Connor Rickett is based in Phoenix, Arizona but, with the remote character of his employment, travels extensively around the United States (especially in the West). In those travels, he studies and photographs wildlife and their surroundings and, perhaps more importantly, has gained optimistic insight into Americans and human beings in general. This podcast is the result of a chance meeting between Connor and host Michael Whidden at a coffee joint in Jackson, Wyoming in August 2022 (thank you, Snake River Roasting Company!).
Our discussion covers, among other things:
*the advantages of getting off the interstate when driving cross-country
*tracking wolves and grizzly bears
*mountains get smaller as you go east; rivers get smaller as you go west
*stories of unexpected commonality from an Arizona coffee shop and a Texas Walmart bathroom
*connections between Americans center around everyday, “borrow the ladder” interactions, rather than politics
*tips on meeting locals and starting conversations
*surveillance, power, holding government accountable, manipulation of emotions and data
Connor finds hope in accepting that people are fallible but widely trying to do the right thing and in the simple observation that so many aspects of society that we take for granted (e.g., refrigeration, electricity, phones, Internet, water, cars, trains, planes, highways) work because most of us wake up and make it work.
American Tributaries is a podcast sponsored by American Tributaries, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit based in Brooklyn, NY, and dedicated to promoting fellowship and understanding in America through this podcast and through domestic travel for U.S. high school students, practicing core values of curiosity, respect, compassion and humility, unconditionally. For more information, please visit www.AmericanTributaries.com and, on Instagram, @AmericanTributariesTravel and @AmericanTributariesPodcast.