On Monday, March 13th, the Biden administration approved the new enormous Willow oil drilling project in Arctic Alaska. This was despite Biden’s campaign promises to halt drilling on federal lands and despite the opposition of environmentalist and local indigenous groups. Opponents are raising concerns about the disruption in the arctic, including huge increases emissions, an endangerment to freshwater, and threats migratory animals that live in the region.

In light of this announcement, Bathsheba Demuth joins us on the show to talk about her awarding winning book Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait.

Floating Coast is a comprehensive history of Beringia, the Arctic land and waters stretching from Russia to Canada.

Bathsheba Demuth is an associate professor of History and Environment and Society at Brown University. She is also writer and environmental historian specializing in the lands and seas of the Russian and North American Arctic. Her interest in northern places and cultures began when she was 18 and moved to the village of Old Crow in the Yukon, where she trained huskies for several years.

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