EP3: Reading the Stars

EP3: Reading the Stars

This week, Yves and Clare are joined by Associate Professor of cultural astronomy Duane Hamacher, an astronomer specializing in Indigenous astronomy. Duane’s book, The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders Read the Stars (2022), is the product of 10 years of collaborative research with Indigenous elders. How does a boy from Missouri wind up reading the antipodean stars? What gets overlooked when knowledge is discredited as myth and legend? The group discusses outsiders, variable stars changing the history of science, and researching with ears open, mouth shut.