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Buckle up! We are heading down to the fields of Clemson, South Carolina! \xa0 \xa0 I got an email from 3 Booker Rumble D. back in February which said \u201cNeil, I have a guest suggestion for you. J Drew Lanham is a 2022 MacArthur fellow and an American ornithologist. I loved his book and would love to hear you interview him (maybe while you guys go birding?)\u201d Intrigued, I looked him up and discovered I \u2026 sort of already knew him? I had read and loved his wonderfully thoughtful and nuanced essay last year called "What Do We Do About John James Audubon?" and his viral YouTube clip called "Rules for the Black Birdwatcher". (\u201cYou\u2019re gonna need at least two pieces of ID. And never wear a hoodie. Ever.\u201d) \xa0 \xa0 So I bought Drew\u2019s memoir 'The Home Place' and found it completely entrancing. His writing is poetry \u2014 vivid, transportive, meditative. After that I reached out to Drew and we set a time to make the 10-hour haul down to Clemson farm country, wake up at the crack of dawn, and then get picked up by Drew in his Dodge Ram to spend a morning together \u2014 birdwatching. \xa0 \xa0 J. Drew Lanham is a naturalist, birdwatcher, hunter-conservationist, MacArthur 'Genius' Grant-winning distinguished professor. He is a meditative, philosophical, nature- and wild-loving soul who has deeply considered our long relationship with the natural world and is never afraid to confront harsh truths. \u201cEuropean Starlings are a dark-plumaged being brought over the Atlantic for the services of others,\u201d Drew says at one point. \u201cHmmm, where have I heard that before?\u201d \xa0 \xa0 You\u2019ll be riding in the middle seat of the truck, getting out with us between fence posts and grassy meadows, hearing Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Red-Shouldered Hawks, and listening to Drew\u2019s endlessly wise observations about everything from South Carolina\u2019s slavery past, why there\u2019s blood in tofu, what your birdwatching \u2018starter kit\u2019 should look like, how to observe a land ethic, how we might behave differently if Chicken Nuggets blinked at us, formative books (of course!), and much, much more. \u201cYou can\u2019t see everything at once,\u201d Drew reminds us. \u201cSo learn to see the everything in one.\u201d \xa0 \xa0 With birds serving as a metaphor for everything in life I think you\u2019ll love this slow, soul-fueling, wisdom-stuffed conversation with Professor J. Drew Lanham. I left his truck that morning thinking \u201cI want to be more like Drew.\u201d I think you\u2019ll feel the same way. \xa0 \xa0 Let\u2019s flip the page into Chapter 131 now\u2026 \xa0 \xa0 Listen at https://www.3books.co/chapters/131 \xa0 \xa0 ---

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3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 22-year-long quest to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter discusses the 3 most formative books of an inspiring person. Sample guests include: Bren\xe9 Brown, David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, George Saunders, Angie Thomas, Daniels, Cheryl Strayed, Rich Roll, Soyoung the Variety Store Owner, Derek the Hype Man, Kevin the Bookseller, Vishwas the Uber Driver, Roxane Gay, David Mitchell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mark Manson, Seth Godin, Judy Blume, and Quentin Tarantino. 3 Books is published on the lunar calendar with each of the 333 chapters dropped on the exact minute of every single full moon all the way up to April 26, 2040. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and is 100% non-profit with no ads, no sponsors, no commercials, and no interruptions. 3 Books has 3 clubs including the End of the Podcast Club, the Cover to Cover Club, and the Secret Club, which operates entirely through the mail and is only accessible by calling 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Each chapter is hosted by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Happiness Equation', 'Two-Minute Mornings', and 'The Book of Awesome.' For more info check out:\xa0https://www.3books.co