Skipped History
Skipped History
A History of Living in Harm’s Way on the Gulf
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A History of Living in Harm’s Way on the Gulf

With Professor Jack E. Davis

Amid the anxious wait for Hurricane Milton last week, I asked Professor Jack E. Davis if he’d come back on Skipped History to review some storm history. In The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, Professor Davis explores how and why Americans began to build on the Gulf Coast. The aftermath of one hurricane in particular generated a practice of trying to overcome, rather than retreat from, extreme weather. Over 120 years later, Professor Davis insists we need a moratorium on building near the water.

Jack is a history professor at the University of Florida specializing in environmental history and sustainability studies. He’s the author or editor of ten books, including The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird, which we discussed last year, and The Gulf, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2018.

Discussion about this podcast

Skipped History
Skipped History
Interviews with top historians about their latest work. Mainly educational, often funny. Conveniently, most of the jokes are about people too far underground to punch back.
Hosted by Ben Tumin, creator of the NYT-profiled Skipped History web series.