Episode 91: Natural Habitat

<p>The Memory Palace is a member of <a href="http://radiotopia.fm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Radiotopia</a> from PRX.</p> <p>This episode was originally released in July of 2016. It’s being re-released today because Nate’s on book leave for the summer and because it’s a total banger.</p> <p><strong>Notes and Reading:</strong><br> * I came to this story the old fashioned way (for me): I saw Su Lin at the Field Museum and needed to know more. That led me inevitably to Vicki Croke's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Panda-Adventures-American-Explorer/dp/0375759700" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Lady and the Panda</a> from 2006. It's a terrific read. If you have any interest at all in learning more about Ruth Harkness, that's the place to go. I've got a few quibbles here and there, but, for real, it's delightful.<br> * Quentin Young's (slightly strange and contested) version of events is told in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Panda-unlikely-adventurers-mythical/dp/146819609X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1467356056&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=chasing+the+panda" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chasing the Panda</a> by Michael Kiefer.<br> * If you've got a few hundred bucks (or a library with more liberal lending policies with old books than mine), why not read Ruth's own book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Panda-unlikely-adventurers-mythical/dp/146819609X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1467356056&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=chasing+the+panda" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Baby Giant Panda</a>?<br> * If you're interested in zoos writ large, I'm a fan of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691117705/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687502&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=1560986891&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=RQ4CEGAQR1QYPG2PGXQB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Animal Attractions: Nature on Display in American Zoos</a> by Elizabeth Hansen.</p> <p><strong>Music:</strong><br> * We start with <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/a