159. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Manifesto for a Gift Economy

She’s a botanist, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and the author of the bestselling Braiding Sweetgrass. In her new book she criticizes the market economy — but she and Steve find a surprising amount of common ground.

• SOURCES:• Robin Wall Kimmerer (robinwallkimmerer.com), botanist and founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.

• RESOURCES:• The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (amzn.to/43FRxt7), by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2024).
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (amzn.to/3ZPjM5W), by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2015).
• Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses (amzn.to/456Lizz), by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2003).
• "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas (amherst.edu/media/view/104699/original/christm…)," by Joel Waldfogel (The American Economic Review, 1993).
• "Reproductive Ecology of Tetraphis pellucida. I. Population Density and Reproductive Mode (jstor.org/stable/3243962?origin=crossref)," by Robin Wall Kimmerer (The Bryologist, 1991).

• EXTRAS:• "The Deadliest Disease in Human History (freakonomics.com/podcast/the-deadliest-disease…)," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2025).
• "How Smart Is a Forest? (freakonomics.com/podcast/how-smart-is-a-forest)" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
• "Jane Goodall Changed the Way We See Animals. She’s Not Done. (freakonomics.com/podcast/jane-goodall-changed-…)" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).

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