Our August issue celebrates “Conversations” — exploring a variety of communication, from the unspoken interactions of flowers and fungi to the human need to discuss the complicated issues we face today. We also examine what happens when communication fails, and words are used to misinform and sabotage communities: Ten years after the Standing Rock protests, for example, we uncover the work of the digital mercenaries the energy company hired to alienate the locals from tribes and protesters. A trans migrant recounts her traumatic experience in detention but refuses to quit speaking out on behalf of justice. Indigenous scholars review a historic treaty and reveal the differences between Native and non-Native understanding of the agreement, and former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland describes how her Native beliefs guide her as she campaigns for governor of New Mexico. Alaska Natives learned long ago how to listen to the weather. A scientist offers advice on how to discuss climate change usefully, and a writer demonstrates how humans can rediscover kinship with the animals around us.
Why I talk to animals
The creatures in our midst may have answers to life’s vexing questions.
What Standing Rock’s propaganda war means today
Ten years after the standoff, exclusive documents reveal that digital mercenaries targeted local communities and stirred up anti-protest sentiment.
‘I have some very heartfelt conversations’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
In a warming world, wildflowers offer a warning
The discourse between plants and fungi changes with increasing soil temperatures, impacting meadows, nutrients and wildlife.
‘Quite frustrating:’ what it’s like to have a treaty with the United States
Heirs to the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott explain their ancestors’ wisdom and how they defend it today.
Want to do something about climate change? Talk about it
Atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains why conversation on the topic is so important and how to take this step toward climate action.
Convocation of crows, sea-lebrity sea lions and what is that nasty smell?
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
What it’s like inside Eloy’s detention center as a trans woman
Karla Saenz, a Venezuelan asylum seeker, alleges neglect and transphobia, but also found fortitude and solidarity.
‛Nada ni nadie robará mi identidad’
Una solicitante de asilo venezolana transgénero relata sus 44 días en uno de los centros de detención más mortíferos del país.
The conversations we don’t have about safety outdoors
History instructs Black Americans to fear the outdoors. But creating new memories outside will inform our future.
In Inupiaq, when the weather talks, you listen
Sila is living with us and decides for us what to do with our days.
‘Everything is in dialogue’
Two editors have a conversation about our special conversations issue.
Deb Haaland’s vision for New Mexico comes from tradition
A Q&A with the state’s likely next governor about tribal sovereignty and politics.
Reporting on the West is a team effort
HCN gets a new team member and a first union contract.
A longtime donor gives back
Author and naturalist Audrey Benedict helps support science through good reporting.