Food, Community, and the Future

09/13/22 • 83 min

Ray Tyler is the owner of Rose Creek Farms in Selmer, TN, which is a no-till, organic diversified vegetable farm growing and harvesting fresh produce 52 weeks a year which they sell direct to consumer as well as wholesale to numerous grocery stores in the area. Just to make things crystal clear – Ray and his family preside over a thriving farm that brings in almost half a million dollars every year on LESS than ONE ACRE of land! They have accomplished this by creating better growing systems and changing farm practices, and are able to manage year-round production, enjoy a near weed-free farm, and have created a sustainable and enjoyable life for themselves. This is the Modern Scholar podcast, and there can be no doubt that Ray Tyler is a scholar of modern farming, and modern lettuce production in particular! Ray is the author of The Farmer’s Guide to Growing Organic Lettuce, which focuses on the practical, need-to-know aspects of growing lettuce in extreme climates, and he has created the Small Farms, Big Change initiative which focuses on delivering online courses, coaching, and on-farm workshops to those interested in learning how to replicate the success of Rose Creek Farms and build their own sustainable farming lifestyle. Hear an earlier conversation with Ray Tyler here!

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Ballistic Missiles, Culture, and the Cold War

My guest today is Dr. David Bath. Dr. Bath is an Assistant Professor of History and Faculty Advisor for the Student Veteran Association at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma. He received his Bachelor’s in History from Texas A&M – Commerce and his Master’s in History from the University of North Dakota, and completed a Master’s in Strategic Intelligence at the National Intelligence University before moving back to complete his PhD in History at Texas A&M. He served as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Air force from 1988 to 2009, with assignments such as Air Force Representative to the National Military Joint Intelligence Center, Counterterrorism Analyst for U.S Central Command, Chief of the Counterterrorism for U.S. Central Command deployed headquarters, and Deputy Director of Intelligence at the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency, which of course, is a direct organizational descendent of the agency my research has focused on, the U.S. Air Force Security Service. Dr. Bath received the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching from Rogers State University in 2019, and is the author of numerous book reviews and presentations as well as his first book, Assured Destruction: Building the Ballistic Missile Culture of the U.S. Air Force from the Naval Institute Press, which is the subject of our conversation today.

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Science and Art in a Botanical Research Library

Ana Niño is the Librarian at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, located at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden in Fort Worth, Texas. Ana joined the team there in November 2021, and is responsible for managing the library, archival, and art collections. Ana attended Cornell University, where she studied Science & Technology Studies, and later earned her Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas. Ana’s background includes roles with the Dallas Public Library, the University of North Texas Libraries, the Carrollton Public Library, where she served as the Community Outreach Librarian, and the Dallas Morning News, where she served as a researcher.