Ep. 1: A Murder and a Fire

About this episode

In December 1988, Brazilian environmentalist Chico Mendes was murdered at his home in the Amazon Rainforest. Chico was a rubber tapper who witnessed the destruction of the forest—of his home—and built a community both in Brazil and abroad to stop the devastation. For this, he was killed in cold blood. In episode one, hosts Graham Zimmerman and Jim Aikman set off to better understand the Brazilian Amazon. They explore both the politics and biology of one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. They also learn about the history of the conflict in the Brazilian Amazon and why someone like Chico Mendes risked his life to safe it. Episode sources: • Hecht, Susanna, and Alexander Cockburn. The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers, and Defenders of the Amazon. University of Chicago Press, 2010. • Revkin, Andrew. The Burning Season: the Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest. Island Press, 2004. • Pyne, Stephen J. Fire in America. Univ. of Washington Press, 1997. • “I. Foster Brown.” Woodwell Climate, 2 Dec. 2020, www.woodwellclimate.org/staff/foster-brown/ • Shoumatoff, Alex. “Murder in the Rainforest.” Vanity Fair, 1989. • Rodrigues, Gomercindo, et