Rooted in History: Unearthing the Stories of Twelve Trees with Daniel Lewis

·48 min·4 clips

What can trees tell us about our planet? Historian Daniel Lewis digs into the stories of twelve trees.

The episode is an interview with Daniel Lewis, a historian at the Huntington Library and author of 'Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future'. Host Abhishek guides the conversation, starting with Lewis's childhood in Hawaii, where he grew up without television and developed a love for nature. Lewis explains the significance of the number twelve in his book and shares the story of Melbourne trees being given email addresses, which led to people writing emotional letters to them. He delves into how trees act as carbon sinks, sequestering carbon more effectively as they age. The discussion turns to scientific methods: tree rings (dendrochronology) can reveal environmental history, solar flares, and even help authenticate artifacts, while amber preserves three-dimensional, colorful snapshots of ancient life, unlike flattened fossils. Lewis describes visiting the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research in Arizona and highlights lesser-known trees like the Toromiro from Easter Island, which now only grows in captivity. He talks about the coast redwood's immense size, its canopy ecosystems hosting other trees and animals, and efforts to help trees adapt to climate change through breeding for traits like saline resistance. The conversation touches on sandalwood's cultural importance in India, tree idioms across languages, and evolution as the driving force behind tree diversity. Lewis emphasizes the need for human intervention to protect trees in a warming climate and encourages listeners to engage with the natural world.

As heard by us

A calm tree history that folds climate, ecology, and memory into one grounded story.

Daniel Lewis treats trees as records of the world, and the episode keeps returning to that idea without forcing it. Tree rings open onto the past, then the discussion widens to public health, carbon cycles, and human societies.

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Why you'd press play

You want a tree-centered history that starts in Hawaii and ends with practical climate repair.

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