Core Samples: A Climate Scientist's Experiments in Politics and Motherhood

by Anna Farro Henderson

People live by their stories—how can we use them to accelerate action on climate change?  

Climate scientist and policy expert Anna Farro Henderson embarks on a remarkable narrative journey in Core Samples, exploring how science is done, discussed, legislated, and imagined. Through stories both raucous and poignant—of far-flung expeditions, finding artistic inspiration in research, and traversing the systemic barriers women and mothers face in science and politics—she brings readers into the daily rhythms and intimacies of scientific research and political negotiation.

 

Grounded in her experiences as a climate scientist, an environmental policy advisor to Minnesota Senator Al Franken and Governor Mark Dayton, and a constant juggler of the many roles and responsibilities of professional moms, Henderson’s eclectic, unconventional essays range from observations, confessions, and meditations on lab and fieldwork to a packing list for a trip to the State Capitol and a lactation diary. Readers are invited on voyages as far afield as the Trinity nuclear test site in New Mexico, the Juneau Icefield in Alaska, and a meteor crater in Ghana—and as close to home as a town hall meeting in America’s corn belt.

 

A love letter to science and a bracing (and sometimes hilarious) portrait of the many obstacles women, mothers, and people digging for truth navigate, Core Samples illuminates the messy, contradictory humanity of our scientific and political institutions. Bringing us behind the closed doors of discovery and debate, Henderson exposes the flaws in research institutions, the halls of government, and the role of science in policy, yet she shows how each crack is also an invitation for camaraderie, creativity, and change.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 22, 2024

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opening view of what someone might do after getting a PhD in lake mud, and good timing for me to read. She talks about her experience in the science world and political world, and I can confirm I def do not want to get involved with politics 😂

Thanks Aunt Sue and Uncle Joel for the book!

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Anna writes so poetically and lyrically about science and politics. And she’s kind of a bad ass!

[Abi Pellinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

We follow Anna through her science journey, starting at undergraduate university and seeing her progression through academia, out into the world of policy and politics, and beyond. Seeing into these very different, but interlinked, industries in the US was really interesting.

The fieldwork sections of this book made me especially jealous, I picked this book up as a geology graduate who enjoys a good non-fiction so I've done my fair share of fieldwork and there's nothing quite like being somewhere out in nature that almost no-one will ever get to go. Hearing about Anna's various projects and how she described them made me nostalgic for my university days but also very jealous that she got to do this as an academic and as a job! It was written so well and absolutely took me back there.

The switch between pure scientist and policymaker is a difficult one, and seeing the realistic ways that Anna managed this adjustment was really relatable. Whilst lab research is invaluable it's difficult to get that into policymakers heads, and I completely empathise with the desire to actually do some good and make changes to the world with the information you've gathered. There was a questionable section about a politician Anna had worked for, and liked, and some sexual misconduct charges that she blew off. It's not mentioned whether these were substantiated and as a Brit I wasn't familiar with the case so I did just feel

Clearly I just saw geo-non-fiction and just said "yes please" because I didn't properly look into this book and so I wasn't expecting all of the motherhood aspects but it was a really pleasant surprise! Seeing how parenting can be balanced with a career, but also the strains that this brings and how poorly it is often managed by workplaces. As someone who doesn't have children I appreciated being able to see the reality of being pregnant and breast feeding but also doing that whilst working in a fast-paced environment.

This book is so multi-faceted and is such a great look into how scientists look to move into politics in order to actually action the solutions to their research. As well as the difficulties that you face both in politics and in the lab.

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad that in the nearly ten years since the publication of Hope Jahren's groundbreaking Lab Girl memoirs of women scientists have become something of a genre. I welcome each new one, as they continue to challenge stereotypes and provide role models for a new generation. But some of them are also just a great read - and this is the case with "Core Samples".

It is beautifully written, full of keen observations and profound reflections not only on fieldwork and academia, but also on motherhood, politics and art, and explores the question of what it means to be a scientist.

Thanks to the publisher, University of Minnesota Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the author and the publisher for this ARC.
I love that this is another memoir by a woman scientist who had experience both in the field and, also, in policymaking. That made this an interesting addition to the great scientist memoirs like Lab Girl. I did feel part of the time like the writing style felt like I was being kept at an arms length from the author's actual story and feelings; it was kind of "now this, and then this happened, and then this happened." So that knocked it down a star for me. But it's a valuable memoir.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I want a story of bold change. One where we hold policy accountable to science, where the government reflects people in all forms of diversity, where environmental advocacy includes public health as key to the story. I want to throw open the door and let in the breeze we've been waiting for, the wind that is going to lift us all up. But change can only take place one step at a time, one brick laid, one person listened to in one moment in time. And that is too slow."

-- Anna Farro Henderson --

[Rachel Oppitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite read; the epilogue was the highlight; I wish I would have read it first, may have made the first part of the book more meaningful and less circuitous. The timeline was a bit confusing...I applaud the author's sense of purpose and sticking to her vslues.

[Stephen Eisenmenger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't for me, bit stream of consciousness that didn't resonate.

[joel huser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

Very interesting story about her life and work. She’s someone who shows what can be done with grit and determination. A great champion for the environment

[Allison Wyss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got interview the author about this incredible book and some of the tools she used to make climate science relatable, human, and urgent. (We also talked about farts.)

https://bit.ly/3Ajx7dd

[Cheryl Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous set of seemingly unrelated essays that all make for one magical scientist's life experience. It’s a true pleasure to read an unvarnished take on the world as it really is for women in science and politics. Bravo!!

[Jenna Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://newohioreview.org/2024/11/08/...