made me stop and think about the last time I had ever truly been bored, the last time I had just allowed myself to sit and be without reaching for my phone or opening my laptop. I was embarrassed that I couldn’t remember.
This week’s episode is a beautiful celebration of art, creativity, and solitude. Alex is a wonderful storyteller and it felt really special to interview her while she was heading into her final weeks of being on the island. Alex also shares beautiful photographs and musings during her time there so definitely follow her on social media.
I hope you enjoy “The Woman of Star Island” and be sure to share it with friends and family, word of mouth is our best advertisement. If you haven’t already, please leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, it really does help us reach more listeners. HumaNature will be back in a couple of weeks for our final episode of the season, so make sure you’re following us on social media (links below) for news and photos.
Happy trails!
Megan Feighery
A Most Unlikely Friendship
Hello Listeners,
I’m so thrilled to be back with a brand new season of HumaNature! I absolutely love the stories we are bringing you and I hope you love them too.
Our first episode “A Most Unlikely Friendship” is near and dear to my heart and it was a pleasure to bring this story to life. I discovered Catherine Raven’s book Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship a few years ago and always had it in the back of my mind that it would make an incredible HumaNature episode. So imagine my delight when I reached out and she enthusiastically agreed to an interview.
Catherine lives in a very remote part of Montana. She doesn’t have a smartphone, cable, has to have propane delivered to her house, and since her street is unnamed she technically doesn’t have an address. But that’s the way she likes it. Catherine has an incredible view of the mountains and Yellowstone River and spends a lot of time watching the wildlife that frequent her property. When we spoke, it was bald eagle mating season and Catherine described how a mating pair were tumbling and turning in the air right outside her window.
But of all the animals Catherine has watched over the years, none will ever be as special as Fox, the little runt that became her friend. Fox was a curious, smart, playful soul that came around every day at the same time to say hi, and he is like no other animal Catherin had ever met.
This week’s episode is moving, funny, and full of joy. It’s a celebration of an often misunderstood animal and might make you think differently about the world around you.
So make sure you’re subscribed to HumaNature on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and send this episode to a fellow animal lover in your life. Follow us on social media (links below) so you never miss an update. And if you have a story to share, let us know! Some of my favorite episodes have come directly from our listeners.
Happy trails!
-Megan Feighery
Host/Producer