<description>&lt;p&gt;Frog and Toad Are Friends, at least according to a venerable children’s book. And so are Jason (Crazy Town’s resident biology nerd) and conservationist brothers, Kyle and Trevor Ritland, authors of The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species. The three eco-explorers connect over wondrous habitats and critters in Costa Rica's cloud forest and swap stories that cover Lazarus species, global pandemics, self-taught naturalists, birding, and even pregnancy tests. Spliced into the nostalgia and stories are reflections on how to cope in a world where biodiversity is declining and how to regain the connections that modernity has severed between humanity and wild nature. Originally recorded on 10/9/25.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sources/Links/Notes:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Kyle and Trevor Ritland, &lt;a href="https://kyleandtrevor.com/the-golden-toad" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species&lt;/a&gt;, Diversion Books, 2025.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://kyleandtrevor.com/adventure-term" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Adventure Term&lt;/a&gt;, Kyle and Trevor's nonprofit experiential learning initiative&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-05-06/nature-detachment-and-ecocide-or-the-story-of-the-marauding-mountain-lion-episode-40-of-crazy-town/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Episode 40&lt;/a&gt;, "Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or… the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion"&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-03-17/a-day-at-the-zoo-is-no-walk-in-the-park-humanitys-overexploitation-of-animals-and-nature-episode-49-of-crazy-town/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Episode 49&lt;/a&gt;, "A Day at the Zoo Is No Walk in the Park: Humanity’s Overexploitation of Animals and Nature"&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description>

Crazy Town

Post Carbon Institute

Searching for the Golden Toad with Kyle and Trevor Ritland

NOV 5, 202551 MIN
Crazy Town

Searching for the Golden Toad with Kyle and Trevor Ritland

NOV 5, 202551 MIN

Description

Frog and Toad Are Friends, at least according to a venerable children’s book. And so are Jason (Crazy Town’s resident biology nerd) and conservationist brothers, Kyle and Trevor Ritland, authors of The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species. The three eco-explorers connect over wondrous habitats and critters in Costa Rica's cloud forest and swap stories that cover Lazarus species, global pandemics, self-taught naturalists, birding, and even pregnancy tests. Spliced into the nostalgia and stories are reflections on how to cope in a world where biodiversity is declining and how to regain the connections that modernity has severed between humanity and wild nature. Originally recorded on 10/9/25.

Sources/Links/Notes:


Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:

  • Episode 40, "Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or… the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion"
  • Episode 49, "A Day at the Zoo Is No Walk in the Park: Humanity’s Overexploitation of Animals and Nature"