#116: Iconic Joshua Trees with Barret Baumgart

The Joshua Tree is perhaps only rivaled by the saguaro cactus as the icon of the desert southwest. Featured on U2’s classic album cover, and now the backdrop of countless instagram glamor shots, its unique, almost alien look is unmistakable. But for decades the Joshua Tree was looked at with disdain - even loathing and hatred. Today, our guest is Barret Baumgart, author of the new book, “Yuck: The Birth & Death of the Weird & Wondrous Joshua Tree”. Barret explores the history of the Joshua Tree, in a book that can be considered part history, part natural history, part cultural criticism, and part ecology. Today, we delve into the strange and winding tail of the Joshua Tree and its history of evading human preconceptions and assumptions. Living on the edge, it faces a potentially bleak future, but perhaps it will thwart us once again, against all odds. Be sure to check out Barret on instagram, and on his Substack called Dumpster Fires. FULL SHOW NOTES LINKS Barret"s Website, including speaking engagements Buy YUCK - The Birth & Death of the Weird & Wondrous Joshua Tree, Yucca brevifolia from bookshop.org Support Us On Patreon! Buy our Merch! Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need. Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!