Episode · People I (Mostly) Admire · 2025-06-07
Steve Levitt & Robin Wall Kimmerer: books mentioned on People I (Mostly) Admire #159
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.
Steve Levitt discussed Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Braiding Sweetgrass
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a renowned exploration of botany, Indigenous wisdom, and humanity's reciprocal relationship with the natural world.
Discussed“Robin's book, Braiding Sweetg Grass, is one of the best-selling and most influential non-fiction books of the last decade.”
Where to get it
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Gathering Moss
Discussed“But my favorite of her books, the one that totally enthralled me, is called Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses.”
Where to get it
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The Serviceberry
Discussed“Now, you sound as we talk like a very kind and gentle person, but I'm going to say your latest book, which is entitled The Serviceberry, is really fun to read, but at the same time, I'm going to call it a manifesto for social change.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Plugged Braiding Sweetgrass
“And that was very much the motivation behind writing breeding sweetgrass whose subtitle is indigenous wisdom scientific knowledge and the teaching of plants.”
Passing The Serviceberry
“Robin's newest book is called The Service Berry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.”