Northern Latitudes Podcast

Dr. Sylvia Pineda-Munoz | What Earth’s Deep Past Teaches Us About Our Climate Future

What can the deep past tell us about the moment we’re living in now?

In this episode of Northern Latitudes, host Bill Ault sits down with Dr. Sylvia Pineda-Munoz — a paleontologist, ecologist, and founder of Climate Ages — to explore how ancient climates, fossil records, and long-term ecological patterns can help us better understand today’s climate and biodiversity challenges.

Sylvia’s work bridges science and storytelling. By looking millions of years into Earth’s history, she helps translate complex research into insights that feel both grounded and relevant. Rather than focusing on prediction or panic, her approach emphasizes perspective — what past moments of rapid change reveal about resilience, limits, and adaptation.

Together, Bill and Sylvia discuss how species have responded to environmental upheaval, what the fossil record can tell us about the future, and why storytelling plays such an important role in helping people connect with climate science. It’s a conversation about slowing down, zooming out, and learning to read the long patterns written into the landscape around us.

This episode isn’t about easy answers. It’s about context — and what becomes possible when we take the long view.

In This Episode

• Why Earth’s deep history still matters today
• What fossil records reveal about resilience and collapse
• How past climate shifts compare to modern change
• Translating complex science through storytelling

🌍 About the Guest

Dr. Sylvia Pineda-Munoz is a paleontologist and ecologist whose research focuses on how species respond to environmental change over long timescales. She is the founder of Climate Ages, a platform dedicated to connecting Earth’s deep past with today’s climate and biodiversity conversations through accessible storytelling and science communication.

🔗 Learn More

• Climate Ages: https://climateages.com
• Sylvia Pineda-Munoz on Google Scholar
• Sylvia’s writing on Medium

🎧 Listen & Subscribe

You can find this episode — and all episodes of Northern Latitudes — at northernlatitudes.ca, or wherever you get your podcasts.

If this conversation resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone who enjoys thoughtful discussions about place, time, and the natural world.

Northern Latitudes (Archive)

Nature as Nurture — Dr. Melissa Lem

The holiday season can be a time of connection and celebration—but it can also bring stress, exhaustion, and a sense of overload.

In this archival episode of Northern Latitudes, host Bill Ault revisits a thoughtful conversation with Dr. Melissa Lem, family physician and a leading Canadian advocate for nature-based health. Drawing on the concept of Nature as Nurture, Dr. Lem explains how spending time outdoors—especially during the darker, colder months—can support mental well-being, reduce stress, and help regulate our nervous systems.

This episode explores why nature isn’t just a backdrop to our lives, but an essential form of care—particularly during the holiday season, when expectations run high and personal time feels scarce. From short walks to mindful moments outside, Dr. Lem offers practical, accessible ways to reconnect with the natural world, even when schedules are full.

Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or simply in need of a pause, this conversation offers perspective, reassurance, and permission to slow down.

Guest: Dr. Melissa Lem Theme: Nature, mental health, holiday stress, well-being Series: Northern Latitudes — Archival Episode

Trina Moyles: Black Bear

In Episode 45 of Northern Latitudes, host Bill Ault sits down with award-winning author and journalist Trina Moyles to explore her deeply moving new book Black Bear — a powerful blend of memoir, ecology, and family history rooted in the rugged landscapes of northern Alberta.

Moyles, known for her wildfire memoir Lookout, turns her lens inward in this new work, tracing the story of her brother’s struggle with mental health and addiction, her family’s resilience, and the quiet, watchful presence of black bears that shaped her life. In this intimate conversation, she reflects on grief, survival, and the complicated ways people and landscapes carry one another through crisis.

In This Episode

• The origins of Black Bear and why this was the hardest book Trina has ever written
• How the rhythms and behaviours of black bears became metaphors for family, healing, and endurance
• A sister’s perspective on love, loss, and the long shadows of addiction
• What writing about deeply personal subjects can teach us about empathy, courage, and connection
• How Trina’s journalism, fieldwork, and years as a fire tower lookout continue to influence her storytelling

About Trina Moyles

Trina Moyles is a writer, journalist, photographer, and environmental advocate from Peace River, Alberta. Her previous book, Lookout, was a national bestseller and won acclaim for its clear-eyed portrayal of wildfire seasons and life alone in a remote fire tower. Her essays and reporting have appeared in The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, Passage, Hakai Magazine, and more.

Learn more: https://www.trinamoyles.com

Selected recent articles:

• “How We Remember the North” — The Walrus
• “The Last Lookouts” — Hakai Magazine
• “On Grief, Wildfire, and Bearing Witness” — Passage Magazine

Episode Link

Listen to all Northern Latitudes episodes: https://rss.com/podcasts/northernlatitudes/

Support the Show

If you enjoy Northern Latitudes, please consider:

• Leaving a rating or review on your podcast platform
• Sharing the episode with a friend
• Following us on social media