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In this thought-provoking episode, acclaimed author Olivia Laing shares insights from The Garden Against Time, exploring the concept of gardens as both physical spaces and metaphors for paradise, exclusion, and resistance.
Laing recounts restoring a historic garden and reflects on themes of ecological stewardship, historical gardens, and the philosophical tensions between control and collaboration with nature.
Their book juxtaposes the beauty of gardens with the historical darkness behind some, revealing how spaces of natural beauty have sometimes been exclusionary or rooted in colonial wealth.
We also replay our 2017 interview with Timothy Snyder about his book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. The book was intended as a kind of vaccine to inoculate us against acquiescing to authoritarianism.
Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.
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Key words: Olivia Laing, The Garden Against Time, historical gardens, utopian communities, ecological gardening, Paradise Lost, environmental stewardship, gardening and mental health, public gardens, Timothy Snyder, fascism, Donald Trump, authoritarianism, resistance.
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