Gloria Dickie's fascinating new book is called "Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future." It's packed full of stories and nuggets about the eight species of bears left on Earth. Dickie, an environmental journalist, tells us: "Brown bears can be black. And black bears can be brown." Here's a fun fact I learned and will never forget — a bear's footprint is equivalent to a man's size 11 shoe. Our conversation focuses especially on the pride of the Catskills, the black bear.

Host Justin Maiman, from Cairo, shares his latest inspirations on the "Ginger Radio Hour." The show features music, field recordings, performances, and interviews, primarily with people in and around the Catskill Mountains of New York live from WGXC's Acra studio.