Thanks to “Ol’ Man River,” the Broadway show tune made famous by Paul Robeson, many of us grew up thinking of the Mississippi River not merely as a piece of geography but a giant personality. That ...

Robert Macfarlane, whose latest book is “Is a River Alive,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. The best-selling nature writer, and author of “Underland” and “The Old Ways” discusses the ...

When Robert Macfarlane published his first book, “Mountains of the Mind,” in 2003, he was in his 20s and still chasing summits at high altitude — but even then, his writing showed that his obsession ...