DiscoverEmergence Magazine PodcastTelling the Bees – Emily Polk
Telling the Bees – Emily Polk

Telling the Bees – Emily Polk

Update: 2025-04-08
Share

Description

In the tradition of telling the bees, beekeepers relay the news of a death in the family to each of their hives, oftentimes draping them in black mourning cloth. As bee colonies in the US perish in record numbers, Emily Polk wonders if bees not only witness human grief, but also feel loss themselves. Meeting with a famous Yemeni beekeeper in downtown Oakland, California, and scientists from around the world studying bee behavior and cognition, she learns of the enduring generosity and spirit of survival of these tiny creatures, and glimpses the greater circles of loss that connect us with the more-than-human world.


Read the essay.


Photo: Wray Sinclair / Gallery Stock

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comments 
In Channel
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Telling the Bees – Emily Polk

Telling the Bees – Emily Polk

Emergence Magazine