Episode 163: Concrete Botany: Reconnecting with the Living World in the Age of Disturbance with Joey Santore

Key Takeaways & Discussion Highlights

The Railroad Roots: Joey’s transition from a Union Pacific engineer to a "vigilante botanist." He discusses the influence of Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World and using science as a "candle in the dark" in a consumerist society.

Botany for the "Jaded Working Class": Why academic botany often fails to connect with the public and why Joey targets the "cynical, maladjusted stiff" who needs the living world the most.

Horticultural Atrocities: A critique of "horticultural fluff"—boxwoods, crepe myrtles, and cloned cultivars that offer no ecological value. Joey explains why he’d rather see a lawn than a line of "garbage" cultivars.

The Concrete Cage & Mental Health: How our disconnection from the land and our "unwalkable sprawling excerpts" contribute to a massive mental health crisis.

The Field Record: Joey’s process in the wild—using iNaturalist, herbarium vouchers, and photography to document the "living machine."

Geology & Evolution: An exploration of edaphic endemics (plants that grow only on specific soils like serpentine or gypsum) and how stressful geology creates new species.

Disturbance Ecology: Why "weeds" are actually pioneer species and how disturbance—when understood correctly—is the engine that enables diversity.

Beyond "Is it Edible?": Why the question "Can I eat it?" is the most common and least interesting way to interact with a plant.

Concrete Botany: A preview of Joey’s new book and his fascination with "unintentional ecology" in neglected urban spaces like railroad tracks and abandoned warehouses.

Resources Mentioned

Book: Concrete Botany: The Ecology of Plants in the Age of Human Disturbance (Released April 2026)

YouTube/Podcast: Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t

App: iNaturalist (Joey’s primary tool for citizen science)

Literature: The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan

Project: Thornscrub Sanctuary (South Texas conservation)

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